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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to play for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Since currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel players upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn says the game Season 27 is all about providing gamers the resources required to compete in matches.

"Really, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer the lead.

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