LoL Patch 25.20 – The LoL Worlds patch explained

Patch 25.20 will release on Wednesday, October 8th, and it will be the patch that all matches of LoL Worlds 2025 will be played on. In this article, we’ll give you an overview of the LoL Worlds patch, and of the landscape that patches 25.18 through 25.20 are shaping for the World Championship.

Patch 25.20: The LoL Worlds Patch

The Pro Play Changes

This patch finalizes the changes aimed at creating the environment for LoL Worlds. It’s a smaller patch, since the big changes were done on patches 25.18 and 25.19, leaving time to correct matters in case something got overshot.

Here are the changes meant for pro play!

Azir (Nerfed in pro play): 

• [W] Arise!: 
  • AP ratio adjusted: 40-60% -> 30-70%
  • Targets beyond the first damage ratio reduced: 25-100% (based on levels 1/6/11/16) -> 20-100% (based on levels 8-18)
  • Recharge timer increased: 10-6 -> 12-6 seconds
• [E] Shifting Sands damage increased: 60-220 (+40% AP) -> 70-230 (+60% AP)

Camille (Buffed): 

• Armor per level reduced 5 -> 4.5
• [W] Tactical Sweep:
  • Base damage increased: 50-150 -> 60-160
  • Cooldown reduced: 17-11 -> 15-11 seconds

Orianna (Nerfed for her tankier build): 

• [W] Command: Dissonance damage adjusted: 70-270 (+70% AP) -> 70-230 (+80% AP)

Pantheon (Buffed for jungle): 

• [Q] Comet Spear monster damage ratio increased: 75% -> 80%
• [W] Shield Vault monster damage cap increased: 120 -> 150

Wukong (Nerfed): 

• [Q] Crushing Blow bAD ratio reduced: 55% -> 50%
• [W] Warrior Trickster:
  • Clone damage ratio reduced: 35-55% -> 30-50%
  • Cooldown increased: 20-16 -> 22-18 seconds
• [E] Nimbus Strike base damage increased: 80-200 -> 80-240

Image Source: Riot Games

Lane Swap Changes

Lane Swap Detector Window ends at 3:00 -> 4:00

Lane swap plagued the League pro play at the beginning of the year, up until Riot added a lane swap detection mechanic to drastically punish a team attempting to put a second non-jungle player top lane before the 3:30 mark. This made the strategy disappear, and the lane swap detector was then pushed back to end at 3:00 instead of 3:30 to be less intrusive overall.

A couple of weeks ago, pro players came up with a new version of the strategy, consisting in swapping the ADC and top laner while respecting the correct player counts per lane, before sending the support to join the ADC at 3:00. This has been done to bail a scaling ADC and/or top laner out of a bad matchup.

For the LoL Worlds patch, the penalty is as such extended up to the 4-minute mark, in order to give the jungler a window to punish a solo laning ADC, and allow the solo top laner to retake control of the wave before the arrival of the enemy support to turn the lane into a 2v1.

This isn’t meant to prevent the possibility of these swaps, but to allow them within stricter boundaries and with better windows for punishment.

The Other Changes

The LoL Worlds patch also brings usual balance changes aimed at solo queue.

• Anivia: Q cooldown reduced, E damage increased
• Katarina: Base armor increased
• Malphite: Base armor increased, E damage increased
• Veigar: W ratio increased
• Briar: Passive maximum stacks reduced
• Volibear: Passive damage ratio reduced, E ratio reduced
• Warwick: AD and attack speed per level reduced
• Fizz: W and R ratios reduced, base damage increased
• Graves: Q base damage increased, ratio reduced

These changes are for the most part unlikely to affect pro play, but you’ll want to keep your eyes on Anivia, Malphite and Veigar. Those have been occasionally brought in as niche picks, and these small nudges can end up bumping them into the spotlight if it raises attention on them.

Image Source: Riot Games

The context for the LoL Worlds Patch

Patch 25.20 follows bigger changes implemented on 25.18 and 25.19 and that were also meant to shape the Worlds environment. Here are the other changes to bear in mind, compared to Summer split:

• Ahri: R damage increased
• Annie: W and R damage reduced
• Ashe: AD increased
• Aurora: Passive base damage reduced, ratio increased
• Azir: Attack speed and W ratio reduced
• Brand: Passive, W, and R ratio increased
• Caitlyn: AD increased
• Cassiopeia: Mana increased, E damage increased
• Corki: Q damage decreased
• Draven: W attack speed and R damage increased
• Galio: Passive ratio and Q damage reduced
• Jax: HP decreased, R resistances increased
• Jayce: Q damage increased
• Jinx: Q and E damage increased
• Leblanc: W ratio increased
• Lee Sin: Armor decreased, Q damage adjusted towards early game
• Lillia: R damage increased and cooldown reduced
• Poppy: Q damage decreased on creeps, cancelled R cooldown increased
• Qiyana: AD, armor, and passive ratio reduced
• Sivir: Q ratio decreased
• Syndra: Health and armor decreased, Q damage increased, E cooldown decreased
• Taliyah: Q and E damage decreased, mana cost decreased
• Yunara: HP, AD, and E movement speed decreased
• Redemption: Heal decreased
• Unsealed Spellbook: Recharge cooldown increased

Image Source: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

Wrapping up the LoL Worlds patch preview

That’s all for the LoL Worlds patch! 25.20 releases on October 8th, and Worlds starts on the following Tuesday, 14th of October. Find the full LoL Worlds schedule here, and stay tuned for coverage of the tournament!

Featured Image Source: Riot Games