26.9|Apr 28, 2026
View on League of Legends↗League of Legends Patch 26.9 Notes
5/5 Game-Changing
Season 2: Pandemonium arrives with a massive Role Quest overhaul, WASD controls for Ranked, and major build-defining buffs for Ezreal, Kennen, and Shyvana.
Key Changes
- 1Role Quest Reward Rework: Mid gains % AD/AP scaling; Top XP rewards adjusted
- 2New Roaming Bank mechanic allows players to roam without losing Role Quest progress
- 3Shyvana massive overhaul to differentiate AD Bruiser and AP Caster builds
- 4Ezreal AP ratios significantly buffed across Q, W, and R
- 5Kennen Electrical Surge (W) now features Critical Strike synergy
- 6Udyr AD ratios shifted from Q into W and E to encourage stance swapping
- 7Xin Zhao AP and Attack Speed scaling significantly buffed
- 8WASD movement controls added to Ranked mode
- 9Arena mode update featuring a new map, events, and Augments
- 10Minion wave durability increased to facilitate wave stacking and roaming
All Changes
⚔️Role Quests(8)
- changeRole Quests: Quest Point Penalty for CS/Turrets/Plates increased from -50% to -75%, but now decreases to 0% based on progress
- nerfRole Quests: Passive Point Progression in lane reduced from 1.6/s to 1.5/s
- buffRole Quests: Quest lane definition expanded from 'near outermost turret' to 'anywhere in lane outside of base'
- nerfRole Quests: New penalty disables passive point earn for 12 seconds after recalling
- newRole Quests: New Roaming Bank mechanic allows players to bank 1 minute of roaming time for every 2 minutes spent in lane
- changeTop Lane Quest: Top Lane reward changed from +12.5% XP to +80 flat XP on takedown and +11% XP from other sources
- buffMid Lane Quest: Mid Lane reward replaced Empowered Recall with +6% Bonus AD and +6% Bonus AP
- nerfBot Lane Quest: Bot Lane bonus takedown gold reduced from 50g to 40g
👤Champions(27)
- nerfAmbessa: Public Execution (R) cast time increased from 0.55 to 0.70 seconds
- nerfBriar: Health growth reduced from 100 to 95
- buffEzreal: Mystic Shot (Q) AP ratio increased from 15% to 40%
- buffEzreal: Essence Flux (W) AP ratio increased to a flat 90%
- buffEzreal: Trueshot Barrage (R) AP ratio increased from 90% to 110%
- buffEzreal: Trueshot Barrage (R) damage to minions/monsters adjusted to 150-300 (+100% bAD) (+110% AP)
- buffGragas: Drunken Rage (W) damage reduction increased from 10-18% to 10-26%
- newKennen: Electrical Surge (W) passive now applies to the entire attack as an On-Hit and can Critically Strike for 140% damage
- newKennen: Lightning Rush (E) attack speed buff duration now extended by 1s on Critical Strikes
- buffShyvana: Base attack speed increased to 0.638 and AD growth increased from 3 to 4
- nerfShyvana: Emberstrike (Q) passive AP ratio removed and hit reduction reduced to 0.5 seconds
- buffShyvana: Inferno Aegis (W) cooldown reduced to 13-9 seconds and shield increased to 75-155 (+12% bonus health)
- changeShyvana: Inferno Aegis (W) damage scaling changed to 65% AP and Dragon Form heal reworked to 60-100 + 4-8% missing health
- buffShyvana: Molten Burst (E) cooldown reduced to 12-8 seconds and damage adjusted to include 5% Target Max Health
- buffTahm Kench: Thick Skin (E) Grey Health to HP conversion increased from 45-100% to 60-100%
- buffTahm Kench: Devour (R) move speed on ally devour increased from 40% to 60%
- buffTaliyah: Threaded Volley (Q) base damage increased by 5 at all ranks
- nerfTaliyah: Threaded Volley (Q) bonus monster damage reduced by 3 at all ranks
- newTeemo: Toxic Shot (E) gained new 10% Bonus AD ratio on initial damage and 30% Bonus AD ratio on DoT
- nerfUdyr: Wildling Claw (Q) max health scaling reduced from 4% to 3.5% per 100 bonus AD
- changeUdyr: Wildling Claw (Q) on-hit damage adjusted to 6-36 (+20% bAD) (+1-2% bHP)
- newUdyr: Iron Mantle (W) and Blazing Stampede (E) gained new Bonus AD ratios for shields, healing, and move speed
- buffWarwick: Eternal Hunger (Passive) on-hit damage increased at later levels from 6-46 to 6-55
- buffXin Zhao: Determination (Passive) healing AP ratio increased from 65% to up to 90% at level 11
- buffXin Zhao: Wind Becomes Lightning (W) thrust slow duration now scales with AP (+0.5s per 100 AP)
- buffXin Zhao: Audacious Charge (E) magic damage AP ratio doubled from 60% to 120%
- changeXin Zhao: Audacious Charge (E) attack speed buff adjusted to 38-70% (+1% per 5% permanent AS) (+10% per 100 AP)
⚙️Game Systems(3)
- buffMinions: Melee Minion health scaling increased from +25 to +35 every 90 seconds
- nerfMinions: Minion Slayer damage bonus to other minions reduced for Ranged (4% to 3.5%) and Siege (6% to 5%)
- newRanked: WASD movement controls introduced for Ranked play
🏟️Arena & Modes(2)
- newArena: New map, events, and Augments added to the Arena mode
- fixARAM: General adjustments and bugfixes implemented for ARAM: Mayhem
🎨Cosmetics(2)
- newSkins: Pandemonium Annie, Kindred, and Prestige Shaco skins releasing April 29, 2026
- newSkins: Demoncursed Vayne skin releasing April 29, 2026
Summary
Season 2: Pandemonium
Patch 26.9 kicks off the new season with fundamental shifts to how players interact with their lanes and roles. The Role Quest system has been overhauled to be less punishing for roaming and more rewarding for specific lane fantasies, notably replacing Mid's empowered recall with raw combat stats.
Champion Build Diversity
A major focus of this update is restoring "lost playstyles." Ezreal receives massive AP ratio buffs, Kennen gains critical strike synergy on his Electrical Surge and Lightning Rush, and Xin Zhao sees a return of his AP/Attack Speed scaling. Shyvana has also undergone a significant tuning pass to better differentiate her AD bruiser and AP caster builds.
Systems & Modes
Beyond the Rift, Arena receives a substantial update with a new map and augments, while Ranked players can look forward to the introduction of WASD movement controls. Minion waves have also been adjusted to be more durable, encouraging more strategic wave stacking and roaming windows.