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Riot Publishes a Mel Midscope Developer Update for League of Legends

Patch 26.22 will remove Mel's projectile reflect and move some of her early power into scaling.

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Mel holds a glowing golden barrier as magical projectiles strike it in a fantasy battle.

Riot Games plans to rework Mel for League of Legends Patch 26.22, removing the projectile-reflect effect from Rebuttal (W). The replacement will still destroy enemy projectiles, then release a nova that shields and grants movement speed to her team. Rebuttal will also retaliate against attacks for a small amount of damage. Riot’s Mel midscope update says the redesign is meant to preserve W’s defensive role without letting Mel send enemy abilities back at their casters.

Mel will no longer be able to reflect a Seraphine ultimate to charm the opposing team or send Jhin’s Fourth Shot back at him. Riot’s charts show how her balance changed over time. After her initial ban-rate spike, her win rate settled around 48-49%, with a high pick rate. By midyear, her ban rate was around the same level, but her win rate had fallen to 45-47% and her pick rate to less than half its earlier level.

As elite and pro players adapted to Mel, Riot found it difficult to maintain a compelling level of power without increasing frustration for opponents. The reflect was a core part of her identity, but alternate versions created their own problems. A shorter-range W felt too far from her existing gameplay, while a version that stole the first missile to hit her made fights chaotic and required players to know how to cast every projectile spell.

Moving the reflect to Mel’s ultimate would have meant making it stronger to justify the longer cooldown. Riot also considered moving Golden Eclipse into a basic ability, but reducing its power would weaken a key part of her combat pattern as a mage.

Mel’s other changes move power toward scaling

Mel will lose some early durability and damage on her passive in exchange for scaling health and armor. Her Q will be slightly slower, with more of its damage coming from later hits instead of the initial explosion. Her E root will last for less time against nearby enemies and longer against targets farther away, leaving her more exposed at close range while rewarding accurate long-range hits.

Two cooldown changes are intended to help Mel build more Searing Brilliance stacks across multiple opponents. Her Q will receive a flat cooldown refund when it hits at least one enemy champion, and her ultimate will gain more cooldown reduction as its ability level increases. Together, those changes give her more chances to build stacks and use her ultimate to cash them in.

The new rework follows Riot’s earlier Patch 26.03 PBE nerfs, which cut several parts of Mel’s lane strength. The Patch 26.22 plan goes further by removing the reflect mechanic and moving some of her power toward later stages of a match.

Does Rebuttal keep enough of Mel’s defensive identity without reflecting spells? Follow the Patch 26.22 changes 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.