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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for a while, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique accessible to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says developers wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Since right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'How about we make a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players upward much quicker than before. Her defensive walls 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 various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for the team to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says the team assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead says.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn says Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the resources required to compete in matches.

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

Apex Legends the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.