LoL Patch 26.21 Preview: Locke, Varus Updates and Nerfs

Riot Games has previewed League of Legends Patch 26.21, scheduled to launch on Oct. 21, 2026. The listed changes remain subject to adjustment before release.

Locke’s changes will keep his burst damage at a similar level when he uses his abilities effectively, while making inefficient spell use more costly. The refund on unused Q charges will change from 20%-30% to 10%-40% by rank, and Q’s mana growth will fall from 70 to 60. W, Soul Ignition, will cost 60-80 mana instead of 50-70 and store less grey health at lower ranks. Its current-health values will change from 150-450 to 100-500, with a 60% ability power ratio. E, Ashen Pursuit, will deal more blink damage, increasing from 40/50/60/70/80 plus 40% ability power to 40/55/70/85/100 plus 50% ability power.

The changes are intended to encourage players to max E second and make errors with W more costly. Riot has described the adjustment as broadly power-neutral when Locke meets the conditions for his abilities.

Varus will receive changes that shift power from W-focused builds to Q-focused builds. Piercing Arrow’s damage will increase, its maximum damage after charging will rise by up to 70% instead of 50%, and its bonus attack damage ratio will become stronger. Blighted Quiver’s on-hit damage will fall from 4-40 to 4-28, while its bonus attack damage and ability power ratios will change to 20% and 30%. Its per-stack damage will also be reduced.

The cooldown refund and missing-health effect of Blighted Quiver will depend more heavily on Q’s charge time. The refund will fall from 13% to 11% per stack, with the maximum increase from charging Q rising to 70%. The missing-health effect will fall from 6%-14% to 6%-10%, with the same higher scaling from Q charging. Riot is targeting Varus’ top-lane builds by shifting more of his damage into a skill shot that opponents can dodge.

Caitlyn’s Headshot damage will be reduced from 60%-100% of attack damage to 60%-80%. Its scaling with critical strike chance and bonus critical damage will fall from 1% to 0.8% per percentage point. The base damage of Piltover Peacemaker will increase from 50-210 to 50-230. Riot is shifting some of Caitlyn’s burst damage from empowered basic attacks into an ability that opponents can see and respond to.

Lee Sin will be weakened after performing strongly following his Patch 26.10 changes. Safeguard’s cooldown will increase from seven to eight seconds. Dragon’s Rage base damage will fall from 175-625 to 150-550, and its collision damage will receive the same base-damage reduction. A bug that allowed Tempest to reveal enemies after they entered stealth will be fixed.

Azir’s mana growth will increase from 40 to 50 per level. Ryze will receive stronger late-game scaling through Overload and Rune Prison. Overload’s early bonus damage will decrease, while its later values and bonus movement speed will increase. Rune Prison’s ability power ratio will rise from 60% to 70%.

Other planned buffs include shorter Q cooldowns for Darius; stronger E and R abilities for Miss Fortune; higher maximum damage on Nunu’s ultimate; improved Q and W ability power ratios for Orianna; more health growth for Sion; stronger E damage for Taliyah; increased passive damage for Vel’Koz; improved Q and E scaling for Xin Zhao; and shorter seed ammunition cooldowns for Zyra.

Jinx will receive lower health and attack damage growth. Nidalee and Qiyana will have lower ability damage, while Rammus will receive smaller defensive bonuses. Tristana’s early attack speed will decrease. Viktor will have a weaker Q shield and lower base movement speed. Wukong’s health regeneration will increase, while the armor gained from his passive will fall. Yone’s Q attack damage ratio will decrease.

Bastionbreaker’s lethality will fall from 22 to 18. Its Sharped Charge damage will decrease against melee and ranged targets, while the Sabotage effect will last 25,000 seconds instead of 90 seconds. Riot developer Phroxzon has described strategic item effects such as Sabotage as difficult to balance because they must provide utility without making the item too strong in direct combat.

Taric’s Q and R will cast correctly when allies are untargetable. Twisted Fate’s Destiny will reveal untargetable units, and Zaahen’s Q damage will apply correctly if he enters his revive state during the attack. Dawncore’s ability power per 100% base mana regeneration will increase from 10 to 15. Gluttonous Greaves will cost 1,100 gold instead of 1,000, and Hubris will use separate bonus attack damage values for melee and ranged champions.

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