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The final balance changes before Worlds 2026 arrive in Patch 26.20, with Riot targeting several pro-level picks while giving weaker champions a chance to compete.
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Patch 26.20 arrived on October 7, 2026, bringing the final balance changes before Worlds 2026. The patch focuses on reducing the reliability of several professional picks while giving weaker champions a chance to compete, alongside changes to several items and game modes.
Patch 26.20 overview
Patch 26.20 is the League of Legends Worlds patch, with Riot making its final balance changes before the biggest competitive event of the year. The focus is on reducing the reliability of established professional picks while giving weaker champions a better chance of competing.
Ambessa, Ashe, Cassiopeia, K'Sante, and Yunara are being nerfed, while Diana, Kennen, Kindred, Lillia, Lucian, Mordekaiser, Neeko, Smolder, Tahm Kench, Vayne, and Swain are receiving buffs. Several items are also being changed to better fit the current meta.
Swain has always struggled to find his place in the meta. To address this, Riot is improving his ability to pressure lanes and rotate his main damage tool more frequently, while slightly reducing his physical durability.
Swain's win rate was 50.35% in Patch 26.19.
Diana's assassin build remains her strongest option, but her bruiser builds have fallen behind. The change strengthens that alternative by increasing Pale Cascade (W)'s bonus health ratio from 11% to 14%.
Diana's win rate was 52.55% in Patch 26.19.
To compensate for this patch's Hextech Rocketbelt nerf, Riot is buffing Kennen by increasing his Lightning Rush (E) bonus attack speed from 40/50/60/70/80% to 50/60/70/80/90%.
Kennen's win rate was 53.08% in Patch 26.19.
Kindred is currently significantly weaker than other jungle options. The buffs focus on improving clear speed and reliability in fights without giving a major boost to early invading power.
Kindred's win rate was 52.41% in Patch 26.19.
Despite the buffs in Patch 26.19, Lillia remains weaker than expected heading into Worlds. She is receiving another boost, with Lilting Lullaby (R) sleep duration increasing from 2.5 seconds to 2.5/2.75/3 seconds.
Lillia's win rate was 53.91% in Patch 26.18.
The Patch 26.19 changes were intended to bring Lucian's mid and bot lane performance closer together, but the adjustment hit his bot lane performance too hard. His Attack Damage growth is therefore being increased from 2.5 to 2.9 per level.
Lucian's win rate was 50.23% in Patch 26.19.
Mordekaiser's ultimate leaves a sizeable gap between uses, while his Q damage also falls off relative to the pace of later fights. The patch addresses both issues.
Mordekaiser's win rate was 52.16% in Patch 26.19.
Similar to Kennen, Neeko is also affected by the Hextech Rocketbelt nerfs, so Riot is buffing her as compensation. The changes give her stronger performance when she lands her main crowd-control combo.
Neeko's win rate was 50.69% in Patch 26.19.
Recent Black Cleaver changes and bot lane meta shifts have left Smolder in an extremely weak state. These buffs specifically target the gap between his critical strike and bruiser builds.
Smolder's win rate was 51.32% in Patch 26.19.
The support item changes in Patch 26.16 and subsequent adjustments reduced some of the sustain that Tahm Kench relies on, leaving him among the weaker health-regeneration tanks in the role. To address this, his Tongue Lash (Q) base healing increases from 10/13.75/17.5/21.25/25 to 10/20/30/40/50.
Tahm Kench's win rate was 51.46% in Patch 26.19.
Vayne's balance between top and bot lane has remained difficult since her previous changes. She was weakened because of her strength in top lane, but those changes left her struggling in bot lane as well. This patch improves her early sustain while making Q less punishing to use.
Vayne's win rate was 50.14% in Patch 26.19.
| Champion | Impact |
|---|---|
| Diana | Bruiser builds become more viable, giving her a stronger alternative when building for extended fights instead of pure burst. |
| Kennen | Sustained damage in fights improves, helping compensate for the loss of power from Rocketbelt's changes. |
| Kindred | Jungle clears become faster and E becomes more reliable around camps, while the longer slow gives more control when chasing or kiting enemies. |
| Lillia | Multi-target ultimates create a larger window for follow-up damage from the rest of the team. |
| Lucian | Bot lane trading and sustained damage become more competitive. |
| Mordekaiser | More opportunities to use his ultimate and stronger late-game scaling keep him relevant in longer games. |
| Neeko | More reliable all-ins, with fewer escape options for opponents. |
| Smolder | Critical strike builds gain a stronger late-game payoff, while improved healing gives more room to survive extended fights. |
| Tahm Kench | Easier recovery from poke and a more forgiving laning phase. |
| Vayne | Easier bot lane trades and stronger dueling potential, without increasing her top lane power. |
Reliable performance among experienced players, combined with strong late-game damage, has kept Ambessa a consistent professional pick. Riot is toning her down by reducing her Drakehound's Step (Passive) damage from 5–30 (+25% bonus AD) to 5–25 (+20% bonus AD).
Ambessa's win rate was 51.15% in Patch 26.19.
Ashe has become one of the premier marksmen in professional play, largely due to the combination of strong utility and considerable damage she brings to a team. To address this, her Attack Damage growth is being reduced from 3.5 to 3 per level.
Ashe's win rate was 52.69% in Patch 26.19.
The changes made to Cassiopeia in Patch 26.18 reduced the gap between professional and regular players, but her early laning strength remains a problem at the highest level. Her base stats are now being cut to make early advantages harder to establish.
Cassiopeia's win rate was 51.25% in Patch 26.19.
An extremely reliable blind pick in coordinated play, K'Sante is being targeted in his early defensive pattern to make it easier to punish.
K'Sante's win rate was 49.43% in Patch 26.19.
Yunara has emerged as a particularly strong late-game scaling option, with professional games increasingly allowing her to reach that point without needing to take many risks beforehand. Her Q damage and ability to combine her slow with other sources of crowd control are both being reduced.
Yunara's win rate was 52.7% in Patch 26.19.
| Champion | Impact |
|---|---|
| Ambessa | Less threatening in extended fights, especially as bonus AD builds scale into the later stages of the game. |
| Ashe | Lower sustained damage over the course of a game, making her utility more important to her overall contribution. |
| Cassiopeia | Weaker early lane pressure gives opponents more opportunities to contest her before she reaches her stronger scaling. |
| K'Sante | Less reliable at absorbing damage in lane. |
| Yunara | Lower sustained damage and less effective layered crowd control, making her easier to kite and peel against in team fights. |
| Item/System | Change | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental Hexplate | Ranged modifier: 70% (35% AS, 14 MS) → 50% (25% AS, 10% MS) | Ranged top laners lose some of the early mobility and attack speed that made Hexplate rushes difficult to punish. |
| Hextech Rocketbelt | Ability Haste: 20 → 10; Active damage: 100 (+10% AP) → 135 (+15% AP) | Becomes less useful as a general-purpose escape and more rewarding when its active is used to commit to a fight. |
| Runaan's Hurricane | AD per bolt: 65% → 60% | Reduced effectiveness when hitting several enemies at once, making other options more competitive. |
Experimental Hexplate has become a strong first item for ranged top laners, giving them enough Attack Speed and Move Speed to make early trades and all-ins difficult to punish. Reducing the ranged modifier cuts both stats, making the item less oppressive when rushed in ranged top lane matchups.
Hextech Rocketbelt is losing some of the general utility that made it effective on champions that use its active to reposition during fights. With less Ability Haste but significantly more active damage, the item now trades repeated access to its active for a stronger payoff when it is used.
The previous Runaan's Hurricane buff increased its damage against multiple targets enough to make it a stronger option than intended for some marksmen. Reducing the Attack Damage ratio on each additional bolt brings down its multi-target damage while leaving the item's core effect unchanged.
Prestige Classic Baron Kog’Maw Splash Art
League Classic is expanding again with five more returning champions, Aatrox, Caitlyn, Irelia, Karma, and Quinn, each bringing an older version of their kit to the mode.
ARAM Mayhem is receiving another round of champion-specific buffs aimed at strengthening weaker champions and making their core playstyles more satisfying in the mode. Several Augments are also being adjusted to improve their usability, including changes to Missile Split and Triggered Inferno.
Private Replays are being removed for other players and third-party tools. From this patch onward, players will only be able to access replays from their own matches, while third-party apps and websites will no longer have access to replay downloads. Riot says the change is part of broader security measures targeting tools built around League's game data.
Finally, the patch brings several new skins, including Prestige HEARTSTEEL Live My Life Sett, HEARTSTEEL Live My Life Ezreal, Kayn, Aphelios, Yone, and K'Sante, and Prestige Classic Baron Kog'Maw.
