Apex Legends Season 9 Is Live: Legacy Update Patch Notes, Valkyrie Abilities, And Everything Else

Apex Legends: Legacy is live, though Season 9 is off to a rocky start. Sticking to the theme of legacy, Apex Legends' ninth season introduces new character Valkyrie, new team deathmatch mode Arenas, and new map changes to Olympus, all of which seemingly tie back to storylines told in Titanfall 2. We've compiled everything we know about Legacy below.

As an odd aside, Season 9 isn't actually called "Season 9." Respawn simply refers to the new season as "Legacy." Previous seasons have been numbered and named, like Season 4: Assimilation or Season 8: Mayhem. But the new season is just referred to as Legacy.

Start Date And Update Size

Legacy is now live, beginning May 4 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. You'll have to download the update in order to start playing. Updates sizes are listed below, by platform.

• Xbox: 53GB
• PlayStation: 29GB
• Steam: 8GB
• Origin: 12GB

Balancing Changes And Patch Notes

Respawn has released the Apex Legends Season 9 patch notes, and they're packed with changes. In regards to weapon changes, the Peacekeeper has returned to ground loot. On top of that, Skullpiercer Rifling and Hammerpoint Rounds have been removed, though buffs have been applied to the guns that use those hop-ups.

In terms of character buffs and nerfs, Lifeline got a much-needed rework. Octane also now loses more health when using Stim, and Fuse gets two Knuckle Cluster charges per cooldown. Several other characters, like Loba and Horizon, have been changed as well.

New Mode: Arenas

Arenas is a new, permanent mode for Apex Legends. The mode exists alongside Battle Royale, with Titanfall 2's Ash as Arenas' overseer. Arenas was initially inspired by auto chess, then evolved into a 3v3, round-based team deathmatch that's similar in structure to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Valorant.

New Character: Valkyrie

The new season's theme of legacy is most evident in Kairi "Valkyrie" Imahara. Valkyrie is the daughter of Viper, one of the Apex Predators that protagonist Jack Cooper faced in Titanfall 2. Valkyrie utilizes the remains of her father's Northstar Titan as a jetpack, becoming Apex Legends' first aerial-based character.

As a recon character, Valkyrie's abilities are geared towards information retrieval and squad movement. She can use her jetpack as a means of both reconnaissance and attack, hovering into the air for a bird's eye view and raining down destruction with missiles.

New Weapon: Bocek Bow

The Bocek is a Marksman weapon, a new Apex Legends firearm classification that also includes the G7 Scout, Triple Take, and 30-30 Repeater. The Bocek uses a new ammo type, Arrows, which fly through the air silently and don't break on impact--missed shots can be looted from the ground, and shots that make their mark can be looted off dead bodies.

New Map: Olympus Infested

Olympus has become infested with a parasitic plant upon a strange ship crashing into the floating city. This adds a new point of interest to Olympus, called The Icarus, which is located in between Bonsai Plaza, Solar Array, and Orbital Cannon. The Icarus is filled with dead crewmembers--one will randomly have a keycard on them, which can be used to open the deck of the ship, where epic- and legendary-tier loot can be found.