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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see the timing to trigger the high-octane movement ability, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users upward much quicker than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes the team evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says the game this update is all about giving players the resources they need to keep up with matches.

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

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.