LoL patch 26.8 champion changes: every buff, nerf, and Yuumi fix explained

League of Legends Patch 26.8 is a small balance patch for Summoner’s Rift on PC, currently slated to go live on April 15, 2026. It focuses on a handful of champion buffs (Hwei, Lillia, Lucian, Viego), nerfs (Mel, Dr. Mundo, Karma), and a Yuumi adjustment tied to a bug fix, with no major system overhauls expected until Patch 26.9 later in April.

LoL patch 26.8 Hwei, Viego, Mel and Yuumi changes

Here’s a fast at‑a‑glance list of what’s in the official preview, based on RiotPhroxzon’s full 26.8 sheet and coverage from trusted community outlets:

1. Hwei gets higher passive damage and new slow stacking rules that emphasize combo play.

2. Lillia’s passive monster damage cap now scales more aggressively by level to improve jungle clears.

3. Lucian’s E cooldown and mana cost are reduced, giving him more aggressive dashes in lane.

4. Tahm Kench’s passive damage scaling is adjusted, with slightly higher damage at later levels.

5. Viego receives Q damage and R execute buffs, though Riot has flagged these as subject to extra data checks.

6. Mel, Karma, and Dr. Mundo are all nerfed, with Mel losing Q upfront damage and W mobility, Karma losing damage and cheaper shields, and Mundo losing jungle monster damage.

7. Yuumi gets an ultimate healing adjustment plus a fix to a long‑standing bug that gave extra healing to her attached ally.

Everything below is built to stay useful after 26.8 ships, so even if exact numbers get slightly tuned before live, the roles and patterns should hold.

All confirmed buffs in Patch 26.8

Hwei, Lillia, Lucian, Tahm Kench, and Viego are the confirmed buff targets in the 26.8 preview, with changes aimed more at smoothing their core patterns than reinventing their roles.

Hwei buff: more reward for full combos

Riot is increasing Hwei’s passive damage from 35–230 to 40–285 based on level, which flatly raises his damage profile as the game goes on. His passive now also interacts better with his slows: ability slows can stack with each other for diminishing value, while a bug fix stops his QE and R slows from stacking with other champion or item slows in unintended ways.

In practice, this mainly helps mid‑lane Hwei players who are already weaving multi‑spell trades rather than fishing for one big Q. You’ll feel the buff most in extended fights where you’re landing multiple abilities back‑to‑back and walking enemies through your AoE.

Lillia buff: smoother jungle clears

Lillia’s passive monster damage cap is being raised from a flat 65 to a scaling 70–180 based on level, directly boosting her damage to camps as she levels.

If you play Lillia in solo queue, expect:

• A slightly faster first clear once you hit a couple of levels

• Healthier transitions into early skirmishes, since you leave your jungle with more HP

• Less punishment for taking a greedy path like full clearing into a crab fight

It won’t suddenly turn her into the fastest farmer in the game, but it makes her play pattern feel less punishing when you fall even slightly behind.

Lucian buff: more dashes, more plays

Lucian’s E (Relentless Pursuit) cooldown is dropping from 18/17/16/15/14 seconds to 16/15.5/15/14.5/14, and the mana cost is going from 40/30/20/10/0 to 32/24/16/8/0.

This is a subtle buff that snowballs in real games:

• Shorter base cooldowns mean more E usage in early trades and all‑ins

• Lower mana cost helps you spam E in lane without going OOM on standard bot lane builds

• Combined with his passive double shot refunding cooldown, you can more reliably chain E offensively instead of saving it purely as an escape

If you’re a Lucian enjoyer, this patch leans back into that aggressive “dash in, burst, dash out” identity that thrives with an enchanter or Nami‑style lane partner.

Tahm Kench buff: slightly harder‑hitting passive

Tahm Kench’s passive damage is moving from 6–48 (levels 1–11) with higher AP and bonus HP scaling to 5–60 (levels 1–12) with slightly lower AP and HP ratios.

This is a small nudge that:

• Keeps early levels roughly similar

• Adds a bit more bite to his trades as you scale into mid game

• Keeps his durability‑based scaling in check by trimming some ratios

You’ll notice it more in those extended top or support skirmishes where every extra tick of damage over multiple autos adds up.

Viego buff: stronger reset threat (but watch for last‑minute tweaks)

Viego’s Q is getting +5 base damage at all ranks, and his ultimate execute is going from 12–20% to 15–25% missing health as you level the ability.

On paper, that means:

• Easier time finishing off low targets in skirmishes

• More consistent resets in messy teamfights, especially once you hit rank 2 and 3 in R

• Slightly more lane and jungle dueling power thanks to the Q bump

Riot has already flagged that Viego’s internal data and external stats don’t fully line up, so these buffs were being double‑checked before finalizing. Treat the direction (stronger execute, slightly higher Q damage) as locked, but exact numbers could still shift by live.

All confirmed nerfs in Patch 26.8

Mel, Karma, and Dr. Mundo are the confirmed losers of Patch 26.8, with direct hits to lane pressure, mobility, and jungle clear respectively.

Mel nerf: less front‑loaded burst and weaker W

Mel’s Q initial explosion damage is being cut and its AP ratio reduced: early values drop from 60/90/120/150/180 (+60% AP) to 60/85/110/135/160 (+55% AP), spreading more damage into the follow‑up hits rather than the first contact.

Her W is also being trimmed:

• Movement speed duration: 1.5 seconds → 0.75 seconds

• Cooldown: 35–23 seconds → 38–26 seconds (numbers vary slightly per source, but the direction is longer CD and shorter buff)

For you, that means:

• Less “delete someone off one Q” frustration

• More windows where Mel is stuck without W and easier to punish

• A bigger gap between good Mel players who time W well and those who burn it on cooldown

This is aimed squarely at making her less oppressive in mid‑high MMR games where players reliably land Q and weave in W for sticky trades.

Karma nerf: chip damage and shield spam toned down

Karma is losing a bit of everything:

• Base AD: 51 → 49

• AD per level: 3.3 → 3.0

• E (Inspire) mana cost: higher at all ranks (e.g., 50/60/65 → 60/70/75 in the preview)

In lane, this translates to:

• Slightly weaker auto poke, especially on early shove and trades

• Fewer free shields and speed ups in prolonged trades or sieges

• A bit more punishment when you spam E just to farm Mantra cooldown

If Karma has been feeling like a “do everything” support or mid in your games, 26.8 should bring her closer to average across solo queue tiers.

Dr. Mundo nerf: jungle clear taken down

26.8 targets Dr. Mundo’s performance as a jungler, not his solo lane role. His Q maximum damage to monsters is being reduced by 50 at all levels, and his E is losing a significant chunk of its bonus damage against monsters.

The key takeaways:

• Slower full clears, especially early

• Less health swing on camps where he used to chunk them with big Qs

• Lower ability to stay high HP while chain‑farming into gank windows

In solo queue, this should reduce his ban rate as a frustrating, hard‑to‑kill farmer without gutting him entirely for top lane players.

Yuumi’s ultimate adjustment and bug fix

 Yuumi’s R is getting stronger healing values and better “best friend” scaling, but a bug fix removes an unintended extra heal on her attached ally, so the net effect is more of an adjustment than a straight buff.

The preview numbers show:

• R healing: 30/40/50 (+10% AP) → 30/50/70 (+12% AP)

• R “Best Friend” healing bonus: from a flat 30% to 30–60% between levels 6 and 12

At the same time, Riot is fixing a bug where her R would heal the attached ally an additional time whenever it healed other allies. That bug fix alone could have been a stealth nerf, so the higher base and scaling values are meant to keep her roughly even in real games.

In solo queue, you’ll mainly notice:

• Stronger sustain in mid‑game teamfights when Yuumi is fully online

• Sharper difference between her preferred Best Friend target and other allies

• Slightly more predictable healing patterns now that the extra tick exploit is gone