League of Legends 26.20 Preview Buffs Lucian and Smolder, Pulls Varus and Sylas

Ashe and Yunara are among the planned nerf targets, while Rocketbelt trades ability haste for stronger active damage.

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Patch 26.20 preview graphic with a table of planned League of Legends champion buffs and nerfs.

League of Legends Patch 26.20 will buff Lucian and Smolder while adding nerfs for Ashe and Yunara, with Riot aiming to improve bot-lane balance ahead of Worlds. The full preview also removes Varus and Sylas from the planned patch after both appeared in an earlier preview.

Riot’s full 26.20 outline covers champion and item changes, though the PBE values are still being edited.

Patch 26.20 Full Preview!

Rocketbelt
– We're adjusting rocketbelt to be much more about the go in aspect of it and less power budget in the haste
– The haste is adding a lot to the repeatability for mages in particular, but also as a burst oriented item, it means that the item… pic.twitter.com/alGCTAgTm1

— Matt Leung-Harrison (@RiotPhroxzon) September 30, 2026

Patch 26.20 is the Worlds patch, a version Riot had already identified during the 26.18 preview cycle.

Bot lane gets the clearest balance pass

Smolder’s planned buffs focus on his critical-strike builds rather than his bruiser setup. Riot says changes to Black Cleaver and Deathfire Touch left him on the weaker side, but wants to avoid adding power to a bruiser build it considers harder to counter because of Smolder’s scaling.

Lucian’s attack damage growth will rise from 2.5 to 2.9 per level. Riot connects the change to weaker support pairings and recent support-lane adjustments that reduced his early kill pressure.

Vayne is also in line for a general buff aimed at bot lane. Riot plans a ranged-only nerf to Experimental Hexplate, which should limit the effect on her top-lane strength. The preview notes that some top-lane builds do not use Hexplate, but trade away durability while dealing damage.

Ashe and Yunara are planned nerf targets. Ashe remains a dominant pairing even after the Runaan’s Hurricane change, since many of her builds do not use the item. Riot says Yunara’s level-one laning is too strong for a champion who scales as well as she does. The team expects the nerfs, alongside Lucian’s buff, to improve the bot-lane balance.

Champion changes reach beyond bot lane

The planned buff group also includes Diana, Fiddlesticks, Kennen, Kindred, Lillia, Mordekaiser, Neeko, Swain in mid, and Tahm Kench in support. Diana’s W shield bonus-health ratio will increase from 11% to 14%, with jungle Diana as the main focus. Kennen’s E attack-speed bonus will rise from 40/50/60/70/80% to 50/60/70/80/90%.

Mordekaiser’s Q will gain level-based base damage, increasing its scaling component from 0-55 to 0-66 while keeping the rank-based values unchanged. His ultimate cooldown will fall from 140/120/100 to 130/110/90 seconds. Riot also wants Lillia’s Sleep changes to better serve different skill levels, while Neeko is due for more power after adjustments to her clone and its interaction with vision weakened her mid and support roles.

Ambessa, Cassiopeia, and K’Sante join Ashe and Yunara on the nerf list. Ambessa’s passive bonus damage will fall from 5-30 to 5-25, with its bonus attack damage ratio dropping from 25% to 20%. Cassiopeia’s W cooldown will increase by two seconds at each rank, from 24/22/20/18/16 to 26/24/22/20/18. K’Sante’s W mana cost will rise from 40/45/50/55/60 to 50/55/60/65/70.

Rocketbelt trades haste for active damage

Hextech Rocketbelt’s ability haste will drop from 20 to 10, while Supersonic’s damage will increase from 100 (+10% AP) to 135 (+15% AP). Riot wants the item to better support an engage, rather than give mages as much repeat access to its effects and flexibility alongside other haste items.

Runaan’s Hurricane will also receive a small pullback after Riot judged its recent buff too strong. Varus is out of the planned patch because Riot wants to do broader work on his builds. Sylas was removed because the team is not comfortable making a general change without disrupting his role balance, particularly alongside the Rocketbelt adjustments.

The preview’s PBE numbers are still being copied and edited, so the figures may change before the patch is finalized. Which planned change do you think will have the biggest effect on bot lane at Worlds? Follow us on 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.