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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and introducing fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel players upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says the game this update is all about giving players the tools they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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