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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but executing it requires skill to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains developers wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we said, 'How can we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the resources required to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at the specified times.