When does Apex Season 31 start? November 3 Cipher launch, explained

Electronic Arts dated the Cipher Designer’s Notes October 30. The last line of that post is the calendar this desk did not have on the October 29 kit brief: “full Patch Notes dropping on November 2nd, 2026 ahead of season launch on November 3rd, 2026.” Those are days, not a downtime hour. Blood Pact still runs through November 3 on the earlier event post. This brief is the start date and the numbers EA added a day later.

What EA dated — and what it did not

If a third-party 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET clock is circulating, it is not on that page, so it stays off this one. EA’s live-service caveat is still at the bottom: the announcement may change.

Numbers that were not on the October 29 post

• Crypto’s drone battery lasts 25 seconds, then auto-recalls. Charged Up adds 10 seconds. Enemy marks last 8 seconds in base; an Upgrade extends that to 12. Scan is now a 360 radius. The drone no longer scans doors and loot bins.
• EMP without line of sight: 50 shield damage and a slight slow. With line of sight: full shield damage and a heavier slow. Three trigger states: one-button from stowed, Ult on a parked drone, or Ult / weapon-swap while piloting.
• Loba: Tactical 25 seconds to 30. Ultimate 120 seconds to 150.
• Revenant: Tactical cooldown down 5 seconds. Ultimate cooldown down 30 seconds. The 35-second Ult cap is gone; knocks add 5 seconds. New Upgrades named Every Lasting (+10 seconds Ult on a knock), Silence (4-second silence on Tactical landing), and No Escape.
• Lifeline: Tactical-cooldown Upgrade folded into base. New Level 3 Upgrades: Revive Shield, and Ultimate Cooldown reduced by 60 seconds.
• Hemlok Breach / Elite Hemlok is vaulted. Hemlok Burst AR returns. Akimbo Wingman is EA’s first “burst” akimbo: both revolvers fire sequentially. Prowler and Nemesis get nerfs with no damage table on this page. District night time is back.