Forgotten Apex Legends character surges in popularity after major buff

Respawn released a mid-season update for Apex Legends that buffed Valkyrie after the legend spent a year as one of the least-picked legends in the game. She is now one of the most picked.

Valkyrie was strong on release in 2021 and well after thanks to her mobility abilities. However, in 2022, she received major nerfs to her entire kit and fell down the pick-rate ladder as other legends got better.

The jetpack-wearing character was still strong at rotating but didn’t have the firepower to back up her kit, despite her classification as a Skirmisher.

Respawn decided to juice Valkyrie back to her release form in a Season 22 update, adding more power to her Missile Swarm, making her jetpack more like it was originally, and reclassifying her as a Recon Legend.

This has led to her pick rate jumping up almost 600%, going from 1.2% to 8.2%.

Players are responding to the mini-rework, and finding success with the once-powerful legend in Season 22.

What has really brought Valkyrie back into the fold in the Apex Legends meta are the jetpack changes and Recon reclassification.

The current map rotation of E-District, Olympus, and Kings Canyon includes some steep terrain that can be traversed with ease using Valkyrie’s passive VTOL Jets. Instead of slowly rotating, players can use her to quickly rotate to get into new areas or scout her team’s next move.

Her Level 3 upgrade now reveals enemies from further away and through walls while skydiving like other Recon abilities, which makes her a great pick in the late game.

All of that – bundled with her faster and more powerful missiles – has made Valkyrie a desirable pick in ranked for now. Her pick rate could level out as time goes on as players find that other legends like Crypto and Vantage as Recons, or Pathfinder and Wriath as Scirmishers fill her role better, but it’s still a remarkable and long overdue comeback for Valkyrie.