Our Season 31 tier list puts the freshly buffed Revenant and Lifeline at the top alongside Pathfinder and a slightly nerfed Loba, with Axle dropping out of the top spot after three rounds of nerfs and the reworked Crypto still being tested. That is our read as of November 2026, three days into Apex Legends: Cipher, and it leans on what Respawn itself said about pick rates and balance in the patch and designer notes. Below we explain each placement, show exactly what changed for every Legend that moved, and cover how the new Legend bans in high Ranked lobbies should change the way you pick.
For this list we read the official Cipher patch notes and designer's notes, the Marked launch and midseason patch notes, and EA Help's Ranked article in November 2026.
How We Built This List
A tier list is only useful if you know what it is measuring. This one is aimed at Battle Royale Trios and Ranked, where you pick one Legend per squad and fights are decided by team play over a full match. Wildcard works differently, because Legends can be duplicated within a squad and matches run around 15 minutes with 30 players, so a Legend that shines there does not automatically belong near the top here.
We weighted three things. First, raw kit strength in the current sandbox: how much an ability wins fights, saves squads or controls space. Second, the direction of travel: whether Respawn just buffed or nerfed the Legend and why. Third, what the developers reported about pick and win rates in their designer's notes, which is the only first party data available this early in a season.
It also helps to keep the developers' own summary in mind. In the Cipher designer's notes Respawn wrote that, after the latest Axle nerfs, no Legend is far ahead of the others in pick rate and the single most picked team composition makes up less than 1 percent of Ranked team comps. In other words, the gap between the top and the middle of this list is smaller than it has been in some past seasons, and a Legend you play well will often beat a higher tier pick you play badly.
S Tier: The Strongest Picks Right Now
Revenant is the biggest winner of the patch. His Tactical cooldown drops from 20 to 15 seconds with a faster charge, his Ultimate cooldown falls from 180 to 150 seconds, and knocks now always add 5 seconds while the Ultimate is active. His new Upgrades are the real story: Silence makes landing from a Shadow Pounce release a pulse that silences nearby enemies, No Escape refreshes the Tactical when his Passive marks a low health enemy, and Ever Lasting adds 10 seconds to the Ultimate on a knock. Respawn said his popularity had fallen with the rise of Axle and Pathfinder, and this kit is clearly built to pull him back.
Lifeline gets her strongest version in a long time. Her Tactical cooldown falls from 25 to 15 seconds, D.O.C. now heals her while she glides, and her Level 3 choices are a 60 second Ultimate cooldown reduction or a Revive Shield that protects the teammate she is reviving. Respawn said her pick rate dropped off the higher you climb in Ranked; faster healing and a shielded revive are exactly the tools that matter in those lobbies.
Pathfinder stays here on the strength of mobility. The designers named his rise as one reason Revenant fell out of favor, and nothing in the Cipher notes touched him. Fast repositioning is still the most reliable way to survive the third parties that a Stronghold drop invites.
Loba takes a nerf but remains top tier. Respawn called her a very popular pick after her Season 30 buffs and pushed her Tactical from 25 to 30 seconds and her Ultimate from 120 back to 150 seconds. She still gives her squad the best loot access in a season where high tier loot is rarer than it used to be.
A Tier: Strong, With a Catch
Axle has been the most adjusted Legend of the last two seasons. Season 30 cut her maximum slide boost from 5 to 3 seconds and made her Kickstart Ultimate affect herself and her allies. An August 25 hotfix cut the drone's health from 200 to 150, raised its cooldown from 90 to 120 seconds and reduced the stun from 1.5 seconds to 0.25. The October 1 hotfix then cut her sliding lateral control by 50 percent, disabled increased aim assist for anyone under her Nitro Gate effect, and lowered the gate's push speed from 700 to 650. She is still fast and still dangerous, but the free value is gone.
Seer lost the turn slow on his Tactical in the August 25 hotfix after players found it frustrating to fight, but Respawn noted the Tactical output stays strong without it. He remains one of the best ways to start a fight with information.
Crypto is the wildcard of the season. His drone now runs on a 25 second battery, can be redeployed after a 6 second recall without a cooldown, scans in a full 360 degree radius, and marks enemies for 8 seconds with an icon your team can see through walls. His EMP deals full shield damage and a heavier slow to enemies in the drone's line of sight and 50 damage with a lighter slow otherwise. Respawn said he had a very low pick rate for multiple seasons; whether the rework moves him to S tier depends on how quickly players learn the new rhythm.
Conduit earns a spot thanks to the Season 29 changes that gave her a big uptick in success, plus the Marked midseason polish that made her Ultimate deploy faster and added two new Level 2 Upgrades, Concurrency and Jammed Up.
B Tier: Situational Legends
Valkyrie sat in the upper tier of pick rates for several seasons, so Season 30 cut her Tactical missile base damage from 25 to 15 and reduced her Ultimate's base height by 15 percent. She still offers the best squad relocation in the game, but her solo damage contribution is lower and a sharp team can now punish a predictable launch.
Bloodhound got a full rework in Season 30 built around the Allfather's Cloak Ultimate, a cloaking area that lets the squad ambush or escape, but the midseason notes admitted the changes had not moved pick and win rates as much as hoped and added further Tactical buffs. Strong in a coordinated squad, harder to use in solo queue.
Fuse and Catalyst both received sizable midseason buffs in Marked: Fuse gained 25 percent explosive damage resistance and base Knuckle Jumping, while Catalyst's Tactical cooldown dropped from 20 to 15 seconds and her wall no longer slows or blinds allies. Both are solid in the right squad without being must picks. Rampart rounds out this group; Respawn said in Season 30 that she still has trouble competing despite her buffs, although a well placed bunker can carry an endgame.
Every Legend not named here sits in the broad middle of the list. Their kits did not change in Cipher, and in a patch where no single pick dominates, comfort and squad fit matter more than half a tier.
How Legend Bans Change the Picture
Tier lists used to assume you could always play your best Legend. That is no longer true in high Ranked. In any Diamond or higher match each player requests one ban, and the game then randomly removes two Legends, weighted by how many requests each one received. If a Legend gets 80 percent of the requests, it has an 80 percent chance of being picked for the first ban. Our Season 31 Ranked guide covers the full flow.
The obvious consequence is that the most popular S tier picks will be banned more often than anything else. Practically, that means:
- Learn one backup from the same class as your main, so the squad's plan survives a ban.
- If you play a top tier Legend, expect to lose it in a meaningful share of Diamond lobbies and practice the backup in Unranked first.
- Use your own ban request on the Legend that hurts your squad's plan most, not automatically on the most popular one.
Your weapon choices should adapt with your Legend. Revenant and Axle squads that dive want close range firepower, while Seer and Crypto squads can afford longer range poke; our breakdown of the best guns in Season 31 pairs loadouts with these playstyles. Map knowledge matters too, because Storm Point, E-District Night and Broken Moon reward very different Legends, which we explain in our current map rotation guide. And if you play mostly for banner flex, the Legends you main are where your badge progress lives, so check our 20 bomb and 4K badge guide before you commit to one.
Turning a Good Main Into a Higher Rank
Knowing who is strong does not move your RP by itself. If you would rather put your hours into playing your favorite Legend than into a long climb, the store's Battle Royale Rank Boost takes a chosen target rank, and the order also adds account levels, Apex Packs and Legend Tokens according to its product page.
Start from the Apex Legends services hub, which lists PlayStation, Xbox and PC, then open the rank boost page to choose a tier. Because Ranked is tracked separately per platform, choose the one you actually compete on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the best Legend in Apex Legends right now?
As of November 2026 our pick is Revenant, who received shorter cooldowns and three new Upgrades in Season 31. Lifeline, Pathfinder and Loba are close behind, and Respawn says no single Legend is far ahead in pick rate.
Is Axle still good after the nerfs?
Yes, but she is no longer the default pick. The October 1 hotfix reduced her sliding control, turned off increased aim assist for players under her Nitro Gate and lowered the gate's push speed, on top of earlier Kickstart drone nerfs.
What changed for Crypto in Season 31?
His drone now has a 25 second battery, redeploys after a 6 second recall, scans 360 degrees and marks enemies for 8 seconds. His EMP can be triggered with one button press and does more when the drone has line of sight.
Which Legends got buffed in Apex Season 31?
Crypto, Lifeline and Revenant were buffed. Loba was nerfed, and Axle's nerfs from the October 1 hotfix were listed in the Cipher notes.
Does the tier list apply to Wildcard mode?
Not directly. Wildcard allows duplicate Legends in a squad, uses simplified systems and shorter 30 player matches, so some Legends perform very differently there than in Trios or Ranked.
Can my main get banned in Ranked?
Only in Diamond and higher lobbies, where two Legends are banned each match based on weighted player requests. Lobbies that do not reach that threshold skip the banning phase in Season 31.