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The game developers has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says the team wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost players into the air faster than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches teammates skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the resources required to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we examined the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.

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