League of Legends Classic Patch 26.16 Preview: All Buffs, Nerfs, and Changes

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League of Legends Classic Patch 26.16 is shaping up to be a major update, with balance changes for 19 champions, several Summoner’s Rift system adjustments, and three additional champions joining the Classic roster.

According to the full preview shared by LeagueOfLeaks, Akali, Kennen, and Shen are the next champions coming to League Classic, each using a kit based on an older version of the character. The update also targets several standout champions while making notable changes to gold generation, Homeguard, turrets, runes, and jungle camps. Riot describes League Classic as an evolving version of early League where classic champions, items, runes, and other systems return over time.

In brief

• League Classic Patch 26.16 preview includes buffs for 10 champions and nerfs for nine.
• Akali, Kennen, and Shen are being added with older versions of their kits.
• Summoner’s Rift is receiving changes to gold, Homeguard, respawn timers, turrets, jungle camps, and runes.
• These are preview values, so some numbers could change before the final patch goes live.

League of Legends Classic Patch 26.16 Champion Buffs

Image via Riot Games

The biggest buffs target champions including Amumu, Dr. Mundo, Lux, Miss Fortune, Skarner, and Veigar. Olaf is also receiving several unusual adjustments, including the removal of bonus AD scaling from his E and Lethality from his ultimate.

Champion	Patch 26.16 Changes
Alistar	E Healing for Allies: 50% → 75%
Amumu	P MR Shred: 15/20/25 → 15/25/35. P Duration: 3s → 4s. Q Base Damage: 80/130/180/230/280 → 80/140/200/260/320
Dr. Mundo	W Base Damage: 35/50/65/80/95 → 40/55/70/85/100. W CC Reduction Modifier: 10/15/20/25/30% → 15/20/25/30/35%. R Regen: 40/50/60% → 40/55/70%
Garen	Base HP5: 8.2 → 9. P Regen: 0.4% per 100 max Health → 0.5%. R CD: 160/120/80s → 140/110/80s
Lux	Move Speed: 330 → 340. R AP Ratio: 75% → 85%. R CD: 80/65/50s → 80/60/40s
Miss Fortune	W Maximum Stacks: 5 → 4. W Duration: 4s → 6s. R AD Ratio: 35% AD → 40% AD
Olaf	Q Minimum Cast Range: 400 → 250 units. W CD: 16s → 12s. E no longer scales with bonus AD. R no longer grants Lethality
Skarner	Q Slow: 20/25/30/35/40% → 25/30/35/40/45%. W CD: 18s → 14s. E Missile Width: 70 → 120 units
Soraka	W Armor Buff: 25/45/65/85/105 → 25/50/75/100/125. W Buff Duration: 3s → 5s
Veigar	Q AP Ratio: 60% → 65%. Q Mana Cost: 60/65/70/75/80 → 50/55/60/65/70

League Classic Patch 26.16 Champion Nerfs

Several strong Classic picks are being brought down. Blitzcrank receives reductions across three abilities, while Twitch loses base AD, missile speed, and gets a considerably more expensive E. Tryndamere, Nasus, Warwick, and Katarina are also being toned down.

Champion	Patch 26.16 Changes
Blitzcrank	Q Base Damage: 80/135/190/245/300 → 60/120/180/240/300. Q CD: 20/19/18/17/16s → 22/21/20/19/18s. W CD: 15s → 20s. R Active Base Damage: 250/375/500 → 200/300/400
Heimerdinger	Q Base Damage: 30/38/46/54/62 → 28/36/44/52/60. W Base Damage: 85/135/185/235/285 → 70/120/170/220/270. E CD: 13/12/11/10/9s → 14/13/12/11/10s
Janna	Base AD: 51.95 → 49. AD Growth: 2.95 → 3. R Mana Cost: 100/150/200 → 200/275/350
Jarvan IV	Armor Growth: 3.6 → 3. W Shield per nearby enemy Champion: 20/30/40/50/60 → 20/25/30/35/40. E Mana Cost: 55 → 55/60/65/70/75
Katarina	R Max Daggers: 12 → 10
Nasus	P Lifesteal: 14/17/20% → 10/15/20%. W Mana Cost: 80 → 100
Tryndamere	Q AD per Stack: 5 → 3. Q CD: 12/11/10/9/8s → 14/12.5/11/9.5/8s. E CD: 8s → 9s
Twitch	Base AD: 52 → 50. W Missile Speed: 1400 → 1300. E Mana Cost: 50/60/70/80/90 → 70/75/80/85/90. R Missile Speed: 5000 → 4000
Warwick	Attack Speed/Ratio: 0.678 → 0.644

League Classic Patch 26.16 System Adjustments

Patch 26.16 is not just a champion balance update. Riot is also changing several core systems, including early Homeguard, passive gold, turret health, respawn timers, and jungle monster scaling.

System	Change
Visual Map Changes	More green and improved lighting across the Rift
Influence Points	6,000 IP through four missions, each requiring one game. Bonus IP Weekend gives +150 IP per win
Runes	New Energy flat glyphs and Energy regen seals, plus flat and regen quints. Blank runes: 66% → 80%. HP5 Quint: +0.05 per 5 seconds
Jungle Camps	Monster HP: +0% to 25% by level
Gold	Around +200g passively, with 1g less per CS
Homeguard	Removed for the first 15 minutes
Respawn	Respawns become roughly 2 to 1 seconds faster until level 7
Turrets	+500 HP

Akali, Kennen, and Shen Join League Classic

Three more champions are also being added to the Classic roster. Akali uses her June 2012 kit, Kennen uses his July 2013 version, and Shen returns with his April 2013 kit. The additions have also been reported separately as part of League Classic’s first major update.

Champion	Classic Kit
Akali, June 2012	Passive: Spell vamp from bonus AD and on-hit damage from bonus AP. Q: Single-target nuke that marks for 5 seconds, with attacks on the mark granting bonus damage and energy refund. W: Throws smoke, grants invisibility, armor and magic resistance, and slows enemies inside. Vision Wards can reveal her. E: AoE physical damage scaling with AD and AP. R: Single-target dash and damage with up to three charges.
Kennen, July 2013	Passive: Same as modern Kennen. Q: Same as modern. W: Every fifth basic attack deals bonus magic damage and applies a mark. Active damages marked targets and adds another mark. E: Grants movement speed, armor, and magic resistance while damaging and marking enemies on contact. R: Creates a storm that repeatedly strikes champions inside, with strike frequency scaling by rank.
Shen, April 2013	Passive: Bonus damage based on bonus HP and energy refund on the next attack, with a 9-second cooldown reduced by attacks. Q: Single-target damage and a mark that allows Shen or allies to heal by attacking it. W: Grants an AP-scaling shield and doubles passive refund while active. E: Dash that taunts enemies, reduces physical damage taken, deals damage, and refunds energy. R: Same as modern Shen.

The combination of champion tuning and broader Summoner’s Rift adjustments makes Patch 26.16 considerably bigger than a standard balance pass. Twitch, Tryndamere, Blitzcrank, and Warwick are all being weakened, while picks such as Lux, Amumu, Skarner, and Veigar should come out stronger.

The arrival of Akali, Kennen, and Shen should have an even bigger impact by expanding the Classic champion pool with three recognizable older kits. However, these numbers should be treated as a patch preview rather than final patch notes, meaning Riot could still adjust values before release.

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