Riot Games will deploy League of Legends Patch 26.2 on January 22. The update targets the jungle as its main battleground and includes several champion nerfs, a costly tune to the Bandlepipes support item, and targeted buffs to a handful of champions that could change pick priority in pro play.
Nerfs in the jungle pool and Bandlepipes
Patch 26.2 focuses on jungle champions. Gwen, Lillia, Jayce, Malphite, Nunu and Willump, and Zed are receiving nerfs. Riot pointed at the high performance of Gwen and Lillia, both sitting above a 52% win rate on lolalytics, and the patch aims to pull some of that power down. Zed is taking a notable hit to its jungle monster modifier. Jayce loses damage on his Q, though Riot expects his flex potential to keep him relevant. Malphite’s changes are aimed at his high pick rate in both top lane and jungle roles. The support item Bandlepipes is getting a major cost increase of 300 gold. Built by many supports that rely on crowd control, the item’s value was judged too high and the extra cost should reduce its ubiquity.
Varus, Taliyah and other buffs
On the buff side, Varus is getting extra damage to both Q and W, which should raise his early-to-mid lane priority thanks to his long range poke. Taliyah will receive increased bonus damage to monsters, improving her jungle clear and making her a stronger flex pick between mid and jungle. Master Yi and Viego receive buffs that improve their clear speed, but the broader jungle meta remains tilted toward power farming champions under the current map and item setup.
How this will affect esports
Early signs point to a mid-focused meta. Teams that can secure priority in mid will have an easier time snowballing scaling mages. That priority often hinges on winning bot lane and allowing support and jungle to roam effectively. Bot lane still needs strong late-game scaling because Role Quests increase late-game power for those lanes. Champions like Yunara, Corki, and Aphelios remain high priority for their late-game DPS. Varus’s buffs could make him a more common pick thanks to his poke and lane control. Jayce and Sivir may drop in priority after their nerfs, but both should remain usable, particularly in best-of-series formats like the Fearless era where flex picks and lane-specific setups matter more.
For teams and coaches, the patch nudges draft and game plans toward protecting mid lane carries and prioritizing resources for scaling. Junglers who relied on early-impact ganks may need to shift toward faster clears and farm efficiency. For more patch context see our writeup of Patch 25.21 and Riot’s broader competitive shifts in Riot Games ranked changes for 2026.
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