Riot Games Announces Details for League of Legends Patch 26.16: Focus on Systemic Changes and the Return of Marksmen

The developers of League of Legends have presented a preview of update 26.16. This time, the patch will feature a limited number of direct champion changes, with the main emphasis placed on large-scale adjustments to gameplay systems. The primary goal of the update is to reshape the current meta, paying special attention to the bot lane.

Over the past few weeks, mages have begun to dominate both in professional play and solo queue, pushing marksmen out of their traditional role. To gradually restore marksmen to their status as the primary pick in the bot lane, Riot Games will increase the base magic resistance for all champions in this class.

The developers emphasize that this is a targeted systemic change. It will be applied globally to all marksmen to maintain the proper balance between burst damage and the overall survivability of the class, making future balancing and understanding of game mechanics easier.

In addition, the impact of roaming supports will be reduced through changes to the support quest system and nerfs to Camille.

Significant changes will affect items and the distribution of power between other roles. To encourage the emergence of AD champions in the mid lane, the developers are buffing Berserker's Greaves (as well as their T3 version), while simultaneously increasing pet damage for AP junglers, creating a positive synergy between these roles.

Among items, the main target for nerfs is Sundered Sky. The developers consider it too strong of a universal choice that provides healing, damage, and survivability all at once. To sharpen competition for early inventory slots, alternative items for AD fighters will receive buffs:

• Eclipse
• Tiamat
• Sterak’s Gage

The developers will also introduce initial changes to Sunfire Aegis. Currently, the item is considered relatively balanced, but the team will continue to monitor it after the patch goes live. Black Cleaver is also slated for adjustments.

Although the patch focuses heavily on gameplay systems, some champions will also receive targeted adjustments:

• Buffs: Azir will receive a moderate buff due to his absence from the pro meta and low win rates (although Press the Attack builds are showing decent results). Gwen will receive top-lane focused healing buffs. Kennen will get scaling improvements—the developers want to emphasize his powerful ultimates while preventing him from being overly dominant during the laning phase.
• Nerfs: Bel'Veth is receiving a late-game skewed nerf due to her high effectiveness at average skill brackets, but with a slight power compensation at level 6. Poppy and Camille will also be nerfed.
• Adjustments: Changes will be made to Nasus.

The development team also commented on the ranked matchmaking system changes introduced in Patch 26.15. Globally, metrics show a meaningful improvement in match quality relative to queue times.

However, in smaller regions (particularly MENA and OCE), queue times have increased critically, causing high-skill players to be unable to find a match. To address this issue, Riot Games plans to partially revert these changes for the aforementioned regions in Patch 26.16.

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