Riot is dropping Patch 26.13 on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, and it is one of the heavier balance pushes of the season. Seventeen champions are being adjusted, two items are changing, and brand new champion Locke, the Ashen Exorcist, is officially releasing with this patch.

League of Legends: Patch 26.13 MSI Setup Reference

System LayerBalance Modifications & Rework ParametersStrategy & Ranked Meta Impact

New Champion: Locke

(Ashen Exorcist)

* Reset-heavy mid-lane assassin officially releasing with Patch 26.13.

* MSI Status: Hard-locked and completely disabled for professional play during MSI 2026.

Hold on Learning: Let the community settle on optimal build paths and check for early hotfixes before running him in your ranked lobbies.

Doran’s Helm

(Item Nerf)

* Resistances: Armor and Magic Resist both cut from 10 down to 8.

* Health: Bunted up slightly from 140 to 150 to compensate.

Re-evaluate Starters: Squishy carries can no longer run this item as a cheap defensive crutch to completely bypass poor early lane trading.

Imperial Mandate

(Item Buff)

* Build path changes from a Blasting Wand to two Amplifying Tomes.

* AP: 65 ➔ 60 | Ability Haste: 15 ➔ 20.

* Mark Damage Amp: Boosted from 6% up to 7%.

Utilize Utility: Highly optimal for roaming mid-laners or catching supports (like Galio or Lissandra) who want fast utility without saving for a gold spike.

Aphelios & Draven

(ADC Buffs)

* Aphelios: Across-the-board bonus AD ratio buffs applied to Calibrum, Severum, Infernum, and Crescendum.

* Draven: E cooldown reduced to 16–12s; multi-hit damage fall-off reduced to -5%.

Scale Late Game: Aphelios regains immense late-game scaling authority. Draven handles extended fights smoother and preserves adrenaline stacks easier.

Kai’Sa

(ADC Buff)

* W Cooldown: Slashed down to 20–14s early.

* Elemental Shield: Base shield pool significantly vaulted from 70–110 to 100–200.

Take Skirmishes: The massive 200 max-rank shield value shifts mid-game survivability breakpoints, making her a high-tier option against burst.

LeBlanc & Vex

(Mid Buffs)

* LeBlanc: Massive base damage scaling bumps added onto all empowered Mimic (R) sub-skills.

* Vex: E cooldown down to 12s; takedown passive reset window widened from 6s to 8s.

Snowball Mid Lane: LeBlanc handles early execute thresholds far more reliably. Vex gains an extra 2 seconds to chain multi-target passive fears.

Jungle Buffs

(Olaf, Poppy, Qiyana)

* Olaf / Poppy: Base monster damage caps on Q scales up to 120 and 195.

* Qiyana: Q monster multiplier increased to 175%.

* Zaahen: Early W cooldown reduced to 14–12s.

Speed Up Clears: Pocket jungle picks clear camps significantly quicker, matching the raw map tempo of traditional meta junglers cleanly.

Senna

(Bot Lane Nerf)

* Soul drop rate when securing minion kills halved from 10% to 5%.

* Crit damage reduction increased to -15%.

* Statikk Shiv Interaction: Fully removed Q cooldown reduction scaling.

Drop Statikk Shiv: The core core interaction that enabled intense Q spam is completely gone. Senna’s overall competitive ceiling is heavily lowered.

Brand & K’Sante

(Solo Queue Nerfs)

* Brand: Base E mana cost flat-lined at 90; passive burn explosion damage cut to 6% early.

* K’Sante: E base shield lower down to 70–240; health scaling ratio cut to 13.5%.

Watch Mana Pools: Brand can no longer mindlessly spam waveclear early on. K’Sante loses baseline lane sustainability during early trades.

Rek’Sai & Rumble

(Top/Jungle Nerfs)

* Rek’Sai: E base damage and bonus true damage conversion scaling dialed back.

* Rumble: Q early damage cut down to 50–150; AP ratio scaled slightly to 105%.

Adapt Scaling: Rek’Sai deals noticeably less damage into heavy tanks. Rumble must build pure AP to match his pre-patch pressure windows.

Bard, Cass, & Sion

(System Cleanups)

* Bard: Meep base damage and scaling per 5 chimes lowered.

* Cassiopeia: Flat health growth per level reduced from 104 to 98.

* Sion: Q minimum floor lowered to 30–90; W cost up to 75–95.

Exploit Weakness: Cassiopeia is slightly softer to late-game burst profiles, while Sion handles early lane pressure with significantly less safety.

This update is timed to set the table for MSI 2026, which means Riot is actively trying to shift which picks are dominant before the biggest international stage of the split. If you play ADC, you are getting good news. If you main Senna, Brand, or K’Sante, brace yourself.

Below is every confirmed change, who it hurts, who it helps, and what you should actually do with that information before Wednesday hits.

New Champion Locke Is Coming — What We Know So Far

Locke, the Ashen Exorcist is a reset-heavy mid-lane assassin and the newest champion joining the League roster with Patch 26.13. Riot has confirmed that while Locke launches with this patch, he will not be immediately available in professional play during MSI 2026, giving competitive teams time to study the kit before it enters the draft pool.

His kit revolves around resets, which means his power level will scale significantly based on how well you can chain kills or assists in fast-paced fights. Riot noted ahead of release that the balance team is still monitoring his W’s power spread between base and high-level play, signaling this champion could see adjustments quickly after launch if he skews too dominant in the right hands.

If you are a mid-lane assassin player who loves snowball champions, Locke is going to be the character to watch. Give him a week of data before committing to learning him for ranked, since new champion releases historically come with either day-one buffs or quick nerfs once real play patterns emerge.

Item Changes: Doran’s Helm Gets Weaker, Imperial Mandate Gets Cheaper

Doran’s Helm Is Losing Resistances

Riot flagged Doran’s Helm as providing too much defensive safety, particularly for ADC players who were buying it to survive early trades. The changes are:

  • Armor: 10 down to 8

  • Magic Resist: 10 down to 8

  • Health: 140 up to 150

The resistances are the real story here. That slight health compensation does not make up for losing 2 armor and 2 magic resist in the early laning phase. If you were opening Doran’s Helm as a defensive crutch on a squishy carry, that strategy becomes noticeably riskier from June 24 onward.

Imperial Mandate Is Getting Cheaper and More Supportive

Imperial Mandate’s build path is switching from a Blasting Wand to two Amplifying Tomes, making it cheaper and easier to complete. The stat trade-off:

  • AP: 65 down to 60

  • Immobilizing Ability Haste: 15 up to 20

  • Damage amp on marked targets: 6% up to 7%

The item is now more accessible for supports and roaming mid-laners who want the utility without needing to hit a big gold spike for a Blasting Wand. Riot named champions like Galio, Twisted Fate, and Lissandra as intended beneficiaries. If you play enchanters or CC-heavy mages in the support role, this item is worth revisiting when 26.13 lands.

ADC Buffs: Aphelios, Draven, and Kai’Sa Are All Getting Stronger

This is the core of the patch for bot lane players. Riot is clearly trying to diversify the ADC pool heading into MSI, and three marksmen who have been sitting outside the meta are all getting meaningful power added.

Aphelios Buffs

All four weapons are getting AD ratio increases:

  • Calibrum mark bonus AD ratio: 10% up to 15%

  • Severum Onslaught AD ratio: 19-40% up to 20-41%

  • Infernum Dusk Wave AD ratio: 10-16% up to 15-21%

  • Crescendum Sentry AD ratio: 30-48% up to 34-52%

These are not minor tweaks. The Infernum and Crescendum buffs in particular push Aphelios into much stronger late-game territory. If you have been waiting to play Aphelios and you know his rotations, this patch is likely his entry point back into high-level drafts.

Draven Buffs

Draven gets two changes that make him feel much smoother to play:

  • E cooldown: 18-14 seconds down to 16-12 seconds

  • Multi-hit fall-off: minus 8% multiplicative down to minus 5% multiplicative

The E cooldown reduction is significant because Blood Rush is both your chase and your escape tool. Getting it back faster means more opportunities to catch axes, stay mobile, and maintain your Adoration stacks. The reduced multi-hit fall-off means sustained damage in extended fights improves as well. Draven has the tools to be a solo queue terror if you are willing to practice the axe juggling.

Kai’Sa Buffs

Kai’Sa receives a larger quality-of-life buff than it looks at first glance:

  • W cooldown: 22-14 seconds down to 20-14 seconds

  • Base shield: 70-110 up to 100-200

The shield buff is the big deal. Going from 110 to 200 at max rank is a massive survivability swing in mid-fight engagements. Combined with the shorter W cooldown, Kai’Sa becomes harder to burst down and gains better windows to poke from range. She was already playable, and this makes her a real threat again.

Mid Lane Buffs: LeBlanc and Vex Are Getting Damage Boosts

LeBlanc’s Ult Combos Hit Harder Now

Every empowered ability in LeBlanc’s R kit is going up:

  • RQ base damage: 70-210 up to 70-230

  • RW base damage: 150-450 up to 150-480

  • RE base damage: 70-210 up to 70-230

  • RQ mark damage and RE root damage: 140-420 up to 140-460

At higher ranks, these numbers compound fast. LeBlanc snowballs hard off kill pressure in the mid lane, and boosting her ult scaling means kills become earlier and executes become more reliable. Expect her pick rate to climb in mid-ladder ranked play almost immediately.

Vex Gets Faster Resets and a Better E

  • E cooldown: 13 down to 12 seconds

  • Takedown reset window: 6 up to 8 seconds

The reset window change is the one that matters. An extra 2 seconds to chain a kill with Vex’s passive fear gives her far more room to decide when to commit on the next target in a teamfight. She was already decent, and this makes her cleaner in messy multi-target fights.

Jungle Buffs: Olaf, Poppy, and Qiyana All Get Monster Damage Boosts

Riot is continuing to expand jungle viability for off-meta picks. Three champions are getting targeted monster damage increases:

  • Olaf Q bonus monster damage: 20-80 up to 20-120

  • Poppy Q monster damage cap: 50-170 up to 75-195

  • Qiyana Q monster damage: 155% up to 175%

None of these will automatically make Olaf or Poppy first-pick junglers, but they lower the clear time gap between these picks and standard jungle meta choices. If you have been spamming Olaf or Poppy in the jungle as a pocket pick, you have a bit more breathing room from now on.

Zaahen also picks up a small W cooldown reduction, dropping from 16-12 seconds down to 14-12 seconds at early ranks.

The Nerfs: Senna, Brand, K’Sante, and Others Take Real Hits

Senna Is Losing a Lot

This is the biggest nerf in the patch and the one that will shake up bot lane the most. Riot is hitting Senna from multiple angles:

  • Soul drop rate when Senna kills the unit: 10% down to 5%

  • Soul drop rate when Senna does NOT kill the unit: 28% up to 32%

  • Crit damage reduction: minus 10% up to minus 15%

  • Static Shiv Q cooldown interaction: removed entirely

The soul drop rate change actively punishes Senna for securing kills, which changes how you approach farming and trading. The Static Shiv interaction that was dramatically reducing her Q cooldown is gone completely. That particular interaction gave Senna a level of Q spam that Riot clearly decided was unintended. Senna is still playable but her ceiling, especially the Shiv-powered variants, just dropped hard.

Brand Gets Mana-Gated and His Early Damage Drops

Brand has been one of the strongest bot lane carry picks for several patches and Riot is correcting that:

  • Base mana regen: 9 per 5 seconds up to 11 per 5 seconds (compensation)

  • E mana cost: 70-90 scaling up to 90 flat

  • Passive detonation max health damage: 8-12% down to 6-12% scaling

The flat 90 mana cost on E at all ranks is a meaningful early-game nerf that forces more careful spell usage. His passive explosion damage being lowered in the early game hurts his level 3 to 5 burst windows, which is exactly where Brand is most threatening in lane. He gets more mana regen to compensate, but that does not restore the raw kill pressure he loses before his passive scales up.

K’Sante Loses Shield Value

  • E shield: 80-240 down to 70-240

  • E bonus health ratio: 15% down to 13.5%

K’Sante’s E was providing too much free durability, particularly at early ranks. This brings his lane sustain down a notch while keeping his late-game potential mostly intact.

Rek’Sai Gets Her Damage Dialed Back

  • E base damage: 80-192 down to 70-170

  • E bonus AD ratio: 64% down to 60%

  • E bonus true damage ratio: 125% down to 120%

Rek’Sai has been a reliable jungle pick for a while and this patch narrows the gap between a good Rek’Sai and a mediocre one. True damage nerfs hurt the most against tanks, so matchups against top-lane tanks will feel noticeably different.

Rumble Loses Early Q Damage, Gains Late AP Scaling

  • Q base damage: 60-160 down to 50-150

  • Q AP ratio: 100% up to 105%

Rumble is being pushed toward a higher-AP, lower-base-damage model. If you were playing him with AP-heavy builds, this is a net neutral or slight buff. If you play him without serious AP investment, his Q feels weaker across the board.

Bard, Cassiopeia, and Sion Round Out the Nerf List

Bard loses early scaling on his meeps, with base damage dropping from 35 to 30 and damage per 5 chimes collected dropping from 10 to 6. His power in early skirmishes takes a hit, though he remains dangerous once chimes stack up.

Cassiopeia takes a flat health per level nerf, dropping from 104 to 98. Small on paper, but it compounds over a long game and makes her slightly easier to burst through in the mid-to-late game.

Sion gets two nerfs: W mana cost goes up from 65-85 to 75-95, and Q minimum damage drops from 40-120 to 30-90. His early engage threat drops, which matters most in top lane matchups where you rely on Q poke to win lane.

What to Do Before Patch 26.13 Drops Wednesday

If you are an ADC main, now is the time to warm up Draven, Aphelios, or Kai’Sa. The buffs to all three are real, and bot lane just got more diverse. If you were running Senna with Static Shiv, adjust your build before you queue on June 24 or your games will feel noticeably worse.

Mid laners should give LeBlanc a serious look. Her ult scaling is strong now, and she tends to dominate solo queue when she has a slight edge. Vex is also worth picking up if you face dive-heavy compositions.

Jungle players who like utility picks should check out Olaf and Poppy. Neither is broken, but the monster damage buffs lower the barrier enough to make them viable options for pocket picks without sacrificing too much early clear speed.

Locke is the wildcard. Do not rush him into ranked the moment the patch lands. Watch a few games, understand the reset conditions, and let the community figure out his optimal build path first. New assassins with reset mechanics can either be busted day one or fall flat until the right build is discovered.

Patch 26.13 goes live June 24, 2026. Check the full official patch notes on the League of Legends website as soon as they drop to confirm final numbers.