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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and gamers would never know 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 traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche technique available to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will boost users into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. But it's aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant 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 the game. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting her speed while airborne, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," he comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says the game Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools they need to compete in the competition.

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

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