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The game developers has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains developers wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward faster than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting significant improvements this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, enabling her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," he says.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the tools required to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we examined the game's core identity as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer the lead.

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