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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." 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, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains the team wants players to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.