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Apex Legends Season 9 has changed the game big time with the introduction of Valkyrie and Arena mode, as well as some legends changes — now the Season 9 pick rates are out, and Octane is killing it while Rampart gets booted to the bottom. However, Respawn Entertainment has teased some upcoming balances to various legends that could be game-changers, including Rampart. 

‘Apex Legends’ Season 9 pick rates revealed

Some of the Apex Legends crew -- Octane and Rampart not pictured
Some of the Apex Legends crew — Octane and Rampart not pictured | Respawn Entertainment

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Apex Legends Season 9 players may have noticed an uptick in the number of Octane players in recent matches. They may have also noticed an uptick in the number of players boosting their sprint speeds to run into the middle of a squad and die alone, but that’s another conversation for another time. 

The website Apex Legends Status recently released a list of the Apex Legends Season 9 pick rates based on a sample size of approximately 4.8 million, and the results show Octane at the highest pick rate of 14.5%. Pretty impressive. 

However, the other end of the spectrum is a little troubling. Rampart is in last place with a meager 1.6% pick rate — pretty abysmal. Crypto just barely edges Rampart out at 1.7%, and unsurprisingly Wattson is third with 2.1%.

Meanwhile, second and third place go to Wraith and Bloodhound respectively, sitting at 13% and 11.7%. Of course, it’s worth remembering that pick rate does not necessarily equate to viability or power. It could be a matter of one character’s kit simply feeling more fun to play around with than another. 

However, even if that is the case, developers should take note. If certain characters simply do not feel as fun to play as others, that’s a bad sign. On the other hand, if it is a matter of balance, that’s a bad sign too. All told, such a vast disparity in Apex Legends Season 9 pick rates suggests that there’s something amiss.

Fans react to the pick rates

The recent prevalence of Octane picks in Apex Legends Season 9 has not gone unnoticed by fans of the game. Redditors have been poking fun or expressing frustration at the situation in turn. Meanwhile, Crypto, Rampart, and Wattson mains aren’t exactly surprised either. 

Players of both Rampart and Wattson have been vocal about requests for buffs to the legends. 

“I honestly don’t think Octane is OP or anything. He’s just fun, a mobile aggressive hero in a gamer where mobility and aggressiveness is rewarding. Please don’t nerf him just to drop pick rate. And I’m not an Octane player,” wrote one Redditor. 

“I just want his meta to finally die I’d rather have a useful Rampart than another useless Cctane hotdropping and dying every single fight,” wrote one beleaguered player. 

“It’s almost like counters to incredible mobility like the defensive/stationary heroes are really bad right now,” suggested another commenter. 

‘Apex Legends’ developer Daniel Z. Klein calls Season 9 pick rates inaccurate

Apex Legends developer Daniel Z. Klein commented on the Reddit post as well, suggesting the Season 9 pick rates on Apex Legends Status are inaccurate. 

“These stats are so off. I wonder where they get them from. Anyway octane’s been most picked ever since we buffed the jump pad,” wrote Klein.

Players were quick to point out that Klein and Respawn never release stats themselves, so there’s no official information to back up Klein’s claim.  

“Well, a lot of people want to know these, so unless you release official stats players will use different sites to see this data (even if they’re not accurate),” pointed out one reply. 

“Maybe you should be transparent and share them, then,” added another user. Many others echoed the sentiment.  

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