09.02.26 - 7:55 AM09.02.2026 - 7:55 AM·3m3 minute(s) read·
By Clément Chocat
LoL Patch 26.18 Preview: Master Yi buffed, Cassiopeia rebalanced
Patch 26.18 is the third‑to‑last update before Worlds and kicks off the pre‑tournament balance shifts with small tweaks to a handful of champions.
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Patch 26.18 is expected to drop on Thursday, September 10, 2026
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The League of Legends 26.18 Patch Notes are here. Following the official schedule, Patch 26.18 is expected to drop on Thursday, September 10, 2026. This patch is one of the first to initiate a few changes before Worlds, which will be played on 26.20.
This patch brings buffs to Ekko, Kassadin, Master Yi, Viego and Zaahen, plus a small power return to the Rageblade system, while Bard, Nautilus, Seraphine, Syndra and Zeri receive nerfs. Cassiopeia is the only champion getting targeted adjustments rather than a straight buff or nerf. Her early base damage is being reduced and more power moved into her AP ratios to help average players who build more AP, while keeping her strong early identity intact for pro play.
Seraphine’s E rank‑up incentives are being weakened for damage‑oriented roles, with minimal impact expected on Support Seraphine who maxes E last. Zeri is being toned down after benefiting heavily from the Hurricane changes, whereas Ekko gets mid‑lane waveclear and mana buffs to support his roaming tempo, and bruiser Viego receives explicit item support after recent Divine Sunderer and Sundered Sky changes. Zaahen gets a slight buff and a more consistent Q behavior after reviving, and Rageblade is being adjusted to partially restore power to the item and to champions like Master Yi who were disproportionately affected by the earlier re‑script.
The Full Patch 26.18 Preview. Credit: @RiotPhreak on X.
Buffs
Champions: Ekko, Kassadin, Master Yi, Viego, Zaahen
System: Rageblade
Nerfs
Champions: Bard, Nautilus, Seraphine, Syndra, Zeri
Adjustments
Champions: Cassiopeia
Read more about League of Legends changes on the X account of Matt "Phroxzon" Leung-Harrison.
“Cassiopeia
- Cassiopeia is in a pretty rough state for average players (~47% winrate), while being too strong in Pro Play and above average in Elite play
- We're making some adjustments this patch to move some of her power around that retain her gameplay identity of being a strong early game champion (which is inherently pro skewed), but also giving her power back for regular players
- We're also not looking to completely remove her from the meta, but just better balance across skill brackets
- One of the ways we're attempting to accomplish this is by moving more of the power into her AP ratios over her base damages as Average players tend to purchase more AP
- Her Q interaction with Deathfire Touch is also strong (though having synergistic effects with systems is a cool part of the champion), and so that rank 1 base damage is also coming down a bit
Seraphine
- As mentioned yesterday, Support Seraphine has been her most popular role for a long time
- We're making E rank up incentives worse for the damage oriented roles, while intending for this to have relatively minimal impact for Support Seraphine who maxes this ability last
Zeri
- Zeri benefitted amongst other champions from the Hurricane changes
- The Hurricane changes landed well and it feels like a real item again
- That said, Zeri is now broadly a bit too strong, especially in Elite given her mastery profile
- Our principles with items are to get the items in a good spot first and then get the champions into a good spot, which is why we wouldn't follow-up by nerfing Hurricane
Ekko
- Ekko is being targeted for a buff in Mid
- We're giving him a waveclear buff and a mana buff, targeting his AP ratios as AP is often purchased more in mid and getting Lich Bane in mid is more typical than in Jungle
- While buffing Ekko's waveclear capabilities are on the lower interaction side, we think it's important for the game to have a mix of high and low interaction laning patterns and as a roaming, tempo champion, having waveclear is important to get his snowball going
Viego
- Ever since we removed Divine Sunderer and nerfed Sundered Sky in a recent patch, Bruiser Viego has been worse than squishy Viego, which is intended, but that build is a little weaker than we'd like
- Adding some explicit support for that build
Zaahen
- Zaahen is a little on the weak side after the last set of nerfs we did
- We're also taking the opportunity to make his Q behavior coming out of revive more consistent
- Before, you could get into de-synced states where your Q2 only has a short time to be used after reviving, etc.
Rageblade
- In 26.14, we re-scripted Rageblade and it changed the trigger for Phantom hit from 6 to 7
- We're making a small adjustments to Rageblade itself to give a bit of power back and to some of the disproportionately affected champions (eg. Master Yi)
