Riot Games has released the League of Legends Patch 26.22 notes on November 3, introducing a mid-scope update for Mel, a standalone Teamfight Tactics (TFT) client, and several balance changes across ARAM Mayhem, Summoner’s Rift, and Classic mode. Riot says this update will be larger than usual because of the TFT client separation.
What changes for Mel in League of Legends Patch 26.22?
Mel receives a mid-scope update that shifts some of her early-game power into her late-game scaling. Her W, Rebuttal, has also been redesigned: instead of reflecting enemy projectiles, it now destroys them and retaliates against their owners. Her Q and R abilities have also been adjusted.
Key changes from the official patch notes:
- W – Rebuttal: Releases a wave with a 400-unit radius over 0.75 seconds, destroying enemy projectiles and shields while granting movement speed to Mel and nearby allies. Destroyed projectiles trigger retaliation when the wave ends, dealing 35–55 (+10% AP) damage on the first hit, with up to seven retaliations per enemy.
- Q – Radiant Volley: First-hit damage decreases from 60–160 (+55% AP) to 60 (+25% AP). Hitting an enemy champion now reduces the ability's cooldown by 0.5–1 second. Projectile speed drops from 3,800 to 3,200.
- E – Solar Snare: Root duration now scales with distance, ranging from 0.8 to 2.2 seconds depending on ability rank.
- R – Golden Eclipse: Cooldown decreases from 120/100/80 to 120/90/60 seconds.
- Base stats: Starting health drops from 640 to 590, while health growth increases from 99 to 107 per level.
When does the standalone Teamfight Tactics client launch?
TFT gets its own standalone client on November 4, allowing players to switch between League of Legends and TFT using a dedicated button. Existing TFT cosmetics will remain usable in League of Legends.
Riot has also announced these upcoming changes:
- December 1: The first TFT-exclusive Little Legends arrive.
- December 15: TFT cosmetics become fully separate, including emotes and icons.
A future League update will introduce an option to skip the TFT download when installing League patches. Until then, Patch 26.22 requires a larger-than-usual download.
What changes are coming to ARAM Mayhem?
Riot says fighters have been finishing matches too easily, poke damage has dominated the early game, and tanks have struggled to survive. Patch 26.22 therefore reduces the effectiveness of augments that weaken tanks and improves several defensive options.
- Weapon of Destiny: Flat armor penetration decreases from 35 to 20, while magic penetration drops from 25 to 15.
- Take ’Em Down Down Down: The five-hit attack now deals damage equal to 17% of the target's missing health.
- Soul Eater: Health gained per stack increases from 20 to 30.
- BEES!!!: Base damage decreases from 75–200 to 75–140.
- Hecarim: Ability haste decreases from 10 to 0.
Butcher’s Bridge and Koeshin’s Crossing return to the map rotation. Riot has also unlocked the final page of the Journey to Stardom event and introduced two new augments.
Which champions are getting buffs and nerfs on Summoner’s Rift?
Riot is buffing champions that have struggled in professional play, including Corki and Rumble, while targeting frequently banned picks such as Locke and Yasuo.
Champions receiving buffs: Aurelion Sol, Corki, Kayle, Maokai, Naafiri, Rumble, Shen, Smolder, Viktor, and Zaahen.
For example, Corki's R damage increases from 90/170/250 to 100/190/280. Zaahen's Q cooldown decreases from 10/9/8/7/6 to 8/7.5/7/6.5/6 seconds.
Champions receiving nerfs:
- Locke: Bonus damage per Q stack decreases from 18–50 to 15–43, while W duration drops from 6 to 5 seconds.
- Thresh: R damage decreases from 250/400/550 to 200/350/500, and base attack damage drops from 56 to 54.
- Yasuo: Q's total AD scaling decreases from 105% to 100%.
Item adjustments include a reduction to Doran’s Bow, which loses one point of attack damage, dropping from 8 to 7. Overlord’s Bloodmail gains 10 attack damage, increasing from 30 to 40, while its Retribution bonus decreases from 12% to 10%.
What is changing in Classic mode?
Classic mode adds three champions in older versions: Volibear, winner of Council Vote #2, Swain, and Elise. Riot describes Patch 26.22 as the second-to-last content update for the mode.
The balance changes are larger than usual:
- Nerfs: Amumu, Fiddlesticks, Janna (global movement speed bonus reduced from 3% to 2%), and Rammus.
- Buffs: Evelynn, Ezreal, Gangplank, Nami, and Olaf.
Riot has also increased Classic Pass tokens earned per match by 50% until the mode ends. The adjustment follows a fix to a configuration issue that had made progression slower than intended.
Which skins are arriving in Patch 26.22?
The update introduces K/DA Firestarter Ahri, Evelynn, and Kai’Sa, K/DA Firestarter Ignition Akali, K/DA Hitmaker Evelynn, and Prestige Classic Baron Kog’Maw.
Two chromas are also included: Music Fan Gragas (FIRESTARTER) and Prestige Classic Baron Kog’Maw (Vivid).
Which Patch 26.22 change are you most looking forward to trying? Share your thoughts in the comments or pass this article along to other League players.
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