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League of Legends Patch 26.20 is looking like it will be a rather significant patch, as Riot Games is preparing one last batch of balance changes before Worlds 2026 officially begins.
The patch preview shows buffs for 11 champions, such as Lucian, Vayne, and Smolder. On the other side of the spectrum, Ambessa, Cassiopeia, K’Sante, Yunara, and Varus are all receiving nerfs. As for Sylas, he is being balanced with specific adjustments toward his mid-lane strength.
Experimental Hexplate, Runaan’s Hurricane, and Hextech Rocketbelt are all on the change list as well, with the first two being nerfed and Hextech Rocketbelt being adjusted more broadly. According to Riot, Patch 26.20 will serve as the final Worlds patch, so keep that in mind with these upcoming changes.
League of Legends Patch 26.20 Champion Changes
In the current preview, there are champion changes for 17 champions total. Some are receiving buffs, some are receiving nerfs, and one is simply receiving adjustments.
Champions Receiving Buffs
Here are the champions that are currently buffed in the preview:
- Diana
- Fiddlesticks
- Kennen
- Kindred
- Lucian
- Mordekaiser
- Neeko
- Smolder
- Swain
- Tahm Kench
- Vayne
Specifically, Swain is receiving buffs to help his mid-lane role. Tahm Kench is purely receiving buffs to his role as support. As for Vayne, Riot is buffing her to perform better in the bot lane without letting her top lane strength return.
Lucian Is Getting Another Buff
Lucian is one of many champions in this patch that are getting some slight adjustments.
According to Riot, some of Lucian’s strongest support synergies were changed recently, and when those changes were paired with already existing support changes, his early-game strength was severely impacted. Patch 26.20 will aim to give Lucian some more strength.
Exactly how much strength he receives and which abilities are being changed have not been revealed in the preview.
Vayne Buff Comes With Hexplate Nerf
Vayne is being buffed to deal with her inconsistent performance between roles.
Riot wants her to be more effective in the bot lane without overcorrecting and letting her top lane strength return. To counter that, Experimental Hexplate is being nerfed at the same time as Vayne is being buffed.
Riot believes this will leave top lane Vayne fairly unchanged while allowing more room for bot lane Vayne.
Champions Receiving Nerfs
Here are the champions on the nerf list so far:
- Ambessa
- Cassiopeia
- K’Sante
- Yunara
- Varus
Many of these champions have stayed quite popular in professional play throughout season 2024. As a result, Riot wants to tone some of them down before they begin Worlds.
Cassiopeia is also being heavily adjusted again, as her previous nerfs didn’t seem to affect her professional play presence.
Yunara is receiving a direct nerf to coincide with the Runaan’s Hurricane nerf, which Riot admits will have a significant combined impact on her.
Sylas Adjustments Are Targeted at Mid Lane
Sylas is the only champion on the list that is getting adjusted instead of clearly buffed or nerfed.
The intention is to help his mid-lane game without heavily impacting his jungling. Riot specifically wants to enhance some of his already favorable mid-lane matchups without making his unfavorable matchups any worse.
League of Legends Patch 26.20 Item Changes
Experimental Hexplate
- Experimental Hexplate is getting nerfed, though mostly in a way that will affect ranged champions.
- This is directly linked to Vayne’s buff, as Riot wants to ensure there’s enough room to balance her as a ranged champion with this item.
Runaan’s Hurricane
- Runaan’s Hurricane is being slightly nerfed as well.
- Riot states that they might have gone a little too far with its last buff, so this should be fairly minor in comparison to the last time it changed.
Hextech Rocketbelt
- Hextech Rocketbelt is being adjusted to alter how some ranged champions use it.
Specifically, Riot states that some high-level mages are becoming too durable and flexible with this item. Their changes will hopefully provide a better trade-off for continuously dealing damage with it.
Champions like Annie and Neeko should not see too much of a power spike or decrease when building Rocketbelt, but they may not be able to spam their damaging abilities without some consequence.
When Does Patch 26.20 Come Out?
October 7, 20 26 is the release date for Patch 26.20, as shown on the current patch schedule. Another thing that will be released during this patch is the HEARTSTEEL Live My Life collection. In fact, Riot officially confirmed that HEARTSTEEL skins will be releasing with Patch 26.20.
Because this is looking to be the last patch before Worlds, it’s safe to assume that we will not see any more major balance changes unless they are necessary hotfixes. Keep in mind that this is simply the patch preview and any of these changes can still be altered before release.
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