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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, opening up the feature and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

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

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel users into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," says Legend designer the designer. "Certainly she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer says Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says the game Season 27 is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.