LoL Patch 26.15 Preview: Bel'Veth Rework, Locke Nerfs & Every Change

Full Patch Preview

26.15

Bel'Veth scales forever, Locke gets hit again, and Season 3 begins

5 Buffs 5 Nerfs 1 Adjustment 4 System

Patch 26.15 is scheduled for July 29, 2026. It opens League's third ranked season of the year, launches League Classic, and delivers one of the most extensive Bel'Veth updates since her release.

The full preview contains exact numbers for five champion buffs, five nerfs, the Bel'Veth adjustment, three item buffs, and one rune nerf. These are preview values rather than final live notes, so Riot can still change or pull individual entries before release.

Preview status: full numeric changelist published July 22. Patch 26.15 is not live yet; the current live patch and tier data remain on 26.14 until July 29.

Champion Buffs

Alistar

A small stat buff with a large effect on roams and engages.

Base movement speed: 330 → 335

Kai'Sa

More passive damage at later levels without changing the AP ratios.

[P] Caustic Wounds on-hit damage: 4–24 (+12% AP), plus 1–6 (+3% AP) per prior Plasma stack → 4–30 (+12% AP), plus 1–8 (+3% AP) per prior stack

Maokai

A direct jungle-clear buff with extra payoff for AP builds.

[Q] AP ratio: 40% → 50%
[Q] Bonus monster damage: 140/150/160/170/180 → 150/160/170/180/190

Volibear

Earlier access to Q makes his first ganks and repeat engages more reliable.

[Q] Cooldown: 14/13/12/11/10 seconds → 12/11.5/11/10.5/10

Zac

More scaling durability and one second off Elastic Slingshot at every rank.

Armor growth: 4.7 → 5.2
[E] Cooldown: 22/19/16/13/10 seconds → 21/18/15/12/9

Champion Nerfs

Locke

A second consecutive patch of nerfs, aimed at his Emerald and Diamond performance.

Base health: 655 → 620
[Q] Damage per Soul Nail: 50/58/66/74/82 → 40/48/56/64/72
[W] Bonus movement speed: 40/45/50/55/60% → 40% at all ranks
[W] Base maximum Grey Health: 40/70/100/130/160 → 40/60/80/100/120

Mordekaiser

The 26.14 ultimate buff is reverted, with a compensating E cooldown buff.

[E] Cooldown: 18/16/14/12/10 seconds → 16/14/12/10/8
[R] Stat-steal ratio: 13% → 10%

Naafiri

Lower ultimate damage also weakens the packmates used in her jungle clear and all-ins.

[R] Damage: 150/225/300 (+120% bonus AD) → 125/200/275 (+100% bonus AD)
[R] Damage per Packmate: 15/22.5/30 (+12% bonus AD) → 12.5/20/27.5 (+10% bonus AD)

Riven

Both halves of her ultimate lose bonus AD scaling.

[R1] Bonus AD ratio: 25% → 20%
[R2] Wind Slash bonus AD ratio: 60–180% → 55–165%, based on the target's missing health

Sylas

The initial Q hit loses base damage and AP scaling; the second explosion is unchanged.

[Q1] Initial damage: 40/65/90/115/140 (+45% AP) → 40/60/80/100/120 (+40% AP)

Champion Adjustments

Bel'Veth is being shifted away from oppressive level-one invades and toward the infinite-scaling fantasy Riot originally intended. Her early base stats and dash cadence are weaker, while full attacks, ability scaling, jungle damage, and late True Form become substantially stronger.

Bel'Veth

Weaker early duels, better item scaling, and permanent True Form at level 16 with enough Lavender stacks.

Base stats: Health 610 (+105 per level) → 580 (+110); armor 32 (+4.7) → 28 (+5); AD 60 → 55; attack speed and ratio 0.85 → 0.67; model size reduced 5%; attack cast time 0.25 → 0.22 seconds
[P] Basic attack damage ratio: 75% → 100%; post-spell attack speed becomes 20% for 3 seconds; Lavender attack speed per stack becomes more backloaded at 0.1–2%
[Q] Damage: 0/5/10/15/20 (+100% AD) → 12/14/16/18/20 (+105% AD); minion damage becomes 100%; monster bonus becomes 70; dash speed becomes 850; between-dash cooldown becomes 4/3.25/2.5/1.75/1 seconds; attack-speed-to-haste conversion drops 25% → 20%
[W] Damage becomes 80/140/200/260/320 (+150% AP), losing the bonus AD ratio; knockup becomes 0.6–1 second; slow becomes 30% for 2 seconds
[E] Higher base, AD and on-hit damage but lower missing-health amplification; monster damage 150% → 200%; fewer bonus strikes; damage reduction becomes 20–60%; lifesteal becomes 20–40%; cooldown becomes 24/21/18/15/12 seconds
[R] True damage applies every attack and no longer resets on target swap, but falls to 2/4/6 (+3% bonus AD); explosion shifts toward AP and away from missing-health damage; True Form gains much more health, range and late attack speed; both normal and empowered form last 45/90/infinite seconds at 0/40/80 Lavender stacks

System Changes

Bastionbreaker — Buff

Cheaper access and a much stronger Shaped Charge proc.

Cost: 3200 → 3000 gold
Shaped Charge base bonus true damage: 30 melee / 15 ranged → 50 melee / 25 ranged

Terminus — Buff

The on-hit damage finally gains offensive scaling.

Shadow on-hit damage: 30 flat → 30 (+10% bonus AD) (+10% AP)

Yun Tal Wildarrows — Buff

A cleaner first-item spike for the marksmen who can use it.

Attack speed: 40% → 45%
Cost: 3100 → 3000 gold

Jack of All Trades — Nerf

The five- and ten-stack rewards lose 20% of their adaptive force.

Adaptive force at 5/10 stacks: 10/25 AP or 6/15 AD → 8/20 AP or 4.8/12 AD

Season 3 and League Classic

Patch 26.15 marks the start of Ranked Season 3. Season 2 ends at 11:59 PM local server time on July 28, with Season 3 starting at noon on July 29. Riot says there is no LP or ranked-progression reset at this transition, although Solo/Flex queues and transfers will briefly go offline while rewards are calculated. The 15-win Victorious mission refreshes for the new season.

League Classic launches alongside the patch as a separate experience inspired by early League rather than one exact historical patch. It starts with 60 champions, the old Summoner's Rift look and jungle camps, classic items, Runes and Masteries, IP progression, a PvP draft queue, Co-op vs AI, and customs. It is designed as an unranked nostalgia mode, so its balance does not affect the live 26.14/26.15 tier list.

How This Plays Out

The biggest uncertainty is Bel'Veth. Her level-one invade pattern gets materially worse through lower health, armor, AD, and a four-second rank-one delay between Q casts. In exchange, full-damage basic attacks, stronger monster modifiers, improved late E durability, and permanent level-16 True Form give her a much clearer scaling win condition. Treat her as a volatile adjustment, not an automatic buff.

In bot lane, Kai'Sa benefits directly and indirectly: her passive scales harder, Terminus gains AD/AP ratios, and Yun Tal becomes cheaper. That should help traditional marksmen, but four targeted changes are unlikely to erase the broader mage-bot trend by themselves.

Maokai and Zac both gain credible jungle power, with Volibear getting a better early Q cooldown. Meanwhile, Naafiri and Sylas should lose jungle tempo, Riven's all-in ceiling drops, and Mordekaiser's 26.14 spike is pulled back. Locke remains dangerous, but losing 35 base health plus scaling speed and Grey Health should make failed engages much easier to punish.

Once 26.15 is live and has enough games, our tier list will refresh from real Emerald+ win-rate, pick-rate, and ban-rate data. You can also follow the full cycle in our patch notes archive.

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Test the 26.15 meta without risking the LP on your main.

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FAQ

When does LoL Patch 26.15 come out?

Patch 26.15 is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Ranked Season 2 ends at 11:59 PM local server time on July 28, and Season 3 begins at noon on July 29.

Which champions are getting buffed in Patch 26.15?

Alistar, Kai'Sa, Maokai, Volibear, and Zac are receiving buffs in the full Patch 26.15 preview.

Which champions are getting nerfed in Patch 26.15?

Locke, Mordekaiser, Naafiri, Riven, and Sylas are receiving nerfs. Mordekaiser also gets a compensating cooldown buff to his E.

Is the Bel'Veth update a buff or a nerf?

It is a power-neutral adjustment in intent: Bel'Veth loses early dueling and invade strength, then gains better item scaling, jungle modifiers, late durability, and permanent True Form at level 16 with 80 Lavender stacks.

Does Ranked reset when Season 3 starts?

Riot says there will be no disruption to LP or ranked progression at the Season 3 transition. The ranked queues briefly go offline, and the 15-win Victorious mission refreshes.

What is League Classic?

League Classic is a separate unranked mode inspired by early League. It launches with 60 champions, classic Summoner's Rift, old items, Runes and Masteries, IP progression, PvP draft, Co-op vs AI, and custom games.