LoL Patch 26.1 Preview: Nerfs, Buffs, and the Future of the Meta

As​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ 2025 is coming to an end, League of Legends players are impatiently waiting for the new season to start. Riot Games has given fans a sneak peek of the changes with the LoL Patch 26.1 Preview, which is a major update that promises to bring huge changes to champions, items, and the ranked system.

Release Date & Focus on Crit Damage and ADCs

The League of Legends patch 26.1 is expected to release on January 7, 2026. The new ranked season will be available to play from that day. A refreshed meta featuring new strategies, champions, and items is what players can expect from the patch.

Although​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Patch 25.24, which went live on December 3, brought minor changes to final tweaks before the year-end ranked grind, the main focus is now 2026 season. Players can look forward to such fun new mechanics as role quests, the removal of Atakhan, and more items.

The loudest headline from LoL Patch 26.1 Preview is a huge rework of crit damage users, especially ADCs and characters like Yasuo, Yone, and Tryndamere. Crit damage is going to be 200% again, up from 175% this season, thus it will be very likely that the playstyle of high-risk, high-reward, which is the one that most of the fans are, will be restored.

Moreover, ADCs will be able to carry a seventh item in their inventory, thus giving them even more late-game power. To counterbalance this, Riot has put some targeted nerfs to a few champions of the class so that they won't become unreasonably ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌overpowered.
Some of these updates also tie into broader seasonal highlights celebrated in The League Awards 2025 Winners Across All Categories, giving fans a clearer picture of how the game’s competitive landscape is shaping up.

Champion Changes at a Glance

Patch 26.1 is extensively changing the following champions:

• Akshan: the turret passive is now fully scaling with the crit; Q base damage is almost doubled.
• Aphelios: several ratio niggles but he gets a major R crit damage boost.
• Ashe: the passive damage is increased; the attack speed and AD growth are slightly reduced.
• Caitlyn: the headshot crit chance is better; the ultimate crit ratio is higher.
• Jinx, Lucian, Miss Fortune: A combination of amendments to attack speed, AD growth, and crit damage to even out the power in the early and late game.
• Yasuo and Yone: to offset the increased crit damage, they get back a 10% crit penalty.
• Besides that, Garen to Zeri, and the rest of the champions, have been tweaked slightly in terms of crit modifiers, ratios, and ability scaling.

These changes reflect Riot's desire to have a livelier ADC and crit champion meta with the equilibrium kept in all the ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌roles.

Impact on the Meta & New Skins

While it’s still early to predict the meta fully, the LoL Patch 26.1 Preview suggests an ADC and top-lane-focused early game. Supports and junglers may have slightly reduced agency, while scaling-focused team compositions could dominate due to extra gold from turret plates and objectives.
The patch also introduces cosmetic updates, including:

• Prestige Veiled Lady Morgana – Battle Pass
• Durand's​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Legacy Taliyah - Battle Pass
• Petricite Nautilus
• Petricite Cho'Gath

By these extensive changes, Patch 26.1 may be one of the most thrilling offseasons in recent League of Legends history, opening new doors of play for both veterans and newcomers, while fans can also check LoLdle Answers Today to stay up to date with in-game trivia and challenges.