Apex Legends Cipher launches with Crypto changes, Akimbo Wingman and Strongholds

Image: EA / Respawn Entertainment

Apex Legends Season 31, Cipher, began on November 3 with changes that reach well beyond a fresh seasonal theme. Crypto has a revised drone playstyle, the Wingman can be used in an akimbo configuration, and new Strongholds create a contested objective during matches. High-ranked players also have a new decision to make before selecting a Legend.

The update is worth approaching as several connected changes. A new place to fight affects movement around the map; new weapon behaviour affects the tools you bring; and a different approach to reconnaissance affects how a squad prepares for the encounter. Learning one feature in isolation may miss how it interacts with the others.

Crypto is being encouraged back into the fight

Respawn’s designer notes explain the purpose of Crypto’s changes: preserve his reconnaissance identity while reducing the time he spends away from teammates inside the drone view. The drone now uses a 25-second battery, handles more responsively and can mark opponents. Those marks persist briefly even after the drone is recalled or destroyed.

The developer also describes easier ways to activate the EMP, including deploying a stowed drone through the ultimate command. Position still matters: the EMP’s effect differs according to whether the drone has line of sight to its target. Crypto’s movement boost toward teammates is now part of his base kit.

For a returning Crypto player, the first useful adjustment is to decide what you need from each drone deployment. Looking for a route, identifying a nearby squad and preparing an attack are different jobs. Giving the deployment a specific purpose should make it easier to stop scouting when the information is already sufficient.

This is an interpretation of the new design, not a claim that one approach has already become the winning strategy. A short, deliberate scan may help a coordinated team act quickly, while an unplanned scan can still leave the other two players waiting. The feature changes do not replace the need to tell teammates what you intend to do.

Try communicating the next action rather than merely describing the screen. “There is a team ahead” is useful; adding whether you want to move around it, wait or engage gives the squad a decision. That is where a reconnaissance tool becomes part of teamwork rather than a separate activity.

The Wingman needs a fresh practice session

The patch notes move the Wingman to Heavy Ammo and Heavy Magazines. Picking up a second Wingman activates akimbo. Base damage falls from 50 to 45; the paired version adds recoil and a longer reload, with a doubled magazine and a sequential burst from the two weapons.

That combination deserves testing before relying on old muscle memory. Spend a few minutes observing the rhythm, how far the sights move and how long you are exposed when reloading. A weapon can look familiar while asking for a different sequence of inputs and a different sense of when to stop firing.

A useful practice comparison is consistency rather than one impressive burst. Choose a repeatable target and distance, then look at how reliably you can keep shots where you want them. If the paired version makes you miss more often at a particular distance, the nominal increase in firepower is not the whole story.

Also think about what your other weapon is meant to cover. A loadout should give you workable choices across the fights you expect, rather than simply combining two weapons you enjoy in the same circumstances. Cipher creates a reason to revisit that decision without assuming that every previous preference is suddenly obsolete.

Strongholds introduce a new mid-match decision

Strongholds are locked airdrops that teams capture by controlling the surrounding area. They arrive during Round 2 closing, deploy cover and award powerful loot plus a level increase for living members of the capturing team. Capture progress is shared and does not decay; the squad controlling the zone when it reaches completion wins the capture.

That last detail makes timing especially interesting. Work put into the objective is not a private investment that only your squad can collect. A team arriving late may contest the finish, so watching the wider area matters alongside watching the progress itself.

Before committing, assess the route out as carefully as the route in. The best-looking reward is less useful if collecting it leaves the squad with an awkward move into the next fight. Treat the objective as an option to evaluate, not an instruction that every team must obey each match.

Discuss roles before everyone starts looking at the same door. One person checking an approach while another tracks the capture can give the squad more information than three players concentrating on the reward. The exact arrangement will depend on the position, but the underlying question is simple: who is watching what?

Respawn says the aim is to create meaningful risk-and-reward choices and a fresh mid-game combat location. Whether Strongholds become a routine destination or an occasional opportunity will depend on how players respond. Early impressions should leave room for that behaviour to develop.

Diamond-plus bans are weighted, not automatic majority rule

The Ranked roadmap describes a pre-match voting phase in matches using the Diamond-plus ban system. Players nominate a Legend, and the votes determine each candidate’s probability of being banned. Selection is then randomised using those probabilities. The most-requested ban is therefore not simply guaranteed to win.

The roadmap also outlines entry-cost adjustments for squads at least two rank tiers above or below the lobby’s median tier. Lower-ranked challengers receive a reduced entry cost; higher-ranked squads face an increased one. Larger changes described for Season 32 belong to a later update and should not be confused with Cipher’s launch features.

For players affected by bans, having a comfortable alternative Legend becomes a practical preparation step. You do not need to master the whole roster overnight. Start with a second option whose role you understand and discuss how the team will adapt if its usual combination is unavailable.

A sensible first session is therefore a short weapon check, a look at Crypto’s revised inputs if you play him, and a few matches focused on understanding Stronghold decisions. Resist drawing sweeping conclusions from one unusually good or bad game. Cipher changes several variables at once, and the most useful early goal is to learn what each one asks you to do differently.

Sources: Cipher patch notes · Respawn designer notes · Ranked roadmap