League of Legends Patch 26.19 Changes Explained

League of Legends Patch 26.19 is now live, and this is more than a routine balance update.

With Worlds approaching on the next patch, Riot has made a wide set of changes to Summoner’s Rift while also adding a new batch of content to League Classic and Arena. Several champions have been adjusted, top-lane Teleport has been changed, and three older champion versions are joining Classic.

There is also a small but useful change for newer players: the Runes store now has a Recommended sorting option in Classic, making early rune choices easier to navigate.

And if you were waiting for Team Voice in North America or Oceania, there is one important update: that expansion has been postponed, with Riot currently giving no new target patch.

Quick Summary

Patch 26.19 is the final patch before the Worlds update.
Summoner’s Rift receives a large group of champion balance changes.
Top-lane Teleport cooldowns have been reduced.
League Classic adds Fizz, Graves, Nami, and Nautilus in older forms.
Classic also gets three returning items: Cloak and Dagger, Moonflair Spellblade, and Zz’Rot Portal.
Arena adds three Guests of Honor and more than ten new or returning Augments.
Four new Coven/Old God skins arrive September 23.
Classic now has a Recommended rune sort to help newer players.
Team Voice expansion to North America and Oceania has been delayed without a new patch target.

Patch 26.19 Is Setting Up the Worlds Patch

Patch 26.19 sits in an interesting position.

It is not the Worlds patch itself. Riot says the Worlds update comes next, but 26.19 is already being used to make the first round of changes aimed at the competitive environment.

That means some of the champion adjustments are not just about ordinary solo queue balance.

Riot has targeted champions it considers potential fringe picks for the upcoming tournament while also addressing several champions that have become outliers in normal play.

For everyday players, that translates into a patch with a noticeable number of buffs and nerfs rather than one giant system overhaul.

The Biggest Summoner’s Rift Changes

There are too many champion changes in Patch 26.19 to list every number here, but several stand out.

Aatrox gets shorter cooldowns on Infernal Chains and better healing from Umbral Dash.

Aphelios receives improvements across several weapons, including higher Calibrum damage, stronger Severum healing, a less severe Gravitum slow decay, a shorter Infernum cool-down, and slightly better Crescendum scaling.

Aurora gets more damage on The Weirding and a longer minimum duration on her ultimate.

Draven gets an increase to base attack damage.

Elise receives stronger passive damage and more attack speed from Skittering Frenzy.

Fiora gets additional health growth and stronger healing from Grand Challenge.

Kha’Zix receives buffs to his passive and several evolved abilities.

Lillia gets more armor and a longer sleep duration on Lilting Lullaby.

There are nerfs on the other side too.

Lucian has his Vigilance empowered attack damage reduced while Piercing Light gets higher base damage.

Nasus loses some early Siphoning Strike damage.

Nocturne’s Paranoia cool-down becomes longer.

Poppy loses some of her jungle-clearing strength.

Rumble has his Overheat attack-speed scaling reduced, although his monster damage cap is increased.

Ryze takes reductions to some of his damage scaling and higher mana costs on Spell Flux.

Vi loses some early durability and attack damage while gaining more attack damage per level.

Twisted Fate also takes significant cool-down increases to Gate and Destiny.

So if your main champion appears in either group, 26.19 is worth checking before jumping into ranked games.

Teleport Is Getting More Useful for Top Lane

One of the more important system changes affects Teleport.

Riot has reduced the cool-down of the free Teleport gained through the top-lane role quest from 420 seconds to 390 seconds.

The upgraded Unleashed Teleport cool-down also drops from 330–240 seconds to 300–210 seconds.

Teleport outside the top-lane role quest remains unchanged.

The reasoning is straightforward: Riot believes top lane has become somewhat weak, particularly for players who want to focus on split pushing.

For top laners, this means the spell can come back slightly faster when the role quest is involved.

League Classic Is Getting Four Old Champions

This is probably the most unusual part of the patch.

League Classic is adding four champions using older versions of their kits:

Fizz
Graves
Nami
Nautilus

The biggest nostalgia hit is arguably Graves.

Classic brings back the 2011–2015 version of Graves, before his major rework changed him into the champion players know today.

Nami returns close to her original 2013 form, while Nautilus uses his older kit with several historical differences. Fizz also returns in his earlier form from before his 2016 rework.

For players who have only experienced the modern versions, Classic now offers a chance to see how these champions originally played.

Classic Also Brings Back Three Old Items

The nostalgia doesn’t stop with champions.

Patch 26.19 adds:

Cloak and Dagger
Moonflair Spellblade
Zz’Rot Portal

Zz’Rot Portal is particularly recognizable to longtime League players. Its Classic version lets players place a Void gate that periodically creates Voidlings, which move down the nearest lane and attack enemies.

The patch also includes historical balance adjustments, visual changes, bug fixes and a new Council vote where players can influence which Classic content receives attention next.

New Players Get a Small Quality-of-Life Improvement

Patch 26.19 also contains something that won’t generate the same excitement as an old Graves returning, but it could be more useful to someone starting League today.

Classic now has a Recommended sorting option in the Runes store.

The purpose is simple: new players can more easily identify rune choices considered suitable for early accounts instead of sorting through the entire collection themselves.

It doesn’t change how runes work.

It just makes the first few choices less confusing.

For a game with League’s enormous amount of information, small changes like this can matter.

Arena Gets a Big New Batch of Content

Arena receives one of the larger content additions in this patch.

Riot is introducing three new Guests of Honor:

Ivern

When a team loses a round, brushes appear at the locations of its players and remain for the rest of the game.

Senna

Three portals to the Death Realm appear, allowing players to move between the normal arena and the alternate realm.

Thresh

When Thresh is downed, he can periodically throw a lantern to allies. Nearby teammates receive a shield, and players can use the lantern to pull themselves toward him.

These aren’t simple stat bonuses.

They can change how teams approach rounds and position themselves during fights.

Arena Is Also Getting a Lot of New Augments

Patch 26.19 brings more than ten Augments from ARAM Mayhem into Arena, along with two new Augments created through Riot’s For The Win Creator Invitational.

Those two are:

Death Dealer
Got That Dog In Em

Death Dealer lets the player target an opponent and enter the Death Realm with them for a limited period.

Got That Dog In Em is considerably stranger: hot dogs appear around the player, and anyone who picks one up starts breathing fire.

Several other Augments have also been added or adjusted, including Hellbent, Nature Is Healing, Rite of Ascension, Shark Bait, Sonata, Surge Field and Titan’s Resolve.

Arena’s champion balance has also been adjusted, so the mode should feel different even before the new Augments start appearing.

ARAM: Mayhem Gets Smaller Changes

ARAM: Mayhem doesn’t receive the same large content drop as Arena.

The main adjustment is to High Roller, whose appearance rate has been reduced again.

Riot says the change is intended to reduce how strongly the Augment can snowball when obtained early. Several bugs affecting other Augments and interactions have also been fixed.

Four New Skins Arrive September 23

Patch 26.19 also brings four new skins:

Coven Janna
Coven Mel
Old God Anivia
Old God Urgot

Riot lists September 23, 2026, as their availability date.

This means players looking through the patch for cosmetic additions have something new to look forward to immediately after the update.

Team Voice Has Been Delayed

There is one feature that didn’t arrive with the expected schedule.

Riot had previously planned to expand Team Voice to North America and Oceania with Patch 26.20.

That plan has now been postponed.

Riot says additional testing showed that the feature needed more work before release. There is currently no new target patch.

So if you’re waiting for wider Team Voice access in those regions, 26.19 does not bring it.

What Should Players Actually Pay Attention To?

That depends on what you play.

If you’re a ranked player, the champion adjustments and Teleport changes are the main things to read.

If you’re a top laner, the shorter Teleport cooldowns are worth testing.

If you play Arena, this is a much bigger update because of the new Guests of Honor and large Augment pool.

If you’re interested in League Classic, the return of Graves, Nami, Nautilus and Fizz is arguably the headline feature.

And if you’re new to League, the Recommended rune sorting option is one of those small changes that can make the early experience less overwhelming.

What About Worlds?

Patch 26.19 is the patch immediately before the Worlds update.

That makes some of its champion changes particularly relevant to the competitive scene, but players shouldn’t treat 26.19 as the final balance state for Worlds.

Riot has already confirmed that the next patch is the Worlds patch.

So the competitive picture can still change once 26.20 arrives.

For regular players, though, 26.19 is the version that matters right now.

League Patch 26.19: The Changes That Matter Most

Patch 26.19 is a fairly broad update rather than one built around a single headline mechanic.

The Summoner’s Rift changes are preparing the game for Worlds while giving several champions room to move up or down.

Classic is going in the opposite direction, reaching backward with older champion kits and items.

Arena is moving forward with a large collection of new gameplay options.

And newer players get a small improvement to the rune-selection experience.

The most important thing to remember is that 26.19 isn’t just a champion balance patch.

It is also another step in Riot’s ongoing effort to make Classic and Arena feel like distinct experiences while preparing the main game for the biggest competitive event of the year.

FAQ

What is League of Legends Patch 26.19?

Patch 26.19 is the League of Legends update released immediately before the Worlds patch. It includes champion balance changes, system adjustments, Classic content, Arena additions and bug fixes.

Which champions are returning to League Classic?

Patch 26.19 adds older versions of Fizz, Graves, Nami and Nautilus to League Classic.

What changed for Top Lane Teleport?

The free Teleport from the top-lane role quest now has a 390-second cool-down, down from 420 seconds. The upgraded Unleashed Teleport also receives a cool-down reduction.

What is new in Arena Patch 26.19?

Arena adds three Guests of Honor — Ivern, Senna and Thresh — along with more than ten Augments from ARAM Mayhem and two new creator-collaboration Augments.