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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of the game for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains the team aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — you need to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel users upward faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," he says.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the tools required to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.

Apex Legends the Amped season launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.