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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player might not realize it's possible without external guides," the designer explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for the team to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that expands choke points and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says the game this update is all about providing gamers the resources required to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer the lead.

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