Here are all the changes to expect in Season 1 2026.
Season 2025 is almost over and Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends (LoL), has just unveiled what’s coming in Season 1 2026. The new season is set in Demacia and introduces sweeping gameplay changes, new items, and role-focused progression systems that promise to reshape Summoner’s Rift.
Most of these updates will hit the PBE on 3 December PT, with live servers receiving them on 7 January PT. Here are all the changes players can expect this season.
Faster time to action
Matches will now begin 35 seconds earlier, with minions and jungle monsters spawning sooner. Currently, minions spawn at 65 seconds, but this will drop to 30 seconds, bringing players into action more quickly. Early jungle monsters, from Raptors to the Rift Scuttler, will also spawn earlier, giving players a faster-paced opening.
According to the dev blog, “You’ll still be able to pull off invades, you just need to be more decisive about committing to them as soon as the game begins.” These adjustments aim to reduce downtime under tower and encourage players to engage immediately, without removing early strategic options.
Objectives revamped: Atakhan and Feats of Strength removed, and more
The devs also mentioned the objective fatigue players were complaining about, which includes Atakhan and his Bloody Roses and Petals. After trying to remove Atakhan’s second form from the game but still getting the same feedback, Riot decided to remove Atakhan from the map completely.
Atakhan, along with his Bloody Roses and Petals, and the Feats of Strength system are being removed to reduce objective fatigue. First blood and first turret now grant standardised gold rewards of 100 and 300 gold, respectively.
Epic monsters are being adjusted to encourage more strategic play. They will be roughly 15% more durable while receiving damage reductions in most cases, and experience gains have been tweaked to support comeback potential. Baron Nashor will now spawn at 20 minutes, and all epic monsters will scale with champion levels rather than game time to provide consistent fights across modes.
The dev blog explains, “Epic monsters should be a commitment that bears risk due to being exposed, but not so directly threatening that losing teams can't attempt to sneak one from under their opponents' noses.”
Vision updates
Faelights are a new map feature that grants temporary bonus vision for wards placed in them. These locations appear in predetermined spots at the start of the game and expand when the Elemental Rift transforms. Yellow trinkets will recharge faster, and extra Scryer’s Blooms will help champions safely exit base or navigate side lanes when behind.
As stated in the dev blog, “We wanted to give more opportunities and power to wards dropped by pushing champions, especially for mid and top laners who are side-laning later in the game.” These changes aim to broaden access to vision beyond supports, creating more strategic opportunities.
Pushing and Turret updates
Split-pushing and sieging are being supported with several new mechanics. Crystalline Overgrowth acts as a universal demolish effect, rewarding champions who attack towers with extra burst damage. Turret plates now persist on inner and inhibitor towers, allowing for incremental gold gains regardless of the tower’s state.
Homeguard improvements extend movement speed boosts farther down lanes to help champions reach waves or regroup during sieges. Minion spawn rates increase mid- and late-game, with waves every 25 and 20 seconds respectively, giving players more frequent opportunities to push. Nexus turrets respawn at 40% health, providing a safety net against backdoor plays without negating meaningful fights.
The dev blog also notes, “While earlier changes… should help make pushing more viable… we’re introducing a new mechanic to reward these strategies.” Additionally, melee champions now deal 20% increased damage to turrets, simplifying rules and rewarding aggressive plays.
Role Quests introduced
Top, mid, and bot lanes now have Role Quests, granting rewards for completing objectives in their assigned lanes. Top laners gain upgraded Teleport with a large shield, bonus XP, and a higher level cap. Mid laners receive free tier 3 boots and a faster recall. Bot laners get a lump sum of gold, increased gold over time, and access to a seventh item slot, allowing for extra late-game scaling.
Junglers and supports also see adjustments: Smite deals more damage, jungle monsters give extra gold and XP, and supports gain a new slot for control wards, discounts, and additional passive gold generation. The dev blog emphasizes, “Our biggest goal with role quests was to increase each role’s satisfaction and make each feel like they have a unique way to engage with and influence that game.”
New and returning items
Season 1 2026 adds a full lineup of new items, all still using temporary names, along with the return of two iconic classics. Here is how each one fits into the updated item system:
Scepter of Bonking
An AP fighter Sheen-style item that doubles your on-hit effects. This lets champions with strong on-hit patterns spike harder, such as skipping ahead one stack of Diana’s passive or gaining an extra Snip Snip! stack for Gwen’s Q.
Emblem of All-Inning
A Zeal option for marksmen who shine during their ultimate windows. It grants ultimate ability haste, then gives a burst of attack speed and three guaranteed crits after you cast your ultimate. If those attacks would have crit already, you gain bonus true damage instead.
Blood Sphere
An AD omnivamp item that provides Tenacity and Ability Haste scaling with bonus AD. It is designed as a late-game sustain spike for light fighters, and it gives a large omnivamp boost on takedown to help you keep fighting through extended teamfights.
Assassin Item (temporary name)
An option for AD assassins who want to close out games. Whenever you get a takedown, it grants a buff that empowers your next attack against an epic monster or turret with heavy damage over time that scales with lethality. It also provides periodic bonus true damage to a spell based on your lethality.
Mananomicon
An AP item with a new active. Activating it puts you into an empowered state for a short duration where you consume much more mana, but your spells become stronger and have lower cooldowns. The extra damage, healing, and shielding scale with your total mana.
Snowbow
A long-range marksman item that increases your attack damage based on how far away you are from your target. On takedown, you also gain a large temporary boost to attack range, which helps you chase and clean up teamfights.
Buff Engine (temporary name)
An aura item with a gameplay trigger. It provides an attack speed aura for your team after you slow or immobilize an enemy. The aura lasts much longer for melee champions, so tanky melee supports can maintain it more consistently than ranged supports.
Mantle of the Twelfth Hour
A lifeline item for tanks that provides a strong heal over time when you fall to low health. The heal scales with your bonus armor and magic resistance. While the heal is active, you gain movement speed and Tenacity, giving you a better chance to re-engage or survive burst.
Savior’s Manabell and Superbell
A new two-part Tear line for enchanters. Manabell grants heal and shield power based on your mana. Once you reach maximum Tear stacks, you can upgrade it into Superbell, which provides an additional automatic heal every second to your lowest-health nearby ally while you are in combat with enemy champions. The heal scales with mana.
Returning items include:
Hextech Gunblade
League’s classic hybrid item returns with AP, AD, lifesteal, spell vamp, and a targeted damaging slow active.
Stormrazor
Stormrazor returns as an item with Attack Damage, Critical Strike Chance, and Attack Speed, along with an Energized effect that deals bonus damage and grants movement speed when primed.
Aegis of Valor rewards autofilled players
One of the most notable additions this season is Aegis of Valor, a new mechanic designed to make autofilled games less punishing. Players who are autofilled and achieve a mastery score of C or higher will receive either double LP for a win or a mitigation on a loss.
According to the dev blog, “You’ll also receive the Aegis benefit if you play less-popular roles.” Additionally, dodging to avoid being autofilled will no longer be possible, and at Master+ tier, doing so will count as a full loss. These changes aim to improve the autofill experience, reward players for performing well in unexpected roles, and reduce frustration in ranked games.
Season 1 2026 emphasizes agency, strategy, and diverse playstyles. With faster starts, revamped objectives, Role Quests, new items, and updated vision and turret systems, players are encouraged to explore new ways to impact their games. According to the dev blog, the changes aim to make each role feel more meaningful, reward skillful play, and support both solo and team-based strategies.
Players are invited to try the updates on PBE and provide feedback before the season officially goes live in January.
