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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, 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 visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and the ability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. But it's aerial Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer notes the team evaluated all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — now takes much less time 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 ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the tools they need to compete in matches.

"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.

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