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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says the team wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment has arrived," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn assessed all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

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

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