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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but the movement requires skill to perform and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature 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 technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will boost players upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer the designer. "Certainly she was top-tier previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends the Amped season releases November 4th at the specified times.