Apex Legends Season 31 Ranked adds three confirmed changes when Cipher launches on November 3, 2026: a vote-based Legend Ban phase in any match with Diamond or higher players, entry costs that rise or fall when your squad is two or more tiers away from the lobby’s median, and Ranked access at Account Level 20 with no Road to Ranked challenges. The rest (the new Iron, Emerald and Grandmaster ranks, flat kill and placement RP, the Pro-Am League and the rewards overhaul) is Season 32, in early 2027.
Everything below comes from Respawn’s own posts: the Ranked Roadmap (October 20), the Cipher overview (October 29) and the Cipher Designer’s Notes (October 30). EA said the full Season 31 patch notes would post on November 2, but they were not on EA’s Apex news page or Steam when we checked at 17:20 UTC on November 2. Exact RP values, the ranked map rotation and any split dates are marked patch notes pending below until EA publishes them.
Table of Contents
Quick answer: what changes in Apex Season 31 Ranked
- Legend Banning (Diamond+): every player votes to ban one Legend; each voted Legend gets a ban chance based on its share of votes, then the game rolls which ones are banned for that match.
- Lobby Tier: each lobby shows a tier, roughly the median of all squads. Squads 2+ tiers below play a Challenger match (lower entry cost); squads 2+ tiers above play a Goliath match (higher entry cost).
- Easier access: Road to Ranked challenges are removed; Account Level 20 is the only requirement.
- Demotion Protection is now visible: 3 Demotion Shields when a single match could drop you a tier.
- Not in Season 31: new ranks, flat RP scoring, team-kill RP, the Pro-Am League and the ranked rewards overhaul all arrive in Season 32.
- Patch notes pending: exact entry costs and RP tables, the S31 ranked map rotation, split dates and end-of-season reward names.
Season 31 vs Season 32 ranked changes at a glance
| Change | Season | Who it affects | Status (Nov 2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legend Banning (vote + weighted random roll) | 31 | Any match with Diamond+ players (Drop Zone lobbies) | Confirmed by EA |
| Lobby Tier, Challenger and Goliath entry costs | 31 | Squads 2+ tiers from the lobby median | Confirmed; final RP values pending |
| Road to Ranked removed, Account Level 20 only | 31 | New and returning accounts | Confirmed (EA may tune the level) |
| Demotion Protection shown in the UI (3 shields) | 31 | Players one match from demotion | Confirmed |
| Iron replaces Rookie; new Emerald (4 divisions) and Grandmaster | 32 | Everyone | Announced for early 2027 |
| Open League vs Pro-Am League (Diamond, Masters, Grandmaster) | 32 | Everyone | Announced |
| Flat kill and placement RP, full RP for every team kill | 32 | Everyone | Announced |
| Entry cost rises per division, not per tier | 32 | Everyone | Announced |
| Rewards overhaul, Weekly Ladders removed | 32 | Everyone | Announced, details later |
How Legend Banning works in Apex Legends Season 31
Legend Banning is switched on together with Drop Zone deployment, so any ranked match that contains Diamond+ players gets it. The pre-match flow adds a Banning Phase before Legend Selection:
- Vote: each player picks one Legend to request a ban on (or the timer runs out).
- Odds shown: every Legend that got votes displays its percentage chance of being banned. More votes means a higher chance.
- Roll: the system randomly selects banned Legends using those percentages.
- Pick: nobody in the lobby can select a banned Legend for that match.
The new Ban Phase: every player requests one ban, then the game rolls bans from the vote shares. Image: Electronic Arts / Respawn Entertainment
The weighted roll is a deliberate choice. Respawn writes that banning the most-voted Legends every time “creates its own banning meta”, which would defeat the point of breaking up dominant picks. The trade-off for players is predictability: even the lobby’s most-hated Legend can survive the roll, and a Legend with one vote can still be removed. The Cipher overview’s advice, “make sure you have a Plan B. Maybe a Plan C”, is the practical takeaway. Keep at least two Legends you are comfortable on in each role your squad needs.
Two details the posts leave open, and that we will add once the patch notes are out: how many Legends can be banned in one match, and whether the roll is per lobby or capped per role. EA has not published either yet.
Context from the Designer’s Notes: Respawn says no Legend is “far and away higher than others in pick rate” right now and that the most-picked team comp is below 1% of all ranked comps. So the ban phase is less a fix for one broken Legend and more a way to keep Diamond+ lobbies from settling into a fixed set of picks. Respawn also posted a YouTube Short, Major Ranked Improvements, on its official channel.
Lobby Tier, Challenger and Goliath matches: Season 31 scoring changes
When population is low, the matchmaker widens the RP range to keep queues short, which can put Bronze and Diamond squads in the same lobby. Season 31 does not change who you are matched with; it changes what the match costs you.
- Lobby Tier: shown when you load in, essentially the median of all squads.
- Balanced match: within one tier of the Lobby Tier, normal entry cost.
- Challenger match: 2+ tiers below the Lobby Tier, reduced entry cost.
- Goliath match: 2+ tiers above the Lobby Tier, increased entry cost.
EA’s worked example uses a Gold lobby: Silver, Gold and Platinum squads pay normal costs, Bronze squads are Challengers, and a Diamond squad is a Goliath. The adjustment is applied to the entry cost up front rather than at the end, so you know before you drop what you need to break even.
EA's example Goliath match: a Platinum squad in a Silver lobby pays a higher entry cost (57 RP in this example; final values pending). Image: Electronic Arts / Respawn Entertainment
Example entry costs from EA’s screenshots
The roadmap’s three pre-match screenshots show these numbers. They illustrate the system; EA has not said they are final Season 31 values, so treat them as examples until the patch notes land.
| Squad tier | Lobby Tier | Match type | Entry cost shown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | Platinum | Challenger | 14 RP |
| Platinum | Platinum | Balanced | 48 RP |
| Platinum | Silver | Goliath | 57 RP |
Even as examples they show the shape of the trade-off. A Challenger match risks far less RP, so a low-tier squad thrown into a high lobby loses little by playing for placement. A Goliath squad pays more, but Respawn’s own reasoning is that it “should be able to feast on all those lowbies, and still come out RP positive”. The cost of boosting a friend in a much lower tier goes up, which is the point: Respawn says it is watching the size of the adjustment so squads that can “nuke the entire lobby” do not climb for free.
Demotion Protection in Season 31
This is an existing feature that Respawn calls “unintentionally hidden”; Season 31 shows it clearly in the UI. It turns on when one match could drop you to a lower tier, for example when a Goliath entry cost could pull you under the line. While it is active you have three Demotion Shields. Each time you would lose enough RP to demote, one shield is used instead. You only demote once all three are gone, and protection ends early if you gain enough RP to be safe from a single-match demotion.
Who can play Ranked in Season 31
Road to Ranked challenges are gone. Ranked unlocks at Account Level 20 again, and Respawn says it will keep testing the exact level. Respawn admits the challenges “were not as effective as we would have liked” and took some players too long. Its argument for the change is matchmaking: more players in the queue means tighter RP bands. Its answer to the obvious worry (more fresh cheater accounts) is a promise that the anti-cheat team is on it. On October 26 Respawn also patched an exploit that let some players enter Ranked matches without paying entry costs (Apex Steam news).
What stays the same: premades and solo queue
Respawn’s September 30 matchmaking results closed two Season 30 tests. The one-tier premade restriction is not being made permanent, so you can still squad with friends within two tiers. Diamond+ solo-queue-only is not coming back as a permanent rule either. In that test, top-player exposure got worse because Masters and Predator players were spread one per squad across more matches.
Apex Legends Season 31 ranked map rotation
Patch notes pending. None of EA’s Season 31 posts list the ranked maps or the rotation schedule, and we will not repeat datamined or unofficial lists. The only confirmed map news is for later: Kings Canyon Evolved, a full rework with new and remixed POIs, is the major map update for Season 32 in early 2027. Strongholds, the new high-risk loot vaults that replace Care Packages, arrive in Season 31; our Apex Legends Season 31 Cipher overview covers them along with the Crypto rework and Akimbo Wingman.
Apex Legends Season 31 ranked rewards
Patch notes pending for Season 31’s end-of-split and end-of-season reward names. EA’s posts do not list them, and the rewards overhaul is a Season 32 feature. What Respawn has announced for Season 32 rewards:
- New seasonal Auras and new ways to use Auras
- Ranked Dive Trails revisited
- Epic and Legendary Apex Packs
- Rewards on promotion, so you no longer wait until the season ends
To earn a Predator badge from Season 32 on, you must finish the season in the top 750 of the new Grandmaster rank.
What’s coming in Season 32 Ranked (early 2027)
Season 32 splits Ranked into an Open League (Iron to Emerald) and a Pro-Am League (Diamond to Grandmaster). Image: Electronic Arts / Respawn Entertainment
- New ladder: Iron (replaces Rookie, treated as a standard rank), Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Emerald (new, 4 divisions) make up the Open League. Diamond, Masters (now 4 divisions) and Grandmaster make up the Pro-Am League.
- Deployment: Open League matches start in the Dropship; Drop Zone deployment and Legend Banning move to Pro-Am only.
- Flat scoring: each kill and each placement is worth a set amount of RP, with no kill multiplier that grows with placement. You get full kill RP for every kill your team gets, and assists and participations are removed.
- League weighting: the Open League values kills slightly more; the Pro-Am League weights placement higher, closer to ALGS scoring.
- Entry costs: they rise at every division instead of every tier, to soften the Diamond wall.
- Weekly Ladders are removed, with a replacement to be discussed next year. Respawn also warns that adding Emerald means rebalanced RP values, so expect to finish lower than you are used to at first.
Season 31 ranked tips based on the confirmed changes
- Diamond+ players: keep a second and third main in different roles. A ban roll can take out any Legend that got even one vote.
- Read the Lobby Tier before you drop. In a Challenger match your downside is small, so playing for placement is low-risk. In a Goliath match you need kills or a deep placement to break even.
- Carrying friends can cost more. The pre-match screen shows a Squad Tier, and a squad 2+ tiers above the lobby pays the Goliath price. EA hasn’t explained how Squad Tier is calculated for mixed-rank squads; patch notes pending.
- Near a tier line? Watch for the Demotion Protection shield count after each match. It tells you how many bad games you have left.
If you also follow other live-service shooters, see when Marvel Rivals Season 11 starts and which heroes it adds, and how Fortnite’s November 1 ranked reset handled rewards. Apex’s Blood Pact event runs until November 3, the day Cipher launches, according to EA; our Halloween 2026 event end dates list has it alongside the other Halloween events.
FAQ
When does Apex Legends Season 31 Ranked start?
With Season 31: Cipher on November 3, 2026, according to EA’s Designer’s Notes. EA has not published a start hour yet; it usually comes with the patch notes.
Is there Legend Banning in all Apex ranked matches?
No. In Season 31 it only runs in matches with Diamond+ players, alongside Drop Zone deployment. From Season 32 it belongs to the Pro-Am League (Diamond, Masters, Grandmaster).
Does the most-voted Legend always get banned?
No. Votes set each Legend’s percentage chance, and the bans are drawn randomly from those odds. Respawn chose this so a predictable “banning meta” does not form.
What level do you need for Ranked in Apex Season 31?
Account Level 20. The Road to Ranked challenges are removed, though Respawn says it may still adjust the level threshold.
Is Emerald rank in Season 31?
No. Emerald, Iron and Grandmaster are Season 32 additions, planned for early 2027.
Sources: EA / Respawn, Apex Legends: Ranked Roadmap (Oct 20, 2026); New Updates Coming with Apex Legends: Cipher (Oct 29); Cipher Designer’s Notes (Oct 30); Breaking Down Matchmaking Test Results (Sep 30); Apex Legends Steam news (Latest Update 10/26/2026). Season 31 patch notes not yet published as of Nov 2, 17:20 UTC.
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