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The game developers has a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we provide these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, certain techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will boost players into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, enabling her to remain longer aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches teammates skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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