Yasuo Is in Line for a Buff as Thresh Faces a Nerf in League of Legends 26.17

Riot's preview also names eight other champions for buffs, five more for nerfs, and opposite item changes for Stormrazor and Sundered Sky.

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Thresh surrounded by green spectral energy in League of Legends artwork

Riot Games has previewed the upcoming League of Legends Patch 26.17, which is currently scheduled to arrive on August 26, 2026, with a long list of planned champion and item adjustments. Yasuo is among the champions in line for a buff, while Thresh is one of six targeted for a nerf.

The patch will follow the Patch 26.16 bot-lane changes, which targeted mage-heavy bottom lanes with stronger magic resistance for marksmen. Lead gameplay designer Matt ‘Phroxzon’ Leung-Harrison described 26.17 as a stabilization-focused follow-up after Riot reviewed those changes in a preview post on X.

According to the preview, mages in bot lane lost some win rate across the board after Patch 26.16, although the decrease was not especially large. Riot considers the result close to the intended effect and is now turning its attention to the next group of balance adjustments. Patch 26.17 remains upcoming, so these changes have not gone live.

Planned champion changes in Patch 26.17

Nine champions are currently named for buffs, while six more are scheduled for nerfs.

Champion buffs

Aurelion Sol
Cho’Gath
Irelia
Hecarim
LeBlanc
Qiyana
Trundle
Yasuo
Yone

Champion nerfs

Graves
Nasus
Nocturne
Thresh
Vayne
Xerath

More detail on the champion changes

Xerath is being adjusted across his kit after performing well in both mid and bot lane, particularly among average players. Riot still sees AP bot picks as a source of variety, even when they create frustrating lane situations, so the goal is a general power reduction rather than removing the strategy altogether.

Vayne top is also being toned down after showing strong results at higher levels of play. Her ranged pressure, sturdy build options such as Experimental Hexplate, strong lane phase, and late-game scaling can leave opponents with limited room to respond. The planned direction gives lane opponents more health, making it easier to trade back and create opportunities for ganks, though Vayne remains vulnerable when she pushes and offers limited team utility.

Yasuo and Yone are being pushed toward Crit purchases, especially as first items. The short-term goal is to make Crit more appealing in situations where players might otherwise choose BORK or Kraken. Riot also acknowledged a longer-term itemization problem: the current Crit items do not quite provide what either champion needs.

LeBlanc is receiving a small buff through the restoration of an Attack Speed ratio that was previously reduced when Statikk Shiv was a powerful waveclear option. After the item shifted toward on-hit effects, that ratio was not restored, leaving the champion weaker than intended across skill brackets.

Nasus is receiving another top-lane adjustment after the previous patch changed his balance between top lane and jungle. The new pass reduces some of his total sustain in top lane, making very high stack counts harder to reach. The same lever should have less effect on his jungle performance.

Roaming supports are being monitored rather than directly punished in the current preview. Riot saw promising movement from the strategy in the limited number of professional games played on Patch 26.16 and expects some of it to reach solo queue. The team wants to avoid hurting normal roaming unless unusual roaming patterns become broadly optimal.

Hecarim‘s [Q] Rampage is the clearest ability change currently listed in Riot’s full preview on X. Its cooldown is set to drop from 4 to 3.25 seconds, while the cooldown reduction per Rampage stack is set to drop from 0.75 to 0.5 seconds.

Stormrazor and Sundered Sky are also changing

The item portion of the preview is limited to two adjustments: Stormrazor will receive a buff, and Sundered Sky will be nerfed.

Riot believes the current direction for Sundered Sky and AP jungle changes is correct, but the numbers have not gone far enough. The planned nerf is meant to reduce Sundered Sky’s presence in high-level play while giving AP junglers more room to appear.

Stormrazor has a much smaller user base outside of Stormrazor Jhin. Riot wants to raise the item’s power so that more champions can make use of it instead of leaving it tied mainly to Jhin builds.

Riot’s preview currently gives more detail for Hecarim’s Q, but most affected entries do not yet include complete ability values. The PBE values are still being copied and edited, so the final numbers may change before the patch reaches live servers. The final impact on Yasuo, Thresh, and the rest of the roster will become clearer once Riot publishes the complete changes.

Which Patch 26.17 change do you want to see most, and which one concerns you? Share your thoughts in the comments, and stay connected through X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

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.