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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains developers wants players to feel powerful — even those who are new.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the central theme in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. But it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments applied to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer notes the team assessed all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates skyward for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

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

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the resources required to compete in matches.

"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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