Updated on May 21, 2026 at 12:58am: Added detailed patch notes posted by Riot Phroxzon.
League of Legends Lead Gameplay Designer Matt “Riot Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison posted a preview of the LoL patch 26.11 notes on X on May 19, 2026 and a detailed breakdown the day after.
Riot Games is rolling out a new wave of balance changes focused on reshaping the Support meta and improving diversity between melee and ranged champions.
| FIND OUT WHAT WENT DOWN LAST PATCH League of Legends Patch 26.10 reins in Deathfire Touch, Gluttonous Greaves chaos |
Additionally, AP Xin Zhao is a build that has quickly gained attention for its high sustain and unconventional playstyle.
However, the developer noted that Xin Zhao’s current healing output has exceeded intended limits — at times surpassing champions specifically designed around sustain. Patch 26.11 aims to tone that down while preserving the identity that made the build popular in the first place.
LoL patch 26.11 notes
Champion buffs
| LOL PATCH 26.11 CHAMPION BUFFS | STATS |
| Diana | P Monster Damage increased: 230% → 270% W health bonus health ratio increased: 9% → 11% double to 18% → 22% on full orb detonation |
| Ekko | P Cooldown per target decreased: 5s → 4s |
| Heimerdinger | Q Turret Range increased: 530 → 550, +50 against Minions E Vision Duration increased: 1s → 1.25s, to resolve edge case where turrets lose vision and don’t fire their beam |
| Kassadin | Q CD decreased: 10-8s → 9-7s W Passive Damage increased: 20 (+10% AP) → 25 (+10% AP) |
| Quinn | P Bonus Monster Damage increased: 50 → 75 Q Monster Damage increased: 150% → 200% |
Heimerdinger
Heimerdinger’s turrets became noticeably weaker after the previous patch’s minion changes, so Patch 26.11 introduces a quality-of-life update to prevent ranged minions from killing turrets before they can retaliate.
The team noted that despite the listed 550 range, most 550-range champions can still outrange the turrets at maximum distance due to how range calculations work. A small buff to E vision duration was also added to help turret beams fire more consistently before losing vision.
Quinn
Riot says Quinn has fallen into a notably weak state in the jungle, to the point where picking her can feel like a liability to her team.
As a result, she is receiving a significant buff aimed at bringing her back into a viable and competitive position, with the goal of giving her a real chance to be strong. The developers also noted growing player interest in the role as part of the motivation for these changes.
The patch includes jungle-focused adjustments for Diana and Ekko, who Riot Phroxzon says have fallen slightly behind in the role despite remaining mostly stable in mid lane.
Champion nerfs
| LOL PATCH 26.11 CHAMPION NERFS | STATS |
| Brand | Base Armor decreased: 27 → 24 |
| Smolder | Passive Bonus Magic Damage on Q decreased: 40-60% of your passive stacks (Scaling with Crit Chance) → 25-55% of your passive stacks (Scaling with Crit Chance) Passive Bonus Magic Damage on E adjusted: 12% of your passive stacks → 8%-12% of your passive stacks (Scaling with Crit Chance) |
| Teemo | E Damage: On-hit/Poison scaling decreased: (+10% bonus AD / +20% bonus AD) → (+5% bonus AD / +10% bonus AD) Armor growth decreased: 4.95/lvl → 4.5/lvl |
Brand and Smolder
Both Brand bot lane and Smolder have been strong users of Deathfire Touch, with Smolder expected to remain too powerful even after the rune interaction changes.
The additional nerfs are aimed at pushing him further toward squishier Crit builds, making him easier to punish later in the game.
Teemo
Riot notes that Teemo remains one of the stronger top laners while also being on the higher end of frustration for opponents.
With Statikk Shiv receiving buffs this patch, he is being given a small compensation nerf to ensure his overall power level comes down slightly as part of the adjustment.
Champion adjustments
| LOL PATCH 26.11 CHAMPION ADJUSTMENTS | STATS |
| AP Xin Zhao | Passive Damage: 15 / 30 / 45 / 60% Bonus AD (Levels 1 / 6 / 11 / 16) → 15 / 30 / 45 / 60% Bonus AD (+5 / 10 / 15 / 20% AP) (Levels 1 / 6 / 11 / 16) Passive Healing: 3 / 4 / 5% Max HP (+50 / 65 / 90% AP) (Levels 1 / 6 / 11) → 3 / 4 / 5% Max HP (+45 / 55 / 80% AP) (Levels 1 / 6 / 11) |
Reasons behind patch 26.11 system changes
Ranged supports have climbed to the top largely because they synergize extremely well with the current ADC pool, Riot Phroxzon explained, while also benefiting the most from the Role Quest system introduced this season.
The developer noted that roaming currently comes with a much higher systemic cost, as leaving lane not only slows a support’s own quest progress, but also limits how quickly their ADC can stack rewards.
Riot believes this has generally been a positive shift for the game, especially after roaming-heavy support metas throughout 2025 often disrupted the “real laning phase” many bot lane players preferred.
At the same time, the game devs want to restore some roaming opportunities once the early lane phase ends. As such, Void Grubs are receiving slight reward buffs to make rotations around grub timings more worthwhile.
Beyond support changes, patch 26.11 will also include a broader pass on itemization. Riot says the goal is to improve the appeal of several underbought items while “more finely tune the purpose of various items in the ecosystem.”
Experimental Hexplate is one of the key focuses this patch, with adjustments designed to make the item stronger and more balanced across both melee and ranged users.
Right now, champions such as Nocturne, Olaf, Vayne and Varus are among the item’s strongest users.
Riot believes there is room to better balance its effectiveness across a wider range of champions, while also making the durability-versus-damage tradeoff more meaningful for picks like Vayne and Varus, particularly in top lane.
System buffs
| LOL PATCH 26.11 SYSTEM BUFFS | STATS |
| Aftershock | Bonus Resists increased: 35 (+80% Bonus AR/MR) → 45 (+75% Bonus AR/MR) |
| Guardian | Cooldown decreased: 90 – 40 (Levels 1 – 18) → 75 – 40 (Levels 1 – 18) Shield Amount adjusted: 45 – 180 (+25% AP) (+5% Bonus HP) → 40 – 150 (+20% AP) (+6% Bonus HP) |
| Heartsteel | Damage To Permanent HP Conversion increased: 8% → 10% |
| Knight’s Vow | Damage Reduction increased: 12% → 14% Healing Ratio increased: 10% → 12% |
| Locket of the Iron Solari | Armor and MR increased: 25 → 30 |
| Zeke’s Convergence | Now waits for up to 5 seconds after casting your ultimate for a valid enemy to be close enough to you before triggering the Storm effect |
System nerfs
| LOL PATCH 26.11 SYSTEM NERFS | STATS |
| Dream Maker | Blue Bubble DR: 75 – 255 (Levels 1 – 18), but only affects the literal first instance of damage → 50 – 194 (Levels 1 – 18), but affects the entire first damaging spell Purple Bubble Damage decreased: 50 – 170 (Levels 1 – 18), triggering On-Hit → 40 – 160 (Levels 1-18), triggering on damaging attack or ability, with AoE reduction for AoE triggers (See Nami E) |
| Echoes of Helia | Damage Stored decreased: 35% → 30% |
| Moonstone Renewer | Starlight Grace Unique effect no longer double dips in Heal/Shield Power AND Grievous Wounds |
| Summon Aery | Shield Value decreased: 30 – 100 (Levels 1 – 18) (+10% bonus AD) (+5% AP) → 20 – 100 (Levels 1 – 18) (+10% bonus AD) (+5% AP) |
System adjustments
| LOL PATCH 26.11 SYSTEM ADJUSTMENTS | STATS |
| Void Grubs | Structural DoT Damage: (3 / 9 / 12 Melee || 1.5 / 4.5 / 6 Ranged) → (4 / 12 / 16 Melee || 2 / 6 / 8 Ranged) Summoned Grub HP increased: 60% of Melee Minions → 100% of Melee Minions |
| Experimental Hexplate | Passive Ult Bonus (Ranged) decreased: 50% AS and 20% MS for 8 seconds → 35% AS and 14% MS for 8 seconds Melee unchanged |
| Imperial Mandate | Reworked. Now builds from Blasting Wand + Bandle Glass + 700g (2400g) Grants 65 AP, 15 AH, 150% Base Mana Regen Unique – Control: Grants Immobilizing Abilities an additional +15 AH Unique – Command: When you immobilize an enemy champion, apply 6% Vulnerable for 4s. (Vulnerable means they take % increased Damage) |
| Deathfire Touch | Now deals Magic Damage |
| Statikk Shiv | Stats decreased: 40 AD → 45 AD |
The Patch 26.11 adjustment to Deathfire Touch changes its damage type to Magic Damage, and is mainly aimed at reducing its overly strong synergy with Black Cleaver, Riot Phroxzon explained.
The developers also feel the effect thematically fits better as a magic-based burn, adding that the rune is otherwise in a healthy spot balance-wise.
