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The game developers have a special treat in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, observed what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. It was an ideal chance for the team to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes Respawn assessed all her skills and implemented significant modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — now takes reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state the game this update focuses on giving players the tools required to compete in matches.

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

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