Riot Games is preparing a major balance overhaul to address the 'non-ADC' meta, which has significantly swayed both professional tournaments and the general meta landscape.

Matthew Leung, Lead Gameplay Designer for League of Legends, announced via official social media on the 30th that patch 26.16 will aim to reduce the prevalence of mage champions in the bottom lane. Matthew Leung acknowledged the growing concerns regarding the 'non-ADC' and 'roaming support' trends currently dominating high-level ranked games and professional play.

Matthew Leung noted that the emergence of roaming strategies and mage compositions—which exploit gaps in current system mechanics—has weakened the traditional marksman role. This shift has made it increasingly difficult for bottom lane players and professionals to perform their expected roles, according to Matthew Leung.

Consequently, patch 26.16 will introduce measures to curb support roaming by strengthening gold and experience penalties up to level 5, while simultaneously bolstering marksman performance. Key items and runes, such as Berserker's Greaves and Fleet Footwork, are also slated for buffs.

Furthermore, base magic resist has been increased while growth stats have been lowered to enhance survivability against mages in early skirmishes, and the effectiveness of the 'Heal' summoner spell will be improved. Additional details are currently being tested, with further information to be shared in due course.

According to the recently released League of Legends patch roadmap, patch 26.16 is scheduled to go live on the 13th.