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The game developers have a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player might not realize it's possible without external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche technique available to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — you need to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain 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. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But it's the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — now takes much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

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