LoL Tier List for Patch 26.21: Best Champions by Role
This LoL tier list covers patch 26.22, which went live on October 21, 2026. It’s our editorial assessment, not win rate statistics: we rank champions by what Riot changed this patch, what Riot’s own notes say about each champion’s strength, and how each kit plays in solo queue. The strongest group right now is Rammus, Lee Sin, Caitlyn, Jinx, Viktor and Yone, even after their nerfs.
How we built this LoL tier list
We don’t use win rates here. Third-party stats sites disagree with each other, shift by rank and region, and a number with no source is worth nothing to you. So this ranking leans on three things you can check yourself:
- Riot’s developer comments in the official patch 26.22 notes, where the balance team says who has been too strong or too weak;
- the size of each change (a 5% ratio cut is not a gutting);
- the kit itself: how much a champion does on their own in an uncoordinated ranked game.
Put simply, S means Riot itself calls the champion dominant and the nerf is light. A means a real buff or a strong kit with no red flags. “Falling” means the change targets exactly what made the pick good. That’s our read, and we update it every patch.
LoL tier list for patch 26.22 by role
| Role | S tier | A tier (buffed or steady) | Falling this patch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | Yone, Wukong | Sion, Darius, Ryze | Varus (top W build) |
| Jungle | Rammus, Lee Sin | Xin Zhao, Taliyah, Nunu & Willump | Nidalee (high elo only) |
| Mid | Viktor, Yone | Orianna, Azir, Ryze | Qiyana |
| ADC | Caitlyn, Jinx | Miss Fortune | Tristana |
| Support | None named by Riot | Zyra, Vel’Koz, Taric | Ranged Hubris users |
Best top lane champions in patch 26.22
Yone stays on top. Riot cut his Q ratio from 110% to 105% AD and said his crit changes had put him at “a somewhat unsustainable power level”, but in practice a 5% ratio cut leaves his kit (two dashes, a knock-up and a gap-closing ultimate) intact. Wukong is the other S pick. The jungle version lost armor from his passive, while lane Wukong got more base health regen, 3.5 to 5.5, which is a quiet gift in a lane full of short trades.
Sion is the buff to watch. He gets 95 health per level instead of 87 and a stronger ultimate when he charges it for the full three seconds; Riot’s own words were that he looked “rather stoppable”. Darius’s Q now comes back in 4 seconds at max rank instead of 5. Small? Sure, but Decimate is his healing, so it adds up over a long fight.
Best junglers in patch 26.22
Rammus and Lee Sin were both nerfed, and both stay S. Riot wrote that Rammus “has been rolling over pretty much everyone”, then shaved a little armor and magic resistance from his W. Lee Sin’s W cooldown goes from 7 to 8 seconds and his ultimate base damage drops at every rank. He’s still the most flexible jungler in the game. Honestly, a one-second cooldown change doesn’t stop a Lee player.
For buffs, Xin Zhao gets better scaling on Q and on his E attack speed bonus, Taliyah’s E hits harder and still deals 225% damage to monsters, and Nunu’s ultimate maximum damage rises to 750 / 1100 / 1450. Nidalee drops to “falling”: Riot nerfed her W and E because of her results “in high skill brackets”, so the change matters most for experienced Nidalee players.
Best mid laners in patch 26.22
Viktor is nerfed and still S. Riot’s comment that he “evolved past the point of exploitable weaknesses” says a lot; the fix is 5 move speed and a smaller Q shield, which mostly makes his early skirmishes riskier. Yone sits here too, since he plays both solo lanes.
The A tier is where Worlds watchers will smile. Orianna’s Q and W get better AP ratios, Azir gains mana growth (40 to 50 per level), and Ryze’s late game is rewarded with stronger Flux damage and more move speed on his Q. Qiyana goes the other way, losing 10 base damage on Q as Riot partly reverts a 26.17 buff.
Best ADC and support picks in patch 26.22
To be fair, Caitlyn and Jinx are both nerfed, yet both remain the safest marksman picks. Riot said Caitlyn has been at a very high pick and ban rate “for months”, and that Jinx has been “similarly dominant”. Caitlyn’s headshot damage drops in exchange for a better Q, and Jinx loses some attack damage growth and 20 base health. Neither change is big. Miss Fortune, meanwhile, gets a harder hitting E and a stronger crit ultimate to make up for the Hubris change. Tristana loses Q attack speed at early ranks, which hits exactly the level 1 lane bully pattern Riot wanted gone. Also worth knowing: Gluttonous Greaves now cost 1100 gold instead of 1000.
Support is the one role where Riot named a problem but no champion. The notes say tanks and enchanters “have reigned supreme”, and the answer is buffs for Zyra (faster seed recharge) and Vel’Koz (more passive damage). Taric also gets fixes so his Q, E and R work on untargetable allies. We’d try Zyra first; her plants punish the slow, grouped fights tanks love.
How to use this LoL tier list in ranked
Pick from the S and A columns for roles you already play, not for roles you don’t. A comfortable B-tier champion beats an unfamiliar S-tier one in almost every game we’ve watched (and we watch a lot of low-level games while leveling accounts).
If one of these champions keeps beating you, our Rammus counters guide and the full LoL champion guide index list matchups by name. Want to know where you’d land after placements? See how the LoL rank tiers work. Playing Arena instead? There’s a separate Arena tier list. Brawl, when Riot brings it back, has its own Brawl champion rankings. We’ll revise this LoL tier list when patch 26.22 notes go live.
FAQ
Who is the best champion in LoL patch 26.22?
In our editorial assessment, Rammus, Lee Sin, Caitlyn, Jinx, Viktor and Yone are the strongest picks. Riot nerfed all six this patch but described them as dominant, and the nerfs are small.
Is this LoL tier list based on win rates?
No. It is our assessment based on Riot’s official patch notes, the size of each change and each champion’s kit. We do not publish win rates.
When did patch 26.22 come out?
Patch 26.22 went live on October 21, 2026. Riot published the notes on October 20, 2026.
Which champions were buffed in patch 26.22?
Azir, Darius, Miss Fortune, Nunu & Willump, Orianna, Ryze, Sion, Taliyah, Vel’Koz, Xin Zhao and Zyra were buffed. Taric and Twisted Fate received quality of life changes.
Which champions were nerfed in patch 26.22?
Caitlyn, Jinx, Lee Sin, Locke, Nidalee, Qiyana, Rammus, Tristana, Varus, Viktor, Wukong and Yone were nerfed or adjusted down.
How often is this LoL tier list updated?
We update it with every League of Legends patch, which usually arrives every two weeks.
Tier Lists by Role
For deeper analysis of each role, see our role-specific tier lists:
