Respawn increases Valkyrie’s fuel consumption on her tactical to stop Apex players from hovering indefinitely

Apex Legends’ latest patch took out the decreased fuel consumption when holding down Valkyrie’s tactical ability today. The measure aims to stop players from spending extensive periods of time up high in the air, particularly with the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) ramping up. In addition, Respawn also delayed the reintroduction of leaver penalties in Arenas matches while developers “work out the kinks” with the feature.

Hovering up in the air while holding down Valkyrie’s tactical significantly reduces both her fuel consumption and movement speed. Fuel would drain at 10 percent the normal rate, according to Respawn associate live balance designer John Larson, which allowed Valkyrie players to “often take coffee breaks above the final fight in scrims.”

A clip by SCARZ EU player Can “Taisheen” Öztürk shows a situation that can easily arise in ALGS matches. The pro takes off from a ledge and rises up, then holds Valkyrie’s tactical to hover far above the final circle.

The removal of Valkyrie’s decreased fuel consumption comes in the middle of the ALGS Championship, which is running between May 22 and June 13, to avoid scenarios like the one by Taisheen in tournament runs.

The hotfix delivered a tweak to Valkyrie’s tactical as promised, but Respawn held back on another necessary solution. Arenas leaver penalties are still disabled while the team tries to fix a few occurrences with the feature.

Earlier this week, Respawn introduced a penalty to players who left Arenas matches in certain circumstances. Yesterday, however, developers temporarily disabled the feature after it was issuing false positive matchmaking bans. A fix was slated for “later this week,” according to Respawn, but the studio’s official account postponed a solution to that particular issue until next Thursday.

Make sure to follow us on YouTube for more Apex Legends news and analysis.