Updated on August 19, 2026 at 1:14pm: Added detailed patch notes. Hecarim was removed from champion buffs.
League of Legends Lead Gameplay Designer Matt “Riot Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison posted a preview of LoL patch 26.17 on X on August 18, and detailed patch notes the following day.
This patch is a “stabilization patch,” with Riot taking a step back to assess the changes introduced in LoL patch 26.16.
After the latest adjustments, mages in the bot lane have seen their win rates drop across the board, though not by a significant amount, reported Riot Phroxzon. This is roughly the level of impact the team was aiming for, which is why they’re focused on maintaining that balance in this update.
The changes to Poppy and Camille have produced the intended results so far, particularly in the top lane, Riot Phroxzon added. Their support presence has been brought down following the latest adjustments.
Riot is also continuing to monitor Hail of Blades and its impact across a wider range of champions, including Master Yi, Tryndamere, and Shaco.
LoL patch 26.17 notes
Champion changes this patch are relatively standard, with most of the nerfs focused on outliers that are currently performing above the intended power level.
Roaming supports
The limited number of pro games played on patch 26.16 has shown promising movement on roaming supports, with the strategy expected to gradually filter into solo queue as players become more familiar with its limitations.
The team will continue monitoring the trend and consider stronger adjustments if necessary, but does not want to over-penalize standard roaming. Some unconventional roaming strategies are considered healthy, provided they do not become the broadly optimal choice.
Champion buffs
| LOL PATCH 26.17 CHAMPION BUFFS | PATCH NOTES |
| Cho’Gath | E: 20 – 100 (+30% AP) (+2.5% – 3.9% (+.5% per Feast Stack) Target Max HP) → 30 – 110 (+30% AP) (+2.5% – 3.9% (+.5% per Feast Stack) Target Max HP) |
| Irelia | Q AD Ratio: 70% AD → 80% AD |
| LeBlanc | AS Ratio: .4 → .625 AS Growth: 2.35% → 1.5% W & RW AP Ratio: 80% → 90% |
| Qiyana | Q Damage: 70 – 190 (+85% bonus AD) → 80 – 200 (+90% bonus AD) |
| Yasuo | P Crit Damage Reduction: -10% → -5% |
| Yone | P Crit Damage Reduction: -10% → -5% |
| Trundle | W AS: 30% – 90% → 30% – 120% |
| Aurelion Sol | Q Mana Cost/s: 35-55 → 25-45 W CD: 22-16s → 22-14s |
Yasuo and Yone
Yasuo and Yone are being encouraged to build more Crit, particularly as a first item, rather than defaulting to Blade of the Ruined King or Kraken.
Riot wants Crit to feel better for them long term, though their itemization still needs work.
LeBlanc
LeBlanc’s Attack Speed ratio was previously nerfed because of Statikk Shiv’s waveclear. Since the item has been reworked, Riot is restoring the ratio and giving her a small buff as she is not currently overperforming in any skill bracket.
Champion nerfs
| LOL PATCH 26.17 CHAMPION NERFS | PATCH NOTES |
| Graves | Q Damage: 50/75/100/125/150 (+65% bonus AD) → 50/75/100/125/150 (+55% bonus AD) Q Return Damage: 0/125/170/215/260 (+55/70/85/100/115% bonus AD) → 80/125/170/215/260 (+45/60/75/90/105% bonus AD) |
| Nasus | P Life Steal: 12/18/24% → 10/15/20% |
| Nocturne | Base AR: 38 → 36 Base HP: 655 → 640 |
| Thresh | E Active Damage: 75-255 (+70% AP) → 65-245 (+60% AP) |
| Xerath | Base AR: 22 +4.7/Level → 20 +4.7/Level Q Damage: 75-235 (+90% AP) → 70-230 (+90% AP) |
| Vayne | Base HP: 550 +103/Level → 580 +98/Level Base HP5: 3.5 +.55/Level → 4 +.5/Level AS Ratio: .658 +3.3%/Level → .67 +2.8%/Level Q Mana Cost: 30 → 46-30 W True Damage: 6-10% Target Max HP → 4-10% Target Max HP W Minimum Damage: 50-110 → 40-100 |
Nasus
Riot’s previous Nasus changes shifted too much power toward top.
“While we suspected this change would be over-magnitude, we wanted to get a clean read on the magnitude of this lever for top vs jungle and follow up this patch after seeing how much impact it had,” Riot Phroxzon explained.
This patch reduces his overall sustain in top lane, making high stack counts harder to reach without significantly affecting his jungle performance.
Xerath
While Xerath bot remains a major part of the AP bot meta, Riot believes AP bot laners provide valuable long-term variety and a healthy level of frustration for the role.
However, Xerath is currently performing strongly in both mid and bot, particularly among average players, so he is receiving a general nerf that affects both roles.
Vayne
Vayne top is strong in higher-level play and can offer limited counterplay. Riot wants ranged top laners to provide long-term variety, but believes Vayne’s strong lane, scaling, and tankiness can be frustrating.
“We don’t think it’s too far off though and Vayne still has a structural weakness of being vulnerable to ganks, especially when she’s pushing a lot and doesn’t provide much team utility,” Riot Phroxzon explained. “This change hopefully results in her lane opponents having slightly more health in order to assist with gank attempts or trade back.”
Overall, her laning phase is being weakened slightly, while her vulnerability to ganks and lack of team utility remain key weaknesses.
System buffs
| LOL PATCH 26.17 SYSTEM BUFFS | PATCH NOTES |
| Stormrazor | AS: 20% → 25% |
Outside of Stormrazor Jhin, the item currently has a relatively small user base. Riot believes Stormrazor has room for more power and is looking to increase its overall strength so that it becomes a more appealing option for a wider range of champions.
System nerfs
| LOL PATCH 26.17 SYSTEM NERFS | PATCH NOTES |
| Sundered Sky | AD: 45 → 40 HP: 450 → 400 |
The changes to Sundered Sky and AP junglers are moving in the right direction, but Riot believes their overall impact still needs some adjustment.
Patch 26.17 will introduce another small-to-moderate nerf, with the goal of further reducing Sundered Sky’s dominance at higher levels of play while encouraging more movement among AP jungle picks.
