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The game developers have a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Since currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — you need to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. This presented an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says the team assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing her to remain longer in the air. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we examined the game's core identity as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season launches November 4th at the specified times.