A major change could be coming to Apex Legends Ranked, with newly discovered game files pointing toward a dedicated Legend Ban phase before each match. According to Apex Legends leaker HYPERMYST, players will be able to vote against specific Legends, potentially forcing squads to rethink their usual compositions before entering the dropship.
In brief:
- A new pre-match Legend Ban phase has reportedly appeared in the game files
- Every player may vote for one Legend to be banned
- Certain Legends can reportedly receive protection from the ban
- All votes will be revealed and counted simultaneously
The leaked interface includes a “Ban Legend” option alongside the existing Preferred Legend and Mute Squad controls. Once the ban phase begins, every player in the Ranked lobby will reportedly select one Legend they want removed from that match.
Rather than displaying votes as they are submitted, the system appears designed to reveal and tally every selection at the same time. So, this could prevent players from simply copying the most popular choice and make each vote feel more independent.
The available information does not clarify how many Legends will ultimately be removed, how tied votes will be handled, or whether a minimum number of votes will be required.
Ban Protection Could Keep Certain Legends Available
Another part of the leaked interface shows a shield icon accompanied by the message, “Legend is Protected from being banned.” This suggests Respawn may prevent certain characters from becoming unavailable.
Ban protection could potentially be used for recently released Legends, characters required for testing, or to ensure that every class remains represented. However, the exact conditions for receiving protection remain unknown.
Legend bans are already used in the Apex Legends Global Series, but the competitive format works differently. In ALGS matches, the most selected Legend can be removed from the available pool for the remainder of a series, encouraging professional teams to prepare multiple compositions.
The leaked Ranked version instead appears to give players direct control through a pre-match vote. This could reduce the presence of dominant meta picks while creating more variety between matches.
Respawn Entertainment and EA have not officially announced the Ranked Legend Ban feature. The current Apex Legends news page only lists the recently released Season 30 Marked updates, so the system should be treated as an unconfirmed feature that could change or be cancelled before release.
