LoL patch 26.18 — what moved in Mid

11 moved up, 15 moved down, and 40 did not move by half a point either way.

Riot's note for patch 26.18, published 2026-09-09, changes 11 champions and 1 item. Read the full note on leagueoflegends.com.

• Bardchampion

  Base Stats

  • Armor34 + 5/Level→to32 + 4.7/Level
  Why, in Riot's words

  Bard has been a meta staple for much of the year. Earlier we toned his damage down to what we think are reasonable levels, so this time we are going to target his durability which has also stood out as high given his mobility and long range ultimate utility.

• Cassiopeiachampion

  PSerpentine Grace

  • Move Speed Bonus6% - 40% (based on level)→to5% - 36% (based on level)

  QNoxious Blast

  • Damage75 / 110 / 145 / 180 / 215→to65 / 100 / 135 / 170 / 205
  • Ability Power Ratio65%→to75%

  ETwin Fang

  • Mana Cost40→to45
  • Base Ability Power Ratio10%→to20%
  • Enhanced Ability Power Ratio55%→to45%
  • Total Ability Power Ratio65%→to65%
  • Damage52 - 120→to50 - 120

  RPetrifying Gaze

  • Damage150 / 250 / 350→to125 / 225 / 325
  • Ability Power Ratio50%→to75%
  Why, in Riot's words

  Cassio has always scaled with skill, but this year has propelled her to new heights of pro play dominance despite being weaker for average players. These adjustments should tap down her laning power, especially in pro where defensive purchases are valued more than raw AP, while giving her back some scaling power. It will still be critical to use empowered E's, but raising her floor lets us be a bit more flexible with tuning.

• Ekkochampion

  QTimewinder

  • Mana Cost50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90→to40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80
  • Return Damage Ability Power Ratio60%→to70%
  Why, in Riot's words

  As one of our assassins that offer opponents a wider mix of gameplay options, Ekko has found a slightly weak steady state since Dusk & Dawn's update mid year. We believe he has some room for power, especially in mid where he scales slightly worse, without buffing his Hail of Blades pattern.

• Kassadinchampion

  QNull Sphere

  • Ability Power Ratio70% AP→to80% AP

  RRiftwalk

  • Base Damage70 / 90 / 110→to80 / 95 / 110
  Why, in Riot's words

  Kassadin had a strong start to 2026 but hasn't regained his…footing…since our earlier nerfs. His Q should feel more punchy with his scaling, and we're aiming to provide more early agency through good Riftwalk usage without touching his late game fantasy.

• Master Yichampion

  Base Stats

  • Armor Growth33 + 4.5/Level→to33 + 5/Level

  RHighlander

  • Move Speed35 / 45 / 55%→to40 / 50 / 60%
  Why, in Riot's words

  Yi drew the short end of the stick on the Rageblade bugfix from earlier this year due to his double strike interactions. While the actual impact for most Rageblade users was minor (and we are compensating Rageblade as well for that this patch), he was impacted harder than the other users. He's also just been unable to scale as well as a melee carry compared to his normal power level, so we are also giving him a buff up.

• Nautiluschampion

  Base Stats

  • Attack Damage61 + 3.3/Level→to58 + 3.3/Level

  QDredge Line

  • Damage85 / 130 / 175 / 220 / 265 (+90% AP)→to85 / 125 / 165 / 205 / 245 (+90% AP)
  Why, in Riot's words

  Nautilus has been sitting near the top of the meta for the entire year, even before our work to bring other tank supports up in power, and we feel nerfing him will open up room for a more variety. That said, we know a lot of his value is in being able to lock down champions effectively, and that'll remain a core strength.

• Seraphinechampion

  EBeat Drop

  • Cooldown11 / 10.5 / 10 / 9.5 / 9s→to11s
  Why, in Riot's words

  Seraphine bot has been a source of frustration for opponents for some time, despite a minor nerf a few patches ago. We are nerfing her E's rank up to target this head on, as support Seraphine usually maxes it last (which basically means she never has it maxed as a support.)

• Syndrachampion

  PTranscendent

  • Splinter Mana20 - 255→to20 - 199

  WForce of Will

  • Cooldown12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8s→to13 / 12 / 11 / 10 / 9s
  Why, in Riot's words

  Our MSI changes were effective at pulling her to the forefront of pro play for the first time in years, but unfortunately she's too performant in specific solo queue settings. Our data shows that W damage is a meaningfully larger share of damage in the tiers where she's stronger than desired, so this should help tap her down while still preserving her core fantasies. Her passive is also now better breakpointed to increase reliance on Lost Chapter in early-mid levels, nerfing her higher winrate builds that make do with less mana investment.

• Viegochampion

  Base Stats

  • Attack Damage Growth3.5→to4

  PSovereign's Domination

  • Heal2% (+…. )→to2% (+ 2.5% per 100 bonus AD) (+ 2% per 100 AP) (+ 5% per 100% bonus attack speed) (+ 2% per 500 bonus HP) of the target's maximum health
  Why, in Riot's words

  Viego's winrate has been on a downward trend recently, and his players have noticed and begun dropping him. He has a fair bit of room to bring up, both just generally and for the viability of his more bruisery alt build.

• Zaahenchampion

  QThe Darkin Glaive

  • NEW Cooldown Behavior: If Q is active, it is now placed on Cooldown immediately upon being put in Resurrection
  • Q2 Damage25 / 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 (+20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40% bonus AD)→to30 / 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 (+20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40% bonus AD)
  Why, in Riot's words

  We're using a QoL change here as an opportunity to give Zaahen some love! This might read as a nerf, but Zaahen's Q lined up with his passive in such a way that it meant he always left his resurrection (and GA, Zilean R) with Q on CD, so now he's always happier. His Q2 is also a clean double of his Q1 base damage now.

• Zerichampion

  WUltrashock Laser

  • Damage30 / 70 / 110 / 150 / 190 (+120% tAD)→to30 / 70 / 110 / 150 / 190 (+100% tAD)
  • Wall Damage45 / 105 / 165 / 225 / 285 (+180% tAD)→to45 / 105 / 165 / 225 / 285 (+150% tAD)
  • Critical Strike: 150% (+15% IE)
  Why, in Riot's words

  Zeri has been slowly climbing in winrate with the recent Runaan's Hurricane and Yun Tal Wildarrows buffs. She now sits very high in winrate compared to her historical resting, which is worrying for a champ that is so skill intensive. As she has also begun showing up in pro, we expect she has a high chance of becoming meta dominant, so we are pulling some power out of her burst and waveclear.

• Guinsoo's Ragebladeitem

  • Seething Strike Stack Duration3s→to4s
  Why, in Riot's words

  In light of the bugfix nerfing rageblade by a minor amount by pushing back when the first double hit triggers, we are compensating with a similarly minor QoL buff to help players get it stacked up and keep it stacked.