Apex Legends Season 31, Cipher, arrives on November 3rd. The Apex Legends Season 31 patch notes bring the Akimbo Wingman, a new Stronghold airdrop, Legend Banning in Diamond+ Ranked and a sizeable Crypto rework. Here is what changed before you drop into the Apex Games. You can also watch the Cipher gameplay trailer for a first look.
Akimbo Wingman: Double the Firepower
The Wingman is getting a dual-wield variant. Akimbo Wingman is a strong option at close and mid range, and you can find it in ground loot or at Heavy Arsenals. Looting a second Wingman automatically puts you into Akimbo mode.
- Ammo changes from Sniper Ammo to Heavy Ammo and it takes Heavy Magazines.
- Base damage drops from 50 to 45.
- In Akimbo mode the headshot multiplier drops to 1.25x, for 56 headshot damage.
- Rate of fire is slightly higher, but reload time and recoil increase and magazine size doubles.
- Each gun fires one after the other in a quick burst, and holding the trigger keeps the bursts going.
Strongholds Join the Mid-Game Airdrops
Strongholds are locked, bunker-style structures that airdrop near the mid game alongside Care Packages and Replicators. On landing they crush and kill anything underneath and deploy dynamic cover, including up to four indestructible barriers and two Hardlight frames if there is room.
To capture one, a team must control the zone around it. Progress only builds when a single team is alive in the zone, it is contested when several teams are present, and it cannot decay. Teammates speed up the capture. When it reaches 100%, the doors and roof hatch open and every living member of the capturing team gains a level.
Strongholds cannot be entered until captured, cannot be stolen from by Loba, and cannot be breached by Alter until captured. Their loot includes one Care Package weapon, three Gold Guns, three Amps and two Corrupted Attachments.
Airdrop timing is also updated: two Care Packages drop at the Round 1 closing, while one Care Package and one Stronghold drop at the Round 2 closing.
Ranked: Legend Banning and Scoring Adjustments
Ranked gets two changes this season. Legend Banning launches in Diamond+ matches, letting players vote for Legends to be banned from selection in each match. Scoring adjustments for wide-skill lobbies also go live at season start, changing entry costs when your Rank sits far above or below the median lobby rank. For more on what is coming, see the Ranked Roadmap.
Crypto Rework and Other Legend Changes
Crypto gets the biggest overhaul. His Ally speed boost is now part of his base kit, though slightly weaker. His drone now runs on a 25-second battery. Recalling the drone takes 6 seconds, and it can then be redeployed with no cooldown. The base scan zone is now 360 degrees instead of camera view only, while marking targets enemies in the drone’s line of sight, with a 4-second cooldown on the mark. Marks last 8 seconds. His EMP ultimate can be triggered from a self-deploying drone without harming Crypto himself.
Other Legends see tuning too. Lifeline’s Tactical cooldown drops from 25 to 15 seconds and her D.O.C. now heals her while gliding. Revenant’s Tactical cooldown falls from 20 to 15 seconds and his ultimate from 180 to 150 seconds. Loba is nerfed, with her Tactical cooldown raised from 25 to 30 seconds and her ultimate from 120 to 150 seconds. Axle’s changes from the hotfix on October 1st, 2026 also reduce slide control and Nitro Gate speed.
Weapon, Attachment and Burst Fire Updates
The L-Star EMG returns to floor loot with lower damage, a smaller stockpile and no Redline Hop-Up. Akimbo Mozambique joins the Care Package with slightly higher pellet damage and an added Executioner Hop-Up. The Hemlok Burst AR returns in place of the Breach variant, and the Prowler, Nemesis and Peacekeeper all get recoil or rate-of-fire tweaks. Burst weapons, including the Akimbo Wingman, now support tap-fire queuing.
Maps and Wildcard
The patch includes 99 quality-of-life fixes across the rotation, focused on Storm Point, Olympus and World’s Edge, and E-District Night receives lighting and visibility improvements. Pubs and Ranked both rotate through Storm Point, E-District Night and Broken Moon.
Wild Cards are now granted at the start of Rounds 1, 2 and 3 through a selection menu at the top of the HUD, and Replicators are removed from Wildcard. The November 3rd to 9th Wildcard rotation is District and Broken Moon.
Source: Apex Legends Cipher patch notes (Steam/EA)