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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will boost users upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and the ability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says the team evaluated all her skills and implemented significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools they need to keep up with matches.

"Really, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season releases November 4th at the specified times.