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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for players to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel users upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However it's the high-flying this Legend who's getting significant improvements this season, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting her speed while airborne, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches teammates skyward for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers state the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

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

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.