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The game developers have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, 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 have been in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers aims for players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what the community execute, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel users upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments applied to make her stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current the game. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says Respawn assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.