Apex Legends Season 31, Cipher, starts on Tuesday 3 November 2026, with full patch notes due a day earlier on 2 November. Respawn published its Cipher Designer's Notes on 30 October, explaining the season's biggest changes: a Crypto rework, the new Akimbo Wingman, a new airdrop called Strongholds, buffs for Revenant and Lifeline, and nerfs for Loba, the Prowler and the Nemesis.
EA hasn't given a start time in these posts. Note that US clocks go back an hour on 1 November, so if Respawn keeps a Pacific-time launch, it will fall an hour later in UTC than it did in October. We'll treat the exact time as unconfirmed until EA posts it.
Crypto gets a battery-powered drone
Respawn says Crypto has had a very low pick rate for several seasons, partly because players camp in his drone instead of fighting with their team. His Surveillance Drone now runs on a 25-second battery and recalls itself when it runs out. It can also mark enemies: marked players get an icon visible through walls for 8 seconds, and the drone scans in a full 360-degree radius.
His EMP Ultimate can now be triggered in one press, even with the drone stowed. It also does less when the drone can't see its targets: enemies out of line of sight take 50 shield damage and a lighter slow. The faster-movement-to-teammates upgrade becomes part of his base kit, and two new upgrades extend marks to 12 seconds or add 10 seconds of battery.
Akimbo Wingman and Strongholds
The Akimbo Wingman is the first new akimbo weapon since the system arrived in Season 22. It is a burst weapon: each trigger pull fires both revolvers one after the other. To make room for it, the Hemlok Breach AR is vaulted and the regular Hemlok Burst AR returns.
Strongholds are a new airdrop. One lands per match alongside normal Care Packages, carrying crate weapons, gold guns, corrupted attachments and EVO. Each one is locked when it lands, and squads must capture and hold the area around it to open it, which sets off an alarm that tells nearby squads where you are. They also bring their own cover.
Legend buffs and nerfs
Legend | Change in Cipher |
|---|---|
Crypto | Drone battery (25s), enemy marking, one-press EMP, line-of-sight EMP damage |
Lifeline | Heals while gliding; Tactical cooldown upgrade moved into base kit; new Revive Shield and Ultimate cooldown upgrades |
Revenant | Tactical cooldown cut by 5s, Ultimate by 30s; knocks always add 5s to the Ultimate; three new upgrades |
Loba | Tactical 25s to 30s, Ultimate 120s to 150s |
Weapons | Prowler and Nemesis nerfed; Hemlok Burst AR returns |
Source: EA, Cipher Designer's Notes (30 October 2026).
Ranked also changes: Diamond lobbies and above get Legend Bans, where each player votes and the most-voted Legends are more likely to be banned that match. District's night-time version returns too.
Confirmed and unconfirmed
Confirmed: the 3 November start, 2 November patch notes, the changes above, a Major Ranked Update and the Kings Canyon Evolved map rework in Season 32 in early 2027.
Not confirmed: the exact launch time and the full numbers for the Prowler and Nemesis nerfs, which should arrive with the patch notes.
Apex Legends is free to play on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2 and PC through the EA app, Epic and Steam. If the update won't install, see our PS5 troubleshooting guide, our Xbox Series X won't download games guide or our Switch 2 troubleshooting guide. Hardware details are on our PlayStation 5 page.
In India the game is free on every platform too, and the start time in IST will follow once EA confirms the UTC time.
Sources & verification
Sources last verified on . This article covers published information, not hands-on testing.
Editorial & update notes
First published 31 Oct 2026 with primary-source citations.
