Apex Legends Tier List Season 31: Every Legend Ranked for Cipher

What changed in Apex Legends Cipher

Season 30, Marked, was the big shake-up: Respawn's Marked patch notes (August 3, 2026) took gold attachments out of the loot pool, added Corrupted Attachments and reworked Bloodhound. Cipher builds on that loot model instead of replacing it. The Cipher patch notes (November 2, 2026) put most of the Legend work into four characters:

Legend	Season 31 change	Direction
Crypto	Battery drone, 360-degree scan, 8-second marks, EMP without drone view	Rework
Revenant	Tactical 20 to 15 seconds, Ultimate 180 to 150, three new upgrades	Buff
Lifeline	D.O.C. 25 to 15 seconds, heals while gliding, Revive Shield at Level 3	Buff
Loba	Tactical 25 to 30 seconds, Ultimate 120 to 150	Nerf
Axle	October 1 hotfix nerfs to slide control, Nitro Gate and Kickstart	Nerf

Strongholds are locked, bunker-style drops that land in the mid-game alongside Care Packages. One arrives during the Round 2 closing, crushes whatever sits under it and throws up to four indestructible barriers and two Hardlight frames around itself. A team captures it by being the only squad alive in the zone; progress is shared, faster with more teammates and doesn't decay. The prize is a Care Package weapon, three Gold Guns, three Amps, two Corrupted Attachments and a level up for every living member (EA). Loba can't steal from one and Alter can't portal into one until it has been captured.

Legend bans arrive in Diamond lobbies and higher. Every player requests one Legend, and each requested Legend's chance of being removed equals its share of the requests. Two Legends are banned per match. If fewer than four different Legends are requested, the game adds a request for each of last week's most-played Legends until there are four (EA).

The pubs and Ranked map rotation is Storm Point, E-District Night and Broken Moon (EA).

How this Apex Legends tier list ranks Legends

There is no official tier list, so these placements combine three things. The first is the direction of every Legend change in Respawn's patch and designer notes for Seasons 30 and 31. The second is what Respawn says about play rates in its Cipher designer's notes. The third is the pick-rate snapshot on the community stats site Apex Legends Status, which we checked on November 10, 2026 across all ranks and modes. Pick rate shows popularity, not power, so a low number only counts against a Legend when the kit also has a clear weakness.

• S-Tier: top value with little to replace it. Pick them first in almost any squad.
• A-Tier: strong and dependable in most teams without bending the meta around themselves.
• B-Tier: playable, but outclassed by someone higher or reliant on a narrow situation or high skill.
• C-Tier: works on paper, yet a stronger option sits in nearly every slot.

Respawn calls the current Legend and weapon balance "a solid level". Its designer's notes say no Legend is far ahead of the rest in pick rate and that the single most-picked Ranked squad makes up less than 1% of team compositions. That spread is why most of the cast lands in A and B rather than at the bottom.

Full Apex Legends Season 31 tier list

Here are all Apex Legends characters ranked for Cipher, from S down to C.

Tier	Legends
S	Lifeline, Revenant, Octane, Alter, Conduit, Mad Maggie
A	Pathfinder, Seer, Crypto, Loba, Axle, Bloodhound, Wraith, Gibraltar, Caustic, Fuse, Catalyst
B	Newcastle, Rampart, Bangalore, Mirage, Vantage, Sparrow, Horizon, Valkyrie, Wattson
C	Ash, Ballistic

The table is a decision aid for picking a main, not a ruling on who you can win with. The largest moves from Season 30 are Revenant into S and Crypto up to A. Seer and Loba come down to A after nerfs, and Newcastle sits in B on a 0.8% pick rate.

S-Tier Legends in Season 31

S-Tier is mostly unchanged from last season. Revenant joins it on the back of the biggest buff in the patch, and Lifeline stays at the top despite a partial rework that made her stronger.

• Lifeline: D.O.C. is ready again after 15 seconds rather than 25, because the old Level 3 cooldown upgrade moved into her base kit, and it keeps healing her while she glides (EA). Gliding off a mantle while D.O.C. tops you up makes her hard to finish in a game with a long time to kill. Her Level 3 options are now Revive Shield, which protects the player D.O.C. is reviving, or a 60-second Ultimate cooldown cut. Respawn's designer's notes show why it acted: between October 1 and 7 she was picked in about 10% of Unranked matches but in 1.5% or less from Diamond up.
• Revenant: our pick for the strongest Legend this season. Shadow Pounce is down to 15 seconds and charges faster, and his Ultimate cooldown is down to 150 seconds (EA). Once the Ultimate is running, Respawn's designer's notes say the old rule that stopped its timer from climbing past 35 seconds is gone, and every knock adds 5 seconds to its duration. His three new upgrades all reward diving: Ever Lasting extends the Ultimate by 10 seconds for each knock, Silence pulses on landing and silences enemies for 4 seconds, and No Escape refreshes the Tactical when Assassin's Instinct marks an enemy. Respawn's notes say the share of players maining him had fallen to 2% by October 1. Apex Legends Status already shows him second in pick rate at 8.9%.
• Octane: no changes in Cipher, and none needed. Mobility decides most Apex fights, and his kit lets him start a fight on his own terms and move the whole squad with his pad. He sits fourth in pick rate at 6.7% (Apex Legends Status).
• Alter: her patch entry is bug fixes only (EA). Her portals still give rotations and escapes no one else can match, and pulling an item from a deathbox is worth more since gold attachments left the loot pool in Season 30. The one thing she loses is getting inside a Stronghold before capture. She takes practice, which is why her pick rate is a modest 3.7%.
• Conduit: an aggressive Support who keeps the squad fighting through damage with temporary shields. Her midseason update in September made her Ultimate deploy and activate faster and added the Concurrency upgrade, which lets her fire Energy Barricade a second time within 10 seconds (EA's Marked midseason notes).
• Mad Maggie: Strongholds add fixed cover and barriers to every match, and her kit exists to break people out of cover. Cipher also fixes a bug so she now gets the speed boost from the Corrupted Agile Stock (EA). She is fifth in pick rate at 6% (Apex Legends Status).

Expect Lifeline and Revenant to be the first Legends players try to ban in Diamond and above, which is a reason to learn a backup if either is your main.

A-Tier Legends

This is the largest group, and most of these Legends are a fine pick for a Ranked climb. Seer and Loba come down from S after nerfs, and Crypto rises from the bottom half after his rework. Dropping a tier here doesn't mean a Legend got worse to play; it means the top six do more.

• Pathfinder: the most-picked Legend in the game at 12% (Apex Legends Status). Few kits reward practice like his grapple, and moving the squad with him matters more now that Valkyrie is weaker. A strong player makes him close to S, but there are no Season 31 buffs to push him up.
• Seer: EA's Marked notes reduced the turn slow on his Tactical at the start of Season 30, and the August 25 hotfix removed it, while the regular slow stays. He still scouts and sets up fights well, but being hit by his Tactical is less punishing than it was.
• Crypto: the headline of Cipher. His drone now runs on a 25-second battery, then recalls itself over 6 seconds, and can go back out without a cooldown. It scans in a full circle, no longer pings loot bins or doors, and marks an enemy for 8 seconds on a 4-second cooldown, even after the drone is recalled (EA). EMP no longer requires you to sit in the drone. If the drone has line of sight to the target, the blast strips full shields with a heavier slow; without it, the hit does 50 shield damage plus a lighter slow (EA's Cipher designer's notes). He no longer hurts himself with it. Ally.MoveTo is now part of his base kit, and the Charged Up upgrade adds 10 seconds of battery. Respawn's notes say his pick rate sat near 0% for several seasons; Apex Legends Status now has him at 4.1%. We keep him at A while players learn the new loop.
• Loba: EA moved her Tactical from 25 to 30 seconds and her Ultimate from 120 back to 150, undoing the Season 30 buff, because her ability uptime was too high. She can't take Stronghold loot before capture either. Her shop remains a top way to find upgrades in the Season 30 loot model.
• Axle: the October 1 hotfix cut her slide lateral control by 50%, Nitro Gate lateral control by 25% and its initial push from 700 to 650, and removed the increased aim assist under Nitro Gate (EA). Kickstart now chases for 8 seconds instead of 10 and launches targets less. She is still quick, just harder to steer around corners.
• Bloodhound: the Season 30 rework kept them relevant. Allfather's Cloak cloaks anyone who walks into its area for 12 seconds after they leave it, with 20% more movement speed and threat vision, and white ravens now fly up to 400 m (EA's Marked notes). A solid Recon pick, just less dominant than the top tier.
• Wraith: no Season 31 changes. Her kit is built around repositioning and resetting fights, which never falls out of the meta. She holds 5.4% of picks (Apex Legends Status).
• Gibraltar: Strongholds give his dome another job, holding a capture zone while the bar fills. His large hitbox and slow speed keep him out of S.
• Caustic: enclosed spaces with known entrances are his best case, and a Stronghold is exactly that. Moving with him is hard, so he stays in A.
• Fuse: the midseason update gave him 25% explosive damage resistance and folded Knuckle Jump into his base kit (EA's Marked midseason notes). Knuckle Cluster pressures enemies for free, and almost every ability he has does something useful.
• Catalyst: her Tactical cooldown dropped from 20 to 15 seconds in the midseason update, and her Ferro-Door upgrade now reinforces up to six doors (EA). She is at her best near doors, buildings and chokes, and Cipher adds more of those fights.

Example: your Ranked squad already has a Lifeline, and the third player wants a Recon. Crypto now gives a full-circle scan and an EMP without leaving the fight, while Seer still sets up a push more quickly. Pick the one your squad will actually call targets for.

B-Tier Legends

These Legends have real strengths, and several are strong in practiced hands. Most of them lose out to a Legend in a higher tier or only work in a narrow setting, and Cipher does little for any of them.

• Newcastle: a deep kit of shields, revives and repositioning, but so much to manage that few players get full value. His 0.8% pick rate is the second lowest in the game (Apex Legends Status), which is why he sits here rather than in A.
• Rampart: top of B. Strongholds create fights around fixed cover where her walls do well, and her Season 30 buffs raised early wall health and Sheila's movement speed (EA's Marked notes). Once the squad has to rotate, she falls behind.
• Bangalore: still dependable. Smoke saves squads, her Ultimate controls space and she fits almost any team, but nothing in her kit beats the top tiers at their own job.
• Mirage: decoys fool fewer opponents as the lobby gets more experienced. If you want a Support, Lifeline or Conduit gives more.
• Vantage: better than her reputation, with mobility and useful enemy information, though rarely the first pick for a squad.
• Sparrow: there's nothing wrong with him, but the Recon class is crowded with Seer, a reworked Bloodhound and a much stronger Crypto.
• Horizon: a high ceiling in skilled hands, but other aggressive Legends give value more easily.
• Valkyrie: Season 30 cut her Tactical base damage from 25 to 15 and lowered her Ultimate launch height by 15% (EA's Marked notes), and nothing in Cipher reverses it. Pathfinder is the better team mover for now.
• Wattson: a strong defensive setup when enemies have to come to you. Strongholds help a little, but Caustic and Catalyst need less setup.

You can climb with any of these, but you will work harder for the value S and A-Tier Legends bring by default.

C-Tier Legends

These are the weak characters to avoid if you want the easiest climb, though neither is unplayable.

• Ash: her Ultimate is genuinely useful and the kit isn't broken, but its numbers and team synergy trail nearly every alternative. She sits at 2% of picks (Apex Legends Status).
• Ballistic: the least-picked Legend in the game at 0.5% (Apex Legends Status), with no changes in Cipher while others received large buffs. Play him if you love him; otherwise there's a better choice in every slot.

Plan for Legend bans and a backup main

The Season 31 meta isn't overturned, but the Legends Cipher touched changed a lot. Lifeline is harder to kill, Revenant is a true diver again and Crypto spends his time fighting instead of piloting a camera. With two Legends removed from many Diamond and higher matches, a one-Legend player risks a match on a character they barely know.

1. Pick a main and a backup in the same class, so your squad's plan survives a ban. A Lifeline main can learn Conduit; a Revenant main can learn Octane or Mad Maggie.
2. Watch the most-played list. When fewer than four Legends are requested, last week's most-played Legends fill the ban pool (EA), so popular picks are banned more often.
3. Practice the backup before Diamond, not in your first banned match.

Fill in your own plan: "If ___ is banned, I play ___, and I practice them in ___ before my next Ranked session."

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FAQ

Who are the best Legends in Apex Legends Season 31? Our S-Tier is Lifeline, Revenant, Octane, Alter, Conduit and Mad Maggie. Each brings team value, mobility, pressure or utility that is hard to replace, and Lifeline and Revenant both received large buffs in the Cipher patch notes.

Who is the best Legend in Apex Legends Season 31? We rank Revenant first. Shadow Pounce is down to 15 seconds, his Ultimate to 150 seconds, and the new Silence, No Escape and Ever Lasting upgrades all reward aggressive play (EA). His pick rate has already jumped to 8.9% (Apex Legends Status).

Is Crypto good in Season 31 Apex Legends? He is, and he climbs to A-Tier. A 25-second drone battery, a full-circle scan, 8-second marks that outlast a recall and an EMP you can fire from your own view all came in with Cipher (EA). He is far more involved in fights than before.

Is Loba still good in Apex Legends Season 31? She is, though she falls to A-Tier. Respawn lengthened her Tactical to 30 seconds (was 25) and her Ultimate to 150 (was 120), and Stronghold loot is off limits to her until capture (EA).

How do Legend bans work in Apex Legends ranked? In Diamond lobbies and above, each player requests one Legend and two are banned per match, with each Legend's chance matching its share of the requests. If fewer than four are requested, last week's most-played Legends are added to the pool (EA's Cipher patch notes).

Related guides

• All Apex Legends guides
• Apex Legends hub