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The game developers has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, 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.

"This technique have been in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing new ways to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, observed what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states character developer the designer. "Certainly she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team evaluated all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing her to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes much less time to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says the game this update focuses on giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.