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The game developers has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche technique accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead says developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we create a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer says the team evaluated all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers state the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources they need to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at the specified times.