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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a burst 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 "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to play for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will propel users upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling her to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

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