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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades 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," he comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in matches.

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

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