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The game developers have a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of the game for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the feature and adding new ways to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains the team wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will boost users upward faster than before. Her defensive walls feature a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks applied to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer says the team evaluated all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing her to spend more time aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the tools required to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.