League of Legends 26.16 Will Target Mage Bot Dominance With ADC Buffs

Riot plans to nerf support roaming, improve several ADC tools, and test further changes before finalizing the patch.

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Xerath surrounded by blue magical energy in League of Legends

Riot Games is preparing targeted changes for the Mage Bot meta in League of Legends Patch 26.16, with the first details pointing toward support roaming nerfs and several buffs aimed at traditional ADC picks.

Matt “Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison, Riot’s Lead Gameplay Designer, said the team had taken criticism from both regular players and the professional scene into account. The current bot lane environment has raised concerns about ADCs losing their usual identity, particularly when mages can reach their power spikes earlier and put marksmen under pressure during the early and mid game.

Riot does not plan to erase mage picks from the role. Instead, the team is trying to reduce the gap between the two classes without making their strengths feel interchangeable. Mages should retain their earlier spikes and smoother scaling, while ADCs should continue to offer stronger late-game potential with more demanding success conditions.

What Riot is planning for Patch 26.16

Leung-Harrison outlined several possible adjustments for the upcoming patch. The current plans include:

Increasing the out-of-lane support gold and experience penalty from 25% through level 3 to 33% through level 5.
Buffing underpowered ADC tools, including Berserker’s Greaves and Fleet.
Increasing ADC base magic resistance while reducing magic-resistance growth.
Buffing Heal.
Testing other changes before sharing more details once the team has settled on its approach.

These changes would make support roaming more costly and give ADCs a little more room to survive against mage damage. The planned adjustments also suggest that Riot is looking beyond champion damage numbers. Support experience and gold, defensive stats, item strength, and summoner spells could all play a part in bringing more balance to the lane.

Leung-Harrison also addressed concerns from pro players, including three-time Worlds winner Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong. Riot wants to preserve the skill and familiarity built around ADC champions rather than forcing players to abandon that subclass, but it also wants professional teams to retain the freedom to draft different bot lane options.

That means Patch 26.16 is not expected to remove mages from bot lane altogether. The broader goal is to make the matchup differences less extreme while keeping a clear distinction between the classes. ADCs should remain later-game carries, and mages should continue to offer earlier pressure without overwhelming the lane before marksmen can develop their builds.

Leung-Harrison shared the planned direction in a social media post on July 29, 2026, while noting that additional details would follow as the testing process continued.

Mages Bot and Approach for 26.16

26.15 Rundown releasing later tonight; got a bit delayed this week

Mages Bot in Pro Play
– While Mages Bot at MSI only represented ~20% of picks (and often felt like much more), we have been seeing a significant uptick in their presence and…

— Matt Leung-Harrison (@RiotPhroxzon) July 29, 2026

Riot has not provided a full Patch 26.16 changelog in the supplied update, so the final numbers and champion-specific effects may still change before the patch goes live. For now, the clearest parts of the plan are the roaming support penalty, ADC item and defensive adjustments, and a stronger Heal summoner spell.

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League of Legends is a fast-paced, competitive online game that blends the speed and intensity of an RTS with RPG elements. Two teams of powerful champions, each with a unique design and playstyle, battle head-to-head across multiple battlefields and game modes. With an ever-expanding roster of champions, frequent updates and a thriving tournament scene, League of Legends offers endless replayability for players of every skill level.