LoL Patch 26.14 Nerfs Seraphine in the Same Update That Sells Her T1 Championship Skin

Riot ships League of Legends Patch 26.14 on July 15, and the patch cuts Seraphine down on the same day her T1 championship skin hits the store. Her Q damage ratio drops from 50% to 40% ability power, with Riot's balance note stating she "has become a dominant force on the bot lane" and needs her output reduced. The nerf list also hits Garen, whose R damage falls from 150/250/350 to 125/200/275, plus Jayce, Locke, and Senna, whose passive crit modifier slips from 85% to 80%.

The buff side leans toward champions that have sat outside the meta. Nami's E jumps from 20/30/40/50/60 damage per hit to 20/35/50/65/80, a raw increase of up to 20 damage per hit at max rank. Mordekaiser's R now steals 13% of a target's stats instead of 10%, with extra E damage on top. Corki gains attack damage growth and a stronger R cooldown refund, Azir's W burn doubles from 50% to 100% damage with two Conqueror stacks, and Yunara's attack damage growth rises from 2.5 to 3.

Items take quieter hits. Immortal Shieldbow loses a point of damage boost and three points of healing, Hextech Rocket Belt trades 10 ability power and 10 seconds of cooldown for 50 extra health under a new recipe, and Blue Buff's ability haste now scales 10/15/20 by level instead of holding one value.

The commerce half of the patch is where the timing gets interesting. The T1 championship skin line launches July 15, the same day: T1 Glio, Xin Zhao, Seraphine, Ambessa, and Yunara at 1350 RP each, plus T1 MVP Miss Fortune at 1820 RP. An MSI-themed Clash tournament follows on July 18-19.

I count two champions, Seraphine and Yunara, getting balance changes in the exact patch that sells their T1 skins, one nerfed and one buffed. I don't read that as Riot boosting skin sales, since a nerf cuts against that theory, but it does show the balance team refuses to freeze a champion just because her cosmetic is about to launch, which is the less cynical and more interesting takeaway.

You can view the full list of changes on the official website.