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The game developers has an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for some time, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will boost users into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands choke points and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says the game this update is all about providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends the Amped season launches November 4th at the specified times.