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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what the community execute, and we said, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward much quicker than before. Her defensive walls feature a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer says the team evaluated all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling her to remain longer in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's fundamental nature 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.