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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche technique available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] 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, 'What if we provide these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air faster than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes the team assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools required to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we were looking at the game's core identity as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.

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