Updated on June 3, 2026 at 11:43pm: Added detailed patch notes posted by Riot Phroxzon. Cassiopeia has been removed from champion nerfs. Riot intends to nerf her in 26.13 instead.
League of Legends Lead Gameplay Designer Matt “Riot Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison posted a preview of the LoL patch 26.12 notes on X on June 2, 2026.
With the 2026 Mid Season Invitational (MSI) set to be played on patch 26.13, LoL patch 26.12 arrives as one of the final opportunities for Riot Games to shape the competitive landscape before the international tournament begins.
While this update brings its own slate of champion and system adjustments, Riot has made it clear that its focus remains on the evolving bot lane meta, which has recently been dominated by enchanter and ranged support picks.
The developers will be closely monitoring how the changes in patch 26.11 affect the role, with further tuning still possible in the lead-up to MSI.
LoL patch 26.12 focuses on the mid lane
AP Xin Zhao is a standout performer in average-skill games, with his healing-heavy build creating oppressive and often non-interactive lane phases.
The developers are targeting both his early-game sustain and some of his late-game healing output to bring the strategy back in line.
Elsewhere, several mid lane champions are receiving adjustments based on their current Solo Queue performance. Champions such as Hwei, Sylas, and Syndra are being looked at as Riot seeks to improve options that have room to grow, while stronger performers are being toned down.
Meanwhile, Ryze and Orianna are also getting nerfed, for they have remained consistently powerful throughout much of the season.
LoL patch 26.12 notes
Champion buffs
| LOL PATCH 26.12 CHAMPION BUFFS | PATCH NOTES |
| Yuumi | P Heal AP Ratio: 25% → 30% E Shield AP Ratio: 30% → 40% |
| Jax | Q Mana: 65 → 50 E percent target max HP damage: 3.5% minimum / 7% maximum → 4% min / 8% max |
| 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 CD: 13 – 11s → 12 – 10s |
| Syndra | Q Damage: 80-220 (+65% AP) → 90-230 (+70% AP) Base HP: 563 → 583 |
| Tristana | AD Growth: 2.9 → 3.4 Q Mana: 30-50 → 15-35 |
| Sylus | Q1 Damage: 40-120 (+40% AP) → 40-140 (+45% AP) E Heal AP Ratio: 20%-30% → 30%-60% |
Yuumi
Yuumi is receiving a buff following last patch’s Moonstone changes.
The devs recently fixed an interaction that caused Moonstone’s healing and shielding effects to be disproportionately affected by Grievous Wounds and Heal and Shield Power modifiers.
Because Yuumi naturally gains Heal and Shield Power through her kit, she ended up being hit harder than most champions, prompting Riot to offer compensation buffs in this update.
Hwei
Hwei lost more power from the recent slow-stacking changes than he gained from subsequent buffs, so Riot is returning some strength to his utility tools to reinforce his jack-of-all-trades identity.
Aatrox
Aatrox has been slightly underperforming, particularly at higher skill levels, so Riot is increasing the reward for consistently landing his sweet spot hits.
Gwen
Gwen is receiving early-laning buffs after previous nerfs, while her role as a counter to tank-heavy picks such as K’Sante and Sion becomes more valuable in the current meta
Jax
Jax gains stronger early trading power, including in matchups that revolve around short exchanges. Overall, Riot expects these changes to create more viable niche and counter-pick options in the top lane meta.
Tristana
Tristana has room for buffs in both bot lane and mid lane, where recent role quest changes that favor roaming and utility over farming have worked against her.
Riot is also partially reverting the impact of adding a mana cost to Rapid Fire (Q), restoring some of her waveclear and pushing power—an adjustment that is especially meaningful given her limited mana pool and scaling.
Champion nerfs
| LOL PATCH 26.12 CHAMPION NERFS | PATCH NOTES |
| Xin Zhao | P 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 | AD Growth: 3.7 → 3.4 Q1: 65 / 95 / 125 / 155 / 185 (+95% bonus AD) → 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+90% bonus AD) Q2: 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 | P AD/AP On Non Champ Kill: 10% of Total AS → 11% P AD/AP On Champ Takedown: 25% of Total AS → 33% P AS On Champ Takedown: 50% → 30% Q Bonus AD Ratio: 100%-150% → 80%-120% |
Ryze
Ryze is currently too durable, particularly in the early game, where he can often secure lane priority through reliable damage from his abilities and basic attacks.
These nerfs are aimed at making that durability less effortless while still preserving his identity as a relatively tanky mage, especially once he picks up Catalyst-based items.
Lee Sin
Lee Sin is seeing follow-up adjustments after the changes introduced in patch 26.10. They are focused on reducing his overall damage output, both through reliable sources and skillshot-based plays.
Riot’s goal was to restore some of the champion’s signature mobility and flashy playmaking potential, aspects that had gradually lost power over the years.
While the update successfully revitalized Lee Sin at higher levels of play and better aligned him with his intended fantasy, Riot believes the buffs pushed him slightly too far.
This patch, therefore, trims some of that power while preserving the overall direction of the rework.
Varus
Lethality Varus remains one of the strongest bot lane picks and has been limiting champion diversity in the role.
Riot is shifting more of his power toward attack speed-focused builds while reducing the effectiveness of his long-range Q poke in AD-heavy lethality setups.
System adjustments
| LOL PATCH 26.12 SYSTEM ADJUSTMENTS | PATCH NOTES |
| Teleport | Empowered Teleport (not just Unleashed): 30% max health shield for 30 seconds → 35% max health for 10 seconds |
Riot is taking aim at a niche but increasingly common professional play strategy involving short-range Teleports used to generate oversized shields before key objective fights.
While the tactic has created some memorable moments on stage, the developers feel it strays too far from Teleport’s intended role as a cross-map playmaking and teamfight-joining tool.
To address this, the shield duration is being reduced while its strength receives a slight increase as compensation.
