Crypto Just Got REWIRED — Apex Legends: Cipher Launches November 3 With Akimbo Wingmans, Strongholds and Ranked Legend Bans

The deadliest weapon in the Outlands this season is not a gun — it is information. EA and Respawn Entertainment have pulled the curtain back on Apex Legends: Cipher, the game’s next season, with a full gameplay trailer and a breakdown of everything changing when it launches on November 3 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via the EA App, Epic Games Store, and Steam.

Headlining the season is a full rework for Crypto. Thanks to a firmware upgrade from his sister Mila, Crypto is being rebuilt from a passive drone-camper into an aggressive intel gatherer who can actually stay with his squad. His Surveillance Drone now runs on batteries instead of a cooldown, so it can be picked up and redeployed without the long waits that used to leave Crypto players standing in a corner. Park the drone in the right spot and its new Sentry Mode tags enemies on sight for the whole squad — and his EMP Ultimate can now be fired off with the press of a button instead of forcing him to pilot the drone first.

Then there is the season’s loudest toy: the Akimbo Wingman. The precision revolver that has rewarded steady hands for years now comes in a dual-wield flavour — two Wingmans, double the damage, and a brand-new way to lose a close-range fight to somebody with better aim than you. Respawn is pitching it as a dangerous combo of precision and firepower, and it is exactly the kind of addition that reshapes the weapon meta overnight.

Cipher also introduces Strongholds, which Respawn describes as the evolution of Care Packages. A Stronghold is high-tier, high-risk loot in a very loud package: raid one and your squad can haul out crate weapons, corrupted attachments, and EVO for everyone. The catch is that opening one takes time and sets off an alarm that broadcasts your exact location to every squad nearby. The good news is that Strongholds spawn with cover and Hardlight so you can dig in and defend the prize — or you can hang back, let another squad ring the dinner bell, and take the loot off them instead.

Two familiar faces are getting tuned up, too. Revenant plays more aggressively with a shorter Ultimate cooldown and a quicker Tactical, and his new Upgrades let him extend his Ultimate with every knock, silence nearby enemies after a Shadow Pounce, or automatically refresh his Shadow Pounce while an enemy is marked. Lifeline gets a reduced cooldown on D.O.C., the ability to self-heal while gliding, an Ultimate cooldown reduction, a shield while she revives a teammate, and improved flight mobility — changes that should make her far better at keeping a squad in the fight.

Ranked is getting a shake-up as well. In Diamond lobbies and above, every match now opens with Legend Bans: each player casts one vote to ban a Legend, and the more votes a Legend receives, the greater the chance they are banned for that match. Respawn’s advice is simple — have a Plan B, and maybe a Plan C. The season also adds a new Mythic Volt SMG called the Cryptic Core, its look and colour scheme reprogrammable with Exotic Shards, plus new seasonal skins for Crypto, Wraith, Gibraltar, Revenant, and Horizon in the Cipher Seasonal Packs.

Respawn is already looking past Cipher, too: the studio used the season reveal to confirm that the major map update coming in Season 32 will be Kings Canyon Evolved, a completely reworked version of the game’s original map with new, remixed, and touched-up points of interest, due in early 2027.

It is a stacked week for shooter fans — between Cipher landing November 3 and Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 Drops November 6 — Two New Warzone Maps, a Reimagined Shoot House, and Halloween Modes THIS Friday, the lobbies are going to be busy — and if live-service crossovers are more your speed, PowerWash Simulator Just Invaded Fortnite — SPLASHOUT Turns Cleaning Into an 8-Player Dirt War is already live. Apex Legends: Cipher launches November 3, free-to-play as always, on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.

Source: GamesPress — Apex Legends: Cipher announcement, with additional details from EA’s official Cipher game updates page.

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