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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team aims for players to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we make a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However it's the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," he comments.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn says the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools they need to keep up with matches.

"Really, we examined the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.