LoL Patch 25.7 Preview: Gwen and Naafiri Nerfs
League of Legends Patch 25.6 brought Naafiri and Gwen to the forefront with key kit reworks. After those changes overshot slightly towards buffs in some areas, Patch 25.7 will continue fine-tuning the two Champions to balance their abilities. Plenty of additional adjustments are arriving for in-game items and the lane-swapping prevention system. Now that Lead Gameplay Designer Phroxzon has delivered a patch preview, find out when League of Legends Patch 25.7 will be released, how it will affect the game's meta and what changes it will include.
When Will League of Legends Patch 25.7 Arrive?
According to Riot Games' Patch Schedule, League of Legends Patch 25.7 will arrive on April 2, 2025. Its rollout time will vary depending on the player's region and server location. It's also important to note that Riot Games may release patches earlier or later than expected in special circumstances.
Related Article: League of Legends 2025 Patch Schedule
League of Legends Patch 25.7's Esports Impact
Patch 25.6 fundamentally changed Gwen and Naafiri's kits, which shook up the meta. Both Champions' adjustments leaned heavily towards buffs, making them more powerful. In particular, Gwen saw more top lane power in high elo, while Naafiri became a strong low elo pick in the jungle.
Patch 25.7 will slightly nerf Gwen and Naafiri to alleviate these issues. Gwen nerfs will slightly reduce her high-elo power and top lane power overall. Meanwhile, Naafiri changes will make it harder for her to pummel opponents with damage and reduce her early-game power. Many of these changes will reportedly focus on her jungle performance.
Changes to Umbral Glaive will widen its Champion potential and strengthen it alongside Catalyst of Aeons, which has also been underperforming. Recall Homeguard changes will make it harder for mid-lane players to combine the system with symbiotic soles while hopefully leaving Supports unaffected.
It's important to note that since this is simply a patch preview, no exact numbers are available yet for stat changes. This information will arrive later as Patch 25.7 officially releases.
LoL Patch 25.7 Winners and Losers
Here's what we know so far about the winners (buffs) and losers (nerfs) of this patch:
Winners:
- Brand
- Ivern
- Olaf
- Shaco
- Trundle
- Volibear
- Zoe
Losers:
- Darius
- Gwen
- Lillia
- Lulu
- Naafiri
LoL Patch 25.7 Buffs
Most of Patch 25.7's buffs are currently unknown. However, we know Brand's jungle performance will get buffed while Shaco and Volibear improvements focus on Attack Damage.
- Brand: unknown buffs focusing on improving his performance in jungle.
- Ivern: unknown buffs.
- Olaf: unknown buffs.
- Shaco: unknown buffs focusing on AD.
- Trundle: unknown buffs.
- Volibear: unknown buffs focusing on AD.
- Zoe: unknown buffs.
LoL Patch 25.7 Nerfs
There is a bit more information about Patch 25.7's nerfs. Here, Gwen and Naafiri are the main Champions receiving changes.
- Darius: unknown nerfs.
- Gwen: changes to reduce her high-elo dominance and top-lane performance.
- Lillia: unknown nerfs.
- Lulu: unknown nerfs.
- Naafiri: changes to reduce early-game power and jungle performance. Additional changes that will maintain her high damage output, but "make it harder for her to access that damage."
LoL Patch 25.7 Adjustments
Developers will adjust Xerath, Yone and Yorick in this patch. Xerath's changes will affect his mid-lane playstyle.
- Xerath: unknown changes focusing on mid-lane gameplay.
- Yone: unknown changes.
- Yorick: unknown changes.
LoL Patch 25.7 Items and Systems Changes
System Buffs
Most of Patch 25.7's Systems Buffs focus on items; mainly Catalyst of Aeons and Umbral Glaive which are both underperforming. @RiotPhroxzon elaborates on the decision to buff them by stating:
" Catalyst has been weak for a while, especially compared to Lost Chapter which feels like a significantly better purchase
. We're not looking to decrease the price as that makes it too good at stalling action on the 1100 spike, so just looking to increase its actual efficiency
. Umbral has also been pretty weak for a while with Pyke being the only user."
- Catalyst of Aeons (formerly Catalyst of the Protector): unknown changes that will increase its efficiency without decreasing its price.
- Umbral Glaive: unknown changes aiming to widen the Champion pool using it and increase its power.
System Nerfs
Recall Homeguard is being nerfed, with @RiotPhroxzon stating:
"Recall with symbiotic soles has been an intended but too powerful interaction, we like where it is on supports, but the mid lane use cases have been too powerful, so we're taking it down a tad."
- Recall Homeguard: nerfs targeting mid-lane players using the item combined with Symbiotic Soles.
Lane Swap Detection Adjustments
League of Legends' Lane Swap Detection system will once again change in 25.7. However, the direction and magnitude of these adjustments is currently unknown.
Further details and exact stat changes will arrive as Patch 25.7 draws closer.
