League of Legends: Updated Tier List for Patch 26.07

Changes in League Patch 26.7

The support meta is primed for a significant shift in Patch 26.7, primarily due to several champions receiving nerfs. Nami, Graves, and Singed are among those affected, which could alter the landscape of strong picks. Additionally, Riot Games is introducing a notable change by removing the gold penalty for supports farming minions—a move that could lead to innovative strategies in both solo queue and professional play.

Support Farming Changes

In Patch 26.6, supports gained the ability to farm with reduced penalties. However, in 26.7, Riot has completely removed this penalty, enabling supports to farm without a reduction in gold gain. While this may have limited impact on solo queue due to ADCs typically prioritizing CS, it opens up potential for creative duo strategies, especially in coordinated team play. Some strategies that might emerge include:

• Synergistic combos like Senna and Cho'Gath making a comeback.
• Seraphine and Sona combinations leveraging early farming advantages.
• New item optimizations where supports prioritize completing key support items early.

1. Higher Flexibility: Supports can sustain more effectively if their duo partner is struggling or absent.
2. Late-Game Strength: With complete items, supports can contribute more significantly in prolonged matches.
3. Mage Supports: Champions like Sona could capitalize by clearing waves efficiently and benefiting from increased farm potential.

Top Lane Adjustments

Top lane dynamics are seeing adjustments as Ornn’s brittle damage is reduced, moving him out of the OP tier. His damage output from using abilities like W and R is slightly diminished, potentially decreasing his dominance at level six.

• Brittle damage reduced from 10-18% to 9-16% based on target's max health.
• Approximately 15 less damage per brittle proc at one item completion leads to a total reduction of around 30 damage in engage scenarios.

Meanwhile, Singed’s resistances from his ultimate are being reduced, particularly impacting his late-game resilience:

• No changes at Rank 1.
• Reduced by 5 resists at Rank 2.
• Reduced by 10 resists at Rank 3, equating to 400 gold worth of stats.

With these changes, both Ornn and Singed are being demoted from the OP tier, creating space for other champions such as Garen and Kayle to shine. This adjustment is particularly beneficial for Kayle, whose late-game prowess and matchups gain further prominence.

Jungle Adjustments

Graves, previously holding the highest playrate among junglers in higher ELOs, receives a base attack damage nerf, decreasing from 68 to 66. This seemingly small adjustment can lead to an approximate 1% drop in win rate, thus moving him from the S tier to the A tier.

On the other hand, Shyvana remains an unreliable pick in upper ELOs. With a win rate hovering around 46%, the small adjustments in this patch won’t significantly change her status, though more extensive changes are expected in Patch 26.8.

These changes collectively are expected to redefine strategic choices and champion prominence across various roles in the game.

Jungle Adjustments Continued

Shyvana's ability to generate fury has seen some changes, which theoretically improve her performance in dragon form. The update converts the passive fury generation from a static figure into a scalable one, with each point of ultimate ability haste now amplifying fury generation by 1%. The practical implications of this appear modest—testing indicates it only accelerates fury generation by around three seconds. This tweak may aid in maintaining dragon form longer, albeit with limited overall impact unless utilizing niche items like the Experimental Hex Plate. As Kraken Slayer remains popular for Shyvana, these changes may barely influence her current standing. Consequently, she continues in the B tier, performing best in low ELOs while being less effective in higher tiers.

Moving to the jungle tier list, Brier, Nocturn, and Shen have reclaimed their positions in the OP tier. Although Shen was initially downgraded following nerfs in Patch 26.6, the minimal effect of these adjustments warrants his upgrade back to OP in Patch 26.7. Despite anticipated changes to junglers like Graves and Shyvana, the overarching jungle meta remains relatively stable for now.

Among the underrated picks, Darius, Skarner, and Fizz show promise. They maintain A tier status for Patch 26.7, though their play rates hover just above 1%. Their recent buffs to clearing abilities have boosted Viability:

1. Darius - Notable for his ability to swing skirmishes decisively.
2. Skarner - Benefiting from recent adjustments making his gameplay more impactful.
3. Fizz - Offers unique gameplay as a skirmisher with the Dusk and Dawn complemented by Nasher's Tooth build, prioritizing W for damage.

Mid Lane Reassessments

In the mid lane, Cassiopeia is poised to climb from the B tier to the A tier, thanks to buffs increasing her base mana and E poison damage. Her enhanced early-game mana—now 480 up from 450—allows for more offensive plays in the lane phase. With potential for two additional E casts per skirmish, Cassiopeia bolsters her presence in battle gradually.

Meanwhile, Veigar is enduring a significant cooldown increase to his ulti, prompting his demotion from S tier to A. These changes, primarily targeting his bot lane dominance, lengthen his kill threat cooldown in solo lanes from 20 seconds to 10 seconds at mid levels.

The ongoing mid lane experience reflects a trend favoring less-common mages, with champions like Xerath enjoying success thanks to previously lessened competition from more mainstream picks. Despite these minor fluctuations, Ahri and Xerath maintain their stronghold of OP tier status.

ADC Tweaks

Kalista receives buffs to her E ability, increasing scalings on bonus damage per stack, potentially rekindling interest in lethality builds. Although these enhancements may not firmly place Kalista in the meta, they could benefit those aiming for early game dominance using lethality strategies.

A shift to consider is Ashe's ascension into the OP tier, facilitated by a new Stormrazor-focused build granting significant power spikes. This adjustment propels her alongside Jinx and Xayah as top-tier ADC picks for the patch.

These strategic shifts and tier changes aim to keep players engaged, reshaping gameplay dynamics and advocating for diversity in champion selection.

Support Role Adjustments

The shift in the support tier list sees substantial changes in Patch 26.07. With fresh buffs rolling out, Re rises to prominence within the melee support category. Initially in a solid position, the recent enhancements push her from the A tier to S tier, establishing her as a formidable choice for players focusing on melee support dynamics.

Meanwhile, some notable enchanters face reductions in power. Karma undergoes a significant adjustment where her Mantra E Shield scales down from 50-200 to 45-165. This alteration primarily affects her mid-to-late game potential, especially in team fights, although it doesn't substantially impact her A-tier status due to its mild effect on early to mid-game performance.

Nami, another enchanter in focus, experiences more pronounced modifications. Her W bounce effectiveness drops from -10% to -20%, reducing her early game strength in laning and skirmishing. An AP ratio buff compensates this change, but the buff surpasses the nerf only when exceeding 200 AP—an unlikely scenario in most games. Consequently, Nami falls from the OP tier to S, losing some dominance due to these tweaks.

The vacancy left by Nami's tier drop allows Thresh to ascend to the OP tier. Known for his versatility, Thresh offers a wide range of viable strategies and excel across various matchups. Players are encouraged to explore Guardian as a valuable keystone rune, optimizing Thresh's potential against poke-heavy opponents by leveraging its high win-rate in recent patches.

Here's a summarized view of these changes:

• Re: Moves from A to S tier due to recent buffs.
• Karma: Maintains A tier despite minor nerfs to late-game shielding.
• Nami: Drops from OP to S tier with early game nerfs.
• Thresh: Advances to OP tier, praised for his adaptability.

With these updates, the support landscape in Patch 26.07 offers fresh opportunities for experimentation and adaptation, encouraging players to explore new strategies and champion combinations. As the meta continues to evolve, these changes promise to keep gameplay experiences dynamic and engaging.