Apex Legends Crypto Rework Guide: Drone Battery, Marks and EMP in Season 31

The rework at a glance: old Crypto vs new Crypto

EA says the goal is simple. Crypto should spend less time parked in his drone and more time in the fight with his squad, in a more aggressive recon role. Nothing was removed from his kit. The kit was rewired so the drone works in quick bursts instead of long, lonely flights. Here is the full change list from the official notes.

Part of the kit	Before Season 31	After the rework
Drone flight	No battery limit. The drone could stay out while you piloted it.	A 25-second battery. When it runs out, the drone recalls itself.
Recall and redeploy	Getting the drone back and out again ran on cooldown timing.	Recall takes 6 seconds, and there is no redeploy cooldown after it.
Scan	The scan covered the area the drone was looking at, and it flagged doors and loot bins.	The scan now covers 360 degrees around the drone. It no longer scans doors and loot bins.
Marks	Enemies showed up while the drone could see them.	Marks last 8 seconds, persist if the drone is recalled or destroyed, and have a 4-second cooldown between marks. A marked enemy cannot be marked again until the mark ends.
EMP trigger	The drone had to be in place before the EMP could go off.	One press works in three states: drone stowed, drone already out, or while you pilot the drone.
EMP result	The EMP result did not depend on what the drone could see.	Line of sight decides the damage and the slow, and the EMP deals no damage to Crypto.
Passive	The speed boost toward teammates was an Upgrade pick, Ally.MoveTo().	Ally.MoveTo() is now built into the base kit, with a slightly reduced boost.
Upgrades	Level 2 was Ally.MoveTo(). Level 3 was Hackathon.	Level 2 is Got Eyes On You, which adds 4 seconds to marks. Level 3 is Charged Up, which adds 10 seconds of battery.

The smaller touches point the same way. The drone handles faster and responds better. Getting into the drone is quicker than before. A destroyed drone also comes back sooner than it used to, though EA gives no number for that one. The trade-off is fair: the drone is now more visible to enemies, so a fast drone is also an easier one to spot and shoot.

The 25-second battery: play in short windows

The battery is the whole rework in one number. Every flight is now a 25-second window with a job to do. Before the rework, a Crypto could drift around the map for as long as he liked, and his team fought one player short the whole time. That play style is exactly what EA wanted to end, and the battery ends it by force. When the 25 seconds run out, the drone recalls itself whether you are done or not.

So treat each flight like a quick errand, not a road trip. Decide the one thing you need before you launch: mark the team holding the next building, check the route your squad wants to take, or set up the EMP. Fly the shortest path to that job. Do the job. Get out, or let the battery run out and take the recall. The 6-second recall is your short break, and because there is no redeploy cooldown, the drone is ready again the moment it is back. The new rhythm is fly, mark, fight, then fly again.

This rhythm fits the rest of Season 31 well. Fights now break out around fixed points that everyone can see coming, and a 25-second scout flight is the perfect tool for checking one before your team commits. Our Apex Legends Strongholds guide shows how those fights work and when a quick look from above wins them. Short flights also keep you near your squad, and your passive now helps you close the gap: the old Ally.MoveTo() Upgrade is part of the base kit, so Crypto runs faster toward teammates when he needs to catch up after a flight.

How to play the new Crypto, step by step

Step 1: Plan the flight before you launch

Pick one job for the flight before you take off: mark a team, check a route, or set up an EMP. The battery gives you 25 seconds, and a flight with no plan wastes all of them.

Step 2: Fly in, mark, and get out

Fly the shortest path to your target and mark enemies as you find them. The drone also tries to mark enemies on its own, and while you pilot it you can press the shoot button to mark by hand. Marks last 8 seconds, and there is a 4-second cooldown between marks.

Step 3: Fight on the mark, not in the drone

Leave the drone and push with your team while the marks are live. A mark stays up for its full 8 seconds even if the drone is recalled or destroyed, so your squad keeps the information while you join the fight.

Step 4: Use the recall gap, then fly again

When the battery ends or you recall the drone yourself, the recall takes 6 seconds. Heal, reload, or rotate with your team in that gap. There is no redeploy cooldown, so send the drone out again as soon as the next fight needs it.

Step 5: Fire the EMP with one press, on sight

When your team is ready to push, press the Ultimate button once to fire the EMP. It works with the drone stowed, with the drone already out, or while you pilot it. For the full hit, the drone needs a clear view of the enemy when the EMP goes off.

The EMP line-of-sight rule, in plain words

The EMP itself mostly works the way it always did. It still bursts from the drone, still hits shields, and still slows the enemies it catches. Two things are new: how you fire it, and how much it does. Firing it is now always one press, in three states. If the drone is stowed, one press sends the drone out and fires the EMP after a short delay. If the drone is already out in the world, one press fires the EMP on that drone. If you are piloting the drone, you fire it from inside, with the Ultimate button on PC or the weapon swap button on console.

The damage part now runs on one simple question: can the drone see the enemy when the EMP fires? Line of sight means a clear, straight view between the drone and the enemy, with no wall or cover in the way. If the drone can see them, they take the full result. If a wall, a box, or a building edge blocks the view, they still get hit, but for less. The EMP also deals no damage to Crypto now, so you can fire it at close range and push straight through it with your team.

When the EMP fires	What the enemy takes
The drone has line of sight	Full shield damage and a heavier slow. This is the hit you want before a push.
The drone has no line of sight	50 shield damage and a lighter slow. Still useful, but it will not open a fight on its own.
Crypto himself	Nothing. The EMP deals no damage to Crypto, in any state.

The practical rule is easy to remember: park the drone where it can see the fight, not behind it. A drone hidden behind a wall keeps you safe from nothing, because the EMP no longer needs you to be careful for your own sake. It needs eyes on the target. Set the drone on a corner, a roof edge, or any high spot with a clear view, then fire as your team swings in.

Upgrade picks: Got Eyes On You and Charged Up

Both of Crypto’s new Upgrades stretch the two timers this guide is built on. The Level 2 pick is Got Eyes On You. It replaces Ally.MoveTo(), which moved into the base kit, and it makes enemies stay marked for 4 seconds longer, so a mark lasts 12 seconds in total. The Level 3 pick is Charged Up. It replaces Hackathon, and it adds 10 seconds to the drone battery. Neither pick is wrong, but they suit different jobs.

Take Got Eyes On You when your team plays off information: slow pushes, third-party timing, and fights where knowing one team’s exact spot for a few extra seconds wins the trade. Twelve seconds is a long time to track a squad through a building. Take Charged Up when your flights have far to go: big rotations, wide scans before a long move, or setting an EMP drone deep in a spot your team has not reached yet. If you are still learning the new rhythm, Charged Up is the friendlier pick, because a longer battery forgives slow flying while you build the habit.

What did not change

It helps to know what EA left alone. Crypto is still a recon Legend whose value is information. The drone is still his Tactical, it can still be shot down, and it still shows your team where enemies are. The EMP still comes from the drone, still strips shields, and still slows the squad it catches, and EA says the Ultimate mostly functions the same as before. His old Upgrade tools did not vanish either: Ally.MoveTo() is now free in the base kit, and the faster drone recovery that Hackathon used to sell is now built into the base timing. The rework changes how long you fly and what your marks and EMP do. It does not change what Crypto is for.

Common mistakes with the new Crypto

Parking in the drone like the old days

The battery ends this habit on its own, but new habits beat forced ones. If you still fly until the recall drags you out, you spent the whole window watching instead of marking. Set a job, do it, and leave early on your own terms.

Staying in the drone while your marks tick down

A mark only helps if someone shoots the marked player, and the best shooter is often you. Marks persist through recall and destruction for a reason: the information stays, so the pilot does not have to. The moment your marks are up, get out and take the fight. If your aim needs work before those fights, our guide to the best Apex Legends settings is the fastest tune-up.

Firing the EMP through a wall and expecting the full hit

No line of sight means 50 shield damage and a light slow. That hit does not crack a team open, and pushing on it like it did is a fast way to lose a fight you started. Move the drone for a clear view first, even if the move costs you a few seconds of battery.

Treating the drone like it has a long cooldown

Old habits die hard here too. There is no redeploy cooldown in Season 31, so a recalled drone is not a lost drone. Players who wait around for a cooldown that no longer exists give up free information before every fight. If the team is about to move or push, the drone should already be in the air.

Also new in Season 31

One weapon note before you drop: the Wingman now uses Heavy ammo with its base damage cut from 50 to 45, and looting a second Wingman puts you into Akimbo mode.