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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what the community execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn says the game Season 27 is all about giving players the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Really, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.