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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But it's the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant 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 former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates skyward for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," he says.

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources they need to compete in matches.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.