Based on League of Legends Patch 26.22 Notes by Riot Games, published 3 November 2026. Playing League of Legends? See the League of Legends page on The Nexus.
Patch 26.22 is mostly a Summoner's Rift balance patch, with ARAM Mayhem and Classic changes underneath.
Locke▼Nerf- Locke and
Yasuo are among the most-banned champions, and Riot answers that directly.
Mel- Mel's rework is the biggest single piece, touching her stats, passive, Q, W, E and R together.
- Exact figures are listed for every change, so you can hold each one against your own champion pool.
Who benefits
- Corki and Rumble players get more damage in their main windows: Missile Barrage rises to 100 / 190 / 280 (Buff) (+90% bonus AD), and Rumble's The Equalizer moves to +40% AP with a 200% AP cap.
- Kayle top laners trade more often early and cast the ultimate more often. Radiant Blast's cooldown falls to 10 / 9.5 / 9 / 8.5 (Buff) / 8s and Divine Judgment's cooldown falls to 140 / 110 / 80s (Buff).
- Naafiri mid and jungle players heal for more. Darkin Daggers heal rises from 45 / 60 / 75 / 90 (Buff) / 105 (+40% bonus AD) to 55 / 70 / 85 / 100 / 115 (+45% bonus AD), and The Call of the Pack goes
20%to 22% (Buff) bonus AD. Riot targets her mid lane. - Smolder players see ACHOOO! base explosion damage rise 10/35/60/85/110 to 25/50/75/100/125, and the notes expect the
Doran's Bow trim to help him further.
Who loses
- Locke players, especially early-game duelists, lose stack damage: the first rank of Ritual Nails now maxes out at
75.6to 63 (Nerf), and Soul Ignition drops6sto 5s. - Yasuo crit players see Steel Tempest's ratio fall from +105% (Nerf) total AD to +100% total AD. The notes list his ban rate and crit-build winrate as the reasons.
- Thresh supports lose base attack damage,
56to 54 (Nerf), and The Box drops 250/400/550 to 200/350/500. - Marksmen who rely on Doran's Bow lose attack damage,
8to 7 (Nerf). The notes call it a minor cut, and it is still enough to push some ADCs toward
Doran's Blade.
Mel is the pick you cannot judge by name
The notes describe Mel as a midscope adjustment that moves power out of the early game and into scaling. Her base health goes from 640 + 99/Level to 590 + 107/Level, and her mana from 480 + 28/Level to 455 + 38/Level. Attack speed growth rises from 2.5% (Buff)/Level to 2.75%/Level. The body is smaller at the start and the curve is steeper at the end, so expect her to feel thin in the first minutes and dangerous a few levels later.
Radiant Volley shows the trade most clearly. The first hit drops from 60 / 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 (+55% AP) to a flat 60 (+25% AP), while the multi-hit damage rises from 5 / 7 / 9 / 11 / 13 (+5% AP) to 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 (+8% AP). Mana cost falls 70/75/80/85/90 to 60/65/70/75/80. A new refund of 0.5s to 1.0s applies when the spell hits an enemy champion at least once, scaling with champion level, so its value depends on how often your first hits connect. Missile speed drops 3800 to 3200 (Nerf), and the spell is slower to land at max range.
Rebuttal is now an area nova. It expands to 400u radius over 0.75 seconds, destroys enemy projectiles and shields, and retaliates against destroyed missiles when it ends. The shield runs from 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 / 200 (+70% AP) for 2 seconds, and the mana cost falls from 100 / 80 / 60 / 40 / 0, so the spell is free at max rank. The cooldown runs from 30 / 28.5 / 27 / 25.5 / 24 seconds, which makes the nova available more often late in a game. Solar Snare's root moves to ranges from 0.8 - 1.6 up to 1.0 - 2.2 seconds, and its slow goes 30% to 20/25/30/35/40%. Golden 
Eclipse's cooldown falls from 120 / 100 / 80 seconds to 120 / 90 / 60 seconds. The notes do not say how the Rebuttal retaliation plays against tanks or fast burst, so her real balance will only show in match data.
Locke and Yasuo: two cuts, two reasons
Locke▼Nerf- Locke's Ritual Nails lose stack damage at every rank.
- Stack bonus damage drops 18/26/34/42/50 to 15/22/29/36/43, and maximum stack damage drops from 75.6/109.2/142.8/176.4/210 to 63/92.4/121.8/151.2/180.6.
- Soul Ignition's duration also falls
6sto 5s. - The notes say Locke is within reason overall but that high-level players still find him too strong early.
- This is a targeted early-game cut, not a full retune of his kit, so his late game is left alone.
Yasuo's Steel Tempest loses a little scaling. Its total AD ratio changes from +105% total AD to +100% total AD, while the base damage of 20 / 45 / 70 / 95 / 120 stays the same. Riot ties the change to a rising win rate as players move to crit builds, and to a higher ban rate. The cut should matter most in crit-heavy games, where the Q lands the most often. Players who lean on that ratio will feel it; those who mainly use his other spells will barely notice. How far either cut moves ban rates or winrates is not something the notes can answer.
Corki, Rumble, Thresh, Kayle and the Doran's Bow trim
Corki▲Buff- Corki's Missile Barrage gets more damage at every rank.
- The base damage rises from 90 / 170 / 250 (+85% bonus AD) to 100 / 190 / 280 (+90% bonus AD), and the Big One rises from 180 / 340 / 500 (+170% bonus AD) to 200 / 380 / 560 (+180% bonus AD).
Rumble▲Buff- Rumble's The Equalizer gains ratio, from 35% AP to 40% AP per second, and its maximum ratio rises from 175% AP to 200% AP.
- Rumble was tuned for pro play, say the notes, so this mostly helps average players.
Doran's Bow◆Adjusted- Doran's Bow drops
8to 7 attack damage. - Riot calls it a minor nerf and expects marksmen who now lean toward Doran's Blade to pick it up more often.
- Thresh loses 2 base attack damage,
56to 54 (Nerf), and The Box drops from 250 / 400 / 550 (+100% AP) to 200 / 350 / 500 (+100% AP).
Kayle▲Buff- Kayle's Radiant Blast cooldown falls
12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8sto 10 / 9.5 / 9 / 8.5 / 8s (Buff), which the notes tie to her early laning.
Aurelion Sol- Aurelion Sol also gets an E buff that makes the intuitive rank order the stronger choice, with total damage rising to 50 / 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 over 5s, so rank Singularity earlier.
Mayhem and Classic run on separate tracks
ARAM Mayhem changes aim at tanks, who the notes say have been struggling against burst. Take 'Em Down Down Down moves to 17% Missing Health, and Weapon of Destiny's penetration scalars drop 35 to 20 (Nerf) flat armor, 25 to 15 (Nerf) flat magic, 0.25 to 0.15 percent armor, and 0.15 to 0.09 (Nerf) percent magic. Soul Eater's health gain per stack rises 20 to 30 (Buff). Mayhem fixes and augment changes are part of the patch too, but the notes do not show how they affect pacing.
Classic's 
Janna loses global movement speed, 3% to 2% (Nerf) on Tailwind, and 
Amumu's Cursed Touch drops 15/25/35 to 15/20/25 magic resistance shred. Check which mode you are queuing for before you change a build, because none of this carries across.
Pick up or put down: the figures side by side
| What | Change | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Mel base health | 640 + 99/Level to 590 + 107/Level | Less health early, more growth later. |
| Mel Radiant Volley first hit | 60 / 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 (+55% AP) to 60 (+25% AP) | Her opening hit depends much less on ability power. |
| Mel Radiant Volley mana cost | 70/75/80/85/90 to 60/65/70/75/80 | Cheaper casts throughout the rank curve. |
| Mel Golden Eclipse cooldown | 120 / 100 / 80 seconds to 120 / 90 / 60 seconds | Her ultimate comes back sooner at higher ranks. |
| Locke Ritual Nails maximum stack damage | 75.6 / 109.2 / 142.8 / 176.4 / 210 to 63 / 92.4 / 121.8 / 151.2 / 180.6 | Less damage from full stacks at every rank. |
| Locke Soul Ignition duration | Shorter window for the ability's effect. | |
| Yasuo Steel Tempest ratio | +105% total AD to +100% total AD | Slightly less damage on crit builds. |
| Corki Missile Barrage damage | 90 / 170 / 250 (+85% bonus AD) to 100 / 190 / 280 (+90% bonus AD) | More damage per cast on a bonus AD scaling. |
| Doran's Bow attack damage | A minor cut that may shift some ADCs to Doran's Blade. | |
| Kayle Radiant Blast cooldown | Faster Q use for early laning. | |
| Thresh base attack damage | Slightly weaker auto attacks for support Thresh. | |
| Smolder ACHOOO! explosion damage | 10/35/60/85/110 to 25/50/75/100/125 | Much higher base damage on the W. |
Adjusting your own pool
If you play Locke, expect early trades to cost you more and plan around the lower Ritual Nails numbers; stack damage falls at every rank and the notes single out the early game. If you want Mel, play a few games before deciding she is still comfortable, since the Q refund needs an enemy champion hit and the Rebuttal cost reaches 0 at max rank. Rank her Rebuttal with the new cooldown and mana curve in mind.
If Doran's Bow is standard in your ADC build, compare Doran's Blade over a few games. The notes expect some marksmen to move away from the Bow, but the cut is small and the result is not settled.
Cover: our own design. Third-party pictures on it are credited: Artwork: Riot Games
