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The game developers have a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding 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 all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will boost players into the air faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. But it's the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," he says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers state the game Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools required to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.