Patch 26.17 Analysis — Champion Changes

League of Legends Patch 26.17 is a clear ranked shake-up for carry picks. Aurelion Sol gets real quality-of-life: his Q costs less mana per second and his W comes up sooner at higher ranks, so you can trade, clear, and roam without being forced into early recalls.

On the other side, Riot cuts some of the most common snowball paths. Graves loses damage scaling on Q, Nocturne is easier to punish early, and Thresh finishes fewer kills off hooks. Meanwhile, Irelia, Trundle, and Yasuo get more reliable damage when they are allowed to fight for longer.

Biggest Buffs

Aurelion Sol BUFF

Irelia BUFF

Trundle BUFF

Yasuo BUFF

Biggest Nerfs

Graves NERF

Nasus NERF

Nocturne NERF

Thresh NERF

What This Means for Ranked

Should you still pick jungle carry? Think twice before blind-picking Graves if your plan is to build high damage and win through early kills. His Q now scales worse with bonus attack damage on both hits, so the same gold lead converts into fewer kills. Nocturne also takes this patch poorly in solo queue: with 2 less armor and 15 less health, early clears and early skirmishes are less forgiving.

Which carries are safer to invest in? Mid lane players should look hard at Aurelion Sol: his Q drains less mana (5 less per second at all ranks), and his W cooldown drops to 14 seconds at rank 5, so you can look for more roams without giving up lane control. For melee carries, Yasuo and Irelia both deal more consistent damage once they have items and can stay in the fight.

What should supports and top laners do? If you rely on Thresh to secure kills, expect more targets to live after an engage because his E deals less damage. Top lane scaling is also a little less free for Nasus since his passive lifesteal is lower at every level, while Trundle gets much more attack speed inside W at higher ranks, which helps duels and taking objectives. For the full details, read the patch notes at Riot's official website and our per-champion breakdowns at baronbuff.com/champions.

See you in the Rift — LP

Affected Champions

Vayne ADJUST More base health, weaker early true damage, higher early mana cost

Aurelion Sol BUFF Lower mana drain, shorter flight cooldown

Graves NERF Lower bonus scaling on main burst

Irelia BUFF Stronger dash hit, higher AP scaling

LeBlanc ADJUST Attack speed normalized, higher dash burst scaling

Qiyana ADJUST Higher ability damage, reduced monster damage modifier

Trundle BUFF Higher attack speed from domain

Yasuo BUFF Less crit damage penalty

Yone BUFF Less crit damage penalty

Cho'Gath BUFF Higher spike damage on empowered attacks

Nasus NERF Lower built-in sustain from passive

Nocturne NERF Lower base durability early

Thresh NERF Lower flay burst damage, lower scaling

Xerath NERF Lower base health, lower main poke damage

See how these changes affect your draft

Open Baron Buff for pick, ban, and matchup guidance based on the current patch.