Why Shroud simply refuses to play Valkyrie in Apex Legends

Alex Tsiaoussidis
Shroud Apex Legends Valkyrie

Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek isn’t a fan of Valkyrie, the newest legend to join the Apex Legends roster. He refuses to play it unless Respawn Entertainment changes the way her VTOL Jets ability functions.

Apex Legends players can’t get enough of Valkyrie, the high-flying legend who joined the fray in Apex Legends Season 9. But although she has plenty to offer, especially when used correctly, Shroud refuses to play her.

He explained why during a recent stream, and it all comes down to two simple points. First, he doesn’t believe “she’s useful”. And second, he doesn’t like how her VTOL Jets ability works, at least in terms of key bindings.

Valkyrie Apex Legends
Shroud isn’t enthusiastic about Apex Legends’ newest addition to the roster, Valkyrie.

“The new character seems bad. [It] seems cool, but not very useful,” he said. “I haven’t [played the character]. But from what I’ve seen, I don’t know. I just don’t see a world where the meta of the characters changes.”

He listed some of the legends he thinks have always been the strongest, including Bloodhunter, Lifeline, Pathfinder, Wattson, and Wraith. And naturally, he doesn’t see Valkyrie replacing one of them anytime soon.

Still, that didn’t stop him from giving her a go in the firing range. But it didn’t take him long to get put off.

“Can I make it so that I only boost with the spacebar, or is it always just gonna be with jump? That’s gonna be so annoying. I don’t think I’m going to be able to play this character. I’ve got to be able to change that, right?”

Valkyrie jetpacks Apex
Valkyrie’s VTOL Jets let her take to the skies and scout out foes.

For those unfamiliar with his key bindings, he uses the mouse wheel to jump. It traces back to his days as a professional CSGO player, where it was necessary to perform the bunnyhop technique. However, every time he tried to bunnyhop on Valkyrie, he’d fly instead.

As it turned out, it was more than the Twitch star could bear.

“Okay, I’m not playing this character. I’ll tell you that right now. That’s the first mistake that they overlooked. I’m not playing this character. I can’t do it.

“There’s no way in hell I’m going to be able to do that successfully. I’m just going to be [using the jetpack when I’m] trying to [bunnyhop].”

The relevant part of the video starts at 0:17.

Not everyone will agree with Shroud, especially those who don’t have the same issue with bunnyhopping.

However, based on what he’s said, it’s reasonable to assume we won’t see him on the game’s newest legend anytime soon.

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About The Author

Alex is a former Dexerto writer based in Australia. He finished a law degree but realized it wasn't the career for him and decided to follow his dream of becoming a writer. Since then, he completed a graduate diploma and a master's degree in writing. Now he writes about his other passion; esports and gaming.