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The game developers have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for some time, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify when and how to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic 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 available to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says developers wants players to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.