Respawn Entertainment is bringing a wide range of changes to Apex Legends with Season 31, Cipher. At the center of the season is Crypto, whose role shifts from passive to aggressive intel-gathering thanks to a new firmware upgrade from his sister Mila.
Crypto rewired
Crypto’s Surveillance Drone now runs on batteries instead of a cooldown, so it can be picked up and redeployed without a long wait. Once parked in position, the drone activates the new Sentry Mode and tags enemies in sight for the player and their squad. His EMP Ultimate can now also be deployed with the press of a button.
Akimbo Wingman and Strongholds
The season’s new weapon is the Akimbo Wingman, a pair of dual-wielded Wingman revolvers. Strongholds, the evolution of Care Packages, offer crate weapons, corrupted attachments and Evo for the whole squad. Opening one takes time, though, and trips an alarm that reveals your location to everyone nearby. Strongholds spawn with cover and Hardlight to help squads hold their ground.
Revenant and Lifeline buffs
Revenant gets a shorter Ultimate cooldown and a quicker Tactical. New Upgrades can extend his Ultimate with every knock, silence nearby enemies after landing a Shadow Pounce, or refresh Shadow Pounce automatically while an enemy is marked. Lifeline gets a reduced cooldown on her healing drone and self-healing while gliding. Her new Upgrades include an Ultimate cooldown reduction, a shield while reviving a teammate and improved flight mobility.
Legend Bans in Ranked
In Diamond lobbies and above, every player now casts one vote to ban a Legend. The more votes a Legend gets, the greater the chance they’ll be banned for that match.
New Mythic Volt: Cryptic Core
The season’s new Mythic Volt skin, Cryptic Core, is a hive-mind of nanites in Crypto’s signature colors. At its core sits a built-in PALS assistant rendered in low-res pixel art. Each retheme with Exotic Shards slots in a new retro game cartridge and changes the gun’s look and color. Cryptic Core can drop from Cipher Seasonal Packs, available all season long, which also include new seasonal skins for Crypto, Wraith, Gibraltar, Revenant and Horizon.
Kings Canyon Evolved arrives in Season 32
As part of its 2026-2027 roadmap, Respawn revealed that the Major Map Update planned for Season 32 will be Kings Canyon Evolved. Arriving in early 2027, the update will completely rework the map with numerous new, remixed and touched-up POIs. Season 32 will also bring a Major Ranked Update. Free-to-play Apex Legends is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, XBOX One, XBOX Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC via the EA app, Epic Games Store and Steam.
