Riot releases a developer update, boosts early-game rewards

Riot Games released a developer update in late April 2026 for League of Legends Season 2 Act 1, titled Pandemonium, tied to Patch 26.9. The update moves WASD movement into ranked-facing play and increases early-game gold rewards, including higher First Blood and first-tower payouts. The patch announcement also listed new skins and three Arena-wide events.

The update outlines gameplay changes that alter gold flow and structure in the early to mid game. Riot specified higher First Blood and first-tower rewards, reduced income from plating, and adjusted turret durability timing across early and mid phases. Crit damage will return to 200 percent and runes being reintroduced include Deathfire Touch and Stormraider’s Surge.

Riot described controller and WASD support as accessibility features and said adding WASD to ranked-facing modes formalizes those input options for competitive queues. The studio noted that movement support has been under development and will be available in ranked play so players can use WASD in solo queue and other ranked modes.

Riot identified Patch 26.9 as the main delivery point for these systemic adjustments. The developer said teams will monitor ranked servers, scrim rooms and player performance data after the patch and apply follow-up tuning based on live feedback.

Other items in the dev update include deeper Discord integration for community and match coordination, a new surrender rule for matches with intentional feeders, and scheduled dates for Your Shop and the Essence Emporium as part of the seasonal roadmap. Riot said it will publish subsequent ranked-facing tests and official patch notes to document changes as they roll out.