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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick traversal 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 Respawn, this ability provides gamers a burst of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see when and how to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. It was an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead notes the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay 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 accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers state Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with matches.

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

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at the specified times.