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Apex Legends / Guide

Apex Cipher’s Ranked entry cost depends on your squad—not just your own rank

Challenger matches cut entry cost by 30%; Goliath matches add 50%. Premade teammates are weighted at the highest RP in their group.

CS
ClutchScope editorial
Published 8 Nov 2026 · 3 min read
Fact-checked 8 Nov 2026 · Times stated with their timezone
AI cut-paper illustration of an Apex-style supply bin and industrial balance scale weighing three squad helmets against metal weights
Original AI illustration by ClutchScope; conceptual squad-weighting scene, not gameplay or an official Ranked interface.
In this article
  1. When Challenger and Goliath apply
  2. A premade does not use a simple average of its members
  3. Where to see the cost before dropping

Apex Legends’ Cipher update cuts Ranked entry costs by 30% for disadvantaged squads and raises them by 50% for squads far above the lobby’s level. The trigger is a comparison between Squad Tier and Lobby Tier, rather than a simple check of your individual rank.

Season 31 began on November 3. Respawn’s patch notes now give the exact percentages and explain how premade groups affect the calculation, filling in the detail behind October’s Ranked roadmap.

When Challenger and Goliath apply

A Challenger Match applies when your Squad Tier is at least two tiers below the Lobby Tier. Its entry cost is discounted by 30%. A Goliath Match applies when the squad is at least two tiers above the lobby, increasing its entry cost by 50%.

For a normal entry cost of 60 RP, those adjustments produce 42 RP for Challenger and 90 RP for Goliath. The percentages apply to the entry cost, not to every point earned from kills or placement.

Respawn describes these wide-skill matches as uncommon, with off-peak play one situation in which they can occur. The adjustment compensates for the uneven matchup; it does not promise a lobby containing only players of the same rank.

A premade does not use a simple average of its members

Squad Tier is calculated from the average RP of the squad, but there is an important step before that average: everyone in a premade group is treated as having the RP of that group’s highest-ranked member.

Respawn’s example is a two-person premade whose higher member has 5,000 RP. Both members count as 5,000 RP for this calculation. A third player who is not part of that premade keeps their own RP value. Queueing with a lower-RP friend therefore does not reduce the premade pair’s contribution to Squad Tier.

The Lobby Tier is the median of all Squad Tiers. If a teammate never connects, your Squad Tier is reduced by one full tier. That rule concerns a missing connection, not a teammate being eliminated during the match.

Where to see the cost before dropping

The reworked Waiting for Players screen shows Squad Tier, Lobby Tier, current entry cost and match type. Challenger or Goliath status is also announced when you exit the dropship.

During the match, the inventory’s new Ranked tab shows the squad and lobby information, the RP scoring rules and goals such as covering your entry cost or reaching the next division. The inventory button still opens the normal Inventory tab first, so the Ranked information is a separate tab to select.