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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead says developers aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time 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 squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," he says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn state Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with matches.

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

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