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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, this technique was previously existed of the game for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," the designer explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Since right now, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we create a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer 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 Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn state Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.

Apex Legends the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.