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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without external guides," the designer explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to play 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 says developers wants players to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Since currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about 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, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward much quicker than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer says Respawn assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn says the game Season 27 is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

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