League of Legends Patch 26.22 Notes: Mel Midscope Update, Locke and Yasuo Nerfs, Corki and Rumble Buffs

League of Legends patch 26.22 went live on November 4, 2026, right in the middle of the Worlds knockout stage. It's a busy one: Mel gets a midscope update that completely changes her W, the most-banned champions in pro play take a hit, and a handful of picks that pros have been ignoring get a push. On top of that, ARAM: Mayhem sees another augment pass, Classic mode adds three old-school champions, and the K/DA Firestarter skins finally arrive.

TL;DR

• Mel gets a midscope update: her W is now an expanding nova that destroys projectiles, shields and speeds up allies, and her ultimate cooldown drops to 60 seconds at rank 3.
• Nerfs: Locke, Yasuo and Thresh.
• Buffs: Corki, Rumble, Viktor, Aurelion Sol, Kayle, Maokai, Naafiri, Shen, Smolder and Zaahen.
• Items: Doran's Bow loses 1 AD, Overlord's Bloodmail gains 10 AD.
• ARAM: Mayhem: augment power trimmed, survivability buffed, and the Butcher's Bridge and Koeshin's Crossing maps return.
• Classic: old-version Volibear, Swain and Elise join, plus a balance pass and faster Classic Pass progress.
• Skins: K/DA Firestarter Ahri, Evelynn, Kai'Sa and Akali, K/DA Hitmaker Evelynn and Prestige Classic Baron Kog'Maw.
• TFT moved to its own standalone client on November 4, which is why this download is bigger than usual.

The big one: Mel's midscope update

Mel's most divisive tool has always been her old W, which reflected projectiles back at whoever threw them. That is gone. Her new W – Rebuttal is a nova that expands to a 400-unit radius over 0.75 seconds. It destroys enemy projectiles it touches, gives Mel and nearby allies a shield (80–200, +70% AP) and a 10–30% speed boost for 2 seconds, and then hits back at the enemies whose missiles it deleted. The first retaliation per enemy deals 35–55 (+10% AP), later ones are weaker, and each enemy can be hit back up to seven times. The cooldown is 30 seconds at rank 1, down to 24 at rank 5, and the mana cost falls to zero at max rank.

The rest of her kit is reshaped around that:

In practice, Mel loses some early burst and starting health but gets a stronger late game and a much more team-friendly defensive tool. Her Q missile is also slightly slower (3800 to 3200 speed), and the passive's per-bolt damage starts lower at early levels.

Nerfs: Locke, Yasuo, Thresh

Locke was the clear pro-play problem, and Riot goes after his damage and uptime:

• Q stack bonus damage: 18–50 → 15–43, so a fully stacked rank-5 hit drops from 210 to about 181.
• W Soul Ignition duration: 6s → 5s.

Yasuo's Q AD ratio falls from 105% to 100% total AD – small, but it's the ability he spams all game. Thresh loses 2 base AD (56 → 54) and his ultimate, The Box, now deals 200/350/500 instead of 250/400/550.

Buffs for the forgotten picks

Riot calls this another round of help for champions that pros are suppressing. The headline changes:

Corki and Rumble are the ones to watch: both are pro-leaning picks that only need a nudge to show up in draft again, and Viktor's extra durability helps him in solo queue mid lane too.

Items: Doran's Bow and Overlord's Bloodmail

Doran's Bow drops from 8 to 7 attack damage, part of Riot's effort to stop it from being the automatic start for every marksman. Overlord's Bloodmail goes the other way: base attack damage rises from 30 to 40, while its Retribution bonus (extra AD based on missing health) is capped at 10% of total AD instead of 12%. That shifts the item's value from low-health comebacks to steady, upfront power.

ARAM: Mayhem and Classic

Mayhem gets its usual round of augment tuning. BEES!!! loses damage at higher levels and its hive flies slower, Armored Impact and Weapon of Destiny are toned down, and Hecarim loses his 10 bonus ability haste in the mode. On the defensive side, Ravenous Bind, Squishy Slappy Grab and Soul Eater all get stronger, and Brass Blast comes off cooldown faster (75s → 50s) but no longer hurts minions. RISE! now resets your ultimate on champion kills, up to three times. The Butcher's Bridge and Koeshin's Crossing maps are back as Headliner options, and a long list of Mayhem bugs is fixed.

Classic mode adds older versions of Volibear, Swain and Elise, along with balance changes for Amumu, Evelynn, Ezreal, Gangplank, Janna, Nami, Olaf, Rammus and others. Riot also admits a configuration mistake had slowed Classic Pass token progress; that's fixed, and per-game token grants are up 50% for the rest of the event.

Bug fixes worth knowing

• Aurora's ultimate can no longer be blocked by Samira's W.
• Quinn's ultimate no longer deals double damage when gained through recall or respawn.
• Kog'Maw's W no longer damages structures if cast mid-attack.
• Renekton no longer cancels abilities after an R combo with a simultaneous right-click.

New skins and the TFT split

The K/DA Firestarter line launches with this patch: Ahri, Evelynn and Kai'Sa, plus K/DA Firestarter Ignition Akali and K/DA Hitmaker Evelynn. Prestige Classic Baron Kog'Maw also arrives.

Teamfight Tactics now runs in its own standalone client, with a button to switch between the two games. Your existing TFT cosmetics still work in League. Riot says the first TFT-only Little Legends arrive on December 1, and TFT cosmetics fully separate on December 15. A future patch will let League players skip TFT downloads entirely.

What it means for players

If you play against Mel, expect fewer of your own skillshots coming back at you – but more fights where her whole team gets a shield and a burst of speed. If you main Locke or Yasuo, you'll feel the nerfs, but neither is gutted. And if you've been waiting for an excuse to pick up Corki or Rumble again, this is the patch for it.