Apex Legends Best Guns in Season 31: Cipher Weapon Meta

The best guns in Season 31 (Cipher) are the Prowler Burst PDW and Peacekeeper up close, the returning Hemlok Burst AR and the brand new Akimbo Wingman at mid range, and a Triple Take or Charge Rifle if your squad plays long fights. As of November 2026 the meta is in motion: Respawn nerfed the Prowler and Nemesis that dominated last season, vaulted the Hemlok Breach AR, and added a heavy ammo akimbo revolver, so the safest loadouts are the ones that cover two ranges instead of chasing one overpowered gun. Here is what changed, which weapons we would pick for each range, and the combinations that hold up in Trios and Ranked.

We built this from the Cipher patch notes and designer's notes plus the Marked launch and midseason patch notes, all read in November 2026.

What Shifted in the Cipher Weapon Meta

Respawn's own summary of last season is the best starting point. In the Cipher designer's notes the team described "the rise of the Prowler, the fall of the R-99, the slow climb of the Nemesis," and said the Prowler and Nemesis had been climbing in both usage rate and win rate all season with little sign of stopping. Both were nerfed for Season 31, the Elite Hemlok was removed from every mode, and the classic Hemlok Burst AR returned.

The second big factor is the loot economy that Season 30 introduced. High tier loot spawns less often across all maps, gold attachments were removed from the loot pool, Arsenals stay locked at match start and activate with the EVO Harvesters, and energy weapons no longer use lootable ammo. Instead each energy gun carries its own regenerating stockpile, refilling one magazine's worth over 18 seconds. A gun that performs well with a white or blue kit is therefore worth more than one that only shines fully kitted.

Cipher also adds Strongholds, a mid game airdrop that holds a Care Package weapon, three gold guns, three Amps and two Corrupted Attachments. That gives squads a reliable, if contested, way to upgrade late, and it changes how much you should invest in early game weapon swaps.

Key Season 31 weapon changes (Cipher patch notes)

Weapon	Change
Akimbo Wingman	New; Heavy Ammo; base damage 45; magazine doubled in akimbo
Prowler Burst PDW	Increased recoil; Selectfire Hop-Up removed
Nemesis Burst AR	Increased vertical recoil
Hemlok Burst AR	Returns; 21 body, 29 headshot damage; Breach and Elite versions removed
Peacekeeper	Increased rate of fire
EVA-8 Auto	Double Tap removed; Disruptor Rounds added
L-Star EMG	Back on the floor; damage 21 to 19
Akimbo Mozambique	Moves into the Care Package with Executioner

Close Range: SMGs and Shotguns

Prowler Burst PDW. Even after the nerf, the Prowler is our first pick for close quarters. Respawn was specific about the goal: it increased recoil and removed the Selectfire Hop-Up so the gun "remains deadly at close range, but less reliable at distance" and stops outperforming assault rifles at medium range. All burst weapons, the Prowler included, now queue the next burst when you tap fire, which makes tap firing feel much more responsive than it did last season.

Peacekeeper. The quiet winner of the patch. Its rate of fire went up, and shotgun bolts now improve both its rechamber rate and its rate of fire. Paired with a midrange weapon it gives you a one or two shot answer to anyone who rushes your building.

EVA-8 Auto. The EVA lost Double Tap Trigger and gained Disruptor Rounds as its locked Hop-Up, which unlocks after 375 points of progress, so the full version of the gun only comes online once you have been dealing damage with it for a while. Until then it is a plain auto shotgun, which makes it a better second weapon than a primary.

R-99, Alternator and RE-45. Season 30 trimmed all three: the R-99 dropped to 12 damage per bullet, the Alternator to 18 with smaller magazines, and the RE-45 to 16. The R-99 is still a fine weapon in skilled hands, but Respawn's own data showed it falling behind, and nothing in Cipher brings it back.

Mid Range: Assault Rifles and the Akimbo Wingman

Akimbo Wingman. The new headline gun is the first new akimbo weapon since the system arrived in Season 22. The Wingman now uses Heavy Ammo and Heavy Magazines, spawns at Heavy Ammo Arsenals, and has its base damage reduced from 50 to 45. Pick up a second Wingman and you automatically switch to akimbo: the headshot multiplier drops to 1.25x (56 damage), rate of fire rises slightly, recoil and reload time increase, the magazine doubles, and each trigger pull fires the two guns one after the other in a quick burst. Holding the trigger keeps releasing bursts.

In practice the Akimbo Wingman rewards players who can keep the burst on target at close to medium range. It is not a beginner's weapon, but it is far less punishing than a single Wingman because a missed shot does not leave you waiting on one slow follow up.

Hemlok Burst AR. The returning Hemlok has Burst and Single fire modes, deals 21 body and 29 headshot damage per bullet, and no longer has an integrated silencer. Holding the trigger fires bursts back to back. With the Breach AR gone, it is the most consistent heavy ammo rifle for players who prefer recoil they can learn rather than fight.

Nemesis Burst AR. Still a strong energy rifle with a regenerating stockpile of three magazines, but its vertical recoil went up. If you struggle to keep it on target at range, switch to the Hemlok rather than forcing it.

Long Range, Marksman and Energy Picks

Long range weapons got attention in the Marked midseason update and they are worth a look again. The Triple Take gained ADS rate of fire and a bigger blue magazine (9 instead of 8), the Charge Rifle's long range damage rose from 99 to 110 with maximum damage beyond 200 meters, and the Bocek's arrow stockpile went from 40 to 60. In Cipher, the corrupted Rapid Sniper Stock was toned down from a 1.2x to 1.1x rate of fire multiplier on the G7 Scout, Longbow and Triple Take, which slightly reduces the peak of those builds without changing their role.

The L-Star EMG returns to floor loot in Cipher with its damage reduced from 21 to 19, overheating after 22 shots instead of 28, and a base stockpile of 88 that recharges in 18 seconds. Its Redline Hop-Up is gone. It is a solid emergency weapon, but its smaller stockpile means it cannot carry a long fight on its own.

Remember how the energy stockpile works when you plan a loadout: the Havoc, Nemesis and Devotion carry three magazines' worth, the L-Star four, and the RE-45, Volt and Triple Take two. Regeneration pauses while you shoot or reload, so energy weapons are strongest in short engagements and weaker in drawn out ones.

Care Package and Stronghold Weapons

This season the Akimbo Mozambique moves into the Care Package with 18 damage per pellet, a tighter pattern, a stockpile of 80 shells and an Executioner Hop-Up that heals 15 shields per second. The L-Star leaves the package for the floor. The 30-30 Repeater, which entered the Care Package in Season 30 with a Shattercaps Hop-Up, was not mentioned in the Cipher rotation.

Strongholds are now the most reliable route to a Care Package weapon, since each one contains one along with gold guns and Corrupted Attachments. Capture progress only advances while a single team is in the zone, is shared globally, never decays, and moves faster with more teammates inside. If your squad already has a strong pair of weapons, the Amps and Corrupted Attachments may be the better prize.

From November 10 to December 1 the Godzilla event also places a special Care Package in blast zones on Storm Point, holding a custom Devotion with a heat ray attack that tracks enemies on hit. Treat it as a fun bonus rather than something to build a strategy around.

Loadouts That Work Right Now

These combinations cover two ranges and play well with the current Legend pool. Our Season 31 Legend tier list explains which Legends pair best with each style.

• Prowler plus Hemlok Burst: the most balanced pairing. The Prowler handles rooms and the Hemlok takes the medium range trades that the nerfed Prowler no longer wins.
• Peacekeeper plus Akimbo Wingman: a high skill pairing for confident aimers. The Peacekeeper finishes anything that reaches you and the Wingmen pressure from mid range.
• Nemesis plus EVA-8: good for squads that fight often, since the Nemesis never needs ammo pickups and the EVA keeps up pressure in close fights while its locked Hop-Up charges.
• Triple Take or Charge Rifle plus Prowler: for Storm Point and Broken Moon, where long sightlines reward poke damage before the push. Our map rotation guide lists which maps are live.

If you are hunting a 20 bomb or 4K damage badge, lean toward the close range pairings and hot drops; our badge guide covers the rest of that plan. If you are climbing, the long range options earn more safe placement, which matters more than raw damage under the entry costs explained in our Ranked guide.

Want the Wins Without the Grind?

Learning a new meta takes matches, and wins come slowly while everyone else is learning it too. The store's Apex Legends Wins Boosting is a piloted service on your selected rank: a booster plays the matches while you stay offline, and the product page lists progress toward account levels and Apex Packs from level-up rewards along the way. You are asked not to log in while the order is running.

You can browse every option from the Apex Legends boosting page, which lists PlayStation, Xbox and PC, or go straight to wins boosting to set it up.

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