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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and introducing new ways to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will boost players into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However it's aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed all her skills and implemented significant modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says the game Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's core identity as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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