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The game developers have 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 movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says the team wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost players into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's aerial Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, allowing her to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the tools they need to keep up with matches.

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

Apex Legends the Amped season launches November 4th at the specified times.