League of Legends patch 25.8 preview: Mel buffs, Ahri adjustments, and more

The League of Legends patch 25.8 preview reveals substantial modifications aimed at rebalancing numerous items and champions. Additionally, the recently introduced Midlane champion Mel is set to receive enhancements, while adjustments will be made to Ahri's capabilities. On April 8, 2025, Matt Leung-Harrison, the Gameplay Designer for LoL (@RiotPhroxzon on X), presented these changes with a comprehensive analysis.

This article showcases the League of Legends patch 25.8 preview.

Note: This article will be updated with more information about the League of Legends patch 25.8 preview when available.

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Champion adjustments in League of Legends patch 25.8 preview

Here are all the buffs, nerfs, and adjustments to the champions in League of Legends patch 25.8 preview:

Champion buffs

1) Blitzcrank

• P mana ratio: 30% → 35%
• Q damage: 105-285 → 110-310

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2) Brand

• Passive monster damage mod: 215% → 240%

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3) Hwei

• P base damage: 35-180 → 35-230
• R explosion base damage: 200/300/400 → 200/325/450

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4) Mel

• AS ratio: .4 → .625
• Health: 600 → 620
• P attack damage per stack: 5-20 → 8-25

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5) Renekton

• R damage: 30-90 → 30-120

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6) Shen

• Q moving away slow: 15-35% → 25-45%
• W cooldown: 18-12 → 16-10

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7) Singed

• P per-target cooldown: 10 → 8

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8) Sona

• Q damage: 50-170 → 50-190

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9) Xerath

• Passive cooldown refund per kill: 2.5 → 3.5
• Q damage: 70-230 →75-235

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10) Zeri

• R chain lightning damage: 25% total AD → 30% total AD

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11) Zoe

• Q non-primary target damage reduction: 20% → 0% (none)

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Champion nerfs

1) Gwen

• E on-hit damage: 12-20 → 8-20

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2) Lulu

• Health: 595 → 565

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3) Tristana

• R cooldown: 100 → 120-100
• R damage: 275-375 → 225-325

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4) Yone

• W target max HP damage: 10-14% → 8-12%

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5) Yorick

• TBA

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6) Yuumi

• P base heal: 25-110 → 20-110
• E shield: 80-180 → 65-165

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Champion adjustments

1) Ahri

• Armor growth: 4.7 → 4.2
• W base damage: 45-145 → 40-120
• W AP ratio: 30% → 40%
• W cooldown: 9-5 → 10-6
• E AP ratio: 75% → 85%

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2) Annie

• HP per level: 102→ 96
• Q AP ratio: 75% → 80%
• W Damage: 70-250 → 70-270
• W Cooldown: 8→ 7
• [NEW] R now passively grants 10% / 12.5% / 15% magic penetration to Annie
• Tibbers Flame Aura: 20-40 (+12% AP) → 8-16 (+4% AP)
• Tibbers auto attack damage: 50-100 (+15% AP) → 30-60 (+10% AP)

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3) Syndra

• W slow: 25-45% → 25%
• E base damage: 75-235 → 60-200
• R base damage per sphere: 100-180 → 90-170
• R AP ratio per sphere: 17% 20%

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System adjustments in League of Legends patch 25.8 preview

All system modifications in the League of Legends patch 25.8 preview are highlighted below:

System buffs

1) Cryptbloom

• Haste: 15 → 20

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2) Opportunity

• Lethality: 15 → 18
• OOC lethality gained: 11 / 7 → 11/5

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3) Overlord's Bloodmail

• Bonus HP to AD: 2% → 2.5%
• Max %AD based on missing health: 10% → 12%

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System nerfs

1) Dead Man's Plate

• Slow Resist: 25% → 15%

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As RiotPhroxzon states in the League of Legends patch 25.8 preview, the forthcoming patch will introduce various enhancements to system items that have been underperforming recently. In addition, Dead Man's Plate will undergo a re-adjustment to mitigate move-speed creep.

Moving forward, modifications will be implemented to the AP system to enhance the effectiveness of champion builds in their respective specialties and to rectify certain outliers associated with the items. Consequently, burst builds will exhibit improved capabilities in delivering burst damage, HP burning builds will excel in that area, haste builds will demonstrate increased efficacy in haste, and so forth.

Furthermore, Mel has been somewhat underpowered for a while, so the developers are giving her significant buffs to make her a meta pick. Champions such as Ahri, Xerath, Yone, Singed, Gwen, and Yorick will also receive further adjustments, as the changes in the previous patch were not sufficient.

One of the most notable Midlane champions, Zoe, is expected to return to the meta with the upcoming enhancements. She will receive prominent buffs to clear minion waves efficiently.

The official League of Legends patch 25.8 will hit the live server on April 16, 2025.

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Check out more League of Legends news and updates below:

• League of Legends patch 25.05 notes
• Atakhan in League of Legends Season 15
• 5 best Toplaners in League of Legends LCK 2025, ranked
• League of Legends: Wild Rift tier list (April 2025)