Key takeaways
- Cipher is Season 31, not a new Legend. Its headline is a Crypto rework. The next new Legend and Kings Canyon Evolved come in Season 32.
- Start: Tuesday, November 3, 2026, likely around 10 AM PT (1 PM ET, 6 PM UK, 7 PM CET). That hour is our reading of EA's Season 30 Battle Pass listing, not an official start time.
- New: a battery-powered Surveillance Drone with Sentry Mode for Crypto, the Akimbo Wingman, Strongholds, Legend Bans in Diamond+ ranked, and Revenant and Lifeline updates.
- Patch notes aren't out, so no cooldowns, battery counts or weapon stats are public yet.
What did EA and Respawn Entertainment actually show on October 29, when can you play it, and what's still guesswork? This guide sticks to what EA and Respawn have published and marks our own reading as ours. Season 31 isn't out, and nobody at VersaciBoosts has played it.
What is Apex Legends: Cipher?
Is Cipher a new character? No, even if the name sounds a lot like one. Apex Legends: Cipher is the name of Season 31. Respawn's roadmap lists "LEGEND REWORK CRYPTO" for Season 31 and puts "NEW LEGEND" in the Season 32 column, still locked.
EA's pitch is short. It's all about information. The Cipher season page says "HACK THE FIGHT IN APEX LEGENDS: CIPHER", and EA's Cipher game-updates article opens with "The deadliest weapon isn't a gun, it's information." The Cipher gameplay trailer premiered on YouTube on October 29 at 15:00 UTC. Cipher stays free to play on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC (EA app, Epic, Steam).
| Change | In short |
|---|---|
| Crypto rework | Drone runs on batteries, new Sentry Mode, one-button EMP |
| Akimbo Wingman | Two Wingman revolvers at once |
| Strongholds | Air drop loot vaults with an alarm |
| Legend Bans | Vote-based bans in Diamond+ ranked |
| Revenant and Lifeline | Cooldown cuts and new Upgrades |
| Cryptic Core | New Mythic Volt skin in Cipher Seasonal Packs |
When does Apex Legends Season 31 start?
The Apex Season 31 release date is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. How do we know? Respawn's October 6 update on Steam says its crossplay test runs "until the season ends on November 3rd", and EA's Ranked Roadmap says Season 31 is "starting in November".
And the hour? Respawn hasn't posted one. EA's Season 30 Battle Pass listing has, though: "available until November 3rd, 2026 10 AM PT". Our reading: Cipher goes live around 10 AM PT, when that pass expires. Expect a game update download first.
| Region | Local time | Day |
|---|---|---|
| US Pacific (PT) | 10:00 AM | Tue, Nov 3 |
| US Central (CT) | 12:00 PM | Tue, Nov 3 |
| US Eastern (ET) | 1:00 PM | Tue, Nov 3 |
| Brazil (BRT) | 3:00 PM | Tue, Nov 3 |
| UTC | 18:00 | Tue, Nov 3 |
| UK (GMT) | 6:00 PM | Tue, Nov 3 |
| Central Europe (CET) | 7:00 PM | Tue, Nov 3 |
| Eastern Europe (EET) | 8:00 PM | Tue, Nov 3 |
| Japan (JST) | 3:00 AM | Wed, Nov 4 |
| Sydney (AEDT) | 5:00 AM | Wed, Nov 4 |
Why double check a time zone table? Clocks. Europe left summer time on October 25 and the US leaves it on November 1, so today 10 AM PT is 17:00 UTC (5 PM UK, 6 PM CET), but on November 3 it's 18:00 UTC. The rule: if your clocks don't change on November 1, a conversion you do this week puts you an hour early.
How long does Season 31 last? The roadmap says "NOV - JAN 2027" and gives Season 32 "FEB - APR 2027". Nothing more exact. Not yet.
Crypto rework: what changes in Season 31
How does Crypto play today, and what's different on Tuesday? Tae Joon Park, who most players just call Crypto, has been in Apex since Season 3 in 2019. Here's EA's current Legend page next to its October 29 article:
| Ability | Today | Season 31 |
|---|---|---|
| Surveillance Drone (Tactical) | Aerial camera drone; "Crypto is cloaked while piloting the drone" | Runs "on batteries instead of a cooldown", can be "picked up and redeployed without a long wait"; parked, its new Sentry Mode tags enemies in sight for the squad |
| Drone EMP (Ultimate) | "Charge up an EMP from your drone"; 50 shield damage, slows players, destroys traps | "can now be deployed with the press of a button"; damage not published |
| Neurolink (Passive) | Squad sees what the drone detects up to 30m away | EA hasn't said |
EA's story is kinda simple: a firmware upgrade from his sister Mila switches Crypto "from passive to aggressive intel-gathering". The season page calls it "CRYPTO REWIRED".
Our reading: today's Crypto stands still, cloaked, while he flies the drone. A parked drone that tags on its own, plus a one-button EMP, should let him scout and fight at the same time. If the drone comes back "without a long wait", losing it should hurt less than a long cooldown did. Is he a ranked pick now? That depends on numbers Respawn hasn't published yet.
Our advice: park the drone where your squad will fight next, like a Stronghold or the next ring edge, and give the rework a couple of days of real matches before judging it. Our Apex Legends tier list still reflects Season 30. We plan to revisit it after the patch notes.
Akimbo Wingman and Strongholds
Akimbo Wingman
What's the Akimbo Wingman? The Wingman revolver Apex players already know, two at once. EA's line: "If the deadliest weapon is information, the second deadliest is dual-wielded revolvers." The roadmap gives it a Season 31 slot of its own. How do you get it, and what does it hit for? Respawn hasn't said, so we'll wait on the patch notes instead of guessing.
Strongholds
EA calls Strongholds "the evolution of Care Packages", and the roadmap lists a "NEW AIR DROP STRONGHOLD", so it falls out of the sky, same as a Care Package. Inside: crate weapons, corrupted attachments and EVO for the whole squad. The catch? Opening one "takes time and trips an alarm that tells everyone nearby exactly where you are." Each Stronghold spawns with cover and Hardlight, the cover feature Respawn added in Season 28.
Our reading: the alarm is the point. Every Stronghold pulls nearby squads in, so plan for the team that shows up second: take the cover and Hardlight first, loot second. Controller Legends, who can rebuild or reinforce Hardlight meshes, and a parked Crypto drone both look useful here. Still unknown: how often Strongholds drop, how long opening takes, how far the alarm reaches and what "corrupted attachments" even do.
Ranked in Season 31: Legend Bans and Lobby Tiers
How do Legend Bans work in Diamond lobbies and above? EA: "Every player casts one vote to ban a Legend. The more votes a Legend gets, the greater the chance they'll be banned for that match, so make sure you have a Plan B. Maybe a Plan C." EA's October 20 Ranked Roadmap adds that bans come alongside Drop Zone deployment, "so that any match with Diamond+ players will use the feature". The flow:
- A Banning Phase comes before Legend Selection, and each player picks one Legend.
- Once everyone has picked or the timer runs out, each chosen Legend shows its percent chance of being banned, set by its share of votes.
- The game draws the bans at random from those percentages. Nobody can pick a banned Legend that match.
Why random? Respawn says a fixed rule "creates its own banning meta". EA's screenshot shows two banned portraits, Crypto and Ballistic, but Respawn hasn't said how many Legends a match bans. A screenshot isn't a rule.
The same roadmap lists more Season 31 ranked changes:
- Lobby Tier: essentially the median of all squads. Squads two or more Rank Tiers below it play a Challenger match with lower entry costs; two or more above it, a Goliath match with higher entry costs.
- Road to Ranked is gone: Ranked only needs Account Level 20.
- Demotion Protection is visible: it was "unintentionally hidden", and gives three Demotion Shields when one match could demote you.
On October 26 Respawn also "removed an exploit some players were using to enter Ranked matches without paying entry costs".
Season 32 goes further. There are new ranks (Iron, Emerald, Grandmaster), a Pro-Am League, an Open League and a ranked rewards overhaul. Our guide to Apex ranked changes for Season 31 and 32 has the details. Season 31's ranked reset rules, map rotation and split dates aren't out yet. Our Apex map rotation tool shows what's live.
Our advice: have two or three Legends you play well, more so if your main is a popular pick, because bans leave fewer Legends you can count on. Want help climbing once Season 31 is live? Our Apex rank boost covers Rookie to Predator.
Revenant and Lifeline updates
Who else changes? Revenant and Lifeline, under the season page heading "HEAL OR HARM", and on paper every change EA lists is a buff. Upgrades are the choices a Legend picks while leveling up in a match.
| Legend | Base kit changes | New Upgrade options |
|---|---|---|
| Revenant | Shorter Ultimate cooldown, quicker Tactical | Extend the Ultimate with every knock; silence nearby enemies after a Shadow Pounce lands; refresh Shadow Pounce automatically while an enemy is marked |
| Lifeline | Reduced cooldown on D.O.C., self-heal while gliding | Ultimate cooldown reduction; a shield while you revive a teammate; improved flight mobility |
Revenant today: Assassin's Instinct highlights nearby visible enemies who are low on health, Shadow Pounce throws him forward (further if you charge it), and Forged Shadows wraps him in shadows that block damage and regenerate, with knockdowns starting the regen. Our reading: EA wants him played "more aggressively", and the knock-to-extend Upgrade builds on that knock link. Silence is the throwback. Before his Season 18 rework ("Revenant Reborn", 2023) his Tactical was Silence. What counts as "marked"? EA hasn't said.
Lifeline today: Combat Glide lets her grab D.O.C. and glide for a few seconds, and she can send D.O.C. to revive teammates while she keeps moving. The D.O.C. Heal Drone heals all nearby allies, and D.O.C. Halo makes everyone inside use Health and Consumables faster. Our reading: self-heal while gliding lets a glide patch her up, too. The revive shield is kind of a throwback: at launch in 2019 she revived teammates behind a deployable shield wall.
Cooldown numbers and Upgrade levels aren't published for either. Our guide to every Apex Legends character and their abilities has the full current kits.
Season 31 Battle Pass and the Cryptic Core Mythic
What do we know about the Apex Season 31 Battle Pass? One line, pretty much: "Suit up in nanite technology with the Cipher Premium Battle Pass Split 1." No price, reward list or level count yet.
The new Mythic, Cryptic Core, is a Volt SMG skin made of a "hive-mind of nanites" in Crypto's signature colors, with a built-in PALS assistant "rendered in glorious low-res pixel art". Exotic Shards retheme it, and each retheme "slams in a new retro game cartridge". It's "a possible drop in Cipher Seasonal Packs, available all season long", and the packs also hold new skins for Crypto, Wraith, Gibraltar, Revenant and Horizon. One catch: EA notes Seasonal Packs are "Not available in all regions".
What ends on November 3: Season 30 checklist
Which Season 30 deadlines matter, and which one has an actual hour? Only the Battle Pass, really.
| What | Ends | Note |
|---|---|---|
| "Marked" Battle Pass Split 2 | Nov 3, 10 AM PT | EA's store listing |
| Season 30 ranked | Nov 3 | Rewards arrive when Season 31 starts |
| Blood Pact Event | Nov 3 | EA: "October 13 to November 3" |
| US-West crossplay test | Nov 3 | "until the season ends" |
| Longer Plat+ queues | Season end or sooner | "or until we have enough data" |
- Finish your Marked pass before 10 AM PT Tuesday (1 PM ET, 6 PM UK, 7 PM CET). Cipher starts with its own pass. Our Apex Battle Pass boosting covers the active split only, and each split's pass needs its own order.
- Chasing Predator? Check today's Apex Predator RP cutoff. Season 30 ranked rewards, the Predator badge included, arrive when Season 31 starts, as our Apex Predator badges by season list explains.
- Play the Blood Pact event before it closes with the season.
- Catch Saturday's dev talk. Respawn's ALGS schedule lists "DEVS TALK S31 + ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS" on October 31, no time given. Our ALGS Split 2 Playoffs in Las Vegas guide has local times.
- Practice a second and third Legend for Diamond+ bans.
Respawn hasn't said if its two matchmaking tests continue in Season 31. Our explainer on the US-West crossplay test covers both.
What comes in Apex Legends Season 32
What's after Cipher? A reworked map, a new Legend and the big ranked overhaul. EA: "our Major Map Update scheduled for Season 32 will be: Kings Canyon Evolved. You can look forward to a completely reworked map with numerous new, remixed, and touched up POIs in early 2027!"
Respawn's Apex Legends roadmap post dates Season 32 "FEB - APR 2027" and lists a new Legend, a Legend class overhaul, the Pro-Am League, Kings Canyon Evolved and two Wildcard events. Season 31's column adds two Wildcard events of its own and the ALGS Year 6 Champs in Sapporo, January 28 to 31, 2027.
Our reading of the graphic: every Season 32 item is shown locked except the Legend class overhaul, marked "PLANNED*" with the footnote "Season of release may vary or change", so that's the one most likely to move. The new Legend has no name yet. Two separate rows, "EVERGREEN" (Legend and weapon balance, QOL, audio) and "COMPETITIVE INTEGRITY" (anti-cheat, matchmaking, server performance), run under every season, which reads like ongoing work.
What Respawn has not announced yet
As of October 30, these are still blank:
| Topic | Status |
|---|---|
| Patch notes and numbers | Not out: Crypto's batteries and Sentry Mode, Revenant and Lifeline cooldowns, weapon balance |
| Start hour | Not official; 10 AM PT comes from the Season 30 Battle Pass listing |
| Ranked reset, map rotation, splits | Not announced |
| Legend Bans | How many per Diamond+ match |
| Akimbo Wingman | How you get it |
| Strongholds | How often they drop |
| Cipher Premium Battle Pass Split 1 | Price and rewards |
| Crossplay and Plat+ tests | Whether they continue |
| Season 31 end date | Only "NOV - JAN 2027" |
| Season 32 Legend | No name yet |
The patch notes should definitely clear up the numbers. Need a hand once the new season is live? VersaciBoosts Apex Legends boosting is run by Predator-level players.
Apex Legends Season 31 FAQ
Is Cipher a new Legend?
No. Apex Legends: Cipher is the name of Season 31, which reworks Crypto. The roadmap puts the next new Legend in Season 32.
When does Apex Season 31 start?
Tuesday, November 3, 2026, most likely around 10 AM PT (1 PM ET, 6 PM UK, 7 PM CET), when EA's Season 30 Battle Pass listing runs out. Respawn hasn't confirmed an hour.
When does Apex Season 30 end?
November 3. The Marked Battle Pass is listed until 10 AM PT that day, and the Blood Pact Event wraps up the same day.
Are the Apex Season 31 patch notes out?
Not as of October 30. EA has described the changes, but no cooldowns, battery counts or weapon stats are public yet.