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The game developers has a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains the team wants players to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Since right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will boost players into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and the ability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. But it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — now takes reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says the game this update is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in matches.

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

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