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The game developers have a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to compete for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team wants gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we wondered, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users upward much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's the game. This presented an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing her to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers 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.