Patch 26.14 tones down dominant picks and gives weaker champions room to return. Here's every change and what it means for the meta.
Patch 26.14 arrived on July 14, 2026, marking Riot's first balance update after MSI 2026. It focuses on refining the current meta with targeted champion changes, item adjustments, and system updates that could influence how the game is played. With some of the strongest picks being toned down and several others receiving room to improve, the changes could shift how teams and players approach the current meta.
What's the Big Picture for Patch 26.14?
Azir stands out as one of the more interesting updates in Patch 26.14. The Emperor of Shurima has struggled to reach his full potential, so Riot is targeting the bugs and interactions that have held him back. Alongside these changes, several familiar faces are seeing adjustments, with Locke, Jayce, Senna, Seraphine, and Garen hit by nerfs while Mordekaiser, Corki, Yunara, and Nami gain buffs.
Champion Adjustments
Azir
Azir has been held back by a number of long-standing bugs and inconsistent interactions, so this patch focuses almost entirely on cleaning up his kit. Most of these changes target Arise! (W), improving how his soldiers interact with items and runes. Liandry's Torment, Blackfire Torch, Hextech Alternator, and the rune Scorch now deal 100% of their damage on-hit instead of 50%, making damage-over-time builds more reliable.
After two months without an optimal rune setup, Azir players can go back to using Conqueror, since it now applies two stacks on-hit instead of one, or even Press the Attack, now that it triggers on the primary target. These changes should bring Azir closer to his traditional rune pages of Precision primary path and Sorcery secondary.
Finally, Emperor's Divide also receives a fix that allows it to properly knock back jungle monsters, opening up some creative opportunities for Azir players around objectives and jungle camps. Azir's win rate was 45.61%.
Buffed Champions
Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser lost some of his power following the Riftmaker bugfix in Patch 26.10, so he now gets two buffs focused on improving his scaling and reward when isolating targets. Death's Grasp (E) damage increases from 60–120 to 60–140, with the AP ratio also going from 40% to 45%. The damage increase scales with ability rank, keeping the early levels unchanged while giving him more damage later in the game. Alongside this, the stat steal on Realm of Death (R) increases from 10% to 13%. During Patch 26.13, Mordekaiser's win rate was 50.26%.
Corki
This patch, Riot is giving the Flying Yordle a boost to his late-game power. His Attack Damage growth increases from 2 to 2.5, while Missile Barrage (R) refund from auto attacks goes from 2–4 seconds to 2–6 seconds, allowing him to fire missiles more frequently in extended fights. Corki's win rate in 26.13 was 47.52%.
Nami
Since the Imperial Mandate changes, Nami has struggled to keep up with other enchanters despite being a long-standing presence in the meta. By increasing Tidecaller's Blessing (E) damage from 20–60 to 20–80, scaling with ability rank, Riot is looking to make her a bigger threat in lane and during team fights. Nami's win rate was 50.21% in Patch 26.13.
Yunara
Yunara's Attack Damage growth goes from 2.5 to 3. This is mainly a mid-to-late game buff that aims to help her keep up after several bot lane meta shifts. Yunara's win rate in 26.13 was 47.4%.
Nerfed Champions
Locke
As players have had more time to learn Locke, Riot is now smoothing out some of the rough edges from his release. Ritual Nails (Q) has been a major source of pressure, especially during extended trades, so its damage goes from 50–90 to 50–82, the mark bonus damage goes from 20–60 to 18–50, and the recast hold time decreases from 5 seconds to 4 seconds. Additionally, Soul Ignition (W) damage taken Grey Health cap decreases from 40–200 to 40–160 to reduce some of his sustain. In Patch 26.13, Locke's win rate was 49.74%.
Seraphine
Having an enchanter that can also deal high amounts of damage has made Seraphine a difficult champion to balance in the current bot lane meta. While she provides the utility expected from her role, her range and damage output can make laning against her frustrating, especially alongside other mage carries. To tone this down, her High Note (Q) ability power ratio decreases from 50% AP to 40% AP. Seraphine's win rate was 51.89% in Patch 26.13.
Jayce
Few champions have gone through as many different identities as Jayce, from tank builds to the current burst-focused playstyle. After his adjustments in Patch 26.03, he found a way to combine that damage with strong survivability, making him a dominant pick in both solo queue and professional play. Riot is now reducing some of that safety, with Hextech Capacitor (Passive) bonus movement speed decreasing from 40 to 30 and Mercury Hammer (R) bonus Armor and Magic Resistance going from 5–35 to 5–26. In Patch 26.13, Jayce's win rate was 48.04%.
Senna
Senna has always been one of Riot's trickiest champions to balance. Between her unique soul scaling and ability to switch between ADC and Support, every system change can affect her differently. To tone down some of her scaling, Absolution (Passive) critical strike damage modifier decreases from 85% to 80%, while Piercing Darkness (Q) AP slow ratio goes from 10% per 100 AP to 7% per 100 AP and AP healing ratio from 50% AP to 35% AP. Senna's win rate in 26.13 was 53.49% in the ADC role and 51.62% in Support.
Garen
In every skill bracket, Garen remains one of League's most reliable champions. His straightforward kit and consistent game plan have made him a popular choice, so when Riot does step in, it's usually with small number adjustments rather than major changes to his kit. This time, Demacian Justice (R) true damage decreases from 150–350 to 125–275, with the reduction becoming larger at each rank. Garen's win rate was 52.17% in 26.13.
Item and System Changes
Immortal Path
The nerf to Immortal Path means that champions like Sylas, Irelia, Zed, and Naafiri, who excel at making full use of both effects, get a much-needed tone down. It also makes buying Gluttonous Greaves a less automatic choice, especially for champions that pick them up mainly because the upgraded version offers so much.
Protoplasm Harness
Protoplasm Harness became the kind of item where, if a champion could build it, there was very little reason not to. By increasing its cost and lowering its health and healing in the early game, Riot is targeting the item's early power spike without taking away its identity. For Junglers that relied on Protoplasm Harness for early-game tower dives, this change could make them think twice before committing. For ADCs, it might mean one less threat to worry about.
Hextech Rocketbelt
What started as a reliable engage tool for champions like Kennen, Lissandra, and Neeko slowly became an item so cost efficient that it turned into a must-have mobility option for almost every mage. To push it back toward its original purpose, this patch gives it a longer cooldown, less Ability Power, and, more importantly, a different build path that swaps the versatile Fiendish Codex for the more niche Kindlegem.
Blue Buff
Increasing Blue Buff's Ability Haste from 10 to 10/15/20 based on level gives more value to the part of the buff that matters the most in today's meta. Mages will benefit the most from the change, but expect ADCs like Ezreal, Varus, and Kai'Sa to start competing with their mid laners for the chance to grab it.
What Else Is Happening in Patch 26.14?
Another Clash tournament, this one called the MSI Cup, is coming, with registrations starting July 13 and games taking place on July 18 and 19. Arena is receiving more updates in the form of new Augments and balance adjustments, while ARAM: Mayhem is getting some changes to its Augment RNG system.
Ranked Season 2 will end on July 28, with Season 3 beginning shortly after. You can also check out our Season 2026 Patch 26.1 breakdown for a look at the changes that started the year.
Riot is introducing optional Parent Permissions, giving parents more control over their child's social interactions in League.
Finally, Riot is celebrating T1's historic three-peat World Championship victory with a special set of Worlds Winner skins. The release will include the usual Signature Bundles, but this time with exclusive emotes inspired by the pros and the skins they helped design. This year's MVP skin is MVP T1 Miss Fortune.