Apex Legends Season 9 will add new hero, fix Banglore bugs

Olivia Richman Published 18/04/2021

Season 9 is bringing big changes to legends in Apex Legends. 

Developers confirmed that Lifeline’s passive ability, Combat Revive, is getting a massive nerf come May 4, but other legends are getting balance updates in Season 9 too. When Chaos Theory dropped March 9, players noticed that Bangalore and Caustic had some changes that weren’t in any official patch notes. And they didn’t like them one bit. 

After the update, Bangalore’s Tactical Smoke Launcher and Caustic’s Nos Gas smokes were far less effective. Players weren’t able to use the smokes to hide as easily, which made the abilities a lot weaker. 

“There was a change to the underlying VFX that we made with optimization in mind. The goal was to have it look identical to what was there before, but apparently, that’s not what happened,” Respawn developers stated at the time of the discovery. 

Since then, nothing has changed and fans have been asking about the changes on Reddit. 

On April 16, lead game designer Daniel Klein finally gave fans an update on the accidental nerfs. One user called the changes “significant issues that hinder the legend’s entire kit.” In response, Klein said that the updates are coming in Season 9. This confirmed that updates are on the way. 

No further information was given about what changes will be made to Bangalore and Caustic. 

What changes are coming in Apex Legends Season 9?

Bangalore, Lifeline, and Caustic are not the only ones seeing changes in Season 9. There might even be a new legend on the way. Leaks have pointed to a character called Valk. 

Who is Apex Legends’ Valk?

Players first heard about Valk in Season 2 when Respawn had internal pages accidentally leaked. These pages showed in-development characters including Valk. The pages also had Loba, Rampart, and Revenant, who have since become legends in Apex Legends. This makes it quite likely that Valk is coming soon. 

A more recent interview had Chad Grenier stating that the Season 9 legend will “hopefully be liked in Japan.” For many players, this hinted that the upcoming character may have Japanese origins. Aside from Valk’s home country, players have a few more hints about the new legend. Valk could be seen flying in Apex Legends’ 100 million player celebration video. And his leaked abilities point at him being an aerial-based legend too. 

Cluster Missile is Valk’s tactical, based on leaks. He fires a rocket that explodes multiple times. Valk’s passive is possibly VTOL Jets. When players press “jump” they will be able to hover in the air. Valk’s ultimate is Skyward. Activating it will prepare Valk for launch. Teammates can interact with Valk to join the launch. Pressing the ultimate again will launch Valk into the air, allowing him to skydive. 

Also in Season 9, there will be big changes to both of Apex Legends’ maps Olympus and World’s Edge. 

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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