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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 can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we provide these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But it's aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented significant modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.

The battle royale the Amped season launches November 4th at the specified times.