League of Legends game balance and patch updates

Riot Games has implemented a series of updates for League of Legends centered around the Worlds 2026 tournament cycle.

Patch 26.20 introduced gameplay balance changes to various champions and items, such as Experimental Hexplate and Runaan’s Hurricane. This update also included a controversial decision to remove the ability for players to download replays of matches they did not personally play and to restrict third-party application access to replay downloads. Riot Games stated this measure was intended to “address security vulnerabilities that have been exploited by cheat developers to create unauthorized tools,” despite concerns from content creators and professional teams.

Following the tournament, Patch 26.21 was previewed to stabilize the ranked environment for end-of-season climbs. This update focuses on adjusting champions that were previously balanced for professional play to better suit solo queue, featuring buffs to characters like Azir and Orianna, alongside nerfs to high-performing picks such as Lee Sin and Qiyana.