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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

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

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "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 polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was top-tier 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 today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state the game this update focuses on giving players the tools they need to compete in matches.

"Really, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.