League of Legends Patch 26.20 Notes - All Changes

Riot Games says League of Legends Patch 26.20 is the patch that Worlds will be played on, so the balance team is adjusting a few pro staples and buffing champions that sit close to viability. Ambessa, Ashe and K'Sante get trimmed, Kennen and Kindred get buffs, and Hextech Rocketbelt takes another hit.

The patch also locks replays down to your own matches, adds five more champions to Classic and gives ARAM: Mayhem champion-specific buffs. We will go over every change in Patch 26.20, from the Summoner's Rift champion and item updates to the bug fixes.

League of Legends Patch 26.20 Highlights

Private replays: you can only access replays from matches you played in. Other players can no longer download your replays, and third-party apps and sites lose access to replay downloads entirely.
Worlds balance: Ambessa, Ashe, Cassiopeia and K'Sante are toned down, while Kennen, Kindred, Lillia, Lucian and others are buffed.
Item changes: Hextech Rocketbelt, Experimental Hexplate and Runaan's Hurricane are adjusted, and most item counters are hidden on the scoreboard.
Classic: Aatrox, Caitlyn, Irelia, Karma and Quinn join the mode. The Act II Battle Pass arrives with Patch 26.21.
New skins: Prestige Classic Baron Kog'Maw and six HEARTSTEEL Live My Life skins are available October 7, 2026.

Private Replays

Starting with this patch, you will only be able to access replays from matches you played in. Riot says the change, along with some restrictions on third-party access to game memory, closes security vulnerabilities that cheat developers and other bad actors recently exploited to build unauthorized tools around League game data.

You can still review your own matches. Downloading and watching your replays directly in the League client is not affected.

Patch 26.20 Champion Changes

Every change below is listed as old ⇒ new, exactly as Riot reports it.

Ambessa

Riot says Ambessa has been too reliable in her late game output for high-mastery players in all brackets, especially in pro play.

Passive, Drakehound's Step: Damage 5 - 30 (+25% bonus AD) ⇒ 5 - 25 (+20% bonus AD)

Ashe

Ashe is one of the premier marksmen in pro play, and Riot sees her dealing too much raw damage for the highest utility marksman in the game.

Base Stats: Attack Damage per Level 3.5 ⇒ 3

Cassiopeia

Riot is taking another swing at her early resources because she is still dominant in early laning.

Base Stats: Base Health 630 ⇒ 610
Base Stats: Base Mana 480 ⇒ 450

Diana

Her assassin build shines, but her bruiser builds lag behind, so she gets more power there.

W, Pale Cascade: Shield Bonus Health Ratio 11% ⇒ 14%

Kennen

E, Lightning Rush: Bonus Attack Speed 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80% ⇒ 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90%

Kindred

Kindred is a bit weak right now, so the buffs target areas that will not make early invades much stronger.

W, Wolf's Frenzy: Monster Mod 150% ⇒ 165%
E, Mounting Dread: Slow Duration 1s ⇒ 1.5s
E, Mounting Dread: Small Monster Targeting Enabled ⇒ Removed

K'Sante

Riot wants to stop him from being such a reliable blind pick in coordinated play by hurting his early mana and his W damage reduction.

W, Path Maker: Mana Cost 40 / 45 / 50 / 55 / 60 ⇒ 45 / 50 / 55 / 60 / 65
W, Path Maker: Base/All-Out Damage Reduction 30 / 75% ⇒ 25 / 70%

Lillia

Last patch's buff did not move her enough, so she gets a follow-up.

R, Lilting Lullaby: Duration 2.5s ⇒ 2.5 / 2.75 / 3s

Lucian

Last patch's change to normalize mid and bot performance landed as a nerf for bot lane, so this buff makes up for it.

Base Stats: Attack Damage 60 + 2.5/Level ⇒ 60 + 2.9/Level

Mordekaiser

Q, Obliterate: Scaling Level 10-20 (+5/lvl) ⇒ (+7/lvl)
R, Realm of Death: Cooldown 140 / 120 / 100s ⇒ 120 / 110 / 100s

Neeko

Riot expects the Rocketbelt change to land as a small nerf for Neeko, so she gets minor compensation.

E, Tangle-Barbs: Base Damage 70 / 105 / 140 / 175 / 210 (+65% AP) ⇒ 80 / 115 / 150 / 185 / 220 (+65% AP)
E, Tangle-Barbs: Empowered Root Duration 1.8 / 2.1 / 2.4 / 2.7 / 3s ⇒ 2 / 2.25 / 2.5 / 2.75 / 3s

Smolder

Smolder has lost power over the last few patches, so Riot is encouraging crit builds to bring his bruiser and full crit builds closer in power.

Passive, Dragon Practice: Super Scorcher Bonus Magic Damage 25 - 55% (+0-9% with IE) ⇒ 25 - 60% (+0-10.5% with IE) of Dragon Practice Stacks, scaling with Crit Chance
Passive, Dragon Practice: Flap Flap Flap Bonus Magic Damage 8 - 12.8% (+0-1.44% with IE) ⇒ 8 - 14% (+0-1.8% with IE) of Dragon Practice Stacks, scaling with Crit Chance
R, Mmooommmm!: Self Heal 100 / 135 / 170 (+50% bonus AD) (+75% AP) ⇒ 100 / 175 / 250 (+75% bonus AD) (+75% AP)

Swain

Swain gets a moderate mid lane buff, plus an adjustment meant to normalize his mid and bot lane performance.

Base Stats: Base Magic Resistance 31 ⇒ 34
Base Stats: Base Armor 25 ⇒ 23
W, Vision of Empire: Damage 70 / 105 / 140 / 175 / 210 (+60%) ⇒ 70 / 115 / 160 / 205 / 250 (+60%)
W, Vision of Empire: Cooldown 22 / 21 / 20 / 19 / 18s ⇒ 20 / 19 / 18 / 17 / 16s

Tahm Kench

He lost out on the recent support item adjustments, so he gets compensation.

Q, Tongue Lash: Base Healing 10 / 13.75 / 17.5 / 21.25 / 25 ⇒ 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50

Vayne

Base Stats: Health per 5 4 + .5/Level ⇒ 5.5 +.4/Level
Q, Tumble: Mana Cost 46 / 42 / 38 / 34 / 30 ⇒ 30

Yunara

Riot calls Yunara the leading candidate for "handshake hyperscaler do nothing" and wants to avoid that becoming the dominant meta heading into Worlds.

Q, Cultivation of Spirit: Passive On Hit Damage 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 (+20% AP) ⇒ 3 / 8 / 13 / 18 / 23 (+20% AP)
Q, Cultivation of Spirit: Active On Hit Damage 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 (+20% AP) ⇒ 3 / 8 / 13 / 18 / 23 (+20% AP)
W, Arc of Judgement: Slow Stacking Stacks with other slows ⇒ No longer stacks with other slows

Patch 26.20 Item Changes

Experimental Hexplate

Riot is unhappy with how the item plays for ranged users, especially as a first rush in top lane.

Ranged Mod: 70% of Value (35% Attack Speed, 14% Move Speed) ⇒ 50% of Value (25% Attack Speed, 10% Move Speed)

Hextech Rocketbelt

Rocketbelt is used too much as an escape compared to a risky engage tool, so Riot is pulling back its generic value to favor aggressive use, especially for AP bruisers.

Ability Haste: 20 ⇒ 10
Active Damage: 100 (+10% AP) ⇒ 135 (+15% AP)

Runaan's Hurricane

Riot says the item was slightly overbuffed.

Attack Damage per Bolt: 65% ⇒ 60%

Scoreboard Cleanup

Riot's recent buff-bar clarity work moved many numbers from buffs onto items, and they cluttered the scoreboard. Most item numbers are now hidden there, while strategically relevant ones like Tear of the Goddess items and Mejai's Soulstealer stay. These icon counters are now hidden:

Death's Dance
Haunting Guise
Liandry's Torment
Riftmaker
Kraken Slayer
Terminus
Guinsoo's Rageblade
Fiendhunter Bolts
Echoes of Helia
Dead Man's Plate
Spear of Shojin
Overlord's Bloodmail
Hullbreaker
Jak'sho the Protean
Force of Nature

Patch 26.20 Classic Changes

Aatrox, Caitlyn, Irelia, Karma and Quinn join Classic this patch, and the Act II Battle Pass arrives with Patch 26.21.

New Classic Champions

Aatrox: an attack-focused fighter who damages himself to gain attack speed and revives when he would be killed. Riot snapshotted him three patches after release.
Caitlyn: the version that was live from 2011 to 2015. Riot notes that some players were upset at launch because she seemed too similar to Miss Fortune.
Irelia: the 2010-2018 version, a fast but deceptively durable fighter who loves to be the underdog.
Karma: live for just over two years before her rework in early 2013, and arguably League's first battlemage, getting stronger the more health she is missing.
Quinn and Valor: in this form from 2013 to 2015. Quinn is a ranged, evasive auto-attacker, and her ultimate calls in Valor to fight as a fast melee skirmisher.

Classic Balance Changes

Fiora is still the game's most dominant top laner, so Riot is going for a generic damage nerf rather than touching her ultimate.

W, Riposte: Bonus Attack Damage 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 ⇒ 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30

Graves was wildly popular and arguably the strongest champion at launch. His basic and critical attack animations are sped up, and his sustained damage is reduced.

Base Attack Damage: 54.1 ⇒ 50
Attack Damage per Level: 3.1 ⇒ 2.5
Attack Speed per Level: 2.9% ⇒ 2.5%
R, Collateral Damage: Cone Damage 140 / 250 / 360 + 120% bonus AD ⇒ 140 / 230 / 320 + 100% bonus AD
R, Collateral Damage: Projectile Damage unchanged

Fizz gets nerfs skewed toward his higher-AP builds, to bring down his guaranteed burst.

Q, Urchin Strike: Ability Power Ratio 60% ⇒ 40%
W, Seastone Trident: Active Ability Power Ratio 35% ⇒ 20%

Kennen gets buffs skewed toward helping AD Kennen.

W, Electrical Surge: Passive Damage 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80% total AD ⇒ 25 / 40 / 55 / 70 / 85 + 100% bonus AD

Nautilus is weak in all three of his main roles, so Riot fixes two bugs and pulls in buffs.

Passive, Staggering Blow: fixed a bug where the empowered attack was critting for too much damage.
W, Titan's Wrath: fixed a bug where the shield wasn't factoring in armor or magic resistance.
W, Titan's Wrath: Damage over Time 40 / 55 / 70 / 85 / 100 + 40% AP ⇒ 40 / 65 / 90 / 115 / 140 + 40% AP
W, Titan's Wrath: Shield Bonus Health Ratio 10% ⇒ 15%
W, Titan's Wrath: Shield Duration 9.75 ⇒ 10

Classic Item Changes

Several tank items had too little health regen, so it goes up. Banshee's Veil also gets a shop display fix so you can find it when searching for health items.

Spirit Visage: Health per 5 4 ⇒ 20
Force of Nature: Health per 5 20 ⇒ 40
Warmog's Armor: Health per 5 10 ⇒ 30
Banshee's Veil: Stat Filter Filters Ability Power ⇒ Health

Patch 26.20 ARAM: Mayhem Changes

Riot is giving champions that need love champion-specific buffs, and it continues to focus on Augment usability. Missile Split now splits when the missile reaches its end or is recast rather than on the first target hit, and Triggered Inferno has a lower cooldown.

Mayhem Champions

Bard: Meep Ability Power Ratio 50% ⇒ 67%, Meep Recharge 8s ⇒ 5s, Meep Auto Damage per Chime Breakpoint 6 per 3 chimes ⇒ 10 per 3 chimes.
Garen: Passive Regen 1.5%-1.01% ⇒ 2%-12%, W Cooldown 22-12 ⇒ 18-12, W Shield Strength 18% Bonus Health ⇒ 20% Bonus Health, W Passive Stacks 0.4 per minion kill ⇒ 0.75 per minion kill.
K'Sante: W Cooldown 14-10 ⇒ 10, W Damage Reduction 30% ⇒ 45%, E Shield Strength 13.5% bonus health ⇒ 15% bonus health.
Lee Sin: Passive Attack Speed 40% ⇒ 50% bonus Attack Speed, Passive Energy Restore 20 / 30 / 40 ⇒ 30 / 40 / 50, W Shield 60-240 ⇒ 80-320, Q2 Damage 60-180 ⇒ 80-240.
Swain: Damage Taken 105% ⇒ 100%, Healing 95% ⇒ 100%, Soul Fragments Restore 6% flat ⇒ 3%-6% scaling with level.
Thresh: Passive Soul Drop 2 ⇒ 3, W Cooldown 21 / 20 / 19 / 18 / 17s ⇒ 19 / 18 / 17 / 16 / 15s.

Mayhem Augments

Juiced: Mana Drain removed, Damage-to-Mana Ratio 4.5% ⇒ 7%, and a new Ranged Mod of 80% of the 7%.
Leg Day: Slow Resist 40% ⇒ 50%.
Missile Split: Split Trigger On first unit hit ⇒ On end or recast.
Shark Tempest: Slow 30% for 3s ⇒ 40% for 3s, Base Area of Effect Damage 50-100 ⇒ 100-200, Attached Damage over 3s 75-225 + 0.6 bonus AD + 0.36 AP ⇒ 90-270 + 0.75 bonus AD + 0.45 AP.
Squishy Slappy Grab: Cooldown 35s ⇒ 30s, Damage 30-100 + 10% bonus Health ⇒ 50-150 + 15% bonus Health, Shield per Target 35-150 ⇒ 50-200 (+ 50% bonus Armor + 50% bonus Magic Resistance).
Triggered Inferno: Cooldown 15s ⇒ 5s.

Patch 26.20 ARAM and Ranked 5s

In regular ARAM, two champions change:

Bel'Veth: Damage Dealt 105% ⇒ 100%, Damage Taken 95% ⇒ 100%, Tenacity 20% ⇒ 0%.
Locke: Damage Dealt 105% ⇒ 115%.

Riot also reminds players that the Ranked 5s queue window was extended from 4pm-2am to 4pm-4am server time.

Patch 26.20 Bug Fixes

The patch lists a long run of fixes. These are the Summoner's Rift and general ones:

Orianna's R VFX and hitbox no longer become misplaced when she casts it before the ball reaches a fast-moving ally like Nocturne.
A Sylas-stolen Depth Charge (R) from Nautilus no longer fizzles after Sylas loses vision of the target.
Xin Zhao's Three Talon Strike (Q) no longer goes completely on cooldown if the first attack is dodged by spells like Shen's Shadow Dash (E) or Jax's Counterstrike (E).
Shyvana's Dragon's Descent (R) now cancels enemy teleports.
Kayle's Reckoning (Q) no longer applies the on-hit Spellblade effect from Sheen, Lich Bane, Trinity Force and Iceborne Gauntlet.

Other fixes cover Classic menus, rune pages with more than 20 entries, Classic item and spell icons, and Mayhem augment issues such as King Me, Shark Bait and Spell Split.

Patch 26.20 New Skins and Chromas

These skins are released in the patch. The Prestige Classic Baron Kog'Maw and the six HEARTSTEEL Live My Life skins are available October 7, 2026:

Prestige HEARTSTEEL Live My Life Sett
HEARTSTEEL Live My Life Ezreal
HEARTSTEEL Live My Life Kayn
HEARTSTEEL Live My Life Aphelios
HEARTSTEEL Live My Life Yone
HEARTSTEEL Live My Life K'Sante
Prestige Classic Baron Kog'Maw

The chromas include Elite SKT T1 Jax, Lee Sin, Vayne, Zyra and Zed, a Vivid chroma for Prestige Classic Baron Kog'Maw and Prestige HEARTSTEEL Live My Life Sett, and several gem-themed chromas for the other HEARTSTEEL skins. If you want more skin picks, check our list of the best Ezreal skins.

And that covers all of the changes in League of Legends Patch 26.20. You can read the official notes on the leagueoflegends.com website. To compare with an earlier patch, see our LoL 25.15 patch notes and the LoL Patch 25.16 preview.