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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to play for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we provide these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will boost players into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," he says.

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in the competition.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer the lead.

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