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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, 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. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk available to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team wants players to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community execute, and we said, 'What if we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention now, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling her to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers state the game Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the resources required to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.

Apex Legends the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.