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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But it's the high-flying this Legend who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly she was dominant previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn assessed each of her abilities and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, allowing her to remain longer aloft. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the resources they need to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer the lead.

Apex Legends the Amped season releases November 4th at the specified times.