We’re right around the corner now from Season 9 of Apex Legends, Legacy, and the upcoming Legend has been revealed to be none other than Valkyrie.
There have been rumors swirling about who the new Legend would be, and all signs pointed to a character named ‘Valk.’
As always, anything can change in development, so it’s never official until the developers confirm it. And, we can’t forget when they fooled everyone with “Forge” – only to release Revenant (who had been leaked) instead.
So, who is the upcoming Legend, Valkyrie, in Season 9?
Who is Valkyrie?
The official website describes the character, real name Kairi Imahara as “bold, brash, fiery and fierce,” adding that she grew up in the “shadow of her father’s legacy. But now she’s ready to launch her own.”
Fans can get a look at Valkyrie’s backstory in the newly released Stories from the Outlands, titled ‘Northstar.’
It turns out she is the daughter of Viper, an Apex Predator who was killed by Jack Cooper during the Titanfall 2 campaign. She meets with Kuben Blisk, leader of the Predators, seemingly to act out revenge over her father’s death.
Viper used the Northstar Titan – which had the VTOL hover ability, believed to be part of Valkyrie’s kit. We see the Northstar being repaired by Rampart in the episode.
In a past interview, Chad Grenier said (translated from Japanese): “I mentioned a little about Season 9, but the legend in Season 9 I hope will be liked in Japan.” From the trailer, it appears Valkyrie’s mother is of Japanese descent.
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What are Valkyrie’s abilities?
We got our hands-on with Valkyrie, and tried out her abilities:
- Passive: VTOL Jets – Press Jump while in the air to engage jetpack. You can switch between hold and toggle in the options menu.
- Tactical: Missile Swarm – Fire a swarm of mini-rockets which damage and disorient the enemy.
- Ultimate: Skyward Dive – Press once to prepare for launch. Teammates can interact with Valkyrie to join the launch. Press again to launch into the air and skydive.
From playing with Valkyrie, her jetpack passive is very loud. That means while it’s a ton of fun, you also have to be careful about when you use it. Anyone in the vicinity will hear Valk jetting around.
As for her tactical, Respawn described it as a “mini Bangalor Ultimate.” It doesn’t deal a lot of damage (only 25 for a direct hit), but the main advantage is that it will stun enemies like an arc star, although for less time. Enemies who have been stunned by Valk’s missiles will have electricity sparking off them, so you’ll know they’re stunned.
The ultimate allows for fast redploy at any point on the map, and if you can coordinate with your squad, they can latch on too. Also, when skydiving, Valkyrie uses her helmet to scan the environment, and enemies in her view will be highlighted, not just for Valkyrie, but her teammates too.
Finally, Valkyrie is a recon Legend, meaning she can use survey beacons to find out the next ring location.
Valkyrie skins in Apex Legends
Valkyrie’s Legendary skins at launch are called:
- Titan Tested
- Military Grade
- Golden Opportunity
- Azure Blessing
That’s all we know about the Season 9 Legend so far, but we’ll continually update you as more information breaks. Respawn’s Season 9 is set to start on May 4, 2021.
In addition to a new Legend, we the new Arena mode has been revealed, which is part of Apex Legends expanding to ‘beyond battle royale.’ The first teaser for that mode has already been revealed.