Patch 26.20: Last League of Legends Update Before Worlds 2026

Patch 26.20 will bring some serious balancing to the League of Legends meta. Alongside an Ashe and Yunara nerf, players can expect plenty of buffs and item changes. Let’s recap.

What’s New in League Patch 26.20?

League of Legends Patch 26.20 is on the horizon. This update will shake up a ton of the game’s most popular Champions, and it has a particular focus on pro-level play. Diana, Mordekaiser, Smolder, Vayne, and other big names are getting buffs. Meanwhile, the nightmare Ashe and Yunara botlane pairing is finally getting a huge nerf. Plus, several key items are seeing adjusments.

Riot Games Lead Gameplay Designer @RiotPhroxzon has just released a patch preview. Let’s dive into everything players should know.

The Worlds 2026 Patch

Notably, Patch 26.20 is the final update before Worlds 2026. That’s why most of the changes prioritize high-elo viability and making Champions more equal in the meta. This year’s tournament is set to have some big storylines, with T1 on the way to defend their three-year win streak. Worlds begins just a week after 26.20 launches on October 15, and the Grand Final is arriving on November 14.

League of Legends Patch 26.20 Release Date

When does League of Legends Patch 26.20 release? It’s arriving on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. The patch is right on time for Worlds 2026, and it’ll also carry the playerbase through most of the Halloween season.

Are Varus and Sylas Removed from Patch 26.20?

Riot had originally planned for Varus and Sylus to be in Patch 26.20. Varus would have gotten a nerf, while Sylas would have an in-depth adjustment. However, Riot opted to remove them from the patch for now. RiotPhroxzon explained:

“We need larger work on [Varus] to make his builds more satisfying and make sense [and] we don’t feel comfortable changing [Sylas] overall without messing up his role balance.”

Patch 26.20 Champion Buffs

A massive variety of popular Champions are getting buffs here, with Diana, Mordekaiser, Smolder, Swain, Tahm Kench, and Vayne among them. Neeko, Vayne, and Smolder all see power increases to fix recent nerfs that overshot. Meanwhile, Lucian becomes more competitive with other botlaners, and Lillia becomes more viable in high elo and pro.

Diana

This patch prioritizes Diana jungle, adding a higher bonus health ratio to her W shield. The team cautions that “we’re not looking to add a ton of power to Diana as she does get a bit statchecky when strong.”

• W Shield Bonus Health Ratio: 11% → 14%

Kennen

Kennen changes raise E attack speed.

• E Bonus AS: 40-80% → 50-90%

Kindred

Kindred changes give her a longer slow, less accidental targeting, and easier monster clears.

• E No Longer Targets Small Monsters (QoL)
• W Monster Mod: 150% → 165%
• E Slow Duration: 1s → 1.5s

Lillia Buffs in Patch 26.20

RiotPhroxzon writes that “we want to do a better job of balancing Lillia between skill levels and Lillia typically struggles at the higher skill brackets, especially after we made her early clears a lot weaker.” These changes will give her stronger potential for pro play, and they prioritize her Sleep mechanic in team environments. She now has a longer sleep duration.

• R Sleep Duration: 2.5s → 2.5/2.75/3s

Lucian Buffs in Patch 26.20

Patch 26.20 will make Lucian’s attack damage grow quicker as he levels up.

• AD Growth: 2.5/Level → 2.9/Level

Mordekaiser

Morde’s Ultimate cooldown is faster in early game, and his Q scales more aggressively.

• R CD: 140/120/100 → 120/110/100
• Q Scaling Lvl 10-20: +5/lvl → +7/lvl

Neeko

Neeko is getting tune-ups to restore her Support power, fixing previous nerfs that overshot. This should also make her stronger in midlane. The changes focus on her E, giving it slightly higher AP and longer root duration.

• E Base Damage: 70-210 (+65% AP) → 80-220 (+65% AP)
• E Empowered Root Duration: 1.8-3s → 2-3s

Smolder

There are perhaps more changes for Smolder here than any other Champion. Smolder gets a massive power increase to compensate for recent Black Cleaver and Deathfire Touch nerfs. Specifically, Smolder’s crit builds are stronger. His Passive bonuses are much higher, and he has greater ult damage.

• P Super Scorcher Bonus: 25-55% (+0-9% w/ IE) → 25-60% (+0-10.5% w/ IE)
• P Flap Flap Flap Bonus: 8-12.8% (+0-1.44% w/ IE) → 8-14% (+0-1.8% w/ IE)
• R Self Heal: 100-170 (+50% bonus AD)(+75% AP) → 100-250 (+75% bonus AD)(+75% AP)

Tahm Kench

Kench’s healing potential skyrockets as Riot doubles the Q base healing cap.

• Q Base Healing: 10-25 → 10-50

Swain

Swain now has higher magic resist, but lower attack range. His W has a sizable damage increase with a lower cooldown.

• Base MR: 31 → 34
• Base AR: 25 → 23
• W Damage: 70-210 (+60%) → 70-250 (+60%)
• W CD: 22-18s → 20-16s

Vayne

Vayne is in a similar situation to Neeko and Smolder since previous changes overshot. The new Experimental Hexplate changes will weaken her toplane performance, adding onto a recent nerf. Because of this, team members “feel like we can give Vayne a little power in bot lane.” Her Q has a much lower mana cost, enabling her to dash more often in early game.

• HP5: 4 +0.5/Level → 5.5 +0.4/Level
• Q Mana Cost: 46-30 → 30

Big Yunara Ashe Nerf in 26.20

The dreaded Ashe and Yunara pairing both get massive nerfs, made more serious by additional item changes in this patch.

“We’ve added an Ashe nerf into the patch as she is one of the dominant pairings [with Yunara],” RiotPhroxzon says. The changes significantly cut down her Attack Damage.

• AD/Level: 3.5 → 3

Yunara doesn’t escape nerfs here. RiotPhroxzon says her “level 1 laning is a bit too strong,” so she’s getting AP reduced on her Q.

• Q Passive On-Hit: 5-25 (+20% AP) → 3-23 (+20% AP)
• Q Active On-Hit: 5-25 (+20% AP) → 3-23 (+20% AP)
• BUGFIX: W & Ult W Slows no longer stack with other slows

Other Patch 26.20 Champion Nerfs

Ambessa

Ambessa’s Passive damage is lower.

• P Damage: 5-30 (+25% bonus AD) → 5-25 (+20% bonus AD)

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia’s base stats get slashed, with much lower HP and mana.

• Base HP: 630 → 610
• Base Mana: 480 → 450

K’Sante

K’Sante’s W mana cost increases while its damage decreases.

• W Mana Cost: 40-60 → 45-65
• W Base/All-Out Damage Reduction: 30/75% → 25/70%

Item Nerfs: Hexplate and Hurricane

Hexplate is becoming less powerful at range, while Runaan’s Hurricane is losing a chunk of attack damage.

• Experimental Hexplate (Ranged): Ranged Mod: 70% of Value (35% AS, 14% MS) → 50% of Value (25% AS, 10% MS)
• Runaan’s Hurricane: AD Per Bolt: 65% → 60%

Item Adjustments

Patch 26.20 Full Preview!

Rocketbelt
– We're adjusting rocketbelt to be much more about the go in aspect of it and less power budget in the haste
– The haste is adding a lot to the repeatability for mages in particular, but also as a burst oriented item, it means that the item… pic.twitter.com/alGCTAgTm1

— Matt Leung-Harrison (@RiotPhroxzon) September 30, 2026

The Hextech Rocketbelt is great for champions like Cho’Gath who like to dash forward by surprise and deal a ton of damage. In this update, it’s getting a bit of a rework so it’s “much more about the go in aspect of it and less power budget in the haste.”

Ability Haste is decreasing, while Active Damage improves. Ideally, the team wants to make the Rocketbelt have better tradeoffs with alternative items like Cosmic Drive.

Patch 26.20 Hextech Rocketbelt Changes

• AH: 20 → 10
• Active Damage: 100 (+10% AP) → 135 (+15% AP)

It’s important to note that this info all comes from the Patch Preview: additional changes could still occur before the patch goes live. Official patch notes will release on the Riot Games website.

Stay tuned for more League of Legends coverage. We regularly follow new skins, patch notes, leaks, esports, and more.