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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," the designer explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche technique available to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls feature a roof and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches teammates into the air for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the resources they need to keep up with matches.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.