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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says the team aims for players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will propel users upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer says the team assessed all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing her to spend more time aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn state the game this update is all about giving players the tools required to compete in matches.

"Really, we examined Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," says principal designer the lead.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.