Vanguard Anti-Cheat Gets Major Update Players Have Been Calling for

Posted on by Geekmandem

Vanguard anti-cheat is good, let’s get that out of the way first. The problem is, it’s in the way, it’s always open, and it can require updates to your PC or BIOS changes to make it work. But, it is very good, as anyone who has played Valorant and to a lesser extent League of Legends can attest.

If you regularly play CS2 and get sick of the cheaters, you might wonder why Valorant doesn’t have them. Well, Vanguard is a big reason why. And, with an update today, you can disable it when you’re not playing a Riot Games title. Providing your PC can jump through a few hoops first.

Vanguard Anti-Cheat Turn Off

A look at what Kernal level anti cheat does
A look at how Kernel-Level anti-cheat works

From the 16-page (yes, really) Riot Games article on the subject, the key takeaway is thus. “Vanguard’s driver component will no longer launch when the system starts.”

While Riot jokes that you can have your 256 pixels back, this has a wider impact for some. As kernel-level anti-cheats become more common, they are starting to rub up against each other. In fact, when Battlefield 6 released, there were initial issues with the two anti-cheats causing false flags against each other. One fix at a time was to remove Vanguard so you could play Battlefield 6.

Now, once you’ve enabled a few settings, your Vanguard anti-cheat will only start working once you play a Riot Game that requires it. It’s important to note that you do need to manually enable this new mode; it is not on by default.

As you can see from the GIF above, these are how you check if your PC satisfies the new “pre-check”. According to Riot Games, around 35% of players already do, which is a lot. A TLDR is, if you’re on a new W11 PC, you probably do.

For those that don’t, you need to do a few things potentially to satisfy the above options. These suggestions come from Riot directly, but note that anything involving your BIOS can be tricky.

Riot Games goes into a lot of details about why this is only being enabled now, so you can read if you choose. At least it’s good to know Riot Games is taking anti-cheat seriously still, we wish some other companies would.

Nasus Jungle Is Suddenly a Real Solo Q Pick After SkewMond’s Finals Gamble

Posted on by Geekmandem

Nasus is a popular champion in Solo Q. He takes time to come online, but he works in Solo Q because other players won’t do enough to stop him. In Pro Play, however, Nasus gets shut down quicker, making him a useless champion. However, he does get picked in the Jungle from time to time. That said, he rarely appears at the top level, let alone in an important series final game at the Grand Final of a major event.

But don’t tell that to SkewMond, who did exactly that. It’s game five. The series hangs in the balance. Champion pools have been scraped dry, and KC are ready for whatever G2 can throw at them. Up steps SkewMond. Nasus. Jungle. Locked in. Nobody saw it coming, a pick we never see at the top level of League of Legends. Twenty minutes in, not only is Nasus doing fine, he’s deathless, and SkewMond is about to secure series MVP.

Nasus Play Rate

Here is where it gets fun, because Nasus in the jungle was not some random off-meta gamble. He was already quietly sitting near the top of the pile. Here is the current u.gg snapshot for jungle Nasus at Emerald and above:

That is not “fun pick that a pro carried”; that is “this champion is genuinely one of the strongest things in the jungle right now, and nobody was looking.” A 2.4% pick rate for a jungler is healthy and visible without being oppressive, and that near-five-percent ban rate tells you people have started to notice.

Now the fun part is the pick rate of Nasus jungle. In Patch 26.10, Nasus’ pick rate is 0.06%, roughly 16,000 games globally. In 26.11, that jumps slightly to 0.09% and 17,000 games. This is around the time the moment happens. However, in Patch 26.11, it goes through the roof.

Nasus moves to a 2.4% pick rate, with 51,000 games played. It’s also not surprising that EUW is the region that sees the largest impact, with Nasus moving from 6,000 to 18,000 games in the space of one patch.

Nasus is still very strong, and it remains to be seen what might happen in Patch 26.13, which just dropped. But with MSI and EWC around the corner, we could see more major changes to pick rates based on international matches.

Should you actually first-pick him in your promos?

A champion ranked first for win rate in his role at Emerald+ is not a troll pick, whatever your support types in chat. The catch is that Nasus jungle rewards exactly the thing SkewMond is elite at: snowballing a tiny early lead into an unkillable mid-game. He stacks, he gets fed, he becomes a problem. He does not do much if you int the first clear and spend the game three camps behind.

So by all means ride the hype. Just know that the dog bites hardest for players who can actually play to his pattern, and not because a Frenchman made it look effortless on a Sunday.

T1’s Threepeat Dynasty Worlds Skins Arrive July 15 With Prestige Miss Fortune

Posted on by Geekmandem

Every year, the winner of Worlds is given a set of skins for each character, chosen by the team. These skins go through some intense work to make them the most fire skins possible. While they take around 9 months to come out, they are normally worth the wait.

This time around, it’s T1 again, who are getting their third set of skins. Dubbed the “Threepeat Dynasty”, this latest set of skins is going harder than ever. The set is due for release on July 15th, and you can see what we can expect below.

What are the T1 Worlds 2025 Skins

Players don’t always make picks public, but with journalists always keen to ask the question, we’ve known for a while.

T1 Worlds Skins 2025
T1 Worlds Skins 2025

We also have an early look at them in-game via their concept art.

MVP T1 Miss Fortune

The MVP skin is always a little special, and this time it’s no different. The skin will feature a number of unique extras, including new voice work. MVP T1 Miss Fortune will have both new animations and VO. She will also be voiced once again by Laura Bailey.

The skin will also be a prestige skin, making it part of the season pass track for that release.

An extra fun little detail: the recall animation of the Ambessa skin features the Krug. A reference to Doran’s death to the Krug during their match against KT Rolster during the Road to MSI 2025.

Patch 26.13 Notes – League of Legends

Posted on by Geekmandem

Patch 26.13 notes for League of Legends are here. (Source) The patch will be used for MSI and the EWC. The patch is also the first introduction of Locke.

System Changes

Last Hit Indicator
We’re going to be enabling Last Hit Indicators for Normal Draft & Ranked SR games. This feature has been live in Swiftplay & Co-op vs. AI for a while, and we’ve seen it result in new players being more successful at last-hitting than before. These players are now graduating into Normals & Ranked and are interested in continuing to use them.
We think it’s better to focus on skill expression in other parts of the game—rather than understanding exactly when you can last-hit a minion—and are also pretty confident that these don’t degrade skill expression in lane. You still need to be mindful of positioning, harassing your opponent, considering where both junglers are, understanding power spikes, and more.
We’ve seen that experienced players are disabling it, as they find it more distracting than helpful, but we believe it should be available for those who want it. Let us know what you think!

Doran’s Helm

We overshot a bit with the 26.11 Doran’s Helm buff, so we’re tapping it back down while keeping the base health high and targeting the users it’s overperforming on.
Armor and Magic Resistance: 10 ⇒ 8
Health: 140 ⇒ 150

Imperial Mandate

Imperial Mandate has landed softly, and the build path has been too awkward for many of its likely users, especially supports. We’re smoothing out the path and shifting some of its power accordingly.
Build Path: Blasting Wand (850g) + Bandleglass Mirror (900g) + 650g ⇒ Amp Tome (400g) + Bandleglass Mirror (900g) + Amp Tome (400g) + 700g
Ability Power: 65 ⇒ 60
Unique – Control: 15 AH For Immobilizing Abilities ⇒ 20 AH For Immobilizing Abilities
Unique – Command: 6% Vulnerable ⇒ 7% Vulnerable

Champion

Since his nerfs earlier this year, Aphelios has fallen in priority and win rate. With some power budget freed up, we’re pulling back on some of those earlier nerfs to highlight each gun’s unique strengths.

Passive – The Hitman and the Seer

Passive Mark Damage: 15 (10% bonus AD) ⇒ 15 (15% bonus AD)

Q – Weapon Abilites

Onslaught Damage: 19 / 24.25 / 29.5 / 34.75 / 40% Total AD Dmg per attack ⇒ 20 / 25.25 / 30.5 / 35.75 / 41% Total AD Dmg per attack
Duskwave Damage: 20 – 110 (Level 1 – 18) (10 – 16% bonus AD) ⇒ 20 – 110 (Level 1 – 18) (15 – 21% bonus AD)
Sentry Damage: 35 – 125 (Level 1 – 18) (30 – 48% bonus AD) ⇒ 35 – 125 (Level 1 – 18) (34 – 52% bonus AD)
Bard has been a tanky roaming meta staple for much of the season, so we’re trimming his damage so tank Bard doesn’t get to hit nearly as hard without investing in AP.
Damage Per Meep: 35 (+10 per 5 Chimes) (+40% AP) ⇒ 30 (+6 per 5 Chimes) (+40% AP)

Passive – Traveler’s Call

Brand continues to dominate bot lane for most players, so we’re nerfing his early passive detonation damage while offsetting some of that hit for more skilled players and supports through mana tuning.
Base Mana Regeneration: 9 ⇒ 11

Passive – Blaze

Detonation Damage: 8 – 12% (Levels 1 – 17) (+2% per 100 AP) ⇒ 6 – 12% (Levels 1 – 18, scaling above 18) (+2% per 100 AP)

E – Conflagration

Mana Cost: 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90 ⇒ 90
Cassiopeia has risen to the top of pro play presence, even before our 26.12 nerfs to her major competition. We would like to preserve some of her unique strengths, like her rewarding laning and slippery speed, but she should have a less gigantic health bar for when opponents actually lock her down!
Health per level: 104 ⇒ 98
As the marksman meta has evolved around crit, on-hit, and caster builds, Draven has fallen behind. We’re buffing his heavy-AD pattern instead of trying to redirect his itemization.

E – Stand Aside

Cooldown: 18 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 14s ⇒ 16 / 15 / 14 / 13 / 12s

R – Whirling Death

Damage Reduction on Enemy Hit: -8% multiplicatively, down to 40% (at 11 hits) ⇒ -5%, down to a minimum of 50% (at 14 hits)
Kai’Sa has struggled to get through lane and find her big Killer Instinct moments, so we’re buffing her fallback W pattern early and her later-game backline dive threat.

W – Void Seeker

Cooldown: 22 / 20 / 18 / 16 / 14 ⇒ 20 / 18.5 / 17 / 15.5 / 14

R – Killer Instinct

Shield: 70 / 90 / 110 (+90 / 135 / 180% AD) (+120% AP) ⇒ 100 / 150 / 200 (+90 / 135 / 180% AD) (+120% AP)
K’Sante has been a major beneficiary with Doran’s Helm entering the mix in Season 2, so we’re lightly tapping down his early reliability while still rewarding successful all-ins.

E – Footwork

Shield: (80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240) (+15% bonus health) ⇒ (70 / 112.5 / 155 / 197.5 / 240) (+13.5% bonus health)
Olaf used to be a staple in the jungle but has been out of favor for a while now, despite our earlier attempts this season to help him out. We are looking to give him a bit more power to entice him back into the wilderness.

Q – Undertow

Monster Bonus Physical Damage: 20 / 35 / 50 / 65 / 80 ⇒ 20 / 45 / 70 / 95 / 120
Jungle class diversity has been dominated almost exclusively by fighters for a while now, and we think Poppy is a good pick for a tankier counter option into many of the fighter junglers at the top of the meta. This buff is aimed at her jungle clear and gank windows while minimizing top and support impact.

Q – Hammer Shock

Monster Damage Cap: 50 / 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 ⇒ 75 / 105 / 135 / 165 / 195
Another class that’s underrepresented in the jungle is assassins. We feel Qiyana is a great choice for a buff as she’s recently been on the lower end of balanced in the jungle, so we’re giving her a jungle-focused buff to help bring her back without meaningfully juicing mid lane.
Monster Damage: 155% ⇒ 175%

Q – Elemental Wrath / Edge of Ixtal

Rek’Sai’s combination of dueling power and mobility has made her too successful at high ranks, so we’re shaving down her early-to-mid burst windows while preserving her unique map movement and longer fight pattern.

E – Furious Bite / Tunnel

Physical Damage: 80 / 108 / 136 / 164 / 192 (64% bonus AD) ⇒ 70 / 95 / 120 / 145 / 170 (60% bonus AD)
Bonus True Damage: 125% ⇒ 120%
Rumble has been an extremely reliable blind-pick top laner for a long time, so we’re lowering some of his early staying power and base damage while keeping his scaling pattern intact.

Q – Flamespitter

Damage: 60 / 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 (100% AP) ⇒ 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 / 150 (105% AP)
Senna players have moved over to a much stronger Bot lane farming pattern, so we’re softening her farming and Shiv synergy while also tuning her DPS around having access to more souls. The Doran’s Helm nerf should do the rest of the work necessary to get her to the right power level between roles.

Passive – Absolution

Soul Drop Chance (Senna Kill): 10% ⇒ 5%
Soul Drop Chance (Ally Kill): 28% ⇒ 32%
Crit Damage: -10% (180% / 27% with IE) ⇒ -15% (170% / 25.5% with IE)

Q – Piercing Darkness

Cooldown Refund: On Hit ⇒ On Attack
Sion has been resilient in both solo queue and pro play for a long time, so we’re weakening some of his reliable early lane power and resource access without decimating his core tank fantasy.

Q – Decimating Smash

Min Damage: 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120 ⇒ 30 / 45 / 60 / 75 / 90

W – Soul Furnace

Mana: 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 ⇒ 75 / 80 / 85 / 90 / 95
We feel Vex has had less of an impact in her games than we think she should, so we’re giving her a quality of life buff that should make her reset pattern feel smoother so she can have more pop off giga plays.

E – Looming Darkness

Cooldown: 13s ⇒ 12s

R – Shadow Surge

Reset Time Window: 6s ⇒ 8s
Zaahen is already seeing more play across audiences, so we’re giving him more room to fish for his early trade patterns and engage in mid game skirmishes without raising his scaling ceiling.

W – Dreaded Return

Cooldown: 16 / 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 ⇒ 14 / 13.5 / 13 / 12.5 / 12

MSI 2026 Talent Lineup Revealed: Riot Reveals Big Talent for South Korea

Posted on by Geekmandem

Riot Games has dropped the full broadcast talent list for MSI 2026, and if you have watched any international League event over the past few years, you will recognise basically everyone on it.

The desk is stacked, the casters are locked in, and the whole crew is heading to Daejeon to call two weeks of the best League on the planet. No big shake-ups, no surprise debuts, just a roster of familiar voices ready to completely lose it over a cheeky Baron steal.

The full MSI 2026 talent roster

Riot announced fourteen names in total, covering casters, hosts and analysts. Here is the lineup in full:

  • From the LCK:
    • Atlus
    • Aux
    • Dgon
  • From the LEC:
    • Sjokz
    • Drakos
    • Medic
    • Laure
    • Dagda
  • From the LCS:
    • Azael
    • CaptainFlowers
    • Kobe
    • Emily Rand
    • Jatt
    • Raz
MSI 2026

When and where it all kicks off

The whole show runs out of Daejeon, South Korea, from June 28th to July 12th. It splits into two stages: the Play-Ins from June 28 to July 1, where four teams scrap it out and only one crawls through, and the Bracket Stage from July 3rd to July 12th where the title actually gets handed over. Win the lot, and you book your seat at Worlds 2026.

Worth noting the event will lead very quickly into the EWC 2026 League of Legends event. It also gives us a good chance to see players on the international stage ahead of the other big events like Worlds and the ENC.

Lock your Pick’Ems before you tune in

Before the casters even clear their throats, you have got a bit of homework. The Play-Ins Pick’Ems and Crystal Ball close on June 27 at 8:10 PM Pacific, so get your predictions in if you fancy some free rewards for your trouble. The Knockouts Pick’Ems then open back up on July 1. We have broken down all the rewards and how the whole thing works in our MSI 2026 is back rundown.

As for where to actually watch it, it is all going out on Riot’s official YouTube and Twitch channels, with co-streamers joining the party once that list is confirmed.

LoL Esports Nations Cup Qualifiers 2026: Format & National Teams Revealed

Posted on by Geekmandem

With 32 teams taking part, the Esports Nations Cup is set to bring international play to League of Legends. While 32 nations will play, the first 16 have now been confirmed as invited nations.

The remaining 16 sides will begin to qualify from June 19th, with two of the 16 selected as wildcard entries. These wildcards will likely be used to make sure that if the nations that don’t qualify, do qualify. Nearly 100 nations will take part in the qualifying in June, as they compete for the final 16 spots.

The nations involved will be broken down by regions:

  • Middle East and Africa: 31 teams
  • Eastern Europe: 17 teams
  • Western Europe: 14 teams
  • South East Asia & Oceania: 9 teams
  • South America: 8 teams
  • North America, Central America, and the Caribbean: 8 teams
  • Asia: 7 teams

Esports Nations Cup Format

The event will use a double-elimination bracket, with a best-of-one setup for the matches. The qualification series at the later end will be moved to best-of-three. All the action takes place between June 19 and June 21.

The main event will be split into Groups, firstly the Play-In Stage, then the main Group Stage. The first will be best-of-one, before again moving to best-of-three. The knockout round becomes single elimination best-of-three, with the Grand Final moving to a best-of-five.

There is a $1,500,000 prize pool for the event.

EWC 2026 League of Legends
Credit – EWC

16 Invited Esports Nations Cup Rosters

The rosters for the 16 invited sides have been confirmed, with some of the big hitters bringing stacked rosters to the event.

While it’s too early to say who the favourites are, we’ve listed the rosters below in what we think might be the best rosters.

  1. China – Bin, Tian, knight, JackeyLove, ON, Flandre (S), and Monki (S)
  2. South Korea – Zeus, Canyon, Faker, Gumayusi, Keria, and Zeka (S)
  3. France – Adam, SkewMond, nuc, Caliste, Zoelys, Sheo (S), and Hans Sama (S)
  4. Vietnam – Kiaya, Hizto, Dire, Eddie, Taki, Aresss (S), and SofM (S)
  5. Brazil – Xyno, Tatu, Tutsz, Ayu, Frosty, zynts (S), and Morttheus (S)
  6. United States – Dhokla, Blaber, APA, Yeon, huhi, Gryffinn (S), and DARKWINGS (S)
  7. Chinese Taipei – 1Jiang, Junjia, hongQ, Doggo, and ShiauC
  8. Denmark – Wunder, Cboi, Caps, Zven, Doss, Carlsen (S), and Woldjo (S)
  9. Turkey – BrokenBlade, Rhilech, Serin, Aetinoth, Fleshy, Parus (S), and Closer (S)
  10. Spain – Myrwn, Elyoya, Alvaro, Hydra, Flakked, Oscarinin (S), and Legolas (S)
  11. Greece – Embryos, Pallet, Vladi, Comp, Labrov, Drofan (S), and Peppe (S)
  12. Poland – Tracyn, Inspired, Czajek, Harpoon, Busio, Jankos (S), and Trymbi (S)
  13. Argentina – Ackerman, Kaze, Ceo, Josedeodo, ZOEN, Enga (S), and Lyonz (S)
  14. Canada – Vulcan, Spirax, Massu, KryRa, Zamudo, Jojopyun (S), Sheiden (S)
  15. Sweden – Yike, Rekkles, Thebausffs, UNFORGIVEN, SlowQ, Krye (S), and Mishigu (S)
  16. Czech Republic – Carzzy, Jackies, Twight, Bobista, Humanoid, OMON (S), and Patrik (S)

The event is set to be very interesting, and while the remaining 16 sides will be massive underdogs, there are some interesting rosters in the larger group of nations. The full list of rosters has been confirmed by the ENC.

MSI 2026 Is Back: Free Drops, Pick’Ems Rewards, and Worlds Spots on the Line

Posted on by Geekmandem

MSI is back, and this year the world’s best are piling into Daejeon, South Korea. This is the last big event ahead of the EWC, and the first “big” international event of 2026. It’s the midseason scrap where every region throws its top dogs into one arena, with the trophy and a stack of extra Worlds slots on the line.

Here’s the quick rundown on how it works, who turned up, and the loot you can pocket just for watching. 

The Format

The whole thing runs across two stages, and if you tuned in for MSI 2025, you’ll feel right at home, because the only bit that’s changed is the Play-In.

  • Play-In Stage – 28 June – 1 July
  • Bracket Stage – 3 – 6 July, then 8 – 12 July

The Play-In is now a 4-team double-elimination bracket, and only one team claws its way out into the main event. One slot. That’s it. No pressure, lads.

The Bracket Stage stays as the familiar 8-team double-elimination gauntlet, so there’s a one-loss safety net before anyone gets sent packing. Grand Finals land on 12 July, where someone finally gets to lift the thing.

The Teams

Eleven teams across six regions made the cut. Here’s who’s showing up to throw hands:

China · LPL

Bilibili Gaming (BLG)

Top Esports (TES)

Korea · LCK

Hanwha Life Esports (HLE)

T1 (T1)

EMEA · LEC

G2 Esports (G2)

Karmine Corp (KC)

North America · LCS

LYON (LYON)

Team Liquid Alienware (TLAW)

Asia Pacific · LCP

Team Secret Whales (TSW)

Revolve Deep Cross Gaming (DCG)

Brazil · CBLOL

Furia (FUR)

Eagle-eyed folks will spot that Brazil rolls in with a single team while everyone else brought two, so Furia are flying the CBLOL flag solo.

Drops And Rewards

Free loot, you say? Drops are back for MSI. Watch matches live on LoLEsports.com while logged in with your Riot ID, and you’ll bag exclusive event rewards, including two shiny new icons:

  • “Ducky!” – starring Yunara
  • “No Running!” – starring Renekton

There are also special activations from partners like Opera GX, Secretlab, and Coinbase to keep an eye out for. The catch is these only drop during MSI, so grab them while the lights are on, because once the trophy’s lifted, they’re gone.

A quick note about drops for LoL events. These are Lolesports.com drops, not Twitch drops. Twitch gets separate drops for subs, rather than watch drops.

MSI Pick’Ems 2026

MSI will have Pick’Ems for 2026, as it looks to build on the popular format used in CS2. All is done via the official LoL Esports website, but there are some good rewards. If you manage to get perfect picks, however, you will get a lovely Jhin skin.

Pick’Ems Rewards

  • Participation (Play-ins or Bracket stage) – Exclusive El Tigre Braum “Pinfall” Emote 
  • Top 50% – Exclusive Zenith Games Blitzcrank “Settle the Score” Icon  + Participation reward
  • Top 25% – Exclusive Janitor Thresh & Zac “Clean Up” Emote + everything from Top 50% and Participation.
  • Perfect Picks – Earn Broken Covenant Jhin + Jhin champion and everything included in the previous tiers!

Patch 26.13 Preview – League of Legends

Posted on by Geekmandem

The League of Legends Patch 26.13 Preview is here, as the MSI patch lands on the Rift. Full details from Riot Phroxzon on X.

Champions

Senna is the big winner of the Season 2 changes, synergizing well with Doran’s Helm (gets a lot of effective health from her Q heal synergizing with the resists) as well as getting a lot of stats from Jack of All Trades
She also synergizes well with Stattik Shiv on-hit, and we’ve made the decision to not support this interaction (Q CD reduction on-hit), even though it is pretty cool
Given all this, we think she does a bit too much damage given how durable she is
Brand changes are primarily targeted at his Bot carry tuning, while also trying to affect his support and mid less
That said, Brand support is also often a frustrating experience for bot laners and so we think he should also sit a little lower sustainably
Given that Brand Support synergizes better with mana regen, we’re compensating through this avenue but adding some amount of mana pressure for the roles that need to use E more often
For Cassio, we want to retain her identity of having strong all-in pressure early as that adds texture to the roster and she’s one of the unique mages that can do this
We’re targeting her durability in the mid-game where she is more vulnerable, espeically in skirmishes or when she’s playing on the sidelane
This can help to keep her edges, but present more areas of vulnerability for opponents
Bard is the top of the meta for both Pro and in many skill brackets in Solo Q
We’re adjusting how much damage his builds do, especially given his tank roaming builds tend to do a lot more damage than expected
Helping Leblanc scale a little better into the Mid and Late game with this set of changes
Given that these buffs help scaling, should also disproportionately help Solo Q
We’re not looking to buff Olaf jungle a huge amount, given that he’s already flex viable in top lane, but given that Jungle was his initial primary role, we want to make it more viable than it currently is
A pretty simple targeted buff at his Q that should help how fast he clears, especially into the later portions of the game

Locke

  • Locke will also hit the Rift sometime during Patch 26.13
  • We’re super excited for his release (I know I will be playing him a bunch :D) and have seen a lot of community hype for him as well
  • Currently, we’re trying to lock down a few tunings and timings on some of his abilities, as well as where we want his power budget and maxes to be (a process called fine-tuning)
  • A lot is changing day by day, in particular, the amount of power budget in his W has been something we’re trying to fine-tune, as well as how Normal vs Elite skewed he is

Doran’s Helm

Doran’s Helm has started to be picked up on a few ADC’s, especially ones that have particularly strong synergies with the resists (Senna through healing and the effective health it provides synerging well with the resists) and Jhin (as he has a lot of his early damage in base damage)
We’re looking to keep these incentives intact directionally, but try to make the item a little more balanced for these users, while trying to grow the user pool a bit as a result

Imperial Mandate

  • For systems changes, we have an Imperial Mandate buff. So far, it has added a few users to the pool; however, a bunch of these are midlaners like Galio, fringe TF, Liss, etc.
  • This set of changes is meant to position it to be more fantasy-forward for Support champions while also giving it a bit of a power-up. It’s not really the “best item” on any support at current tuning, and for an item with as strong kit synergies as this, it probably should be if it’s appropriately powerful

Riot Sends a Custom Xayah and Rakan Wedding Gift to League Couple

Posted on by Geekmandem

Right, drop whatever you’re doing, because this one is genuinely lovely.


A fan going by Ironelia took to X to share that her sister and her sister’s partner first crossed paths on the Rift almost 12 years ago. Nearly a dozen years, a few hundred ranked games and presumably one or two screaming-match-inducing losses later, the pair (summoner names Kaigaa and Lyriels) are tying the knot this Saturday.

So Ironelia did the cute thing and reached out to Riot Support, asking if they could pass a little message on to the soon-to-be-married couple. A nice gesture, low expectations, you know how support tickets usually go.

Riot Games Brings the Gifts to LoL Wedding

While Ironelia might have expected nothing in reply, Riot Games did, in fact, have a reply. A gift was prepared, with a package full of keepsakes for the newlyweds. There’s a wooden gift box decorated with Rakan and Xayah, League’s resident power couple. The pair’s summoner names are engraved on the front.

There’s a congratulations card leaning hard into the Rakan and Xayah theme, complete with the cheesiest, most perfect line going: hoping their hearts dance to the same rhythm, “just like their recall.” If you’ve ever watched those two recall together, you get it.

That wasn’t all, however, the sweetest part of it all was a selection of handwritten notes from Riot staff. One staffer writes about how 13 years ago two players loaded into the same game with no idea what was coming. How the meta has shifted a hundred times, and champions have risen and fallen since, and yet here they both still are. Some things, apparently, outlast the game itself.

It’s a proper reminder that for all the patch drama and balance meltdowns, League has quietly been playing matchmaker this whole time. Two people queued up, found each other, and are now signing the paperwork. Congrats to Kaigaa and Lyriels, and big respect to the Riot Support crew who decided to make someone’s entire decade.

League of Legends Patch 26.12 Gives ARAM Mayhem Bigger Quest Payoffs

Posted on by Geekmandem

The big ARAM: Mayhem Augment overhaul is officially live, and Arena 3×6 hands AD assassins some long-overdue love.

Patch 26.12 has landed, and it has brought a double dose of chaos. The big ARAM Mayhem overhaul we previewed from Riot’s dev blog is officially live on the Bridge, and Arena 3×6 has had a proper going-over too. Plenty to dig into, so let’s get stuck in.

The Mayhem Augment Shake-Up is Finally Here

ARAM Mayhem 26.12

Remember all that stuff Riot teased about Ability and Quest Augments? It is here now. Ability Augments do exactly what the name promises: they latch onto one of your champion’s abilities and crank it right up, and you will only ever be offered ones that actually work on your champ. Quick Step, for instance, makes you dash forward whenever you cast a self-targeted AoE ability

Quest Augments got an upgrade too. They now come in multi-tier flavours, so instead of one unlock and done, they can evolve several times into beefier versions as you tick off objectives. Older ones like Quest: Steel Your Heart have also been cleaned up with clearer visuals and proper tracking, so you actually know how close you are to the payoff.

So, a fun example. Blirzcrank Q can fire three hooks once it’s fully powered up. So have fun trying to avoid that.

Major Ranked Matchmaking Changes Rolled out Globally

Traits Are Officially Gone

The Trait System has been pulled for the season. Riot found that while a few Traits like High Roller and Archmage were genuine crowd favourites, the system as a whole was quietly squashing build variety.

The fix is a tidy one: a bunch of the best Trait fantasies have been reborn as standalone Augments, so you can still chase the likes of Archmage, High Roller, Snowday, Wee Woo Wee Woo and Stackosaurus Rex without committing to a full two-piece. Make it Rain has also had a glow-up into the wonderfully named Yowch, My Coins!

Arena 3×6: AD Assassins Get the Spotlight

Over in Arena, Riot reckons 3×6 is in a good spot, so this is more of a fine-tune than a teardown. The headline goal is propping up the under-performers, and AD assassins in particular are getting some help they have been crying out for.

ARAM Mayhem 26.12

On the champion front, Talon is the big winner. His E per-wall cooldown drops from 26s-6s all the way down to 16s-0s, which is borderline terrifying. Nocturne, Pyke and Quinn all get their cooldowns shaved too, and Akali’s R picks up a chunkier ratio and a lower cooldown. On the flip side, Brand, Lillia and Karthus are coming back down, with Karthus’ Q reverted to match its Summoner’s Rift values.

The Item List is Where the Assassin’s Love Really Shows

A whole pile of lethality items got their cooldowns slashed, including Edge of Night, Youmu’s Ghostblade, Prowler’s Claw, Voltaic Cyclosword and Spectral Cutlass. Serylda’s Grudge in particular got a big glow-up across its damage, haste and slow. Bruisers are not left out either, with Trinity Force and Sterak’s Gage both getting buffed.

The quiet MVP, though, might be a defensive tweak. Guardian Angel, Zhonya’s Hourglass and Wooglet’s Witchcap no longer share a lockout, so you can finally grab a GA alongside a Stasis item. Banshee’s Veil and Iceborn Gauntlet also got friendlier numbers.

There are also a host of bug fixes packed into this one. You can find the full rundown over in our Patch 26.12 notes.

Posted in LoL