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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including 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."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers aims for players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community execute, and we said, 'How can we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, certain techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools they need to keep up with matches.

"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.

Apex Legends the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.