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The game developers has an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick traversal will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called 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. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains the team aims for players to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead notes Respawn assessed each of her abilities and introduced some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, allowing her to spend more time aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

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

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