In season 9, a new legend was introduced to Apex Legends. She’s the daughter of a pilot from Titanfall. And her name is Kairi Imahara, better known as Valkyrie.
Valkyrie quickly became one of the most loved legends in the game due to her fantastic kit. Right now, she sits in the seventh spot with a pick rate of 4.9%. That seems pretty decent for any legend, right?
Well, if we check the pro leagues, this number drastically changes. For example, in the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) of 2022, she had an incredible pick rate of 95.9%. Only followed by Gibby who’s way behind with a 77.3% pick rate.
Having in mind these massive statistics we wondered why professional players choose her over other legends and we’ve put together a list of the reasons why you should use her:
Table of Contents
1. Apex Legends as a Battle Royale
Who wins the game? The last team alive. And sometimes the last team alive isn’t the one with the most precise aim, the smoothest movement, or the ones who play best together. Most of the time, the team that wins is the one with more information.
And this is something that most casual players ignore as they choose not to scan a beacon even while they’re looting right next to it.
Now, how does this apply to Valk?
Until Season 15, Valkyrie had a class that could scan Ring beacons called the Recon class. This made her incredibly useful for getting information about the zones and choosing a proper rotation.
2. Let’s talk about rotations
Imagine this: the ring is closing behind you, and there’s a guy a mile away at the top of a hill with a Charge Rifle shooting at you every time you move. We all hate that guy, right?
Well, that’s the point. We ALL prefer to be that guy shooting at everyone from a safe position waiting for the ring to close. That’s why it is so critical to rotate properly and early into the most advantageous possible high-ground area when you’re playing to win.
Now, how does this apply to Valk?
Valkyrie was nerfed in Season 14, reducing the height of her Skyward Dive by 25%. And despite that, her ultimate is still the BEST ability to rotate in the whole game. It is very flexible in choosing a landing spot (because of course, Valkyrie scans everyone), and also because of how difficult it is to shoot down legends moving that fast.
3. Her tactical ability
What are the most annoying debuffs in the entire game?
Of course, stuns such as Caustic’s smoke, Wattson’s fences, Maggie’s ball, and of course, Valk’s missiles.
Despite her Missile Swarm ability being nerfed in Season 14, Valk literally has an ability that hits people behind cover. It breaks doors, stuns, and deals enough damage to usually get a knockout in the late stages of the game. Players consider these missiles broken because they can make a difference in many situations.
4. Her mobility
In contrast to other legends, such as Pathfinder, who had his passive forgotten for most of the game. Valk’s passive makes her literally fly.
Her movement is only compared to Wraith’s because of how much potential. Her rockets can be used to reach heights, strafe and escape a fight, rotate, and even fly up high in the air in the final circle before falling at the last second to finish the fight and win the game.
So, why is Valkyrie the most picked legend in the ALGS so far?
Because she has everything. She has mobility, she stuns, she’s good for rotations and she even used to get ring information, making her the most flexible legend in the whole game.
But, what will happen now in Season 16?
She is not able to scan ring beacons anymore. Also, Wraith got buffed and her portal is twice as long. Will it be enough to take Valkyrie out of the meta?
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