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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for some time, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — you need to change controls and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players upward faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer notes the team evaluated all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed while airborne, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer 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 ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers state the game this update is all about providing gamers the resources required to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we examined the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at the specified times.