League of Legends Patch 26.9 Introduces New Mechanics, Champion Adjustments, and Season 2 Themes The latest update to League of Legends, Patch 26.9, brings a mix of returning classics, new mechanics, and adjustments to balance gameplay across the game’s systems. The patch introduces updated champions, revised item systems, and changes to role quests, alongside new content for the Arena and demon-themed skins for Season 2: Pandemonium. Key updates include the return of iconic items like Deathfire Touch and Stormraider’s Surge, new starting items, and adjustments to champion builds to enhance diversity in playstyles. Role quests receive significant overhauls to improve clarity and reduce penalties for players who roam or engage in proxying. The quest point penalty for leaving lane has been reduced from -50% to -75%, with further reductions based on progress. Passive point progression is now more flexible, allowing players to roam for up to 60 seconds after spending 120 seconds in lane without losing progress. Additionally, the definition of “in the quest lane” has been expanded to include any area outside the player’s base, encouraging more dynamic movement. Rewards for role quests have also been adjusted to address scaling imbalances. Top laners now receive a minor nerf to experience gains, with a flat bonus of +80 XP on champion takedowns and +11% XP from other sources. Mid laners gain a percent-based increase to bonus AD and AP instead of an empowered recall effect, aiming to restore their late-game fantasy. Bot laners see a reduced bonus takedown gold from 50 to 40 gold to curb their snowballing potential. Minion wave durability has been moderately increased, particularly in mid and late laning phases, to encourage more minion engagement and create larger roaming windows.#league_of_legends #patch_26_9 #season_2_pandemonium #arena #aram_mayhem
League of Legends Introduces WASD Controls for Ranked Matches in Upcoming Patch Riot Games has announced that the long-awaited WASD control scheme for its popular MOBA game, League of Legends, will be implemented in ranked matches starting later this month as part of patch 26.9. This update marks a significant shift in how players navigate the game’s map, offering an alternative to the traditional point-and-click movement system. The change is part of Riot’s broader efforts to enhance accessibility and cater to a wider range of players, including those who prefer keyboard-based controls. The development of WASD controls was first hinted at in August 2023, when Riot revealed its plans to introduce the feature. The studio emphasized its commitment to ensuring the new control scheme did not provide an unfair advantage over the existing mouse-based system. To achieve this, Riot conducted extensive testing to measure the performance gap between the two methods. According to a recent developer blog post, there remains a small difference in win rates between players using WASD and those using point-and-click controls. The post noted that "Point and Click currently has a minor advantage," but the gap is expected to narrow as players adapt to the new system. Riot plans to continue monitoring this metric in the future to refine the feature further. The decision to roll out WASD controls in ranked play was not made lightly. Riot highlighted its focus on balancing the game’s competitive environment, ensuring that the new control scheme would not disrupt the existing meta. The studio also mentioned that the update would be gradually introduced to the ranked ladder, allowing players to adjust without overwhelming the community.#riot_games #league_of_legends #wasd_controls #patch_26_9 #ranked_matches
