Patch 26.22: Mel Rework, New Champions, and the TFT Standalone Transition

The most significant mechanical shift in this update is the midscope rework for Mel. Riot Games is intentionally moving her power curve, shifting some of her early-game dominance toward the late game. This includes a complete overhaul of her W ability, Rebuttal, which now functions as a defensive and offensive nova capable of destroying projectiles and shields while granting utility to her team. Additionally, her Q and R abilities have been adjusted to better support her effectiveness in longer, more drawn-out matches.

The TFT Standalone Transition

Starting November 4, 2026, Teamfight Tactics will begin its official transition into a standalone client. Riot Games is implementing a large-scale patch to facilitate this infrastructure change, ensuring that the switch between League of Legends and TFT remains as seamless as possible for players. While existing TFT cosmetics will remain usable within the League of Legends client during the initial phase, a gradual separation of content is planned. The first batch of TFT-exclusive Little Legends will arrive on December 1, followed by the full separation of emotes and icons on December 15.

To manage the client size, Riot Games has confirmed that a future update will allow players to completely disable TFT downloads within the League of Legends patcher. Due to the complexity of these changes, Patch 26.22 is expected to be larger than usual.

Champion Balance: Buffs and Adjustments

The patch introduces several targeted buffs to help champions find their footing in the current meta. Aurelion Sol receives a boost to his Singularity [E] damage to make his preferred playstyle more intuitive. Corki and Rumble are both receiving adjustments intended to improve their effectiveness for regular players, moving away from purely professional-oriented tuning. Meanwhile, Kayle is getting a boost to her early-game presence and scaling potential, and Naafiri is being strengthened to regain her mid-lane viability. Even Shen and Maokai are receiving direct buffs to help them compete in the jungle role.

Smolder also receives a significant damage increase to his W ability, ACHOOO!, as previous buffs did not meet Riot's expectations for his performance.

Champion Balance: Nerfs and Rebalancing

On the flip side, several champions are facing reductions to maintain balance. Locke is being nerfed in the early game to prevent high-level players from maintaining an unintended advantage. Thresh continues to see reductions to his base damage and ultimate impact to curb his dominance in the support role. Additionally, the patch addresses the impact of recent nerfs to Viktor, providing him with more scaling to compensate for his reduced early-game strength.

Detailed Champion Changes

Below are the specific mechanical changes for the most impacted champions:

Mel (Reworked) - Base Stats: Health 590 (+107 per level), Mana 455 (+38 per level), Armor growth 5.4, Attack speed growth 2.75% per level. - Searing Brilliance (Passive): First stack damage against minions reduced from 50% to 45% reduction. - Radiant Volley (Q): Total damage range adjusted to 85–285 (+65–97% AP). New effect: Hitting an enemy champion refunds 0.5–1 second of cooldown, scaling with level. - Rebuttal (W): Now a nova (400 radius) that destroys projectiles/shields, grants movement speed, and triggers retaliatory attacks (65–205 (+40% AP) total damage). - Solar Snare (E): Root duration increased to 0.8–2.2 seconds based on distance; slow reduced to 20–40%. - Golden Eclipse (R): Cooldown reduced to 120/90/60 seconds.

Aurelion Sol (E) - Singularity [E] total magic damage: 50/80/110/140/170 (+60/65/70/75/80% AP).

Corki (R) - Missile Barrage [R] damage: 90/170/250 (+85% bonus AD) → 100/190/280 (+90% bonus AD). - Big One damage: 180/340/500 (+170% bonus AD) → 200/380/560 (+180% bonus AD).

Kayle (Q & R) - Radiant Blast [Q] cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8 → 10/9.5/9/8.5/8 seconds. - Divine Judgment [R] cooldown: 160/120/80 → 140/110/80 seconds.

Locke (Q & W) - Ritual Nails [Q] stack bonus damage: 18/26/34/42/50 → 15/22/29/36/43. - Ritual Nails [Q] max stack damage: 75.6/109.2/142.8/176.4/210 → 63/92.4/121.8/151.2/180.6. - Soul Ignition [W] duration: 6s → 5s.

Maokai (Q) - Bramble Smash [Q] damage based on target max health: 2/2.5/3/3.5/4% → 2.5/3/3.5/4/4.5%.

Naafiri (Q & W) - Darkin Daggers [Q] healing: 45/60/75/90/105 (+40% bonus AD) → 55/70/85/100/115 (+45% bonus AD). - The Call of the Pack [W] bonus AD: 20% → 22%.

Rumble (R) - The Equalizer [R] damage per second: 120/200/280 (+35% AP) → 120/200/280 (+40% AP). Max AP ratio: 175% → 200%.

Shen (Q) - Twilight Assault [Q] monster damage modifier: 100/125/150/175/200 → 120/140/160/180/200.

Smolder (W) - ACHOOO! [W] explosion damage: 10/35/60/85/110 (+50% bonus AD) (+80% AP) → 25/50/75/100/125 (+50% bonus AD) (+80% AP).

Thresh (Stats & R) - Base Attack Damage: 56 → 54. - The Box [R] damage: 250/400/550 (+100% AP) → 200/350/500 (+100% AP).

Patch 26.22 brings significant changes to the League of Legends ecosystem, ranging from champion reworks and the return of legendary kits in Classic mode to structural updates for Teamfight Tactics. The update focuses on balancing high-performing champions and expanding the nostalgic roster in the Classic mode.

Champion Adjustments

In the standard game, Riot Games is addressing the rising win and ban rates of Yasuo. As players increasingly favor critical strike builds, Yasuo is receiving a nerf to his Steel Tempest [Q] damage ratio, dropping from 105% to 100% total AD, mirroring recent adjustments made to Yone.

Zaahen is also seeing changes aimed at improving his early-game presence. While currently performing well in the late game, the goal is to provide more opportunities for skirmishing during the laning phase by reducing the cooldown of The Darkin Glaive [Q].

Itemization and ARAM: Mayhem

Item changes include a slight reduction to Doran's Bow's attack damage to prevent it from being strictly preferred over Doran's Blade. Additionally, Overlord's Bloodmail is being adjusted to increase its value for juggernauts while preventing Sett from becoming overly dominant through his Haymaker [W] synergy.

The ARAM: Mayhem mode is undergoing a balance pass to mitigate excessive burst damage and improve survivability. Developers are shifting the focus from offensive power to defensive options to help tanks remain viable against poke and burst compositions. The update also introduces two new augmentations and brings Butcher's Bridge and Koeshin's Crossing back into the map rotation.

League Classic: The Return of Legends

As the penultimate major update for the Classic mode, patch 26.22 introduces three iconic champions with their historical kits. This update serves as a massive balance pass for the mode, addressing both overperforming and underperforming champions.

Volibear returns with his 2011–2018 kit, characterized by his ability to regenerate health at low thresholds and his iconic Rolling Thunder [R] lightning strikes. Swain also makes a comeback, utilizing his pre-rework raven-based gameplay and mana-based sustain. Finally, Elise joins the roster, retaining her classic high-burst single-target damage focus, particularly through her Q abilities.

The 26.22 update brings a major overhaul to Mel, alongside significant balance adjustments for the Classic mode. Riot Games is also addressing various bugs and introducing a standalone client for Teamfight Tactics (TFT).

Mel Rework

Mel's kit has been redesigned with a focus on her dual-form mechanics and ability interactions:

• Spider Swarm (Passive): In human form, Elise stores Spiderlings whenever her abilities hit enemies. In spider form, she releases them to attack nearby targets.
• Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite [Q]: In human form, Elise fires neurotoxin that deals additional damage based on the target's current health. In spider form, she and her Spiderlings leap toward an enemy, dealing additional damage based on missing health.
• Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy [W]: In human form, Elise releases an explosive Spiderling that damages enemies in an area. In spider form, she and her Spiderlings gain bonus attack speed, while Elise heals herself with basic attacks.
• Cocoon / Rappel [E]: In human form, Elise fires a projectile that stuns the first enemy hit. In spider form, she and her Spiderlings become untargetable while ascending, then Elise can recast the ability to descend onto a selected target.
• Human Form / Spider Form [R]: Elise switches between human and spider forms. Human form provides ranged attacks, while spider form offers melee attacks and additional on-hit damage.

Classic Champion Changes

Riot Games has implemented several balance shifts to address the current state of the Classic mode, ranging from nerfs to dominant junglers to buffs for struggling champions.

Aatrox

• Blood Well (Passive): Cooldown reduced from 225 seconds to 225/200/175/150 seconds based on level.
• Dark Flight [Q]: Fixed a bug from 2013 that occasionally prevented the ability from affecting enemies when cast at maximum range.
• Massacre [R]: Fixed a bug where Aatrox's basic attacks did not deal damage while his ultimate was active (previously addressed via micropatch).

Amumu

Following recent buffs and bug fixes that made Amumu one of the strongest junglers in Classic, Riot has opted to reduce his effectiveness.

• Cursed Touch (Passive): Magic resistance reduction reduced from 15/25/35 to 15/20/25 at levels 1/7/13.
• Bandage Toss [Q]: Damage reduced from 80/140/200/260/320 to 80/130/180/230/280.
• Curse of the Sad Mummy [R]: Cooldown increased from 150/130/110 seconds to 170/145/120 seconds.

Evelynn

To combat her recent decline in effectiveness, Riot is partially reversing a previous nerf to boost her damage output.

• Hate Spike [Q]: Base damage increased from 40/55/70/85/100 to 40/60/80/100/120.

Ezreal

With AP builds struggling against AD playstyles, Riot is increasing his ability power ratios and enhancing his healing-focused alternative playstyle.

• Essence Flux [W]: Ability power ratio increased from 60% to 80%; healing effectiveness increased from 50% to 70%.
• Arcane Shift [E]: Ability power ratio increased from 75% to 80%.

Fiddlesticks

While remaining effective in jungle and support roles, Fiddlesticks' damage is being slightly reduced, though the Dark Wind upgrade remains viable.

• Dark Wind [E]: Damage per bounce reduced from 65/85/105/125/145 (+45% AP) to 50/75/100/125/150 (+45% AP).

Gangplank

To assist his viability in the top lane and jungle, Riot is introducing historical buffs and reverting previous nerfs, while also improving his durability for bruiser builds.

• Base Stats: Health regeneration increased from 5 to 7; Health per level increased from 81 to 89.
• Grog-Soaked Blade (Passive): Maximum stacks increased from 3 to 4.
• Parrrley [Q]: Mana cost reduced from 50/55/60/65/70 to 40/45/50/55/60.
• Cannon Barrage [R]: Cooldown reduced from 120/115/110 seconds to 120/110/100 seconds.

Janna

To address her prolonged dominance, Riot is reducing the effectiveness of her global passive without removing its core function.

• Tailwind (Passive): Global bonus movement speed reduced from 3% to 2%.

Mordekaiser

This update addresses several bugs affecting Mordekaiser since his release in Classic, including fixes for previously addressed micropatches.

• Base Stats: Attack timing improved; basic attacks now execute approximately 70% faster.
• Children of the Grave [R]: Pet bonus attack damage changed from 75% of target's AD to 75% of Mordekaiser's AD; pets can no longer critically strike structures; bonus damage to inhibitors and the Nexus reduced from 75% to 0%.

Nami

Riot is increasing Nami's offensive potential to help her remain competitive and explore alternative roles, such as mid lane.

• Aqua Prison [Q]: Damage increased from 75/130/185/240/295 (+65% AP) to 90/145/200/255/310 (+100% AP).
• Ebb and Flow [W]: Damage reduction per bounce reduced from 30% to 15% (healing reduction remains at 15%).

Olaf

To help Olaf keep pace with other top laners and junglers, Riot is improving his sustained damage through historical balance adjustments.

• Vicious Strikes [W]: Bonus attack damage increased from 7/14/21/28/35 to 10/17/24/31/38.
• Reckless Swing [E]: Cooldown reduced from 9/8/7/6/5 seconds to 8/7/6/5/4 seconds.

Rammus

As one of the strongest junglers in Classic, Rammus is receiving reductions to his armor and attack damage growth to lower his overall effectiveness.

• Base Stats: Base armor reduced from 28.8 to 25; Attack damage per level reduced from 3.5 to 2.75.

Classic Item Bug Fixes

Classic Pass Progress

Classic Bug Fixes

Bug Fixes and Gameplay Adjustments

The 26.22 update includes several critical fixes for champion abilities and interactions that were causing inconsistencies in matches. Specifically, Riot has addressed a bug where Aurora's [R] could be blocked by Samira's [W], ensuring more predictable outcomes during high-stakes skirmishes. Additionally, Quinn's [R] will no longer deal double damage after being obtained through recalling or respawning, resolving a significant balance issue regarding her ultimate's scaling.

Several mechanical inconsistencies have also been resolved. Ekko's interactions with Hail of Blades are now consistent, and a bug affecting Viego has been fixed; previously, Viego could miss a jungle treat when transforming into an enemy champion at the exact moment the treat was granted. Renekton players will no longer be able to accidentally cancel abilities by right-clicking during his ultimate combo, and Kog'Maw's [W] will no longer damage structures if cast while a basic attack projectile is already in flight.

For those watching professional matches or high-level play, the update fixes an issue where the sound effects for Sion's [R], Briar's [R], and Kled's [R] were not audible in Spectator Mode, improving the overall viewing experience.