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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick traversal will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But 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 everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but executing it 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 players can easily see when and how to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play 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 Josh Mohan says developers wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's aerial Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer says the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state the game Season 27 is all about giving players the tools they need to compete in matches.

"Really, we examined Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.

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