Apex Legends Season 31 Cipher: Tips for Strongholds, Legend Bans and the New Wingman

Apex Legends' Season 31, titled Cipher, went live on November 3 at 10 a.m. PT on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC. It's the biggest shake-up to Respawn's battle royale since the start of the year: Crypto has a new kit, the Wingman can be dual-wielded, high-value Strongholds replace part of the old loot flow, and ranked above Diamond now lets lobbies vote a Legend out before the match even starts. None of that is intuitive the first time you load in, so here's what actually matters if you're jumping into Cipher this week.

Official Season 31: Cipher gameplay trailer, via the Apex Legends YouTube channel.

What changed in Cipher

The patch notes break down into four pieces that matter for everyday matches. Crypto's Surveillance Drone now runs on a battery meter instead of a flat cooldown, and it gains a Sentry Mode that automatically tags any enemy it sees. His EMP Ultimate deploys with a single button press instead of a charge-and-throw. The Wingman now loads Heavy ammo and can be picked up as a dual-wield variant, firing both guns in a staggered burst. Strongholds are new points of interest that hold Care Package-tier loot behind a timed door; opening one sets off an alarm that reveals your squad's location to everyone nearby. Ranked play at Diamond and above adds a pre-match vote where every player bans one Legend, and the Legend with the most votes is more likely to be locked out of that game.

Playing around the Crypto rework

Crypto was a niche pick before Cipher because his drone demanded you stand still and babysit it. The battery system flips that: you can send the drone out, recall it mid-fight to recharge, and send it out again a few times per rotation instead of waiting out a long cooldown. Sentry Mode means you don't have to manually scan every corner anymore, which makes Crypto viable as a roaming support rather than a stationary scout. The one-button EMP is the bigger change for squads - it removes the old "charge the ultimate, throw it, hope it lands" sequence, so Crypto players can pop shields and disable traps the instant a fight breaks out instead of telegraphing the push a full second early.

• Recall the drone to recharge its battery rather than letting it die out in the open - a dead drone gives up your position for nothing.
• Use Sentry Mode passively while looting; it will ping a flanking squad before you hear their footsteps.
• Save the EMP for closed rooms and Stronghold doorways, where the shield-shred hits every enemy in the clustered space.

Getting value from the Akimbo Wingman

The dual-wield Wingman variant trades accuracy for raw damage output at close range. It still eats Heavy ammo, so don't swap your main Heavy weapon for it unless you're also carrying a long-range option - two short-range guns leave you with no answer past 30 meters. The stagger between the two guns' fire means hip-firing both at once during a close rush will out-damage a single Wingman user who's aiming down sights, but only inside a few meters. Outside that range, a single aimed Wingman or an R-301 will beat it every time.

Looting Strongholds without getting third-partied

Strongholds are worth opening early in a match before other squads converge, because the alarm that triggers on entry broadcasts your position on everyone's map. Treat the door timer like a countdown to incoming fights: have your squad watch the approach routes while one player opens the loot, and be ready to disengage the moment you hear a second squad's footsteps rather than finishing the loot pass. The gear inside is Care Package-tier, so it's worth the risk early, but holding a Stronghold into the mid-game against multiple squads is rarely winnable with standard loadouts.

Ranked Legend Bans at Diamond and above

If you're pushing into Diamond this split, expect a short voting screen before champion select. Every player casts one ban vote, and the Legend with the most votes across the lobby has a higher chance of being locked out for that match - it isn't a guaranteed removal, just weighted odds. Pick a flexible second and third Legend before you queue, since a ban can take out the character you planned to main for that session. This mostly affects high-pick-rate Legends in the current meta, so a less popular pick is less likely to get caught by the vote in the first place.

Quick checklist for your first Cipher matches

• Recall Crypto's drone instead of losing it to the battery running out mid-scan.
• Pair the Akimbo Wingman with a long-range weapon, never with another short-range gun.
• Open Strongholds early in the match, and assign a lookout before anyone starts the loot timer.
• Queue Diamond+ ranked with at least two Legends in mind in case your main gets banned.
• Check the official Cipher media alert for the full patch rundown before you dive into ranked.

Apex Legends remains free to play on its official site and on Steam, where the Cipher update is live as part of the base game. It's rated T for Teen by the ESRB for blood, violence and in-game purchases. Background on the game's history and past seasons is on its Wikipedia entry.