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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad into the air for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn says the game this update is all about providing gamers the tools required to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.