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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature 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 pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to play for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

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

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility 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 maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel players into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead notes the team assessed all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing her to spend more time aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead says.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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