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The game developers has an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," the designer explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche technique available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the central theme in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. 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 capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However it's aerial this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

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

The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.