League of Legends Patch 26.4 sets the stage for First Stand

League of Legends Patch 26.4 will not be played on Stand First category, but still important to the game’s esports ecosystem.

As the last update before the First Stand patch, Patch 26.4 shows where Riot Games wants the meta to land before its first international event. It cuts down on strong picks and gives weaker champions a little push, hopefully, to create a more balanced competitive pool.

In Patch 26.4, Riot Games focused on bringing back dominant champions while moving struggling ones to success.

Most professional teams won’t be affected by this patch – especially since regional playoffs are still being played in Patch 26.3 – but analyzing it will give organizations early clues about what the competitive landscape will look like ahead of First Stand.

One clear theme in Patch 26.4 is damage control, as Riot Games reduces burst and late game scaling in many roles. Champions like Aphelios, Gwen, Swain, Syndra, Kassadin, and Kennen all lose some power.

At the same time, choices like Annie, Lux, Camille, Hwei, and Udyr get tools that make them more reliable without allowing them to oppress. Overall, all the changes seem to be very controlled and not heavy on the senses.

The jungle is back in focus in League of Legends Patch 26.4 as it seems that their champion pool is still very small for Riot Games, especially on the AP jungler side.

Several champions get massive damage bumps, including Brand, Fizz, Darius, Teemo, and Maokai. Meanwhile, Ambessa’s bonus damage has been reduced to keep her balanced between roles.

If multiple champions can clear well, teams will have more draft options in the lead-up to the series, especially in fearless formats, where flexibility is key to both competition and audience entertainment.

Although it’s subtle on paper, League of Legends Patch 26.4 also brings a few minor changes that aren’t important to high-level play, especially with champions like Lee Sin remaining a staple in Tier 1 competition.

Blind Monk has long been a fixture on the international stage. He will never be forgotten, especially at the Worlds 2019 Finals, where former FunPlus Phoenix jungler Gao ‘Tian’ Tian-Liang won the MVP title after locking up Lee Sin all game.

So any adjustments to Lee Sin’s support machine, even minor ones, should be noted before First Stand.

Lee Sin’s W previously provided Lifesteal and Spell Vamp through Iron Will, making it the only ability in the game to provide both stats at once. In Patch 26.4, Riot Games is merging those results into Omnivamp for clearer wording and consistent system rules. Along with that update, Riot Games is also tightening up how Omnivamp interacts with summon spells.

Smite and Ignite will no longer trigger Omnivamp healing, thus following the rule that the spell caster ‘does not interact with other systems’, as Riot says.

In Tier 1 tournaments, this change may remove some minor clutch situations where the jungler may unexpectedly spawn and continue mid-battle. It’s by no means a meta-defining nerf, but it makes skirmishes clean enough to test at the highest level of play.

Finally, League of Legends Patch 26.4 serves as a cleanup patch before the First Stand.

It reduces extreme choices, supports diversity, and reduces the pressure to choose one. Although it won’t be played on stage, Patch 26.4 plays an important role in shaping the next competitive League of Legends.

Now, all that’s left to do is wait for Patch 26.5 (scheduled for March 4) and see how First Stand will play out in the game.