Apex Legends May 24 update patch notes: Wattson and Valkyrie fixes, Arenas abandonment penalty, more
An Apex Legends May 24 update has finally fixed issues with Wattson and Valkyrie’s abilities and some other bugs introduced in the latest patch notes. The new 3v3 Arenas mode has also received a leavers penalty which many players will be happy with.
Apex Legends hasn’t received many updates since the release of Season 9: Legacy back on May 4, which saw new Legend Valkyrie enter the roster and a host of changes in the patch notes. The biggest update since was the changes made to the Bocek Bow, which definitely released on the slightly overpowered side of weapons in Apex Legends.
The devs have now addressed the Valkyrie and Wattson ability issues in a new update, fixing the backpack problem players were noticing. Further, the update also introduces an abandonment penalty for those who leave games early in Arenas.
Apex Legends May 24 update patch notes
The update will take effect at 10 AM PT, with a smaller late afternoon update that includes some firing range and XP patches.
The update includes a whole list of interesting changes that players can take a look at in the tweet below.
Now, let’s get into the details of the most important Apex Legends Season 9 updates from this patch by Respawn Entertainment.
Wattson fix
On the release of Season 9: Legacy, Respawn Entertainment decided to nerf the popular Ordnance, the Arc Star. The nerf essentially prevented the Arc Star from giving players a movement penalty when they were struck by one.
This unfortunately also affected Wattson’s fences, potentially containing similar code to the Arc Stars due to their electric nature. This was, of course, devastating for Wattson mains and stopped other players from trying out her kit.
However, Wattson remained strong, retaining a high win/rate despite her accidental nerf, but this could be because the only ones who continued playing her were the experienced Wattson mains.
Regardless, the devs have now officially reverted the accidental nerf, and Wattson’s fences should now slow on hit, making those who main her happy, as well as enticing new players to try her kit.
Valkyrie fix
Valkyrie is the new Legend for Season 9: Legacy, featuring a very interesting mobility-based kit that allows her to effortlessly glide around the map and help the team rotate with her ultimate.
Valkyrie’s kit comes with its ups and downs, making her a pretty difficult character to master and learn. On top of this, players were also experiencing a very annoying bug that caused Valkyrie’s teammates to get stuck under the map when they didn’t have “vertical clearance” during her Skyward Dive ultimate.
Skyward Dive allows Valkyrie and those teammates who wish to join her to take to the skies and relocate like a portable redeploy balloon, a very useful ability for team rotation. However, just like most new content in games, it didn’t arrive without its issues.
The devs have worked on this issue and released a fix in this new update, allowing Valkyrie’s Skyward Dive to work much more smoothly, especially for her teammates.
Loot pool fix
Lastly, Respawn Entertainment has also confirmed that the update contains a fix for the loot pool problems players have been experiencing in Season 9.
In the Season 9: Legacy update, the Apex Legends developers decided to make a huge change to the game by introducing the starter kit. Unlike in any other season, players now drop into the map with a white shield, white helmet, and even some meds.
This change was initially made to free up the floor loot of white shields and less rare items so that players would ultimately find better loot, enhancing the experience. Unfortunately, this change actually affected the loot pool negatively and prevented players from finding certain items, especially backpacks.
@alphaINTEL confirmed that Respawn have pushed a fix for this issue:
“Respawn have confirmed that fixes for the loot pool (especially backpacks) will also be in today’s update.”
Arenas abandonment penalty
Arenas has received a lot of love since its release with Season 9, however, a recent exploit that prevents players from losing their win streak by abandoning games has been creating a lot of controversies.
Reddit user DavidTenebris posted a screenshot of the leaver’s penalty from Titanfall 2, which is, of course, another game from Respawn Entertainment. The caption reads, “This is what Arena needs.”
It seems the developers have finally listened to the players and have introduced an abandonment penalty similar to the one “applied in Ranked BR games,” which also fixes win streaks not being broken by leaving.
However, one thing to note is that this penalty doesn’t apply to players who are affected by a leaver who isn’t in their party. If your random teammate leaves, they will receive the penalty, while you can go at no extra cost.
That’s it for the latest Season 9 update. For more on Apex Legends, stay tuned on Charlie INTEL and check out our article on the best controller layout for Legacy.
Image Credits: Respawn Entertainment