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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts 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 external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains developers aims for players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will propel users into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include a roof and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment is here," says Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says the team assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing her to spend more time in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," he says.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the tools they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.