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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn 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 executing it requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see the timing to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche technique accessible to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we provide these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Since currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to change controls and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel players upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit 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 says the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says the game Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools required to compete in the competition.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.