Apex Legends Cipher Patch Notes: Akimbo Wingman, Strongholds, Crypto Rework and Ranked Legend Bans

Apex Legends Cipher, the game's Season 31, starts today, 3 November. Respawn's patch notes bring the dual-wield Akimbo Wingman, airdropped Strongholds full of rare loot, a big Crypto rework with a battery-powered drone, buffs for Lifeline and Revenant, nerfs to Loba and the Prowler, and Legend banning in Diamond-and-above Ranked matches. The update also cuts the game's install size by about 30 GB on most platforms.

Apex Legends Cipher at a glance

When does Apex Legends Cipher start?

Respawn says "Season 31 begins on 3 November". EA didn't list a start time in the patch notes. Respawn warns the Season 30 and 31 patches are larger than usual because textures were recompressed, but once installed the game takes about 30 GB less space than in Season 29 on most platforms, and about 17 GB less on Switch 2.

How does the Akimbo Wingman work?

The Wingman now switches to Heavy ammo and Heavy magazines, spawns at Heavy Ammo Arsenals and drops from 50 to 45 base damage. Loot a second Wingman and you automatically go Akimbo:

• The two guns fire one after the other in a quick burst; holding the trigger keeps the bursts coming.
• Magazine size doubles and fire rate rises slightly.
• Headshot multiplier drops to 1.25x (56 headshot damage), with longer reloads and more recoil.

The Akimbo Mozambique also moves into the Care Package, with the Executioner Hop-Up and 15 shields healed per second, while the L-Star returns to floor loot (nerfed) and the Hemlok Burst AR replaces the Hemlok Breach AR.

What are Strongholds in Apex Legends?

Strongholds are locked, bunker-style structures that airdrop onto the map during the Round 2 closing, alongside the usual Care Packages. Watch where they land: they crush and kill anything underneath. On landing they put up to four indestructible barriers and two Hardlight frames around them.

• To capture one, be the only team alive in its zone. Progress is shared and never decays, and it's faster with more teammates inside.
• Loba can't steal from it and Alter can't breach it until it's captured.
• When captured, the doors and roof hatch open and every living squad member levels up.
• Inside: one Care Package weapon, three Gold guns, three Amps and two Corrupted attachments.

What changed for Crypto in Season 31?

Respawn says Crypto spent too much time "camping in his drone". His drone now runs on a 25-second battery; when it's recalled (6 seconds) you can redeploy it straight away with no cooldown. Enemies in the drone's line of sight can be scanned and marked for 8 seconds (4-second cooldown), and the mark stays even if the drone is destroyed. The scan now covers 360 degrees and ignores loot bins and doors. His EMP Ultimate can now be fired from a self-deploying drone without piloting it: full shield damage and a heavy slow with line of sight, 50 damage and a lighter slow without. His speed boost towards teammates is now part of his base kit.

Which other Legends were buffed or nerfed?

• Lifeline (buff): D.O.C. heals her while gliding, Tactical cooldown down from 25 to 15 seconds, and new upgrades including a shield while D.O.C. revives.
• Revenant (buff): Tactical cooldown 20 to 15 seconds, Ultimate 180 to 150 seconds, and three new upgrades: Ever Lasting, Silence and No Escape.
• Loba (nerf): Tactical cooldown up from 25 to 30 seconds, Ultimate from 120 to 150 seconds.
• Prowler (nerf): more recoil and no Selectfire Hop-Up, so it's less reliable at range. Burst weapons now support tap-fire queuing.

How do Legend bans work in Apex Ranked?

In Diamond and above, each player can request one Legend to ban at the start of a match. A Legend's chance of being banned matches its share of the requests (80% of requests means an 80% chance), and two Legends are banned per match. If fewer than four Legends are requested, last week's most-played Legends fill the gaps.

Ranked also gets Challenger Matches (30% cheaper entry when your squad is two or more tiers below the lobby) and Goliath Matches (50% more expensive when you're two or more tiers above), a reworked waiting screen, a new Ranked tab and RP shown in the kill feed. Ranked Ladders run weekly from 10 November to 13 December. See Respawn's Ranked roadmap for what's next.

Which maps are in rotation in Apex Legends Cipher?

Pubs and Ranked both rotate Storm Point, E-District Night and Broken Moon. E-District Night has been relit so players are easier to see in dark areas. Respawn also made 99 map fixes and sealed over 35 "rat" hiding spots. Wildcard now hands out Wild Cards at the start of Rounds 1, 2 and 3, and Mixtape runs TDM, Control and Gun Run on its own maps until 5 January 2027.

Is Apex Legends free?

Yes, Apex Legends is free-to-play on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and Switch 2. About 143,000 people were playing on Steam when we checked on 3 November, the day Cipher launched.

Watch the Apex Legends Cipher gameplay trailer

The official Cipher gameplay trailer from the Apex Legends YouTube channel.

More Apex Legends on iGame Magazine

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• Apex Legends Ranked Mode Offline After Respawn Took Action: the time Respawn took Ranked offline

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