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LoL Patch 26.7 drops on April 1, 2026, and it's one of the most talked-about patches of the season. Champion adjustments, the support farming penalty completely removed, First Stand meta insights shaping champion nerfs, and a Riot admission that the Apex LP chaos isn't going away anytime soon. Here's every change you need to know.
Three champions get meaningful buffs this patch, alongside nerfs targeting overperformers across two roles, plus Veigar added to the hit list.
Cassiopeia receives buffs as part of Riot's ongoing AP diversity push. She's been sitting below the meta line in mid lane for several patches, and these changes should bring her back into the conversation for AP-heavy compositions. Base mana up from 450 to 480, and her E (Twin Fang) bonus magic damage increases from 20/43/66/89/112 to 20/45/70/95/120. Once the patch drops, you can track how she performs in real games on the .
Kalista and Rell both get adjustments aimed at bot lane balance. Kalista's E (Rend) bonus AD ratio per stack climbs from +20/25/30/35/40% to +20/27.5/35/42.5/50%, making her late-game spike more reliable. Rell gets a double upgrade: E movement speed increases from 10% (25% near ally/enemy) to 15% (30% near ally/enemy), and her R base damage is smoothed from 120/200/380 to 150/250/350 for better early-fight payoffs.
Graves takes another round of nerfs, this time his base AD drops from 68 to 66. He's been a consistent presence in jungle and select top lane matchups, and Riot continues trimming his edge cases without fully gutting his identity.
Ornn continues his nerfs following his over-tuning earlier in the season. His passive damage is reduced from 10-18% to 9-16% max HP. Riot is carefully dialing back his team-fight impact while keeping his core utility intact.
Karma and Nami both get nerfed as a direct consequence of First Stand's ranged support dominance. Karma's R+E (Mantra + Inspire) shield drops from 50/100/150/200 to 45/85/125/165 on both primary and secondary targets. Nami's W bounce modifier shifts from -10% (+10%/100 AP) to -20% (+15%/100 AP), making her less reliable at base but harder-scaling with AP. It aligns with how the meta looked in the Patch 26.6 meta guide. Check the who benefits from this patch tier list to see the full picture.
Singed gets a multi-stat hit: R bonus stats reduced from 25/60/95 to 25/55/85, affecting a wide spread of his combat parameters simultaneously.
Veigar joins the nerf list this patch, a new addition. His R (Primordial Burst) cooldown goes from 100/80/60s to 120/90/60s. Riot's focus is specifically on Veigar played in the bot lane, where his slower level-up makes the longer cooldown feel especially impactful.
Shyvana is still settling after her Patch 26.6 rework. This patch reworks her haste mechanic: each point of ability haste now increases Fury generation speed by 1% (on both passive and on-hit). Riot is also fixing a bug where Sylas was double-dipping Shyvana's basic attack passive, generating abnormal damage. Expect further tuning before her role in the meta becomes stable.
Shyvana Rework Splash Art
BLG's First Stand victory in March 2026 (Sao Paulo) gave Riot a high-quality competitive data window, and Patch 26.7 is a direct response to what they observed.
The meta diversity at First Stand was genuinely positive. Bot lane featured a healthy variety of casters, hypercarries, and utility picks with no dominant champion lock. Even Varus Lethality only managed a 14% win rate at the event, a clear sign the meta was in good shape.
Ranged supports dominated melee supports throughout the tournament. Riot accepted this as a short-term structural shift rather than a problem to panic over. The context: support quests incentivize lane phase presence, which inherently favors ranged champions. Karma and Nami were the clearest winners, which explains directly why both are getting nerfed this patch.
Riot also flagged gaps in jungle AP picks and mid AD picks during First Stand analysis, with no immediate solution in 26.7 but studies ongoing for future patches. Overall the dynamic was healthy: no lane swaps, top laners got to play proper games, and the bot lane ecosystem stayed diverse. For players on Amber.gg's competitive LoL ladders, this meta context matters when building your champion pool around patch timing.
One of the most significant experimental changes in Patch 26.7: Riot has entirely removed the support farming penalty. This is a complete suppression, not a softening.
Riot's exact intent is to reduce complexity and stop punishing accidental CS in chaotic solo queue games. The penalty is gone, full stop.
Riot is fully aware this could enable farming supports as a deliberate strategy. They chose removal anyway: farming slows the ADC's quest progress naturally, creating a built-in self-regulating tradeoff. This is being run as a direct experiment to observe real bot lane behavior, and Riot will monitor the data carefully. They preferred removing complexity over leaving a frustrating mechanic in place. 🧪
Here's the section that matters most for anyone grinding the top of the ladder.
Players in Apex tier are hitting LP values that have never existed before. Players are reaching 3,000 LP as their peak, with some top performers pushing 4,000+ LP. The inflation is real, systemic, and making the ladder feel disconnected from actual skill progression.
Riot is making incremental adjustments in 26.7: players at the highest levels will need a higher win rate to continue climbing. The intent is to compress the top of the ladder over time and make LP gains more reflective of performance.
But Riot themselves said it plainly: "26.7 will most likely not be the fix we're looking for."
That's a significant admission 😬. The Apex ranked system has a structural problem that one patch can't solve. This is exactly the issue broken down in why solo queue fails competitive players: a system that rewards variance and volume over consistency, not skill ceiling.
For competitive players who want rankings that actually mean something, Amber.gg's competitive ladders — real performance tracking across skill-based competitions, real prize pools. A cleaner signal than 3,500 Apex LP.
Two runes that defined entire seasons are confirmed returning in Season 2 2026, landing in Patch 26.7.
Deathfire Touch was iconic for burst mages and sustained dot assassins. Stormraider's Surge gave late-game carries a movement tool that rewarded long, extended trades. Both are meta-altering keystones that will fundamentally change how certain champions are itemized and played from the moment they go live.
For assassin and carry mains, these runes alone will shift the tier list significantly. Champions like Katarina, Akali, and Jinx have the most to gain. Use the Patch 26.6 jungle tier list as your baseline and watch how positions shift once these keystones are available.
Patch 26.7 isn't a full reset, but it's a meaningful pivot. The support farming penalty removal opens new strategic options in bot lane. The Apex LP changes will keep high-elo frustration high in the short term. The returning runes will reshape builds across multiple champion pools, and First Stand gave Riot the data to make targeted surgical adjustments rather than guesses.
The champion changes are measured and targeted 🎯. Cassiopeia, Kalista and Rell get timely buffs while Graves, Ornn, Karma, Nami, Singed and Veigar get trimmed. This is a patch that rewards players who adapt their builds and read the meta in real time.
Stay ahead of the tier shifts with live champion performance data on Amber.gg's LoL meta tracker. Stats update as post-patch games come in, so you'll know which adjustments landed before the weekend ladder resets.
Patch 26.7 drops on April 1 for a reason. Riot packed this update with limited-time chaos that runs until patch 26.8 (April 15, 2026). Here's everything happening across your game modes.
Playing any game fills a milestone track and unlocks 8 free rewards: icons, emotes, and 500 BXP drops. No purchase required. The program ends when 26.8 hits, so stack your games before April 15.
Non-ranked Summoner's Rift gets a special twist this patch. You'll encounter random chaos effects mid-game:
The Bridge is also getting patched for April Fools. Two new purchasable items appear in your ARAM shop:
Meanwhile, Poros have evolved arms and will attack you if you hoard Poro Snax. Rainbow healthbars are active. Lissandra may send a message at the end of the game. Flash leaves behind an emoting afterimage.
All April Fools content expires with patch 26.8 on April 15. If you want to grind the milestone rewards or farm the chaos, your window is two weeks.
Six new skins hit the shop on April 1, 2026, all tied to the April Fools theme:
Source: Riot Games / DDragon
Every skin in this batch comes with a full chroma set. If you play Swain competitively on Amber.gg's LoL ladders, Fried Chicken King just made your showcase roster a lot more flavorful.
Patch 26.7 is live on April 1, 2026. The ranked grind continues, but the rune pool is getting a lot more interesting. 🎮
Next up: LoL Patch 26.8 brings Yuumi buffs and Victorious Braum on April 15. Check the full preview to see what is shifting in ranked.
Bonus magic damage: 20/43/66/89/112 → 20/45/70/95/120 (base mana also: 450 → 480)
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E movement speed: 10% (25% near ally/enemy) → 15% (30% near ally/enemy). R base damage: 120/200/380 → 150/250/350
E movement speed: 10% (25% near ally/enemy) → 15% (30% near ally/enemy). R base damage: 120/200/380 → 150/250/350
Bonus AD ratio per stack: +20/25/30/35/40% → +20/27.5/35/42.5/50%
Mantra + Inspire shield: 50/100/150/200 → 45/85/125/165 (both primary and secondary targets)
Mantra + Inspire shield: 50/100/150/200 → 45/85/125/165 (both primary and secondary targets)
Cooldown: 100/80/60s → 120/90/60s. Especially impactful for bot lane Veigar
Bounce modifier: -10% (+10%/100 AP) → -20% (+15%/100 AP). Less reliable base, harder AP scaling
