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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these advanced speed-boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will boost users into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state the game Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools required to compete in matches.

"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.

Apex Legends the Amped season releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.