League of Legends Patch 26.19 Preview: Top Lane and Support Adjustments

Map Influence and Support Resilience

A major focus of Patch 26.19 is the adjustment to the "Teleport" Top Role Quest. Riot Games noted that while the top lane remains dominant in lower skill brackets, its influence decreases in high-level play as ADCs become more proficient at farming and avoiding deaths. The updated Teleport aims to bolster the top laner's ability to impact the map and support the split-push identity.

Support items are also seeing a shift. Developers plan to move some base health from support items into Health Regeneration. This change is intended to make melee supports more resilient against poke from ranged champions, while making ranged supports slightly easier to kill.

Champion Balance Changes

Several champions are receiving significant adjustments:

• Lucian: The changes are framed as a reframing rather than a direct nerf. The goal is to reduce his reliance on specific support pairings and improve his viability in the mid and top lanes while keeping his bot lane power roughly neutral.
• Master Yi: His Q ability will no longer have a negative interaction with Ability Haste. This mechanic was originally implemented for Duskblade, which has since been removed from the game.
• Nasus: Will receive a flat 10-damage reduction to his Q ability, aiming to create more distinct matchups based on whether opponents can prevent him from stacking.
• Ryze: Targeted for a power-neutral adjustment, reducing his early-game pushing power but compensating with increased durability.

Notably, Orianna was excluded from the patch, as Riot Games does not wish to nerf a champion that is already performing poorly in regular Ranked play.