PATCH 26.20 ANALYSIS

League of Legends patch 26.20 is a direct hit to your champion select: the biggest winners are scaling carries and durable solo-laners, while several early-game lane bullies lose reliability. Mordekaiser gets his ultimate more often, so he threatens more all-ins in lane and more picks in mid game fights. Smolder also scales harder, and his ultimate now heals him for much more, so he survives teamfights more consistently.

On the nerf side, Yunara trades worse early and chases worse when your team already has slows, so her “win lane, snowball” games are less common. Ambessa loses damage as the game goes long, and both Cassiopeia and K'Sante are easier to punish early. Item changes also matter: ranged champions get less value from Experimental Hexplate, and Runaan’s Hurricane deals less damage per bolt.

What This Means for Ranked

If you want a simple climb pick, prioritize the featured buffs. Mordekaiser is a clearer sidelane threat because his R cooldown drops from 140/120 seconds to 120/110 seconds, which means more frequent forced 1v1s and more chances to remove a key target from a fight. In bot lane, Smolder is safer in mid-game fights because his R heal jumps to 175/250 at ranks 2/3, so you can commit to fights you used to lose. For jungle consistency, Kindred clears faster with stronger W damage to monsters, and E slows for 1.5 seconds, so ganks are harder to escape from.

Think twice before blind-picking the featured nerfs. Yunara has less on-hit damage on Q and her W slow no longer stacks with other slows, so she is less reliable at winning short trades and finishing kills with help. Cassiopeia starts lane with less health and mana, so early mistakes cost more. K'Sante pays more mana for W and gets less damage reduction, so he is easier to force out of lane. Ambessa loses late-game damage on her passive, so extended fights are less dependable.

Adjust your builds around the item changes, then look for the quiet winners. If you relied on Experimental Hexplate as a ranged first item, it now gives less attack speed and move speed, so you are easier to punish. Runaan’s Hurricane also deals less bolt damage, which slightly lowers multi-target DPS for users like Ashe (who also loses attack damage per level) and can affect late fights for Vayne, even though Vayne herself is stronger in lane with a flat 30 mana cost on Q. For supports and AP picks, Neeko roots longer when empowered and hits harder with E, Tahm Kench heals much more on Q, and Lillia gets a longer sleep at ranks 2/3, which makes late teamfights easier to control. If you play AP divers, Hextech Rocketbelt has less ability haste but more active damage, and Diana gets a bigger W shield, while Kennen gains more attack speed during E for better follow-up damage. For full details, read the patch notes at Riot's official website, and browse the per-champion breakdowns on baronbuff.com/champions.

See you in the Rift — LP