League of Legends 26.18 Preview Plans Buffs for 7 Champions and Nerfs for 5

Patch 26.18 is scheduled for Sept. 10, with PBE data giving Cassiopeia and Ekko provisional numbers while League Classic and ARAM Mayhem changes are also being tested.

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Correction, September 1, 2026: An earlier version said Worlds would be played on Patch 25.20, based on Riot’s initial preview. Newer evidence places Worlds 2026 on Patch 26.20, so this article has been updated.

League of Legends Patch 26.18 is scheduled to arrive on Thursday, September 10, 2026, with planned buffs for 7 champions, nerfs for 5 more, a power-neutral adjustment for Cassiopeia, and a system buff for Guinsoo’s Rageblade. Current notes give numbers for Cassiopeia, Ekko, and the other targeted champions, while Riot’s fuller preview adds more context for the role and skill-level concerns behind the changes. The schedule and values can still change before the patch reaches live servers.

[PBE Datamine] September 1, 2026 – Cassiopeia Adjustments, Lane Ekko, Mayhem Info-Dump, Classic Changes.
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Patch 26.18 release windows are listed at around 3 p.m. CT in North America, 5 a.m. GMT in EU West, 3 a.m. CET in EU North East, and 8 a.m. in Korea. The update is set for Thursday rather than League’s usual Wednesday release day.

The patch will also coincide with Caps’ Hall of Legends celebration. The event includes Risen Legend Orianna, Risen Legend Tristana, and Immortalized Legend Tristana.

The full 26.18 preview from Riot treats several adjustments as attempts to move power between roles and skill brackets rather than simply push every targeted champion up or down. Patch 26.18 will be an earlier balance pass ahead of Worlds 2026, which is scheduled to use Patch 26.20. Riot therefore has a little more time to refine the regular game’s balance before the tournament arrives, although the preview and current notes already point to several competitive concerns.

7 champions are planned for buffs

Renekton, Viego, Zaahen, Aurelion Sol, Ekko, Kassadin, and Master Yi are the planned buff targets. Riot’s initial preview does not explain the exact changes for most of them, although the current PBE entries provide provisional details for several champions.

Zaahen’s second Q hit, The Darkin Glaive, would deal more damage at every rank, moving from 25/50/75/100/125 to 30/60/90/120/150. His Q would also go on cooldown immediately when he enters Resurrection, preventing the second cast from receiving an unusually short usage window after revival.

Ekko gets a cheaper Q and stronger return damage

Ekko’s Q, Timewinder, would increase its return damage from 40/65/90/115/140 to 40/70/100/130/160. Current entries also raise the return-damage AP ratio from 60% to 70% and reduce the mana cost from 50/60/70/80/90 to 40/50/60/70/80. That gives him a cheaper tool for wave clear and trades without changing the first rank’s return damage.

Riot’s reasoning centers on mid-lane Ekko’s wave clear and access to his roaming pattern. Mid-lane Ekko is more likely to buy AP and Lich Bane than his jungle counterpart, so these changes are intended to help him clear waves and build momentum without treating both versions as the same balance problem.

Kassadin’s planned buffs would raise Q, Null Sphere, from a 70% AP ratio to 80%. His ultimate, Riftwalk, would also change from 70/90/110 base damage to 80/95/110, with the top rank staying at 110.

Viego is another target for a build-specific boost. Bruiser Viego has fallen further behind his squishier build since Divine Sunderer was removed and Sundered Sky was weakened. Riot still intends for the bruiser setup to be weaker than the squishy version, but the gap is now wider than intended. His passive, Sovereign’s Domination, would gain 2% healing scaling per 500 bonus health, and his AD growth would rise from 3.5 to 4, giving the bruiser setup more direct support.

Master Yi is included in the effort to help champions affected by recent item and system changes without undoing those changes wholesale. His armor growth would increase from 4.5 to 5 per level, while his R, Highlander, movement-speed bonus would rise from 35%-55% to 40%-60%. Aurelion Sol and Renekton round out the other planned buffs.

5 champions are planned for nerfs

Bard and Nautilus join Seraphine, Syndra, and Zeri among the champions marked for nerfs. Bard’s base armor would fall from 34 with 5 growth per level to 32 with 4.7 growth. Nautilus would lose 3 base AD, moving from 61 plus 3.3 growth per level to 58 plus 3.3 growth, and his Q, Dredge Line, damage would fall at higher ranks from 85-265 to 85-245 while keeping the 90% AP ratio.

A current entry reduces Syndra’s base health from 584 to 570. Her passive, Splinters of Wrath, mana values would also fall from 20-255 to 20-199. On Summoner’s Rift, the level 1 mana gain per Splinter remains 20, while the +5-per-level scaling through level 5 changes to +4 through level 6. Later +8-per-level scaling changes to +6 per level through level 10, while the +15-per-level scaling through level 15 and +20-per-level scaling afterward remain unchanged. ARAM and Mayhem do not receive this updated level scaling and continue using breakpoints at 6/11/16 instead of 7/11/16. Riot’s fuller preview also lists a W, Force of Will, cooldown increase from 12/11/10/9/8 to 13/12/11/10/9 seconds.

Seraphine receives the most detailed explanation, with Riot addressing both her current strength and the difficulty of balancing her across support, mid, and bot lane. Riot said Seraphine has placed in the top 3 of its regular patch frustration surveys for several patches. She has also been one of the strongest pairings with Ashe in pro play, which helped make a nerf reasonable from Riot’s perspective. Riot acknowledged that the changes may not please every Seraphine main.

Support remains Seraphine’s most popular role, and Riot said it will continue to prioritize that audience. Her E, Beat Drop, cooldown would become 11 seconds at every rank, and the planned changes are aimed mainly at her damage-oriented roles, where ranking up E will provide less incentive. Support Seraphine should feel less of the effect because support players typically max E later. The team still wants her mid and bot builds to feel powerful when possible, but it acknowledged that trying to satisfy every role at once can leave each version with too many compromises.

The preview also revisits an earlier reduction to Seraphine’s Q AP ratio, which has remained a sore point for some players. Riot explained that AP ratios are one of the tools used to separate her farming roles from support, and that Q can reach a 1.4 AP ratio at its maximum multiplier in lane. Since Q deals more overall damage than E, Riot currently considers the ratio reasonable, though it said the decision is not permanent.

Zeri’s nerf follows the recent Hurricane changes, which Riot considers a success for the item itself. Zeri has benefited too much from that improvement, particularly among elite players, so the champion will be adjusted instead of immediately weakening Hurricane again. Her W, Ultrashock Laser, damage ratio against regular targets would fall from 120% to 100% total AD, while the wall-hit ratio would drop from 180% to 150%.

Cassiopeia will trade early power for scaling

Cassiopeia is the lone champion receiving an adjustment instead of a straightforward buff or nerf. Riot considers her especially strong at higher levels of play since Deathfire Touch returned, with her laning strength helping her appear often in pro play. Her average-player win rate is around 47%, while her results remain above average among elite players, creating a gap between her performance in stronger hands and her results with average players.

The six planned changes will take some power from Cassiopeia’s early game and move it into her scaling. Riot wants her to be less likely to win lane when she misses Q while preserving the strong laning tools that define the champion. The broader goal is to reduce her professional presence without leaving lower-elo players with a weaker version of the champion.

Cassiopeia’s passive movement-speed multiplier would fall from 6%-40% to 5%-35%. Her Q mana cost is listed in the fuller preview as 40/45/50/55/60 instead of 50/55/60/65/70. Q’s base damage would fall from 75-215 to 65-205, while its AP ratio would rise from 65% to 75%. Those changes reduce some early reliability while leaving more power in AP scaling.

Her basic E AP ratio would rise from 10% to 20%, while the empowered version would fall from 55% to 45%. E’s total AP ratio therefore remains 65%, although its base damage would fall from 52-120 to 50-118. E would also cost 45 mana instead of 40. Cassiopeia’s ultimate would lose base damage, moving from 150/250/350 to 125/225/325, while its AP ratio rises from 50% to 75%. The result is a power-neutral direction that trades movement speed, early Q and E reliability, and some base damage for stronger scaling through selected abilities. None of the numbers are final.

Guinsoo’s Rageblade will get power back

Patch 26.14 changed Rageblade’s scripting and moved the Phantom Hit trigger from 6 attacks to 7. Patch 26.18 will make a small adjustment to the item to restore some of the lost power and help champions affected more heavily by that change, including Master Yi. The current entry increases Seething Strike’s stack duration from 3 seconds to 4 seconds, giving attack speed builds more time to maintain their momentum.

League Classic receives a broad champion data pass

Separate PBE changes cover a broad League Classic champion pass. Akali would no longer be able to move while casting W. Her displayed cast ranges are also being adjusted, with Q moving from 550 to 575 units and R moving from 675 to 775 units so the visual ranges better match their functionality.

Gangplank would receive more bonus gold from Q at every rank, moving from 4/5/6/7/8 to 4/6/8/10/12. His E would also provide stronger self and ally effects. Self bonus AD would rise from 12/19/26/33/40 to 14/22/30/38/46, while self movement speed would increase from 8/11/14/17/20% to 10/14/18/22/26%. Ally bonus AD would move from 6/9.5/13/16.5/20 to 7/11/15/19/23, and ally movement speed would rise from 4/5.5/7/8.5/10% to 5/7/9/11/13%.

Heimerdinger’s changes focus on durability, Q damage, mana costs, and E access. His base HP5 would increase from 4.5 to 5.05, while Q base damage would rise from 28/36/44/52/60 to 30/38/46/54/62. W mana cost would fall from 65/85/105/125/145 to 60/75/90/105/120. E cooldown would decrease from 14/13/12/11/10 seconds to 13/12/11/10/9, and its cast range would increase from 920 to 925 units.

Anivia’s Q missile speed would decrease from 950 to 850. Malzahar is receiving several changes at once, including attack speed growth moving from 1.36 to 3.0 and the attack speed ratio increasing from 0.625 to 0.658. His Q AP ratio would fall from 80% to 70%, while Voidlings would move faster, provide 12 gold instead of 2, and use a 9-frame basic attack cast instead of 12 frames. Nasus’s Q is being rewritten so its damage works correctly with critical strike damage.

Shyvana’s human Q AD ratio would change from a flat 100% to 80/85/90/95/100% based on rank. Her W maximum duration extension increases from 3 seconds to 4 seconds. Human E loses some reach and projectile speed, moving from 950 to 925 units and from 1700 to 1200 speed. Dragon E becomes narrower, changing from 60 to 20 units, but its projectile speed rises from 1700 to 2000. Her ultimate’s minimum cast range would also fall from 500 units to 100.

Warwick’s base attack speed and attack speed ratio would move from 0.644 to 0.625. His passive damage calculation is changing from interpolation to a linear formula while keeping the same starting and ending values. The new progression is 3, followed by an increase of 0.5 per level through level 9 and then 1 per level. W’s cooldown would become 30/27/24/21/18 seconds, while R damage would change from 250/335/420 to 180/300/420. Warwick’s visual R cast range is also being set to 625.

Xin Zhao’s base attack damage would rise slightly from 55 to 55.3, while base health regeneration falls from 8 to 7.7. His E mana cost would increase from 50 to 60. Minion time-scaling values were also edited at the script level, but the available data does not explain the resulting behavior in enough detail to compare the changes reliably. The League Classic data should not be treated as a complete record of every underlying edit before all of the relevant champions appear on the PBE.

On Summoner’s Rift, Xin Zhao’s R visual cast range would be reduced from 500 units to 465. The adjustment is intended to change how the cast feels visually rather than alter its functional gameplay range.

[PBE Datamine] September 2, 2026 – 26.18 Full Changes, Classic Heimer + Gangplank buffs, Void Immolation re-enabled
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ARAM Mayhem adjusts augment power and grouping

ARAM Mayhem’s changes cover individual augments as well as the pools that determine which champions can receive them. Clown College is returning as a Prismatic augment with values unchanged from its previous version. Its on-death explosion remains unclear because the main description identifies it as true damage, while the expanded tooltip identifies it as magic damage.

Void Immolation is also being re-enabled for ARAM Mayhem. Its ARAM version was accidentally left out of the earlier pass, so the augment will return if the current PBE change reaches the final patch.

High Roller would change its Anvil spawn chance from 1.5% for all unit types to 1% for regular units and 0.5% for summons such as Malzahar’s W, Illaoi’s E, and Heimerdinger’s Q. Spin to Win would use a 50% damage amplifier for every ultimate ability.

Jeweled Gauntlet is being removed from four generic AD groupings. The change suggests that the augment is being reserved more often for critical strike and hybrid AD champions instead of being available across most of the roster. Squishy Slappy Grab is no longer part of the group classified as crowd control augments, although Terror and Fey Magic remain there. The stacking group is losing Phenominal Evil, Tank Engine, and Bursting Teeth.

Anivia, Aurelion Sol, Cassiopeia, Lillia, and Nidalee each had one health-augment entry removed from their champion pools. That does not stop those champions from receiving a health augment through another pool. Morgana’s estimated health-augment frequency falls from roughly 4.7% to 3.2%, while Ryze’s falls from roughly 5.6% to 3.8%. Those percentages are approximations rather than a complete picture of every weighting interaction.

The provisional augment grouping reference and champion tag and weight reference document the current assignments. The complete pooling system is not public, and the data still includes disabled or removed augments, so these values describe a testing baseline rather than a promise of the final in-game behavior.

With exact values still absent for much of the preview, Patch 26.18 currently offers a clear direction and a scheduled release date, but not a finished balance picture. Share your thoughts in the comments, and 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.