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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel players upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However it's aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — now takes much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, 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 only floating arena, this location, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state the game this update focuses on giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

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

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.