League of Legends patch 26.20 sets the stage for Worlds 2026, with another balance pass before teams fight for the trophy. HEARTSTEEL Live My Life skins and more Classic champions also arrive, giving players plenty to check out beyond the competitive changes.
In brief:
- Eleven champions receive buffs or favorable adjustments; five receive nerfs.
- Hexplate and Hurricane lose power, while Rocketbelt changes.
- Five champions join Classic.
- HEARTSTEEL Live My Life headlines the cosmetics.
LoL Patch 26.20 Champion Buffs and Adjustments
Here’s the Summoner’s Rift rundown. Swain’s changes include an armor reduction alongside his buffs.
| Champion | Changes |
|---|---|
| Diana | W shield bonus-health scaling: 11% → 14%. |
| Kennen | E attack speed: 40–80% → 50–90%. |
| Kindred | W monster modifier: 150% → 165%. E slow: 1s → 1.5s; small-monster targeting removed. |
| Lillia | R sleep: 2.5s → 2.5/2.75/3s. |
| Lucian | AD growth: 2.5 → 2.9. |
| Mordekaiser | Q scaling, levels 10–20: +5 → +7/level. R cooldown: 140/120/100s → 120/110/100s. |
| Neeko | E damage: +10. Empowered root: 1.8–3s → 2–3s. |
| Smolder | Stronger crit-scaling passive damage; R healing increased. |
| Swain | MR: 31 → 34. Armor: 25 → 23. W damage: 70–210 → 70–250; cooldown reduced 2s. |
| Tahm Kench | Q healing: 10–25 → 10–50. |
| Vayne | Regeneration: 4(+0.5/level) → 5.5(+0.4/level). Q mana: 46–30 → 30. |
LoL Patch 26.20 Champion Nerfs
| Champion | Changes |
|---|---|
| Ambessa | Passive: 5–30(+25% bonus AD) → 5–25(+20%). |
| Ashe | AD growth: 3.5 → 3. |
| Cassiopeia | Health: 630 → 610. Mana: 480 → 450. |
| K’Sante | W costs 5 more mana; damage reduction loses 5 percentage points. |
| Yunara | Q passive/active damage: −2. W slow stacking removed. |
These changes appeared in GameRiv’s preview and match Riot’s final notes.
LoL Patch 26.20 Item Changes
- Experimental Hexplate: Ranged attack speed 35% → 25%; movement speed 14% → 10%.
- Runaan’s Hurricane: Bolt AD ratio 65% → 60%.
- Hextech Rocketbelt: Haste 20 → 10; active damage 100(+10% AP) → 135(+15% AP). leagueoflegends.com
Classic Adds Five Champions
Aatrox, Caitlyn, Irelia, Karma, and Quinn join Classic. Fiora, Graves, and Fizz receive nerfs; Kennen and Nautilus get buffs. Spirit Visage, Force of Nature, and Warmog’s gain regeneration. Banshee’s Veil’s shop filter is corrected.
Classic’s Act II Battle Pass arrives in 26.21.
ARAM and Mayhem Changes
Standard ARAM removes Bel’Veth’s damage, durability, and tenacity bonuses; Locke’s damage multiplier rises to 115%.
Mayhem adjusts Bard, Garen, K’Sante, Lee Sin, Swain, and Thresh. Augment updates affect Juiced, Leg Day, Missile Split, Shark Tempest, Squishy Slappy Grab, Tooth Fairy, and Triggered Inferno.
Replay Restrictions and Other Updates
Replay downloads become limited to participants. Third-party downloads end. Scoreboard counters are simplified, Ranked 5s runs from 4pm–4am server time, and bug fixes cover champions, items, and interfaces.
HEARTSTEEL Live My Life Skins
October 7 brings HEARTSTEEL Live My Life Ezreal, Kayn, Aphelios, Yone, K’Sante, Prestige Sett, and Prestige Classic Baron Kog’Maw. New chromas accompany the patch.
See Riot’s full patch notes for every mode-specific value and individual bug fix.
