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The game developers has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However it's the high-flying this Legend who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was dominant in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling her to spend more time aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn says the game this update focuses on giving players the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

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