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The game developers have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see when and how to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says the team wants gamers to feel powerful — even those who are new.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in the competition.

"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer the lead.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at the specified times.