League of Legends Patch 26.12 Preview Reveals Champion and System Changes

League of Legends Patch 26.12 Preview Reveals Champion and System Changes

Riot Games has released the full preview for League of Legends Patch 26.12, outlining several champion balance changes and system adjustments ahead of MSI 2026 in Daejeon , South Korea .

The update focuses on reshaping parts of the current meta, with changes aimed at top lane, mid lane, bot lane, and Teleport. Riot said the patch is intended to improve champion balance across different levels of play while keeping several playstyles viable.

Several champions are set to receive buffs in Patch 26.12. Aatrox, Gwen, and Jax will be strengthened to improve their early laning and reward successful trades. Hwei is also receiving multiple buffs to increase his utility across roles, while Tristana’s mana changes are being partially compensated to restore some of her pushing power.

Syndra, Sylas, and Yuumi are also included in the buff list. Syndra will receive higher damage and base health, Sylas will gain stronger Q damage and improved healing, while Yuumi’s passive heal and E shield AP ratios are being increased.

The patch will also include nerfs to several champions that have been strong or durable in high-level play. Ryze’s base health and attack damage are being reduced, while Lee Sin’s Q damage is being lowered to fine-tune both his guaranteed and skill-based damage.

Varus is also being adjusted, with lethality-focused poke builds taking a hit while on-hit and attack speed builds remain supported. Nocturne, Xin Zhao, and Orianna are also included in the nerf list, with changes targeting damage, durability, mana costs, and scaling.

Riot also confirmed a system adjustment for Toplane Teleport. Empowered Teleport will now grant a 35% maximum health shield for 10 seconds, replacing the previous 30% maximum health shield that lasted 30 seconds.

Full list of Patch 26.12 changes:

Champion Buffs

Yuumi
Passive heal AP ratio: 25% → 30%
E shield AP ratio: 30% → 40%

Jax
Q mana cost: 65 → 50
E percent target max HP damage: 3.5% minimum / 7% maximum → 4% minimum / 8% maximum

Gwen
Q base damage per mini-snip: 10-24 → 10-26
E bonus attack speed: 20-80% → 30-80%

Aatrox
Q sweetspot bonus damage: 70% → 75%

Hwei
QQ AP ratio: 70% → 80%
QW AP ratio: 25%-87.5% → 30%-105%
QE slow: 30% → 35%
E cooldown: 13-11 seconds → 12-10 seconds

Syndra
Q damage: 80-220 (+65% AP) → 90-230 (+70% AP)
Base HP: 563 → 583

Tristana
AD growth: 2.9 → 3.4
Q mana cost: 30-50 → 15-35

Sylas
Q1 damage: 40-120 (+40% AP) → 40-140 (+45% AP)
E heal AP ratio: 20-30% → 30-60%

Champion Nerfs

Xin Zhao
Passive healing: 3-5% max HP (+45-80% AP) → 2-5% max HP (+40-70% AP)
W mana cost: 60-40 → 60
E mana cost: 50 → 60

Nocturne
Q damage: 65 / 110 / 155 / 200 / 245 → 65 / 105 / 145 / 185 / 225

Lee Sin
Q1 damage: 65 / 95 / 125 / 155 / 185 (+95% bonus AD) → 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+90% bonus AD)
Q2 damage: 65 / 95 / 125 / 155 / 185 (+95% bonus AD) → 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+90% bonus AD)

Orianna
Passive damage increase per stack: 20% → 15%
Base HP: 585 → 565
E resists: 6-30 → 5-25
E damage/shield ratios: 30% / 45% AP → 40% / 50% AP
R damage: 250 / 400 / 550 (+95% AP) → 225 / 350 / 475 (+115% AP)

Ryze
Base HP: 645 → 620
Base AD: 58 → 55

Varus
Passive AD/AP on non-champion kill: 10% of total attack speed → 11%
Passive AD/AP on champion takedown: 25% of total attack speed → 33%
Passive attack speed on champion takedown: 50% → 30%
Q bonus AD ratio: 100%-150% → 80%-120%

System Adjustments

Toplane Teleport
Empowered Teleport shield: 30% maximum health for 30 seconds → 35% maximum health for 10 seconds

Riot Games recently shared several other League of Legends updates, including the reveal of new champion Locke, major ARAM: Mayhem changes, the return of Ranked 5s, new skins, and behavioral system updates.