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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says the team wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air faster than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says Respawn assessed each of her abilities and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources required to keep up with matches.

"Really, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

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