League of Legends Patch 25.05 Full Preview | LoLNOW.gg

The upcoming Patch 25.05 for League of legends brings a wave of champion buffs, nerfs, and system adjustments, as Riot Games continues to fine-tune tank item changes, address melee crit champions, and tweak champions dominating pro play.

Riot’s Lead Gameplay Designer, Riot Phroxzon, shared the full details of Patch 25.05, which focuses on balancing tanks, adjusting problematic builds like Jungle Yorick, and reworking lane swap mechanics further.

source: @RiotPhroxzon

Let’s dive into all the changes coming in Patch 25.05!

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Key Balance Goals in Patch 25.05

Patch 25.5 Full Preview!

Tanks
– After Tank item changes last patch, we're continuing to monitor the effects of how all of these will shake out
– We are buffing Mundo, because he fell further than the rest and normally rests higher than where he landed
– We're specifically not… pic.twitter.com/pWL1q9bqm9

— Matt Leung-Harrison (@RiotPhroxzon) February 26, 2025

🔹 Tanks: Riot is still monitoring tank item changes, with Dr. Mundo getting a buff, as he fell harder than expected. However, Tahm Kench is not receiving buffs, as Riot believes he is too frustrating to play against.

🔹 Melee Crit Champions: Riot acknowledges that melee crit carries have lacked a strong first crit item for some time. Yun Tal Wildarrows is being adjusted to better support these champions.

🔹 Zed Buffs: Zed has struggled in Season 14, often building bruiser instead of assassin. Riot is buffing his damage to encourage his intended assassin playstyle.

🔹 Jungle Yorick Nerfs: Jungle Yorick, specifically his Liandry’s 3rd item build, has been dominating low-Elo games. Riot is targeting his R spell’s monster damage cap to curb his jungle strength.

🔹 Speed’Gath Nerfs: Cho’Gath mid-lane builds focusing on movement speed have become problematic, so Riot is nerfing his Q and W to slow him down without hurting his top lane viability.

🔹 Pro Play Nerfs: Riot is nerfing several safe blind-pick champions and high-priority picks to increase champion diversity in competitive play, particularly in Game 1s of pro series.

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All Champion Changes in Patch 25.05

Here’s a full breakdown of buffs, nerfs, and adjustments coming in Patch 25.05.

🔹 Champion Buffs

Champion	Buff Details
Aphelios	Attack speed ratio increased from 0.640 → 0.658 (base unchanged).
Dr. Mundo	Base HP increased from 613 → 640.
Seraphine	Q maximum champion damage amp increased from 60% → 75%.
Zed	E damage increased from 65-165 (+65% bonus AD) → 70-170 (+80% bonus AD).

🔻 Champion Nerfs

Champion	Nerf Details
Ambessa	E damage per hit reduced from 40-140 (+60% bonus AD) → 40-120 (+60% bonus AD).
Ashe	R damage reduced from 250/450/650 → 200/400/600.
Aurora	E damage reduced from 320 (+80% AP) → 275 (+70% AP).
Cho’Gath	Q damage reduced from 80-340 → 80-320. W damage reduced from 80-300 → 80-280. E max HP damage reduced from 3% → 2.5%-3.5%.
Elise	Human Q damage reduced from 40-160 + 4% current HP → 40-160 + 4% champ HP. Spider Q damage reduced from 60-180 + 8% missing HP → 50-170 + 8% missing HP. W All Out true damage bonus reduced from 10-100% → 10-80%.
K’Sante	Passive mark damage reduced from 20 + 1% max HP → 12 + 1% max HP.
Skarner	Q max HP damage reduced from 10% → 8%. Q slow duration increased from 1.5s → 1s. E cooldown increased from 20-16s → 22-18s.
Yorick	R monster damage cap reduced from 100 → 50.

🔄 Champion Adjustments

Champion	Adjustment Details
Poppy	HP growth increased from 104 → 110. P shield adjusted to 13/15/18.5% max HP at 1/7/13 (linear scaling). E damage increased from 100-260 (+100% bonus AD) → 80-240 (+100% bonus AD).

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System Changes in Patch 25.05

🔹 System Buffs

System Change	Buff Details
Staff of Flowing Water	Buff duration increased from 4s → 6s.
Sixth Sense	Cooldown reduced from 275/350s → 250s (split cooldown removed).
Unflinching	Armor & MR increased from 2-10 → 6-12.
Yun Tal Wildarrows	Crit per stack increased from 2% → 4% melee / 2% ranged.

🔻 System Nerfs

System Change	Nerf Details
Lane Swaps	New lane swap detector mechanics introduced:

• Swap zone extends from inhib to outer turret (~500 units into jungle).
• Warning messages repeat while swap detected.
• Turret damage reduction: 50% → 95% (only when swap detected).
• Defending champion gains XP/Gold from minions, regardless of last hit.
• Defending turret executes minions in one hit.
• Offending champions receive 50% less XP/Gold from lane minions.
• Buff/Debuff lingers for 20s in top lane, 6s in mid lane.
• Defending champion takes 50% less turret damage under top turret. | | Axiom Arcanist | Ultimate amp reduced from 14% → 12%. AoE mod reduced from 9% → 8%. |

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Final Thoughts on Patch 25.05

Patch 25.05 introduces huge meta shifts, nerfs to pro-play champions, and further changes to lane swap mechanics.

Biggest Winners: ✅

• Dr. Mundo – Gains tankiness after struggling with recent item changes.
• Zed – Gets back some assassin damage, making him more viable.
• Melee Crit Champions – Yun Tal Wildarrows’ buff helps their itemization.

Biggest Losers: ❌

• Yorick Jungle – His Liandry’s third-item build gets gutted.
• Lane Swappers – The new system heavily penalizes lane swaps, further locking top laners into 1v1 matchups.
• Cho’Gath Mid – “Speed’Gath” gets hit hard, making mid-lane Cho’Gath less viable.

Will these changes shake up the meta, or will players find new ways to abuse the system? Only time will tell.

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Frequently Asked Questions about League of Legends Patch 25.05