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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a burst of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] 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 wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will boost users upward faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states character developer the designer. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing her to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad skyward for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

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 a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with matches.

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

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