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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a burst of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer the development lead says developers wants players to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since 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 polished version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the central theme in this season, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost players into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment has arrived," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling her to remain longer in the air. 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 — requires reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn says the game this update is all about giving players the resources required to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.