Apex Legends: Cipher Brings Akimbo Wingmans, Strongholds and Ranked Legend Bans

Apex Legends has started its next season. Apex Legends: Cipher, Season 31, began on November 3, and Respawn's patch notes cover a reworked Legend, a new way to use one of the game's most iconic weapons, a new type of airdrop and changes to Ranked.

Crypto goes on the offensive

The season is built around Crypto. In the patch notes, Respawn admits he's "a very difficult Legend to play" and that players often spend too much time hiding in his drone instead of fighting. According to the season overview, a firmware upgrade from his sister Mila changes his role from passive to aggressive intel-gathering:

• His Surveillance Drone now runs on batteries instead of a cooldown.
• A new Sentry Mode tags enemies in sight for you and your squad.
• His EMP Ultimate can now be deployed with the press of a button.

Revenant and Lifeline also get reworks. Revenant's Ultimate cooldown is shorter, his Tactical is quicker, and new upgrades let him extend his Ultimate during fights.

Akimbo Wingman

The Wingman can now be dual-wielded. Picking up a second Wingman puts you in Akimbo mode automatically. The weapon changes in a few important ways:

• It now uses Heavy Ammo and Heavy Magazines instead of sniper ammo.
• Base damage drops from 50 to 45, and the Akimbo headshot multiplier is 1.25x.
• In Akimbo mode, magazine size doubles and the guns fire one after the other in a quick burst, with more recoil and a longer reload.

Strongholds replace some Care Packages

Strongholds are a new type of airdrop. These locked, bunker-style structures land near the middle of a match – one drops during the Round 2 ring closing – and crush anything underneath them. They deploy up to four indestructible barriers and two Hardlight frames as cover.

To open one, your team has to control the surrounding zone. Progress only advances while a single team is inside, and it's shared and never decays. Capturing a Stronghold gives every living teammate a level up and unlocks a Care Package weapon, three gold weapons, three Amps and two Corrupted Attachments. Respawn's overview warns that opening one trips an alarm, so nearby squads will know exactly where you are.

Ranked changes

Starting this season, Diamond and higher Ranked matches let players vote to ban Legends from selection. Respawn is also adjusting Ranked entry costs in matches with a wide skill spread, so players far above or below the lobby's median rank are scored differently.

Why it matters

Strongholds add a predictable mid-game hot spot that should force more fights, while Legend bans give high-ranked players a tool against dominant picks. For PC players who mostly play Ranked, Cipher is one of the more meaningful seasonal updates in a while. Apex Legends remains free to play on Steam and the EA app.