Welcome! Buckle up, Summoners, because Patch 25.18 is about to shake up the Rift like never before! Dropping on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, this update brings a whirlwind of balance changes, item buffs, and champion tweaks that will redefine the meta as we head toward the League of Legends World Championship in Patch 25.20. Whether you’re a jungle main looking to capitalize on tank buffs, an ADC itching for a stronger Mercurial Scimitar, or a mid-laner ready to dominate with refreshed champions, this patch has something for everyone.
We’ve got buffs to fan-favorites like Hwei, Vel’Koz, and Jayce, nerfs to meta-dominating picks like Qiyana, Volibear, and Yone, and significant item changes that will boost tank junglers and top laners. This guide breaks down every change in detail, giving you the edge to climb the ranked ladder with confidence. Say goodbye to the grind and hello to victory—let’s dive into the chaos of Patch 25.18 with this amazing LoL Boost Guide!
Item Buffs: Powering Up the Tanks and ADCs
Patch 25.18 introduces impactful item changes that will reshape build paths, particularly for tank junglers and select ADCs. The most notable buff is to Bami’s Cinder, which sees its bonus monster damage skyrocket from 50% to 100%. This massive increase significantly boosts the clear speed of tank junglers like Zac, Amumu, Rammus, and Sejuani, making them more efficient at farming and healthier for early ganks. This change positions these champions as strong picks for players looking to control the jungle and secure objectives like Dragon or Rift Herald early on.
Building off Bami’s Cinder, Sunfire Aegis also receives a buff, with its minion and monster damage increasing from 50% to 60%. While this is a smaller adjustment, it enhances the wave-clear and jungle-clear potential for tank top laners like Ornn or Sion, as well as junglers who opt for this item. The buff strengthens their ability to push lanes or clear camps quickly, allowing for better map pressure and objective control. These changes signal Riot’s intent to bolster tank-focused playstyles, giving them a stronger presence in the meta.
For ADC players, Mercurial Scimitar gets a meaningful update. Its attack damage is increased from 40 to 50, providing a noticeable boost to offensive power. However, this comes at the cost of reduced magic resist, dropping from 40 to 35, making it slightly less durable against AP threats. Additionally, the active movement speed duration is extended from 1.5 to 2 seconds, offering more flexibility to reposition or escape sticky situations. While not a core item for most ADCs, this buff makes Mercurial Scimitar a more attractive situational pick, especially against teams with heavy crowd control or magic damage.
Champion Buffs: Empowering Underperformers
Patch 25.18 brings a slew of buffs to champions who have been struggling to make an impact, ensuring they can compete in the evolving meta. These changes are designed to give players more viable options across roles, from support to top lane.
Amumu: A Support-Focused Boost
Amumu receives significant buffs to his Q, Bandage Toss, with its cooldown reduced from 16/15.5/15/14.5/14 seconds to 16/15/14/13/10 seconds, and its mana cost lowered from 45/50/55/60/65 to a flat 50 at all ranks. These changes are a major boon for Amumu support, as Q is the first ability maxed in this role, enhancing his ability to engage and lock down enemies in the bot lane. While jungle Amumu, who typically maxes Q last, sees minimal impact, support players can expect more frequent stuns and better mana sustainability, making Amumu a stronger pick in the bot lane.
Ashe: Rising ADC Priority
Ashe, already a solid ADC, gets a surprising buff to her attack damage growth, increasing from 2.95 to 3.45 per level. This change amplifies her scaling into the mid and late game, making her auto-attacks hit harder as the game progresses. With this buff, Ashe becomes a higher-priority pick for ADC mains, offering reliable poke, crowd control, and now even more damage to dominate bot lane trades and teamfights. Expect to see her rise in pick rate as players capitalize on her enhanced scaling.
Cassiopeia: Mana and Damage Gains
Cassiopeia receives two buffs that could elevate her presence in mid lane. Her base mana is increased from 400 to 450, addressing one of her key weaknesses—mana starvation in prolonged trades. Additionally, her E, Twin Fang, sees its poisoned bonus damage rise from 20/40/60/80/100 to 20/43/66/89/112. The extra 50 mana can mean the difference between securing a kill with an additional E cast or running out of resources, while the increased E damage boosts her ability to shred enemies in extended fights. These changes make Cassiopeia a more reliable pick for players who excel at managing her skillshot-heavy playstyle.
Garen: Spinning to Victory
Garen’s E, Judgment, gets a slight but impactful buff, with its AD ratio per spin increasing from 36/39/42/45/48% to 38/41/44/47/50%. This change enhances Garen’s damage output in trades and teamfights, particularly in the top lane where his spin is a core part of his kit. The increased scaling makes him a stronger duelist and wave-clearer, solidifying his role as a beginner-friendly yet effective top laner.
Hwei: Enhanced Mobility and Damage
Hwei receives multiple buffs to his kit, making him a more dynamic mid-lane threat. His passive AP ratio increases from 30% to 35%, boosting his burst potential. The WQ, Fleeting Current, sees its base bonus movement speed rise from 20/22.5/25/27.5/30% to 30/32.5/35/37.5/40%, with its AP ratio also increasing from 2% to 3% per 100 AP. Additionally, his E AP ratio climbs from 60% to 65%. These changes improve Hwei’s mobility and damage, allowing him to kite more effectively and deal more consistent poke, making him a versatile pick for mid-lane players.
Jayce: Early-Game Power Spike
Jayce’s ranged Q, Shock Blast, gets a buff to its early-game damage, increasing from 60/110/160/210/260/310 to 80/130/180/230/280/310. While the max-rank damage remains unchanged, this boost enhances Jayce’s ability to dominate early trades in top or mid lane. As an early-game-focused champion, this change amplifies his laning phase strength, making him a more appealing pick for players who thrive on aggressive play.
Vel’Koz: Mid-Lane Dominance
Vel’Koz receives buffs to his E, Tectonic Disruption, with its cooldown dropping from 14/13.5/13/12.5/12 seconds to 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 seconds. His R, Life Form Disintegration Ray, also sees its base damage increase from 450/625/800 to 450/675/925. These changes primarily benefit mid-lane Vel’Koz, who can access higher levels faster than support Vel’Koz, allowing for more frequent crowd control and higher ultimate damage. Expect Vel’Koz to become a stronger pick for players who enjoy long-range poke and high-damage teamfight ultimates.
Champion Nerfs: Taming the Meta
To balance the meta ahead of Worlds, Riot is targeting several dominant champions with nerfs to curb their overpowering presence in high ELO and pro play.
Annie: Reduced Damage and Utility
Annie, a frequent pick in professional play, faces nerfs to her W, Incinerate, with its base damage dropping from 70/115/160/205/250 to 70/110/150/190/230. Her passive magic penetration also decreases from 15/16/17/18/20% to 10/12/14/16/20%. These changes reduce her burst potential and ability to shred through magic resist, likely lowering her priority in pro play and high ELO, where her consistent damage and stun reliability have been oppressive.
Aurora: A Significant Hit
Aurora’s passive max health damage is slashed from 2.5% to 1%, a substantial nerf that reduces her ability to chunk down tanky targets. This change significantly weakens her dueling and teamfight power, likely dropping her priority in mid and top lanes. Players who relied on her high-damage passive will need to adjust their playstyle or consider other champions.
Azir: Pre-Worlds Nerf
As is tradition before Worlds, Azir faces nerfs to keep him in check. His attack speed growth drops from 5.5% to 5%, and his W AP ratio decreases from 45/50/55/60/65% to 40/45/50/55/60%. These changes reduce his scaling and poke potential, aiming to balance his dominance in coordinated play while keeping him viable for skilled players.
Galio: Scaling Back the Tank
Galio’s passive AP ratio is reduced from 45% to 40%, and his Q percent health tick damage drops from 2.5% to 2%. These nerfs slightly weaken his ability to deal sustained damage in mid lane, targeting his strength in pro play where his tankiness and wave-clear have been staples.
Qiyana: High-ELO Powerhouse Tamed
Qiyana, who has surged in high-ELO popularity, faces nerfs to her base AD (from 66 to 64), armor growth (from 4.7 to 4.5), and passive damage (from 30% to 25%). These changes reduce her early-game burst and durability, aiming to curb her dominance in skilled hands while keeping her viable for dedicated mains.
Sylas: Jungle Nerfs
Sylas Jungle, a meta-defining pick since his Patch 25.16 buffs, sees his passive monster damage reduced from 150% to 130%. This nerf slows his jungle clear speed, making him less oppressive in the early game and giving opponents a better chance to contest objectives or gank lanes.
Volibear: A Light Tap
Volibear’s passive attack speed AP ratio is reduced from 4% to 3% per 100 AP. Since Volibear typically builds only one AP item (Cosmic Drive), this nerf has a minimal impact, slightly reducing his scaling in AP-heavy builds but leaving his core tank playstyle largely intact.
Yone: Significant Power Reduction
Yone faces four nerfs: base health drops from 600 to 575, base AD from 56 to 53, E movement speed from 50/55/60/65/70% to 30/35/40/45/50%, and E movement speed duration from 1.5/1.75/2/2.25/2.5 seconds to a flat 1.5 seconds. These changes reduce his durability, damage, and mobility, significantly weakening his ability to dominate early trades and escape ganks. Yone players will need to play more cautiously to maintain their effectiveness.
Champion Adjustments: Fine-Tuning Briar and Illaoi
Patch 25.18 includes adjustments to Briar and Illaoi, aiming to balance their kits with a mix of nerfs and buffs.
Briar: Trading Damage for Reliability
Briar’s Q damage decreases from 60/100/140/180/220 to 60/95/130/165/200 and shifts from magic to physical damage. Her R loses its 50% bonus AD ratio but gains increased range (from 10,000 to 12,000 units), with its sound effect now playing one second after cast instead of on-cast. These changes reduce her burst damage but make her ultimate more reliable, likely resulting in a net nerf that keeps her viable but less explosive in fights.
Illaoi: Tentacle Tweaks
Illaoi’s passive no longer spawns tentacles during teleport, reducing her ability to set up vision control or surprise enemies. Her W max health damage shifts from 4% to 3.5% per 100 AD, slightly lowering her damage against tanky targets. However, her E vessel duration increases from 3 to 4 seconds, giving her more time to capitalize on her spirit pulls. These adjustments are likely a net nerf, but their impact will depend on how they play out on live servers.
Strategic Implications for Your Climb
Patch 25.18’s changes are designed to shake up the meta, giving underperforming champions like Amumu, Ashe, and Jayce a chance to shine while reining in dominant picks like Qiyana and Yone. The buffs to Bami’s Cinder and Sunfire Aegis make tank junglers and top laners more appealing, encouraging players to experiment with champions like Zac or Ornn. For ADC players, the Mercurial Scimitar buff offers a situational tool to counter crowd control, while mid-laners can leverage buffs to Hwei, Cassiopeia, and Vel’Koz for stronger poke and burst.
To capitalize on these changes, focus on adapting your playstyle to the new meta. For junglers, prioritize tank champions with faster clears to secure early objectives. In bot lane, Ashe’s increased AD growth makes her a priority pick, especially in compositions that benefit from her utility. Mid-laners should test Hwei and Vel’Koz in ranked to exploit their enhanced kits. However, be cautious with nerfed champions like Yone and Qiyana, as their reduced power may require more precise play to achieve the same impact.
Conclusion
Patch 25.18 is a game-changer, you can see this in this best LoL Boost Guide, bringing balance shifts that prepare the Rift for the World Championship while offering fresh opportunities for players to climb. With buffs to tank items, a range of champion tweaks, and strategic adjustments, this patch rewards adaptability and smart decision-making. Whether you’re a tank jungler clearing camps at lightning speed or an ADC weaving through fights with a buffed Mercurial Scimitar, these changes give you the tools to break free from the ranked grind. Stay ahead of the curve, master these updates, and dominate your games starting September 10, 2025