League of Legends Patch 26.8: Mel and Dr. Mundo Nerfed, Discord Integration Launches in Beta

Riot Games has shipped patch 26.8 for League of Legends, bringing a round of champion balance changes, champion-specific keybinds, a Discord integration beta, and updates across ARAM, ARAM: Mayhem, and Arena. The patch also sets the clock on the first ranked season, which closes on April 28.

Ranked Season One Ends April 28

The first ranked season on Summoner’s Rift wraps up at 23:59:59 server local time on April 28. Season two begins the following day at 12:00 with patch 26.9, which will also trigger the distribution of season one rewards and a reset of the 15-win ranked mission. Riot will temporarily disable shard transfer services during the transition window between seasons.

Champion-Specific Keybinds Now Live

Patch 26.8 introduces individual keybind settings on a per-champion basis. Most keybinds can now carry separate override configurations, and smartcast options can be toggled specifically for each champion rather than applied globally. Riot recommends setting up these preferences in the Practice Tool before taking them into ranked play.

Discord Integration Enters Beta

Riot is launching a Discord integration beta alongside patch 26.8, initially covering the US, Canada, and Brazil — the same regional rollout pattern as VALORANT’s own Discord feature released in patch 12.07. The integration lets players invite Discord friends directly into their party, share party links to Discord servers, and see friends active across other Riot titles. A broader regional expansion is planned for a future patch.

Champion Changes: Nerfs

Mel receives the most significant nerfs of the cycle. Her Q loses damage scaling at higher ranks, dropping from a 60 percent AP ratio to 55 percent alongside reduced base damage values, while her W cooldown increases across all ranks and its bonus movement speed duration is cut from 1.5 seconds to 0.75. In ARAM and ARAM: Mayhem, her W cooldown is hit even harder, rising to 45 seconds at rank one rather than the 35 on Summoner’s Rift.

Dr. Mundo loses jungle damage output on both Q and E, with the monster damage caps reduced at every rank. Karma takes a small but meaningful hit to her base stats — both base AD and AD growth are trimmed — while her E mana cost increases at all ranks. Zilean and Zyra each lose the ability to learn their W at level one, a change that affects early-game pathing and decision-making for both champions.

Champion Changes: Buffs

Hwei’s passive base damage range expands significantly, rising from 35-230 to 40-285, and his ability slows now stack with diminishing effectiveness. A bug fix also corrects unintended slow stacking interactions with other champions and items. Lucian’s E gets a cooldown reduction at early ranks and a lowered mana cost across the board, making him more mobile and resource-efficient in the lane phase. Lillia sees her passive monster damage cap replaced with a scaling value that grows with level, addressing her early jungle clear consistency. Yuumi’s ultimate receives a notable healing buff at ranks two and three, and her Best Friend healing bonus now scales from 30 to 60 percent between levels six and twelve rather than sitting at a flat 30 percent. Tahm Kench’s passive damage is reworked to scale further into the late game.

ARAM: Mayhem and Arena Updates

Several survival items receive cooldown reductions in ARAM: Mayhem, including Immortal Shieldbow, Maw of Malmortius, Randuin’s Omen, Protoplasm Harness, Sterak’s Gage, and Shurelya’s Battlesong. The augment changes trim movement speed contributions from Giant Slayer, the Movement Speed Stat Anvil, and Red Envelopes, while Grandma’s Chili Oil no longer heals allied minions.

Arena sees AP scaling buffs to a range of champions who have underperformed in the mode. Tristana’s Rocket Jump, Explosive Charge, and Buster Shot all receive increased AP ratios. Senna’s damage, slow, and ultimate values scale harder with AP. Vel’Koz, Viktor, Vex, and Seraphine all receive ultimate cooldown reductions. Kled’s ultimate cooldown drops dramatically across all ranks. Camille gains slightly more damage on Tactical Sweep and a shorter Hookshot cooldown throughout its rank-up progression.

ARAM Clash: Ixtal Cup

Registration for the ARAM Clash Ixtal Cup opened April 13, with matches scheduled across April 18 and 19. Regional event windows run approximately from 4 to 7 PM local time depending on region.