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The game developers has an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players are doing, and we said, 'What if we provide these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, enabling her to remain longer aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches teammates skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn state the game this update focuses on giving players the tools they need to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's core identity as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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