26.5|Mar 3, 2026
View on League of Legends↗League of Legends Patch 26.5 Notes
4/5 Significant
Pro-play nerfs target Azir, Orianna, and Taliyah for the First Stand tournament, while Brawl returns alongside new last-hit indicators.
Key Changes
- 1Pro-focused nerfs to Azir (Health Growth), Orianna (Q Cooldown), and Taliyah (Q Damage)
- 2Brawl game mode returns from March 4 to April 28
- 3New last hit indicators added to the UI for all players
- 4Significant buffs to Volibear's damage and mana costs across Q, W, and E
- 5Major damage buffs to Mel's Q and R abilities
- 6Kha'Zix nerfed with reduced Move Speed and Q AD ratios
- 7Varus Lethality build nerfed via Q damage while On-Hit build is buffed via W AD ratio
- 8Neeko W cooldown now starts on expiration, significantly reducing clone uptime
- 9Lillia receives net buffs to Q and R damage and cooldowns
- 10Hubris total price reduced to 2800 gold to encourage snowballing
All Changes
⚔️Champions(34)
- changeAkali: Twilight Shroud restealth timer now scales with champion level (1/7/10/13/16) instead of game time.
- nerfAzir: Health growth reduced from 119 to 108.
- buffGaren: Decisive Strike move speed duration increased from 1-3.6s to 1.4-3.6s.
- buffGaren: Judgment damage per spin AD ratio increased from 38-50% to 40-52%.
- nerfKha'Zix: Base Move Speed reduced from 350 to 345.
- nerfKha'Zix: Taste Their Fear bonus AD ratio reduced from 110% to 105%.
- nerfKha'Zix: Taste Their Fear isolated bonus AD ratio reduced from 231% to 220.5%.
- buffLee Sin: Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike base damage increased from 60-180 to 65-185.
- buffLillia: Dream-Laden Bough monster heal bonus AP ratio increased from 9% to 15%.
- buffLillia: Blooming Blows bonus AP ratio increased from 30% to 35%.
- buffLillia: Lilting Lullaby base damage increased from 100-200 to 150-250.
- nerfLillia: Lilting Lullaby AP ratio reduced from 45% to 40%.
- buffLillia: Lilting Lullaby cooldown reduced from 150-110s to 140-100s.
- nerfMel: Searing Brilliance minion damage modifier reduced from 0.6x to 0.5x.
- buffMel: Radiant Volley base damage per bolt increased from 5-9 to 5-13.
- buffMel: Radiant Volley total base damage increased from 90-270 to 90-310.
- buffMel: Golden Eclipse initial base damage increased from 100-200 to 125-275.
- nerfNeeko: Shapeshifter cooldown now starts on clone expiration instead of on cast.
- removeNeeko: Removed ability for Neeko to use Ctrl+5 joke expression for clone only.
- buffNocturne: Umbra Blades cooldown reduced from 13s to 12s.
- buffNocturne: Duskbringer bonus move speed increased from 15-35% to 20-40%.
- nerfOrianna: Command: Attack cooldown increased at early ranks from 6-3s to 7-3s.
- changeSamira: Flair now performs additional checks to prioritize Sword Q when units are to the left/right and no units are far in front.
- fixSamira: Flair is now properly sealed during passive and W-R combos to prevent accidental cooldowns.
- changeSamira: Flair now automatically uses Gun Q if an enemy is walking away at the edge of Sword range.
- nerfTaliyah: Threaded Volley base damage reduced from 55-125 to 50-120.
- buffTaliyah: Threaded Volley bonus monster damage increased from 20-40 to 23-43.
- nerfVarus: Piercing Arrow maximum base damage reduced from 80-400 to 80-360.
- nerfVarus: Piercing Arrow bonus AD ratio changed from 130-170% to a flat 150%.
- buffVarus: Blighted Quiver on-hit damage now includes a 15% bonus AD ratio.
- buffVolibear: Thundering Smash bonus physical damage increased from 140% to 160%.
- buffVolibear: Frenzied Maul mana cost reduced from 30-50 to 20-40.
- buffVolibear: Frenzied Maul wounded bonus AD ratio increased from 15% to 25% per 100 bonus AD.
- buffVolibear: Sky Splitter mana cost reduced from 60 to 50.
💎Items(3)
- buffHubris: Combine cost reduced from 950 to 750 gold; total price reduced from 3000 to 2800 gold.
- buffLocket of the Iron Solari: Shield value increased early from 200-360 to 290-360.
- changeLocket of the Iron Solari: Shield scaling now begins after level 8 instead of level 1.
⚙️Gameplay Systems(4)
- newLast Hit Indicators: New last hit indicators added to assist players in securing minion kills.
- changeChat System: Updated punishment system for severely abusive chat behavior.
- changeAegis of Valor: Players reported for disruptive behavior will have Aegis of Valor rewards voided upon validation.
- changeDemacia Rising: Various updates and adjustments implemented for Demacia Rising.
🕹️Game Modes(3)
- newBrawl: Brawl game mode returns from March 4, 2026, through April 28, 2026.
- changeARAM: Mayhem: New adjustments, buffs, and nerfs implemented for the Mayhem variant of ARAM.
- fixArena: General bugfixes implemented for the Arena game mode.
🎨Cosmetics(4)
- newBattle Pass: Season 1 Act 2 Battle Pass is now live.
- newCorrupted Petricite Maokai: New skin available as a reward for Battle Pass level 9.
- newCorrupted Petricite Xerath: New skin available as a reward for Battle Pass level 25.
- newPrestige Requiem Sona: New prestige skin available as the capstone reward for the paid Battle Pass.
Summary
Patch 26.5 focuses on balancing the professional meta for the First Stand tournament, specifically targeting dominant mid-lane control mages. Beyond pro-play, the update introduces significant quality-of-life features like last-hit indicators and the return of the Brawl game mode. A wide roster of champions including Volibear, Lillia, and Mel received substantial buffs, while Kha'Zix and Varus saw nerfs to their dominant builds. The update also kicks off the Season 1 Act 2 Battle Pass with new Corrupted Petricite skins.