Apex Legends devs to pull trigger on Valkyrie jetpack nerfs in May 27 update
Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends Valkyrie Jetpack Nerf
Apex Legends developers confirmed Valkyrie’s passive ability, VTOL Jetpack, is getting nerfed in an upcoming update after players started using it to hover in the air for extended periods of time during final fights.
Valkyrie has been the star of the show so far in Apex Legends Season 9. She hasn’t been everyone’s cup of tea. Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek has vowed never to play her because the VTOL Jetpack makes it impossible to bunnyhop.
However, those who do have found interesting ways to get the most out of her abilities, like flying extended distances.
The problem, though, is that it’s led to players taking advantage of the VTOL Jetpack and hovering in the air for an extended period of time during final fights. And it’s happening in competitive games, too. She can’t fire her weapon while doing it, but she’s much harder to hit and can win the battle of attrition.
VAL MAIN I DONT NEED SHIELDS pic.twitter.com/W8yKJ52f8j
— SZ Taisheen (@Taisheen) May 21, 2021
John ‘JayBiebs’ Larson, the Associate Live Balance Designer at Respawn Entertainment, acknowledged the issue and confirmed that the ability would be nerfed in an update on May 27.
Essentially, they’re making it so hovering in the air will no longer consume a fraction of the fuel. Instead, it will consume the full amount.
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“Valk’s “tac hover” was designed to consume fuel at 10% of the normal rate. With ALGS ramping up, we figured we should remove this exception,” he said. “We found Valks would often take coffee breaks above the final fight in scrims. This will go live on Thursday.”
Valk’s "tac hover" was designed to consume fuel at 10% of the normal rate.
With ALGS ramping up, we figured we should remove this exception (we found Valks would often take coffee breaks above the final fight in scrims).
This will go live on Thursday.
— John Larson | JayBiebs (@RSPN_JayBiebs) May 25, 2021
Apex Legends players have had mixed reactions to the news. They believe it wasn’t overpowered since she can’t draw her gun and accused the developers of pandering to “crybaby professional players” at the expense of regular players.
Instead, they suggested changing it to consume slightly more fuel rather than the full amount. However, the developers haven’t responded and are still planning to forge ahead. So, we’ll have to see how it pans out on Thursday.
