With T1's stunning victory at Worlds 2025 landing them their third consecutive title on the grandest stage of them all, another competitive year of League of Legends has drawn to a close.
As such, thoughts have begun to turn to 2026 and what comes next for the game, which had a solid year with some solid overall themes and moments for players of all levels, as well as the professional side of the equation.
Now, developer Riot Games has revealed their plans for the next calendar year, and there are some major changes coming to the Rift that should change how matches play out significantly.
In a detailed explainer covering all of League of Legends and its different modes, Riot Games confirmed exactly what players can expect when they spawn into Summoner's Rift in 2026.
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The headline news is that Atakhan, his Bloody Roses and Feats of Strength are all being removed. The latter had a rough year as a new initiative, coming out of the gates far too hot, before being nerfed into relative irrelevancy.
Meanwhile, the map is going all in on Demacia, with petricite, gold and blue accents, while Demacian skins will be included in the Battle Pass and champions from that region will start in next year's opening cinematic. Future content will also be focused on what the developer is referring to as "old-school Demacia", though what exactly that looks like right now is unclear.
From a mechanical perspective, plates will remain on turrets and they have been added to inner and inhibitor towers, though it's important to note that no extra gold is available from those additional plates.
To counter the potential time effects that may have, a new mechanic known as Crystalline Overgrowth has been introduced, which acts as a universal demolish effect (three-hit passive) to turrets.
As is often the case, there is a raft of new and returning items, while Crit damage has been dialled back up to 200 percent.
On the competitive side of things, one of the more interesting additions is that of the Aegis of Valor, which rewards players who get a Mastery score of C while autofilled with double LP for a win, or LP penalty mitigation for a loss.
The last big thing to be aware of is the addition of role quests, which you’ll progress by CSing, fighting enemies, helping to get objectives and getting towers in your lane. The rewards for these vary depending on your role, but they're well worth pursuing, with everything from Tier 3 Boots to lump sums of gold on offer.
The changes hit live servers on 7 January, so enjoy your Christmas and head back to the Rift to check out all of the fresh features.
Topics: League Of Legends, Riot Games, Esports