Apex Legends Season 31 Cipher Starts November 3: Crypto Rework, Akimbo Wingman, Strongholds and Loba Nerfs

Apex Legends has a new season on the way, and this time there's no new Legend or new map in the spotlight. Instead, Season 31: Cipher is built around fixing the characters players stopped picking. Crypto gets the biggest rework he's had since launch, Revenant and Lifeline get substantial buffs, Loba is pulled back down, and a new air drop called the Stronghold gives squads something else to fight over.

Respawn revealed the season in a gameplay trailer and a preview post on October 29, then followed up with detailed designer's notes on October 30. The season launches on November 3, 2026, with full patch notes due a day earlier, on November 2.

Crypto: from passive spotter to active hunter

Respawn didn't hide why Crypto is getting attention: its own pick-rate chart shows him sitting barely above zero for well over a year. The rework changes how his drone works at the most basic level.

• Battery instead of cooldown. The Surveillance Drone now runs on a 25-second battery. When it runs dry, the drone flies back to Crypto on its own. You can also pick it up and redeploy it.
• Automatic marking. The drone now scans a full 360-degree radius and marks enemies it sees with an icon that lasts 8 seconds and shows through walls. Marks stay up even if the drone is destroyed or recalled. EA's preview post calls this behavior Sentry Mode.
• Less busywork. Scanning doors and loot bins is gone, so the drone is now purely about finding people.
• Faster EMP. His Ultimate can now be fired with a single button press, even when the drone is stowed: if the Ultimate is ready, it deploys the drone and triggers the EMP in one go. If the drone is already out, pressing Ultimate fires it. While piloting, it's the Ultimate button on PC and the weapon-swap button on console.
• Line of sight matters. Enemies hit by the EMP without drone line of sight take 50 shield damage and a slight slow. Enemies the drone can actually see take full shield damage and a stronger slow.

His passive also changes. The speed boost when running toward teammates, previously the Ally.MoveTo() upgrade, is now part of his base kit. That upgrade slot is replaced by one that raises the mark duration to 12 seconds. The Hackathon upgrade is removed, and a new one called Charged Up adds 10 seconds of drone battery.

Revenant gets faster and deadlier

Revenant's usage has collapsed, according to Respawn's data: the share of players maining him each week fell from around 7–8% last winter to about 2% by October. Two former upgrades are now baked into his base kit: a 5-second shorter Tactical cooldown and a faster attack and charge-up on Shadow Pounce.

His Ultimate cooldown drops by 30 seconds. The old 35-second cap on the Ultimate timer is also removed, and every knock during the Ultimate now adds 5 seconds. His upgrades are reshuffled to suit the more aggressive style:

Lifeline's Revive Shield returns

Lifeline is still popular in lower ranks, but Respawn's figures show her pick rate sliding from about 10% in Unranked to 1.5% or less in Diamond and above. Her changes aim at that high end:

• The 10-second Tactical cooldown reduction that used to be an upgrade is now part of her base kit.
• She now heals with her Tactical while gliding, and her Improved Gliding upgrade gets better handling and a longer duration.
• The BattPack upgrade (an extra battery slot) is removed, and Enhanced Radio moves to level 3.
• Level 3 adds two new choices: Revive Shield, which brings back her old passive shield that protects the teammate being revived, and an upgrade that cuts her Ultimate cooldown by 60 seconds.

Loba nerfs

Not every Legend is getting help. Respawn is reversing the cooldown cuts Loba got in her recent buff:

The designer's notes also look back at the Axle nerfs from the October 1 hotfix, including the change that means her Kickstart drone now has to be fired from farther away to deliver its stronger knockback.

Akimbo Wingman and weapon changes

The headline weapon is the Akimbo Wingman, the first new akimbo option since Season 22 and the first akimbo weapon that fires in bursts: the two pistols shoot one after the other in a quick double tap. Respawn hasn't shared its numbers yet, so damage and handling details will have to wait for the full patch notes.

Elsewhere, the Prowler and Nemesis are both being nerfed after rising usage and win rates. Respawn's data puts the Prowler at the top for share of knockdowns and encounter win rate. The Hemlok Breach AR is vaulted, and the standard Hemlok Burst AR returns. A new Mythic Volt SMG skin called Cryptic Core can drop from Cipher Seasonal Packs, though EA notes those packs aren't offered in every region.

Strongholds: a new air drop to fight over

Strongholds are a new kind of air drop that EA describes as the next step after Care Packages. One lands each match, on top of the regular Care Packages. When it touches down it's locked, and it puts up dynamic cover around itself. To open it, your squad has to capture and hold the area around it, while other teams can contest the capture and steal the reward. Opening one also sets off an alarm.

Inside are Care Package weapons, gold weapons and other rare loot. Where a Stronghold lands depends on the terrain and on where the ring is.

Ranked and map notes

EA's preview post confirms Legend bans for Ranked lobbies in Diamond and above: each player gets one vote to ban a Legend. On the map side, District goes back to night time after spending some time in daylight since its recent rework. Further out, Respawn says Season 32 brings a major map update called Kings Canyon Evolved, with the reworked map arriving in early 2027.

Why it matters

Cipher is a "fix what's broken" season rather than a content drop, and that's not a bad thing. Crypto, Revenant and Lifeline have all slipped out of the competitive meta, and the changes go well past small number tweaks. Strongholds and Legend bans could shake up high-level play even more. The full patch notes on November 2 should fill in the missing numbers, especially for the Akimbo Wingman and the Prowler and Nemesis nerfs, before the season goes live on November 3.