Covers Respawn's 20 October ranked roadmap for Season 31 and Season 32. New: what it means for your rank, a team-kill RP example and Season 31–32 FAQs.
On 20 October 2026, Respawn published its ranked roadmap for Seasons 31 and 32. Legend Bans and Lobby Tiers arrive with Season 31 in November. Season 32 then adds Iron, Emerald and Grandmaster, splits ranked into two leagues and changes how RP is scored. This page covers what's confirmed for each season, what it means at your rank and how ranked works until then. We update it at the start of every season and split.
Key takeaways
- Season 31 (November 2026) adds Legend Bans to Diamond+ matches and Lobby Tiers that raise or lower the entry cost. It also makes Demotion Shields visible and sets level 20 as the only requirement for Ranked.
- Season 32 (early 2027) replaces Rookie with Iron, adds Emerald and Grandmaster, and splits ranked into an Open League and a Pro-Am League.
- In Season 32, every team kill gives full kill RP, assists stop counting, and the Predator badge goes to the top 750 of Grandmaster at the end of the season.
- Respawn warns you may not climb as far in Season 32 while RP is rebalanced. No RP values are out yet.
- Until then, Diamond matches cost 65 RP and Master and Predator matches cost 90 RP. There is no hard kill cap, but elimination value is reduced after eight.
What's Coming in Season 31 (November 2026)New
Season 30 ends on 3 November 2026, according to Respawn's 6 October update. Respawn hasn't announced the exact Season 31 start date or its reset rules yet. Its ranked roadmap, published on 20 October, lists four changes for Season 31 and says more are on the way. We'll check them against the Season 31 patch notes when they're out.
Legend Bans in Diamond+ Matches
Respawn is adding Legend Bans to high-ranked matches. Bans run alongside Drop Zone deployment, so, in Respawn's words, "any match with Diamond+ players will use the feature."
- A ban phase now comes before Legend selection. Each player picks one Legend they want banned.
- Once everyone has picked, or the timer runs out, each nominated Legend shows its chance of being banned. More votes mean a higher chance.
- The game then picks the bans at random, weighted by those percentages. Nobody in the match can play a banned Legend.
Getting the most votes doesn't guarantee a ban. Respawn says always banning the top-voted Legends would create a "banning meta" of its own, and the point of the system is to break up dominant picks. The roadmap doesn't say how many Legends are banned per match or whether any Legends are protected from bans, so treat claims about either as unconfirmed for now.
Lobby Tiers: Challenger and Goliath Matches
Every ranked lobby gets a Lobby Tier, shown when you load in. Respawn describes it as essentially the median of all squads. Despite the name, it's a rank, such as Gold or Platinum, not a tier from IV to I.
- Challenger Match: your squad is two or more ranks below the Lobby Tier. Your entry cost goes down.
- Goliath Match: your squad is two or more ranks above the Lobby Tier. Your entry cost goes up.
- Squads closer to the Lobby Tier pay the normal entry cost.
Respawn's example is a Gold lobby. Gold, Silver and Platinum squads pay normal costs, Bronze squads are Challengers and a Diamond squad is a Goliath. The adjusted cost appears before the match starts, so you know what you need to break even. Respawn hasn't published how big the adjustments are, and it says it will tune them. The change is aimed at the wide-skill lobbies that tend to form when fewer people are playing.
Ranked Access Returns to Level 20
The Road to Ranked challenges are being removed. Ranked will only require account level 20, although Respawn says it's still looking at the exact level threshold. Respawn says the challenges took some players too long and didn't work as well as a skill check as it had hoped.
Demotion Protection You Can See
Demotion protection already exists, but Respawn admits it was "unintentionally hidden". Season 31 shows it clearly in the interface. Here's how Respawn describes it:
- It switches on when a single match could demote you to a lower rank. A Goliath Match's higher entry cost is one example.
- While it's active, you have three Demotion Shields. Each time you'd lose enough RP to be demoted, one shield is used instead. You're only demoted once all three are gone.
- It ends when you gain enough RP that one match can no longer demote you, or when you use up your shields and drop a rank.
This is separate from the 250 RP protection you get after a split reset.
What's Coming in Season 32 (Early 2027)New
Season 32 brings the bigger overhaul. Respawn says more detail, including reward visuals, will come closer to launch, so everything below comes from the 20 October roadmap and may still change.
New Ranks: Iron, Emerald and Grandmaster
Ranked splits into two leagues:
| League | Ranks | How matches work |
|---|---|---|
| Open League | Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald | Dropship start, no Legend Bans, kills weighted slightly higher |
| Pro-Am League | Diamond, Master, Grandmaster | Drop Zones, Legend Bans, placement weighted higher |
- Iron replaces Rookie. It works like a standard rank, without the special rules Rookie has today.
- Emerald is new and sits between Platinum and Diamond, marking the line between the two leagues. It has four tiers and a new badge, and it will show on Auras. Respawn expects it to ease the bottleneck many players hit when they reach Diamond.
- Master gets four tiers. Today Master has none.
- Grandmaster is the new top rank. To earn a Predator badge, you need to finish the season in the top 750 of Grandmaster. The roadmap doesn't say whether that is still counted per platform.
Because Emerald is being added, Respawn is also rebalancing the RP needed to climb, and it warns that you may not get as far as you did in past seasons. RP thresholds, entry costs and how current ranks carry over into the new structure haven't been published yet.
Season 32 Scoring Changes
- Flat kill and placement values. Each kill will be worth a set amount of RP, and so will each placement. Today, kill RP grows with your final placement. Respawn says that encourages aggressive hot drops, then holding onto your kills through the rounds while their value grows.
- Team kills. You get full kill RP for every kill your team makes, whether you were involved or not. Assists and participation are removed.
- Entry cost by tier. Entry costs will rise at each tier (IV to I) rather than jumping only when you reach a new rank. Respawn says the current jumps create a wall, especially at Diamond.
- Different weighting by league. The Open League weighs kills slightly higher than placement. The Pro-Am League weighs placement higher, closer to how points work in ALGS.
Respawn hasn't released the new RP values yet.
Team-Kill RP: An Example
Say your trio finishes a match with six eliminations. One teammate got four of them, you got two, and you each assisted on one of the other's kills. Your third teammate played support and didn't damage any of the six.
| Player | What they did | Kill credit today | Kill credit in Season 32 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fragger | 4 kills, 1 assist, 1 squad kill with no damage | 4 + 1 + 0.5 = 5.5 | 6 |
| You | 2 kills, 1 assist, 3 squad kills with no damage | 2 + 1 + 1.5 = 4.5 | 6 |
| Support | 6 squad kills with no damage | 6 × 0.5 = 3 | 6 |
Today, the same six eliminations are worth different amounts to each player, and each credit is then multiplied by a value that grows with your placement. In Season 32, all three players get full kill RP for all six, at a flat value per kill. Because those values aren't out yet, the table compares kill credit rather than final RP.
In practice, the support player stops losing RP for not landing the last shot, and nobody gains by stealing kills from a teammate. In solo queue, more of your RP will depend on how your random teammates fight. The roadmap doesn't say whether Season 32 keeps anything like today's rule that halves kill value after eight.
Rewards and Ranked Ladders
Respawn lists these reward changes for Season 32:
- New seasonal Auras and new ways to use Auras
- A rethink of ranked dive trails
- Epic and Legendary Apex Packs
- Rewards when you're promoted, instead of waiting until the end of the season
Ranked Ladders go away in Season 32. Respawn says it's reworking limited-time competition and will share more next year.
Still Unconfirmed
- The Season 31 start date and season-start reset rules
- How many Legends are banned per match, and whether any are protected from bans
- How much Challenger and Goliath matches change the entry cost
- Season 32 RP thresholds, entry costs and kill and placement values
- How Season 31 ranks carry over into Iron to Grandmaster
- Whether the Predator top 750 stays per platform
What the Changes Mean for Your RankNew
Respawn hasn't published any Season 32 numbers yet, so this is how the announced rules land at each rank, not an RP forecast.
Bronze to Gold
- Season 31: Most matches won't feel different. Legend Bans only run in Diamond+ matches. When fewer people are playing and your lobby skews higher, you're more likely to get a Challenger Match and pay less to enter. With Road to Ranked gone, friends only need account level 20 to queue with you.
- Season 32: You're in the Open League: Dropship starts, no bans, and kills weighted slightly higher than placement. Kills no longer grow in value as you survive, so landing hot and then hiding to protect your kills stops paying off. Rookie becomes Iron.
Platinum
- Season 31: Platinum is where the new systems start to reach you. Respawn says "any match with Diamond+ players" uses Legend Bans, so expect a ban phase in Platinum lobbies that include Diamond squads. If your squad is two or more ranks above a Silver lobby, that's a Goliath Match with a higher entry cost.
- Season 32: Platinum is no longer the last step before Diamond, because Emerald sits in between. Respawn is rebalancing the RP needed to climb, so a Platinum finish in Season 32 may not line up with Platinum today.
The Emerald and Diamond Wall
Today, the step into Diamond is where most climbs stall. The entry cost jumps from 48 RP in Platinum to 65 RP at Diamond IV, 17 RP more every match with nothing in between, and lobbies with enough Diamond+ players switch to Drop Zones. From Season 31, they also use Legend Bans, so your main may not be available.
Season 32 changes the wall in two ways. Entry costs rise tier by tier instead of jumping at Diamond IV, and Emerald adds four tiers between Platinum and Diamond. The trade-off is that Diamond becomes the entry to the Pro-Am League, where bans are standard, Drop Zones decide where you land and placement counts for more than kills. A kill-heavy style that works through Emerald will be worth less from Diamond onwards.
If you're stuck at the wall now and want the rank before the rules change, an Apex rank boost is played tier by tier by a top-750 booster on your platform. To stay on your own account, Rent a Booster to play ranked duos together, by the hour or per game. For the habits that keep players below Diamond, read our guide to getting out of Platinum.
Master and Predator
- Season 31: Every match has Legend Bans and Drop Zones. When the player population is low and your squad sits two or more ranks above the Lobby Tier, it's a Goliath Match with a higher entry cost than today's 90 RP. Visible Demotion Shields give you three chances before a match can drop you out of Master. Nothing in the roadmap changes how Predator works in Season 31: it's still the top 750 Master players per platform (today's Pred cap).
- Season 32: Master gets four tiers, and Grandmaster sits above it. To earn a Predator badge, you need to finish the season in the top 750 of Grandmaster. Respawn hasn't said how much RP Grandmaster takes or whether the top 750 is still counted per platform. For past badges, see our Apex Predator badges by season.
How Apex Ranked Works Right Now
Apex Ranks, RP and Entry Costs
Ranked has eight ranks until Season 32 changes the structure (see above). Rookie to Diamond each have four tiers, climbed from IV to I. Master has no tiers, and Apex Predator is the top 750 Master players on each platform. New players need account level 20 and the Road to Ranked challenges completed before they can queue ranked. Players who already had Ranked access before those challenges launched retain it. Respawn is removing Road to Ranked in Season 31, after which level 20 is the only requirement.
Entry costs rise as you climb, from zero RP in Rookie to 90 RP in Master and Predator. Placement, eliminations and bonuses add RP, but finishing in the top half does not guarantee that you recover the entry cost.
| Rank | Starts at | Tiers | Entry cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rookie | 0 RP | IV–I | 0 RP |
| Bronze | 1,000 RP | IV–I | 10 RP |
| Silver | 3,000 RP | IV–I | 20 RP |
| Gold | 5,250 RP | IV–I | 38 RP |
| Platinum | 8,500 RP | IV–I | 48 RP |
| Diamond | 12,000 RP | IV–I | 65 RP |
| Master | 16,000 RP | None | 90 RP |
| Apex Predator | Top 750 Master players per platform | None | 90 RP |
Need the RP for every tier? See the full tier-by-tier rank table.
These thresholds match our tier-by-tier rank table. EA Help currently gives conflicting Gold threshold and reset figures; check the in-game Ranked tab if its displayed RP differs. Entry costs are listed separately from the RP needed to reach a rank.
How RP Is Scored
Your placement sets the base score: the higher you finish, the more RP you earn. Kills add to it, and they're worth more the longer your squad survives.
- Each kill or assist counts as one kill. A squad kill where you dealt no damage counts as half.
- There's no hard kill cap in ranked: after 8 kills, each further kill, assist or participation is worth half.
- Eliminating a higher-ranked player adds a challenger bonus. The Season 27 patch notes increased the bonuses for opponents one, two and three ranks above you to +20%, +30% and +40%. EA Help still lists the older percentages, so the dated patch notes are the source used here.
- Consecutive top-5 finishes build a streak bonus: +10 RP on the second in a row, +20 on the third, +30 on the fourth and +40 on the fifth and every one after. A finish outside the top 5 resets it.
- Healing and reviving earn no RP directly.
For example, sixth place gives 40 placement RP. In Diamond, subtracting the 65 RP entry cost leaves −25 RP before eliminations or bonuses. A top-half finish alone is not enough to break even. Source: Showdown scoring update.
Split Resets
Each season runs in two splits. At the Split 2 reset on 15 September 2026:
- Bronze IV–I restarted at Bronze IV.
- All Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers restarted at Tier IV of their own rank, plus 250 RP of demotion protection.
- Diamond IV and III dropped to Platinum III.
- Diamond II and I dropped to Platinum II.
- Master and Predator dropped to Platinum I.
EA Help lists these reset destinations. Once you leave Rookie, you can't be placed back into it. At the start of a new season, your starting rank is based on your ranked MMR rather than a fixed reset table. Seasonal ranked rewards are based on the highest rank you reach in either split.
Premade Squads and Solo Queue
The lowest- and highest-ranked members of a premade squad must be no more than two ranks apart. Bronze with Gold is allowed; Bronze with Platinum is not. Tiers IV–I sit within each rank.
You can queue alone, but there is no separate permanent solo-only ranked queue. Respawn tested a stricter premade limit and a Diamond+ solo-only queue during Season 29, then confirmed in its 30 September results post that neither would become permanent. We covered what the tests found in our matchmaking test breakdown.
Dropship or Drop Zones?
Ranked uses both formats. Dropship matches have a Jumpmaster who chooses the landing spot. Lobbies that meet a threshold of Diamond, Master or Predator players use assigned Drop Zones. Respawn brought this hybrid system into effect after the Season 28 launch; EA Help describes the current rule. From Season 31, the matches that use Drop Zones also get a Legend Ban phase.
Apex Predator
Predator isn't a fixed RP number. It's the top 750 Master players on each platform, so the RP you need moves throughout the split and differs by platform. Check today's Pred cap for your platform.
Rank Distribution
There is no official live census covering every ranked player. Community trackers such as Apex Legends Status show the accounts they track, rather than the entire player base.
Check the tracker's season, split, platform and activity filters before comparing percentages. A snapshot shows where those accounts are now; it does not show the highest rank players have ever reached.
Ranked Ladders and Rewards
Ranked Ladders run alongside normal ranked in five-day windows, extended from shorter windows at the start of Season 30. You need at least five ranked matches in a window, and your score is your best five RP results. Ladder reward levels are based on your leaderboard position. The Champion trail is tied to a challenge requiring two Champion completions, following the Season 27 reduction from three. Check the in-game Compete tab for the current reward challenge; one Champion finish alone is not the full requirement. The last Season 30 window closes on 1 November 2026. Respawn says Ladders go away in Season 32 while it reworks limited-time competition.
Ranked Map Rotation
Ranked plays on a rotating set of maps rather than all maps at once, with the map changing every 4 hours and 30 minutes. Check which map is up now and which comes next in our ranked map rotation tool.
Ranked Changes by Season
Season 32 (announced for early 2027) Iron replaces Rookie, and Emerald and Grandmaster are added. Ranked splits into the Open League (Iron to Emerald) and the Pro-Am League (Diamond to Grandmaster). Kill and placement RP become flat values, every team kill gives full kill RP, assists and participation are removed, and entry costs rise at each tier. Ranked Ladders are removed. These are announced plans, not patch notes.
Season 31 (announced for November 2026) Legend Bans in Diamond+ matches, Lobby Tiers with Challenger and Goliath entry costs, level 20 as the only requirement for Ranked, and visible Demotion Protection. These are announced plans, not patch notes.
Season 30: Marked (August 2026) Launched 4 August. Ranked Ladder windows were extended to five days. Split 2 started on 15 September with the reset described above. On 20 October, Respawn published its ranked roadmap for Seasons 31 and 32. The season ends on 3 November.
Season 29: Overclocked (May 2026) Respawn ran two temporary matchmaking tests: a one-rank limit on premade squads, and a solo-only queue for Diamond and above. Respawn published the results on 30 September 2026 and confirmed that neither test would become permanent.
Season 28: Breach (February 2026) The season launched with the normal Dropship replacing assigned Drop Zones, but that was not the final rule. Respawn subsequently introduced a hybrid system: Dropship for some lobbies and Drop Zones for qualifying high-ranked lobbies. The 17 February update confirmed that system was live.
Season 27: Amped (November 2025) The Amped patch notes increased kill RP at every placement, with first-place kills rising from 20 to 22 RP. Respawn rebalanced Ranked Drop Zone loot to reduce differences between points of interest. The Ranked Ladder Champion Dive Trail requirement also dropped from three completions to two.
Season 24: Takeover (February 2025) The Takeover ranked updates introduced Road to Ranked challenges for new players and returning players who were not yet eligible. Level 20 remained the minimum requirement, while existing players above level 20 kept access. Every party member needed to meet the eligibility requirements before the group could queue for Ranked. Respawn plans to remove these challenges in Season 31.
Season 23: From the Rift (November 2024) The From the Rift ranked updates added a live skill display during loading that showed actual ranks across the lobby. Entry costs fell to 45 RP in Platinum, 65 in Diamond and 90 in Master+. These figures describe Season 23; use the current entry-cost table above for today's rules.
Earlier seasons Splits have been part of ranked since Season 4. They were removed in Season 17 and brought back in Season 20. Entry costs, kill caps and reset rules have been adjusted many times since, so for current numbers, always go by the current rules above or the in-game Ranked tab.
Apex Ranked FAQ
What's the difference between Grandmaster and Predator?
From Season 32, Grandmaster is the top rank you climb to with RP, one step above Master. Predator is tied to the end of the season: to earn the Predator badge, you need to finish the season in the top 750 of Grandmaster. Respawn hasn't said whether that top 750 is still counted per platform, as it is today.
Do assists still count for RP in Apex ranked?
Yes, until Season 32. Today, an assist counts as a full kill, and a squad kill where you dealt no damage counts as half. In Season 32, assists and participation are removed because every player gets full kill RP for every kill their team makes. See the team-kill example above.
What's changing with ranked Dive Trails?
Respawn says it's revisiting ranked Dive Trails in Season 32, alongside new seasonal Auras, Epic and Legendary Apex Packs and rewards when you're promoted. It hasn't shown the new trails or said how you'll earn them. Ranked Ladders, whose Champion challenge awards a Dive Trail today, end in Season 32.
When does Apex Season 31 start?
Respawn says November 2026. Season 30 ends on 3 November 2026, and a new Apex season normally starts as the last one ends, but Respawn hasn't confirmed the Season 31 launch date or its ranked reset rules yet.
Will Season 32 ranked be harder?
Probably, at least to reach the same rank name. Emerald adds four tiers between Platinum and Diamond, and Respawn warns that, because RP is being rebalanced, you may not get as far as you did in past seasons. Entry costs rising tier by tier instead of jumping at Diamond should soften the Diamond wall. No RP values have been published yet.
How many divisions does Emerald have?
Four, from IV to I, the same as Platinum and Diamond. Respawn calls these divisions; this page calls them tiers. Emerald also gets its own badge and shows on Auras. Its RP thresholds haven't been published.
Is Apex adding Legend bans to ranked?
Yes, from Season 31 in November 2026. Diamond+ matches get a ban phase where each player nominates one Legend. Bans are then drawn at random, and Legends with more votes have a higher chance of being banned. Banned Legends can't be picked by anyone in that match.
What are the new Apex ranks?
From Season 32, planned for early 2027, the ranks are Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Emerald in the Open League, and Diamond, Master and Grandmaster in the Pro-Am League. Iron replaces Rookie and works like a standard rank. Emerald and Grandmaster are new.
What is the Pro-Am League in Apex?
The Pro-Am League is the Season 32 league for Diamond, Master and Grandmaster. Its matches use Drop Zones and Legend Bans, and scoring weighs placement higher than kills. Open League matches, from Iron to Emerald, start from the Dropship and weigh kills slightly higher.
When does Apex ranked reset?
At the start of every season and again at the mid-season split. Split 2 of Season 30 started on 15 September 2026. Season 30 ends on 3 November 2026, and the next reset comes with Season 31.
How much does a Diamond ranked match cost?
65 RP to enter. Master and Predator matches cost 90 RP. From Season 31, Challenger and Goliath Matches can lower or raise that cost.
Is there a kill cap in Apex ranked?
Not a hard cap. After 8 kills, each further kill, assist or participation is worth half.
Can I play ranked with friends in a different rank?
Yes, provided the lowest and highest ranks in the squad are no more than two ranks apart. Bronze and Gold can queue together; Bronze and Platinum cannot.
Is there a solo queue in Apex ranked?
You can enter ranked alone and be matched with teammates. There is no separate permanent solo-only ranked queue. Respawn tested one for Diamond and above during Season 29 and confirmed in its 30 September results post that it would not become permanent.