Apex Legends

#### Table of Contents{#toc} - [Legend Bans and Scoring Adjustments](#legend-bans-scoring-adjustments) - [Akimbo Wingman](#akimbo-wingman) - [Strongholds](#strongholds) - [Patch Notes](#patch-notes) - [Legend Buffs](#legend-buffs) - [Weapons & Attachments](#weapons-attachments) - [Maps](#maps) - [Wildcard](#wildcard) - [Ranked](#ranked) - [Bug Fixes](#bug-fixes) - [Quality of Life](#quality-of-life) --- ## CIPHER OVERVIEW Apex Legends: Cipher is here!

It’s bringing new features, new weapon combos, and big changes to Ranked alongside the usual slew of bug fixes and balancing passes.

Read on for info about the Akimbo Wingman, Strongholds, new Ranked features and more!

Season 31 begins on November 3rd, so get the squad together and get ready to jump into Apex Legends: Cipher!

## RANKED LEGEND BANNING AND SCORING ADJUSTMENTS{#legend-bans-scoring-adjustments} We recently unveiled upcoming plans for new features, quality of life improvements, and adjustments coming to Ranked over the next two seasons.

Starting in Cipher, we’re launching Legend Banning in Diamond+ matches, allowing you to vote for Legends to be banned from selection for each match.

Scoring adjustments for wide-skill matches will also be live at season start and will adjust entry costs if your Rank is too far above or below the median lobby rank.

Read on for all of the details, or circle back to [the Ranked Roadmap blog](https://www.ea.com/games/apex-legends/news/ranked-roadmap-31-32) to see what’s still on the horizon.

[*Back to Top*](#toc) ## AKIMBO WINGMAN{#akimbo-wingman}  The Wingman’s firepower is being doubled.

Akimbo Wingman joins the weapon roster as a formidable foe at close and mid-range, leaving Legends’ bodies in its wake.

Find them in ground loot, or at Heavy Arsenals, and gear up to become the fastest gun-slinger in the Apex Games.

- Ammo type changed from Sniper Ammo to Heavy Ammo - Now takes Heavy Magazines instead of Sniper Magazines - Now spawns on Heavy Ammo Arsenals instead of Sniper Ammo Arsenals - Base damage decreased from 50 to 45 - Loot a second Wingman to automatically enter Akimbo - Akimbo Mode: - Decreases headshot multiplier to 1.25x - Headshot damage: 56 - Slightly increases rate of fire - Increases reload time - Increases recoil - Magazine size is doubled - Firing the Akimbo Wingman will cause each gun to fire one after the other, in a quick burst - Holding down the trigger releases subsequent bursts [*Back to Top*](#toc) ## STRONGHOLDS{#strongholds} Now Dropping into the Apex Games: the Stronghold.

In addition to our existing Care Packages and Replicators, these new Structures will airdrop onto the map near the mid game.

Strongholds are locked, bunker-style structures that deploy dynamic cover and contain valuable loot.

Players must occupy and control the zone surrounding the Stronghold to capture them.

When captured, Strongholds will unlock, rewarding one level up to the capturing team.

The loot contents of Strongholds will be a mix of rare loot, including Care Package weapons.

[*Back to Top*](#toc) ## PATCH NOTES{#patch-notes} ### LEGEND BUFFS{#legend-buffs} #### Crypto *Dev note: Crypto is a very difficult Legend to play but a lot of the time he’s camping in his drone instead of fighting with his team.

It shows which perks he's lost, and which perks he's gained.](https://drop-assets.ea.com/images/4QKnOD54GDKDEQemQ9P8qo/86ff464499b9adb9f4f806963489f8d2/03._Crypto_Upgrade_Tree.png?im=AspectCrop=%2816,9%29,xPosition=0.7369791666666666,yPosition=0.5305555555555556) **LVL 2 - Ally.MoveTo( )** (Speed Boost towards teammates) replaced by **Got Eyes On You** (Enemies remain marked for 4s longer) **LVL 3 - Hackathon** (Speed up drone recharge rate) replaced by **Charged Up** (10s longer drone battery lifetime ) #### Lifeline *Dev note: Lifeline is a great healer and can offer some clutch revives but we are seeing her playrate drop off as you climb ranks.

We wanted to bring back some nostalgia by utilizing Upgrades to contribute to a feeling of stronger end game build.* **Passive** - D.O.C.

now heals Lifeline while she is gliding **Tactical** - Reduced Tactical cooldown from 25s to 15s **Upgrades** ![Comparison of upgrade trees for Lifeline from S30 to S31.

It shows what perks has been lost what's replaced them, and which perks have been moved around.](https://drop-assets.ea.com/images/4KT9QOG0iFbUgYkajF22Fs/836e905695f2627c2ec0035f5dfb7b79/04._Lifeline_Upgrade_Tree.png?im=AspectCrop=%2816,9%29,xPosition=0.7286458333333333,yPosition=0.5509259259259259) - **LVL 2 - BattPack** (+1 battery slots) replaced by **Enhanced Radio (moved from LVL3)** (Increased assign distance) - **LVL 2 - Improved Flight** provides better glide handling and increased duration - **LVL 3 - Enhanced Radio (moved to LVL2)** (Increased assign distance) is replaced by **Ultimate Cooldown** (60 second ultimate cooldown reduction) **LVL 3 - Tactical Cooldown** (Reduce Tactical cooldown by 10 seconds) replaced by **Revive Shield** (D.O.C.

deploys shield while reviving) #### Revenant *Dev note: We wanted to give Revenant some more interesting choices with his Upgrades.

So for this update we’ve added 3 new Upgrades and integrated the removed ones into his base kit.

This will make him more enjoyable and powerful to play out of the gate.* **Tactical** - Reduced Tactical cooldown from 20s to 15s - Sped up Tactical charge time **Ultimate** - Reduced Ultimate cooldown from 180s to 150s **Upgrades** ![Comparison of upgrade trees for Revenant from S30 to S31.

It shows what perks he's lost, and which perks he's gained.](https://drop-assets.ea.com/images/4LsljtGfCYDQDrYbde5WQN/4e8da8d672b476e6202c42670b38345a/05._Revenant_Upgrade_Tree.png?im=AspectCrop=%2816,9%29,xPosition=0.734375,yPosition=0.5101851851851852) - **LVL 2 - Ultimate Cooldown** (Ultimate cooldown reduced by 30s) replaced by **Ever Lasting** (10s Ult extension time on knock) - **LVL 3 - Tactical Cooldown** (Tactical cooldown reduced by 5s) replaced by **Silence** (Landing from a Tactical leap releases an AOE pulse that silences enemies) - **LVL 3 - Agile Assassin** (Tactical attack and charge time faster) replaced by **No Escape** (Tactical refreshes when an enemy is marked by Passive ) #### Loba *Dev note: Loba has been performing really well since her buffs and the changes to loot.

We feel like the uptime on her abilities is a little high so we’re going to adjust her cooldowns.* **Tactical** - Increased cooldown from 25s to 30s **Ultimate** - Increased cooldown from 120s to 150s #### Axle (from Oct.

This made sequential bursts feel sluggish when tap firing the weapon.

Currently the Prowler is out-competing nearly all other SMGs* ***and*** *ARs in a variety of contexts.

Nerfing its recoil will mean the gun remains deadly at close range, but less reliable at distance, so it isn’t out-performing ARs at medium range.* **Prowler Burst PDW** - Increased recoil - Removed Selectfire Hop-Up ### ATTACHMENTS **Rapid Sniper Stock [Corrupted]** - Reduced rate of fire multiplier from 1.2x to 1.1x on: - G7 Scout - Longbow DMR - Triple Take ### LOCKED HOP-UPS **Double Tap Trigger** - Removed from: EVA-8 Auto **Disruptor Rounds** - Added to: EVA-8 Auto [375 points to unlock] **Selectfire Receiver** - Removed from: Prowler Burst PDW [*Back to Top*](#toc) ## MAPS{#maps} *Dev note: In this patch, we’ve rolled out* ***99 targeted Quality of Life*** *fixes across our map rotation with a heavy focus on elevating the competitive flow of* ***Storm Point, Olympus and World’s Edge****.

Our level designers and environment artists have been hard at work smoothing out sticky collisions to keep movement fluid, patching up troublesome geo holes and permanently sealing off unintended rat spots to keep matches fair.* *We also wanted to extend a huge thank you to the community.

Your detailed bug reports and gameplay clips are incredibly helpful for tracking down these hidden terrain issues.

As always, hop in-game, test it out and let us know your feelings on it!* - Wild Cards are now granted to players at the beginning of Rounds 1, 2, and 3 via a selection UI at the top of the player’s HUD - Replicators have been removed from Wildcard **Map Rotation** - November 3rd, 2026 - November 9th, 2026 - District Wildcard - Broken Moon Wildcard - December 1st, 2026- January 5th, 2027 - Olympus Wildcard - District Wildcard - Broken Moon Wildcard [*Back to Top*](#toc) ## RANKED{#ranked} ### Legend Bans This season introduces a new system that allows players to select Legends they would like to see banned at the start of each Diamond+ match.

The Legend banning system is designed to help disrupt dominant Legend meta match-over-match.

In the new match starting flow, each player may request one Legend to ban.

When the request timer ends, all requests are collected and tallied.

A Legend's chance of being banned equals its share of all requests.

For example, if Wraith receives 80% of the lobby's requests, Wraith has an 80% chance of being banned on the first randomized selection.

Currently, the system selects 2 Legends to ban.

If fewer than 4 unique Legends are requested, the system picks from the previous week's most played Legends and adds 1 request to each, bringing the total unique Legends that have a possibility to be banned to the minimum of 4.

Once all banned Legends have been chosen, all players will proceed to Legend selection, with the currently banned Legends unavailable for selection.

### Scoring Adjustments for Wide Matches *Dev Note: We are continuing to experiment with ways to improve the matchmaking experience, and in the meantime we want to account for frustrating and unfair matches in the scoring system.

We landed on this system of decreasing entry cost for disadvantaged teams AND increasing it for advantaged teams as it best reflects the differences in RP earned while also avoiding making the RP system inflationary.* We are adding new Ranked Match Types to account for times when your squad is unfairly matched.

These should be uncommon, usually occurring when playing outside of peak hours, but when they occur your entry cost will be fairly adjusted.

- Challenger Match - discounts entry cost by 30% when your Squad Tier is 2+ tiers below the Lobby Tier.

- Goliath Match - increases entry cost by 50% when your Squad Tier is 2+ tiers above the Lobby Tier.

If you are in a Goliath or Challenger Match, you will be told on the Waiting for Players screen and when you exit the dropship.

Your Squad Tier is calculated from the average RP of each squadmate, though all premade squadmates’ RPs are treated as equal to the value of the highest squadmate’s RP within their premade group.

- For example, if you are in a two person premade and you have the highest RP at 5,000 RP, your premade teammate's RP will also be treated as 5,000 RP.

A player who is not a part of your premade will have no RP adjustment.

- If a teammate never connects, your Squad Tier is decreased by one full tier.

The match’s Lobby Tier is the median of all Squad Tiers.

### Improved Ranked UI Reworked the Ranked Waiting for Players screen.

- Added Squad Tier - Added Lobby Tier - Displays current Entry Cost - Displays a small pip for your Squad’s exact position in the Match Distribution - Now lists your entire team even before individual members connect - Added Match Type information ![Image showing the entry cost (65RP) for a Platinum ranked match.

Also shows lobby tier of ranks, with the example being 6 Golds, 9 platinums, and 5 diamonds.](https://drop-assets.ea.com/images/6kdRzbFR2TBhu6KkoVVey2/2d4953ab02ba96d221bd0effb1bda81e/10._Standard_Match.png?im=AspectCrop=%2816,9%29,xPosition=0.6087465833658727,yPosition=0.6013888888888889) **Added a new “Ranked” tab in the inventory menu.** - Shows Ranked information about your squad and the match - Highlights relevant RP goals - covering your entry cost and promoting to the next division - Includes replacing your lowest ladder score and exiting demotion protection, when relevant - Displays RP scoring rules - The inventory button still pulls up the “Inventory” tab ![Image showing new ranked tab in inventory menu.

It shows ranked info about your squad and match, relevant RP goals, like your lowest ladder score and exiting demotion protection, and RP scoring rules.](https://drop-assets.ea.com/images/5q1BNMqsxfxb9nFu6gZz8N/39442163f8b38d0e330ffe29b60e6f53/11._Ranked_Tab.png?im=AspectCrop=%2816,9%29,xPosition=0.654296875,yPosition=0.4441360166551006) ### Additional Ranked Improvements: *Dev Note: This season, we did a general pass to improve clarity around all things Ranked.

We want to increase the amount of information people have about their match experience and make it visible throughout their match, instead of only showing it at the start of the match (a.k.a.

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