LoL Arena Tier List for Patch 26.21: Who Rises and Who Falls
This LoL Arena tier list is for patch 26.22 (live October 21, 2026), and it’s our editorial assessment, not win rate statistics. Riot made a large Arena-only balance pass this patch: Gangplank, Skarner, Yone and Ezreal get the biggest buffs, while Yuumi, Galio, Bel’Veth and Zaahen take the clearest nerfs. Turbo Chemtank also becomes a much stronger item.
How this Arena tier list for LoL is ranked
We don’t publish win rates. Arena numbers swing hard from patch to patch, and most of the figures floating around have no clear source, so we rank on what can be checked in the official patch 26.22 notes.
Riot’s stated goal this patch was to pull “champion outliers in power (both high and low) closer to the center” and to soften the strongest one-augment combos. Put simply, a champion Riot nerfed was an outlier on the high side; a champion with several buffs was on the low side and is now worth a second look. On top of that we look at the kit: Arena rounds are short, so burst, sustain and low cooldowns matter more than lane control.
LoL Arena tier list for patch 26.22
| Tier | Champions | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Rising (try now) | Gangplank, Skarner, Yone, Ezreal, Nidalee, Varus | Shorter cooldowns plus higher ratios |
| Rising (smaller) | Rengar, Miss Fortune, Teemo, Urgot, Lee Sin, Malzahar, Kayn, Elise | One targeted buff each |
| Sidegrade | Briar, Fiora, Milio, Katarina, Gnar | Power moved to a different build or ability |
| Falling | Yuumi, Galio, Bel’Veth, Zaahen, Morgana, Renata Glasc | Direct nerfs to their core tools |
Which Arena champions rise in patch 26.22?
Gangplank is the standout. His W now scales at 135% AP instead of 90% with a cooldown of 18 to 10 seconds, and his ultimate drops to 100 / 80 / 60 seconds. That’s a lot of extra healing and cleanse. Why does it matter so much? Arena is built around repeated short fights, and Gangplank now gets his W in almost every one of them.
Skarner gets 150% bonus AD on Q (from 90%) and an W shield that comes back every 8 to 4 seconds with a 120% AP ratio. Yone’s ultimate gains 100% bonus AD and a 60 / 50 / 40 second cooldown, so he gets his engage almost every round. Ezreal’s Trueshot Barrage goes to 150% bonus AD on a 40 / 30 / 20 second cooldown. Honestly, that last one turns his ultimate from a finisher into a regular part of his damage.
Two quieter ones: Nidalee’s cougar abilities drop to 4 seconds and her traps to 8, and Varus’s E now has a 50% AP ratio on a cooldown as low as 6 seconds, which opens an AP Varus build.
Which Arena champions fall in patch 26.22?
Yuumi takes the hardest hit. Her W heal and shield power drops from 10 to 25% down to 4 to 8%, which removes most of what made her worth picking in a duo. Galio loses shield strength, taunt duration (1.5 to 1 second) and knock-up duration on his ultimate (also 1.5 to 1 second). That’s a third less crowd control on both his key tools.
Bel’Veth’s Q ratio falls from 105% to 95% and her ultimate stacks give half as much attack damage. Zaahen’s passive now gives a flat 1% bonus AD per stack. Morgana and Renata Glasc both get longer cooldowns, and in Morgana’s case that includes her Black Shield, which now sits at 30 to 20 seconds.
Sidegrades: Briar, Fiora and Milio
These champions didn’t get weaker or stronger so much as different. Briar’s Q stun drops from 0.85 to 0.5 seconds, but her E’s maximum AP ratio jumps from 340% to 500%, so an AP Briar who lands her wall-hit scream is a real threat now. Fiora loses some passive scaling and gains a 25% AP ratio on Q, while Milio’s Q gets a longer cooldown but a 200% AP ratio instead of 120%. Will AP Briar actually work? To be fair, nobody can say until people test the new builds.
Arena items and augments that changed
Turbo Chemtank now restores 20% of maximum health instead of 4%, a five-fold jump. Galeforce’s dash reaches 900 range (up from 600), and Night Harvester gives 60% move speed on an 8 second cooldown. Mirage Blade and Moonflair Spellblade both refund less cooldown.
On augments, Rite of the Forge God now amplifies item stats by 60%, Spin to Win and Minionmancer hit harder, and Trueshot Prodigy is cut to half its attack damage ratio with a longer cooldown. Nesting Doll loses one revive at every tier (0 / 1 / 2). If your favorite build leaned on Trueshot Prodigy, expect it to feel weaker, because its base damage at the top tier also drops from 525 to 375.
How to use this tier list in LoL Arena
Pair a riser with a champion you already know well. Look, a comfortable duo partner matters more than any single buff, especially since augments are random every game.
For Summoner’s Rift picks, see our patch 26.22 tier list, and for the other casual mode there’s the Brawl tier list. Item details live in the LoL items database. We’ll update this LoL Arena tier list when the 26.22 notes go live, which is also when Riot changes the Mythic Shop so that each player sees their own offerings.
FAQ
Who is the best champion in LoL Arena patch 26.22?
In our editorial assessment, Gangplank, Skarner, Yone and Ezreal gained the most from Riot’s Arena changes in patch 26.22. We rank on official changes and kits, not win rates.
Is this tier list for LoL Arena based on win rates?
No. It is our assessment of the official Arena changes in the patch 26.22 notes and of how each kit fits short Arena rounds.
Which Arena champions were nerfed in 26.22?
Yuumi, Galio, Bel’Veth, Zaahen, Morgana and Renata Glasc received direct Arena nerfs. Briar, Fiora and Milio had power moved between abilities.
What changed for Turbo Chemtank in Arena?
In patch 26.22, Turbo Chemtank’s restore was raised from 4% to 20% of maximum health in Arena.
When will this Arena tier list for LoL be updated?
With every patch. The next update follows the patch 26.22 notes.
