League of Legends Patch 26.04 appears set to introduce a series of balance adjustments rather than major changes, according to the latest update from developers.

A new preview shared by Riot Games Lead Gameplay Designer Matt Leung-Harrison points to a focus on balance, polish, and small corrections.

Serving as the final tuning pass before First Stand, Patch 26.04 is the last real indicator of what the competitive meta could look like heading into the first international LoL Esports event of the year.

Patch 26.04 Sets the Tone Before First Stand

Riot is continuing to assess the impact of recent system updates while making targeted tweaks across champions and roles.

The patch also reflects ongoing efforts to align player satisfaction across lanes as the game heads into its first major competitive milestone.

Patch 26.4 Preview!

Overall
– Things are looking pretty stable; we're seeing some pretty marked game time reductions (probably from) the turret plate bulwarking reductions
– We're still waiting to see the impact of the faelights and early vision changes on Jungle, but need a… pic.twitter.com/IcmgCsNfsg

— Matt Leung-Harrison (@RiotPhroxzon) February 10, 2026

“After this patch, things are likely to be in a pretty good spot overall,” said Leung-Harrison in his post. Overall, Patch 26.04 looks more like a tuning pass than a reset.

Instead of pushing big changes, League’s dev team appears focused on adjusting what already exists and addressing areas that feel slightly off.

Game Pace and Vision Changes Under Review

One key focus is the jungle role, and particularly unconventional jungle picks. After Patch 26.03 introduced Faelight and early vision changes, Riot is still monitoring how those updates affect jungle pathing, ganks, and early pressure. A full patch cycle is needed to properly judge the impact of these changes, but according to Riot, early data suggests some junglers are struggling.

Patch 26.04 will include buffs aimed at helping these less standard picks keep up. Among the champions receiving jungle buffs are Brand, Darius, Fizz, and Teemo.

With First Stand arriving on Patch 26.05, Riot is using this update to trim down champions that benefited too heavily from recent system or item changes, while also giving small boosts to forgotten or underused picks. The goal is to prevent extreme cases rather than reshape the meta — and potentially give First Stand players a bit more room to experiment in Fearless Draft.

On the game-pacing front, Leung-Harrison said game times have already dropped, likely due to earlier turret plate bulwark reductions. While Faelight and vision updates are still under review, he seems confident enough to avoid major reversals for now.

Patch 26.04 appears to be the usual pre-event patch aimed at getting the game into a stable place. Full patch notes are expected in the coming days, offering a clearer picture of what fans and teams can expect as First Stand training approaches.