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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks applied to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says character developer the designer. "Certainly she was top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," he says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we examined the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

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