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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche technique available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead says developers aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed while airborne, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.