Riot Games hopes League of Legends (LoL) Patch 26.11 will bring melee supports back into contention.
So far in 2026, ranged supports have dominated the meta. Particularly in pro play, with Bard, Lulu, Neeko, Seraphine, and Nami the most picked in Tier 1 competition this year.
League of Legends’ lead gameplay designer Matt ‘Phroxzon’ Leung-Harrison has revealed that the publishers are hoping to change that:
“In 26.11, we’re making a few adjustments to the Support ecosystem to improve diversity, especially in terms of melee vs ranged balance.”
Melee Support Buffs in LoL Patch 26.11
While no melee support champions appear to be set for direct buffs in Patch 26.11, Riot is making systemic changes which should help significantly.
Phroxzon explained that the introduction of role quests is what has held melee supports like Leona and Nautilus back:
“Ranged supports have risen to the top of the pecking order. They’re both the best at multiplying ADCs who are strong currently, as well as benefiting the most from being in lane for role quests.”
The designer then added that role quests requirement to stay in lane makes it harder for engage supports to roam as much as they’d like:
“Roaming also pays a higher systemic cost as it puts both yourself behind on quest progress and makes it so your ally ADC can’t stack their quest.”
However, Phroxzon claims this was “desirable” for Riot as the publishers believe roaming was too frequent in 2025 and was denying bot lane players a 2v2 laning phase.
To compromise, Riot is buffing the rewards for the Voidgrubs Epic Monster so that roaming for this objective is a little more worthwhile.
Additionally, Riot is buffing a lot of Runes and items that benefit melee supports.
LoL Patch 26.11 Changes Preview
The following changes are scheduled for LoL Patch 26.11, releasing May 28.
- Champion Buffs:
- Diana
- Ekko
- Heimerdinger
- Kassadin
- Quinn
- Champion Nerfs:
- Teemo
- Champion Adjustments:
- Xin Zhao (AP)
- System Buffs:
- Aftershock
- Guardian
- Heartsteel
- Knight’s Vow
- Locket of the Iron Solari
- Zeke’s
- System Nerfs:
- Dreammaker
- Echoes of Helia
- Summon: Aery
- System Adjustments:
- Grubs
- Hexplate
- Imperial Mandate
- Statikk Shiv
However, this may not be the final list of changes, as we saw with the recent hotfix nerf of Smolder.
Do you want to see melee supports return to the meta, or are you happy ranged supports are being given a chance for once? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord.
