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The game developers have an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains developers aims for players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we create a polished version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state the game Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools required to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we examined the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer the lead.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.