Riot Games has released the patch notes for League of Legends (LoL) Patch 26.18.
As well as multiple balance changes, this patch also signals the release of Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther’s Hall of Legends skins.
Plus, Riot has confirmed that team-wide voice chat will be added to LoL soon, starting on Patch 26.20 on some servers.
Here are all the champion changes from the latest LoL patch, which was delayed by a day due to the bank holiday in the US.
LoL Patch 26.18 Champion Nerfs
Bard
Bard has been a meta staple for most of the year and after toning his damage down, Riot is now targeting his durability.
- Base Stats
- Armor: 34 + 5/Level ⇒ 32 + 4.7/Level
Nautilus
Nautilus was doing well, even before Riot worked to bring other tank supports up in power, and now the publisher hopes that nerfing him will open up room for more variety.
- Base Stats
- Attack Damage: 61 + 3.3/Level ⇒ 58 + 3.3/Level
- Q – Dredge Line
- Damage: 85 / 130 / 175 / 220 / 265 (+90% AP) ⇒ 85 / 125 / 165 / 205 / 245 (+90% AP)
Seraphine
Seraphine bot has been a source of frustration for opponents for some time, despite a minor nerf a few patches ago. Now Riot is nerfing her E’s rank-up to target this directly, as support Seraphine usually maxes it last
- E – Beat Drop
- Cooldown: 11 / 10.5 / 10 / 9.5 / 9s ⇒ 11s
Syndra
Riot says the MSI changes were effective at pulling Syndra to the forefront of pro play for the first time in years, but now she’s too strong in specific solo queue settings.
Riot’s data shows that Syndra’s W is dealing a larger share of damage in the tiers where she’s stronger than desired, so this should help bring her down while still preserving her core fantasies. And her passive is also now better breakpointed to increase reliance on Lost Chapter in early-mid levels, nerfing her higher winrate builds that make do with less mana investment.
- Passive – Transcendent
- Splinter Mana: 20 – 255 ⇒ 20 – 199
- W – Force of Will
- Cooldown: 12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8s ⇒ 13 / 12 / 11 / 10 / 9s
Zeri
Zeri has been slowly climbing in win rate with the recent Runaan’s Hurricane and Yun Tal Wildarrows buffs to the point where Riot is worried at how high her win rate is considering how skill-intensive Zeri is.
- W – Ultrashock Laser
- Damage: 30 / 70 / 110 / 150 / 190 (+120% tAD) ⇒ 30 / 70 / 110 / 150 / 190 (+100% tAD)
- Wall Damage: 45 / 105 / 165 / 225 / 285 (+180% tAD) ⇒ 45 / 105 / 165 / 225 / 285 (+150% tAD)
- Critical Strike: 150% (+15% IE)
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LoL Patch 26.18 Champion Buffs
Ekko
Ekko has been in a slightly weak state since Dusk & Dawn’s update mid-year and Riot believes he has some room for power, especially in mid where he scales slightly worse, without buffing his Hail of Blades pattern.
- Q – Timewinder
- Mana Cost: 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 ⇒ 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80
- Return Damage Ability Power Ratio: 60% ⇒ 70%
Kassadin
Kassadin had a strong start to 2026 but hasn’t regained his footing since the earlier nerfs. Riot says his Q should feel more punchy with his scaling, and is aiming to provide more early agency through good Riftwalk usage without touching his late-game fantasy.
- Q – Null Sphere
- Ability Power Ratio: 70% AP ⇒ 80% AP
- R – Riftwalk
- Base Damage: 70 / 90 / 110 ⇒ 80 / 95 / 110
Master Yi
Yi drew the short end of the stick on the Rageblade bugfix from earlier this year due to his double strike interactions. He’s also been unable to scale as well as a melee carry compared to his normal power level, so Riot is also giving him a buff up.
- Base Stats
- Armor Growth: 33 + 4.5/Level ⇒ 33 + 5/Level
- R – Highlander
- Move Speed: 35 / 45 / 55% ⇒ 40 / 50 / 60%
Viego
Viego’s win rate has been on a downward trend recently, and his players have noticed and begun dropping him. He has a fair bit of room to bring up, both just generally and for the viability of his more bruisery alt build.
- Base Stats
- Attack Damage Growth: 3.5 ⇒ 4
- Passive – Sovereign’s Domination
- Heal: 2% (+…. ) ⇒ 2% (+ 2.5% per 100 bonus AD) (+ 2% per 100 AP) (+ 5% per 100% bonus attack speed) (+ 2% per 500 bonus HP) of the target’s maximum health
Zaahen
Riot is using a QoL change here as an opportunity to give Zaahen some love. Riot admits this might read as a nerf, but Zaahen’s Q lined up with his passive in such a way that it meant he always left his resurrection (and GA, Zilean R) with Q on CD, so now he’s always happier. His Q2 is also a clean double of his Q1 base damage now.
- Q – The Darkin Glaive
- NEW Cooldown Behavior: If Q is active, it is now placed on Cooldown immediately upon being put in Resurrection
- Q2 Damage: 25 / 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 (+20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40% bonus AD) ⇒ 30 / 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 (+20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40% bonus AD)
LoL Patch 26.18 Champion Adjustments
Cassiopeia
Cassio has always scaled with skill, but this year has propelled her to new heights of pro play dominance despite being weaker for average players.
These adjustments should tap down her laning power, especially in pro player where defensive purchases are valued more than raw AP, while giving her back some scaling power. It will still be crucial to use empowered E’s, but raising her floor should let Riot be a bit more flexible with tuning.
- Passive – Serpentine Grace
- Move Speed Bonus: 6% – 40% (based on level) ⇒ 5% – 36% (based on level)
- Q – Noxious Blast
- Damage: 75 / 110 / 145 / 180 / 215 ⇒ 65 / 100 / 135 / 170 / 205
- Ability Power Ratio: 65% ⇒ 75%
- E – Twin Fang
- Mana Cost: 40 ⇒ 45
- Base Ability Power Ratio: 10% ⇒ 20%
- Enhanced Ability Power Ratio: 55% ⇒ 45%
- Total Ability Power Ratio: 65% ⇒ 65%
- Damage: 52 – 120 ⇒ 50 – 120
- R – Petrifying Gaze
- Damage: 150 / 250 / 350 ⇒ 125 / 225 / 325
- Ability Power Ratio: 50% ⇒ 75%
What do you think of these champion balance adjustments? Share your reactions with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
Meanwhile, a young USA roster is battling Team Korea in a LoL friendly before the Asia Games. And for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
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