League of Legends officially kicked off its 2026 Season last Thursday, January 8th, placing the kingdom of Demacia in the spotlight both in and out of the game. Riot Games launched the long-awaited Patch 26.01, which arrives accompanied by the new cinematic “For Demacia” and a series of adjustments designed to speed up the pace of matches. With this change, the developer aims to offer a more dynamic early game, with less objective overload and more room for strategies like split pushing, a long-standing desire of the community.
As a direct result of this focus, Demacia’s influence visually extends across Summoner’s Rift, which has received stone towers and golden details inspired by the kingdom. Beyond aesthetics, the season introduces a new meta-game called “Demacia Rising,” where players will follow the nation’s rise through regular updates. This way, fans can dive into the lore in a more interactive and continuous manner over the coming months.
Changes that directly impact the game
Patch 26.01 brings deep transformations to core mechanics. To speed up the start of matches, Champ Select is now faster, minion waves arrive earlier, and jungle monsters spawn sooner, pushing everyone into action almost immediately. However, the biggest news is in the Role Missions, which have been completely overhauled. Now, each role progresses through specific conditions and offers tangible rewards, such as free tier-three boots for mid laners or an extra item slot for marksmen in the bot lane.
Furthermore, two new map mechanics, “Faelights” and “Crystalline Overgrowth,” have been added to the Rift, promising to create new points of conflict and strategy. Meanwhile, the ARAM: Mayhem mode, which was well-received, will remain available for longer, with a major update promised for Patch 26.03. Therefore, players will have constant novelties to explore.
The long-awaited visual update for Shyvana is confirmed to arrive in Act 2 of Season 1, bringing completely new visuals for her human and dragon forms, while keeping her familiar gameplay. Finally, Riot also announced improvements to player behavior, including a system to disband lobbies where someone threatens to sabotage the game, a frequent request from the fan base.
New visuals and Ranked rewards
The season will also be marked by a flood of skins. Starting with Patch 26.02, Briar and Samira will receive Battle Academia skins, while Galio and Ornn will join a thematic line inspired by mecha anime. The Lunar Revel will bring back the Firecracker line and a new “Spring Petals” theme, developed in partnership with Wild Rift. Act 2 will introduce a set of skins with a dark theme inspired by Demacia.
For competitive players, this year’s Victorious reward will be for Braum, available to players of any rank who participate in ranked matches. The Exalted tier, in turn, will receive Revenant Reign Viego through the Sanctum. Thus, with the game already updated, Brazilian players can begin exploring all the new possibilities that the 2026 Season of League of Legends offers, from tactical changes to the expanded narrative of Demacia.
