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The game developers has an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously 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 competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for some time, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Since currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment is here," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current the game. It was a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead notes the team evaluated all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, allowing her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands choke points and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with matches.

"Really, we examined the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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