League of Legends patch 25.11 preview: Smolder nerfs, Aatrox adjustments, and more

The League of Legends patch 25.11 preview showcases the upcoming changes coming to the Rift. While the meta is in a stable spot after the release of patch 25.10, the developers are looking to buff and nerf several champions. Furthermore, one of the mage items, Horizon Focus, will undergo a significant upgrade.

Here are all the changes highlighted in the League of Legends patch 25.11 preview posted by the Gameplay Designer for League of Legends, Matt Leung-Harrison (@RiotPhroxzon on X) on May 20, 2025.

All changes in League of Legends patch 25.11 preview

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Here are the buffs, nerfs, and adjustments mentioned in the LoL patch 25.11 preview:

Champion buffs

1) Ashe

Q now stacks when attacking structures

2) Diana (Jungle)

P monster mod: 2.25x → 2.6x

3) Rengar

R cooldown: 110/100/90 →100/90/80

4) Ryze

Q increased damage against Flux targets (based on R rank): 10/40/70/100% → 25/50/75/100%
W damage: 80-200 → 70-190

5) Sivir

W total AD ratio: 30-50% → 40-50%

6) Twisted Fate

Q damage: 60-240 → 70-250

7) Twitch

E AP ratio per stack: 30% → 35%

8) Udyr

R bonus damage on attack: 10-30 + 30% AP → 10-40 + 35% AP
R total damage: 80-360 → 80-400

Champion nerfs

1) Cho'Gath

Armor growth: 5.0 → 4.5

2) Elise

P on-hit AP ratio: 0.2 → 0.15

3) Lucian

E cooldown: 14-12 → 16-12

4) Smolder

HP regen: 4.5 → 3.75

Champion adjustments

1) Aatrox

P damage: 4-12% max HP → 4-8% max HP
Q sweet spot damage mod: 1.6x → 1.7x
W damage type: Magic → Physical

2) Annie

Armor: 19 + 4.7 → 23 + 4
W damage: 70-270 + 0.85 → 70-250 + 0.8

3) Garen

E CD: 9 → 9-6
E damage: 4-20 + 0-8.2 + 36-40% total AD → 4-20 + 36-44% total AD
E crit mod: 1.5x → 1.4x
W CD: 23-15 → 22-12
W DR: 30% → 25-41%
W quest capstone (10% total armor/mr) removed
R damage: 150/300/450 + 25/30/35% missing HP → 150/250/350 + 25/30/35% missing HP
Other minor changes, bugfixes, and tooltip updates

4) Kassadin

Armor: 19 → 21
E damage: 60-180 → 70-190
R AP ratio per stack: 10% (max 90%) → 7% (max 78%)

5) Samira

Q life steal effectiveness: 66% → 80%
R life steal effectiveness: 50%→ 80%
W bonus AD ratio: 0.6 → 0.5

System buffs

1) Horizon Focus

Price: 2900 → 2800
Ability power: 110 → 115

Following the adjustments in patch 25.10, which include modifications to the item segment as well as buffs and nerfs to various champions, the meta within the solo queue and professional scene appears quite balanced.

Consequently, champions like Kassadin and Samira will experience power-neutral alterations to their mastery curves, enhancing their sense of strength without actually increasing their overall power.

Since Kassadin was stuck between being a bit of an anti-mage and a bit of a prominent scaler, the developers are giving him a tad more early-game power. With that, he can contribute more in the early and mid-game while taking a little out of his late game to compensate. This is expected to make Kassadin more efficient to play in the early games, even in the higher ranks and professional scene.

Previous buffs to Smolder rendered him somewhat overpowered within the Rift; therefore, adjustments will be made to reduce his effectiveness.

Conversely, the developers intend to improve Aatrox's experience with traditional fighter items by converting his W to physical damage. Additionally, he will receive increased rewards for successfully landing precise hits.

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Regarding Garen, his builds will be adjusted to feel better about non-crit builds and fighter items. It is expected to make him have more repeatability in his pattern through a lower E cooldown. However, it will not become too low, so there are still windows to play against him.

At present, Horizon Focus is notably underperforming as an AP item. So, an enhancement is slated for inclusion in the official release of patch 25.11.

The official League of Legends patch 25.11 will hit the live server on May 28, 2025.

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About the author

Debayan is a gaming journalist and he specializes in League of Legends content but also pens game reviews for the website.
His fascination with video games began with the Fable series and to this day, he occasionally takes nostalgic strolls around the idyllic Oakvale village. If given a chance to inhabit a game world, he would eagerly jump into Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City and its neon-drenched streets.
Debayan is a big fan of T1's League of Legends team and Danish CS pro Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz.

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Edited by Debayan Saha