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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for some time, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it's possible without external guides," the designer states. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to play for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, observed what the community execute, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will boost users into the air faster than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was dominant in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, enabling her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn says the game this update is all about providing gamers the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

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

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.