League of Legends’ development team put out a video outlining all the changes they plan to implement in 2026, and there’s a lot on the list. However, all of the changes will be (intentional or otherwise) nerfing pro junglers and giving other roles a lot more agency.

While every pro team is different, not all roles are created equal. For instance, no matter how good an ADC player is, they just won’t have the rotational power or map presence of a mid laner. A good ADC can make the difference if two teams both have good mid laners, but a good ADC can’t save a team with a bad mid laner.

The same is true of jungle, except for the entire team. Without a competent jungler, teams just do not function. After all, T1 wouldn’t have made it to Worlds 2025 if Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun didn’t pick up the slack when it mattered most in the regular season to get them there, and they wound up winning the entire event.

And, while the 2026 changes are pointed at making jungle less influential in the wider game of League of Legends, the ramifications for pro play will be a lot more serious.

Here’s a rundown of everything that’s changing in 2026 to nerf junglers.

Junglers Will Have Much Less Power in 2026

The dev update didn’t give specific numbers on a lot of what’s changing come 2026, but the outline of map changes paints a clear picture of how much less influential jungle will be.

For one, Atakan is getting removed entirely. Baron is moving back to spawning at 20 minutes into the game to account for this change. Objectives are also getting some additional protections to make it less common for junglers to get Epic Monsters get stolen away, which is the only change that’ll make junglers a bit stronger.

Clearing generic jungle camps will also take longer, which is meant to give laners more time to breathe in the early game. That in and of itself is a big deal for pro play, but it’ll also penalize junglers a lot more for pathing toward an early gank. 

Early invades may also be disincentivized due to camps taking longer to clear, giving good junglers less ways to give themselves a lead without ganking lanes or securing objectives.

Additionally, every lane is getting stronger. Lane-specific quests are giving top, mid, ADC, and support more agency on the map for completing quests that they’ll naturally complete with good laning. Jungle is also getting a quest that grants bonus gold and XP for killing camps as well as bonus movement speed in the jungle, but that quest reward will take time to earn.

Considering the jungle’s impact is at its highest in the early game, this is a big nerf compared to other roles that hugely benefit from their quest rewards.

The silver lining is that every team will be affected equally by these changes, and that all junglers will have less power on the map than before. So, while it’s not as if every team will get worse overnight, this will surely change the dynamic of professional play.