Patch 26.1 Notes
Season 26 launches with a massive overhaul including new Role Quests for all positions, a Demacia-themed Summoner's Rift, and a base critical damage increase to 200%.
Key Changes
- 1New Role Quests system for all positions with unique late-game rewards
- 2Top Lane level cap increased to 20 with permanent XP scaling buffs
- 3Bot Lane gains a 7th item slot by moving boots to the Role Quest slot
- 4Base critical strike damage increased from 175% to 200%
- 5New Demacia-themed Summoner's Rift map and Faelights vision mechanic
- 6Mid Lane Tier 2 boots now automatically upgrade to powerful Tier 3 versions
- 7Removal of Atakhan, Blood Roses, and Feats of Strength systems
- 8Epic monsters (Drakes/Baron) are 10-30% tankier to increase contest risk
- 9Smite damage buffed to 1400 at max rank to assist Junglers with tankier objectives
- 10Support items now grant 9g per 10s and discounted Control Wards
All Changes
⚔️Champions(13)
- nerfAphelios: Lethality per E rank reduced from 5.5 to 4.5.
- buffGraves: Passive crit scaling increased from 35% to 50% bonus crit damage; maximum damage on crit relative to non-crit increased from 1.8x to 2x.
- nerfKayle: Passive attack speed per stack AP scaling removed (was 1% per 100 AP).
- changeKayle: Q mana cost adjusted from 70-90 to 60-100.
- nerfKayle: Q slow reduced from 26-50% to 25-45%.
- nerfNilah: Attack speed growth reduced from 2% to 1.25%.
- nerfNilah: Q crit scaling multiplier reduced from 80% to 70% bonus crit damage.
- buffQuinn: Base AD growth increased from 2.7 to 3.2.
- buffQuinn: Passive base cooldown reduced from 8 seconds to 7 seconds.
- nerfRammus: Base health reduced from 675 to 645.
- nerfRammus: W magic resist reduced from 27-47 to 20-40.
- buffTryndamere: W slow duration increased from 2.5 seconds to 3.25 seconds.
- buffTryndamere: E base damage increased from 70-210 to 80-240.
📜Role Quests(9)
- newRole Quests: Introduced Role Quests for Top, Mid, and Bot lanes with unique point-based progression and rewards.
- newTop Lane: Top Lane reward: Level cap increased to 20, +600 XP, and +12.5% future XP gains.
- newTop Lane: Top Lane reward: Gain Unleashed Teleport (7m CD) if TP wasn't taken, or a 30% max HP shield on arrival if it was.
- newMid Lane: Mid Lane reward: Tier 2 boots automatically upgrade to Tier 3 variants.
- newMid Lane: Mid Lane reward: Gain empowered Recall (4s channel) every 5 minutes; takedowns reduce this cooldown by 1 minute.
- newBot Lane: Bot Lane reward: +300g, +2g per minion, and +50g per takedown for the rest of the game.
- newBot Lane: Bot Lane reward: Boots move to the Role Quest slot, opening a 7th inventory slot.
- newSupport: Support reward: Control Wards cost reduced to 40g and store up to 2 in the Role Quest slot.
- newJungle: Jungle reward: Post-quest gains of 4-8% movement speed and +10g/+10 XP per large monster.
⚔️Items(4)
- nerfEssence Reaver: Total cost increased from 2900 to 3050 gold; AD reduced from 55 to 50.
- newBoots: Introduced Tier 3 boot upgrades: Crimson Lucidity, Swiftmarch, Spellslinger's Shoes, Gunmetal Greaves, Chainlaced Crushers, and Armored Advance.
- buffSupport Items: Support items (Zaz'Zak's, etc.) passive gold increased from 5g to 9g per 10s.
- removeBastionbreaker: Bastionbreaker has been disabled.
⚙️Gameplay Systems(8)
- buffCritical Strike: Base critical damage for most champions increased to 200%.
- changeLaning Phase: Gold and XP from minions reduced by 25% when outside assigned lane until level 3.
- removeObjectives: Feats of Strength, Atakhan, and Blood Roses have been removed.
- changeGold Rewards: First Blood gold bonus (+100g) and First Turret gold bonus (+300g) restored.
- changeBounties: Kill gold devaluation increased from 0.2 to 0.4 per death; revaluation increased from 0.1 to 0.2 per gold earned.
- changeEpic Monsters: Epic monsters now have higher resistances, increasing kill time by 10-30%.
- buffSmite: Smite damage increased from 600/900/1200 to 600/1000/1400.
- buffJungle Pet: Jungle pet counters required for quest completion reduced from 40 to 35.
🗺️Maps(2)
- newSummoner's Rift: New Demacia-themed Summoner's Rift map skin introduced.
- newFaelights: Introduced Faelights as a new vision mechanic.
🐛Bug Fixes(3)
- fixActualizer: Fixed issue where Actualizer incorrectly increased mana costs indefinitely.
- fixARAM Mayhem: Fixed issue in ARAM allowing multiple stacks of the same augment.
- fixZeri: Fixed Zeri being able to exceed the attack speed cap.
Summary
A New Era for Summoner's Rift
Season 26 introduces Role Quests, a fundamental shift in how laning is played. Each role now has specific objectives that unlock powerful late-game rewards, such as a level 20 cap for Top Laners and a 7th item slot for Bot Laners. The map itself has been transformed into a Demacia-themed battlefield, accompanied by the removal of Atakhan and Blood Roses to streamline objective play.
Systemic & Combat Overhaul
Combat sees a significant shift with base critical damage increasing to 200% for most champions. To balance this, several crit-reliant champions like Aphelios and Nilah have received immediate adjustments. Epic monsters are now tankier, requiring more time to secure, while Junglers receive new post-quest gold and experience incentives to maintain their late-game relevance.
Mid-Patch Balance
This update includes immediate mid-patch tuning for outliers. Graves and Tryndamere receive buffs to compensate for systemic shifts, while Rammus and Kayle see nerfs to their defensive and scaling capabilities respectively.