League of Legends Patch 25.04: A Bad Day for Tanks, More Mel Changes
League of Legends Patch 25.04 is here with massive meta-shifting Champion changes, item adjustments and more. This update will fundamentally alter several Champions' preferred lanes, nerf tanks while buffing ADCs, introduce new Honor System changes and reveal the 2025 Clash schedule. Let's explore a summary of everything we know about the patch.
League of Legends Patch 25.04 Esports Impact
League of Legends Patch 25.04 remains consistent with its Patch Preview from last week, with a bit of fine-tuning and precise changes. Ashe mains will be happiest with a slew of buffs across her kit while Hwei faces perhaps the worst damage nerfs of the Patch across the board. Kalista is being nerfed for similar high-skill overperformance.
Other major Champion changes in Patch 25.04 arise from the team's desire to shift certain Champs' lanes. Diana is being gently pushed from jungle to mid-lane, and Elise is being encouraged to explore the jungle while forfeiting her easy one-shots as a support. Teemo is also being primed for jungle play with more monster damage, and Warwick is being evicted from top-lane with nerfs to his Q.
Mel is technically being adjusted, but her changes in this patch reduce early-game survivability and pressure her to prioritize late-game performance. It will be harder for players to utilize her kit well without patience and strong decision-making. Several tank items (including Abyssal Mask, Fimbulwinter, Unending Despair and Heartsteel) are being nerfed to indirectly affect the current tank-heavy meta. Many boots and Infinity Edge will be rebalanced to provide ADCs with an advantage.
Related Article: League of Legends Tier List 2025: Top 10 Champions in Every Role
League of Legends Patch 25.04 Winners and Losers
Here's a quick summary of the winners and losers in this patch:
Winners (Buffs)
- Ashe
- Diana Mid-Lane
- Ekko
- Elise Jungle
- Gangplank
- Jayce
- Nautilus
- Sion
- Teemo Jungle
- Yasuo
Losers (Nerfs)
- Diana Jungle
- Elise Support
- Hwei
- Kalista
- Kog'Maw
- Lulu
- Mel
- Warwick
League of Legends Patch 25.04 Champion Changes
Buffs
Ashe is receiving the most vital buffs in this patch with damage improvements, stronger mid-game potential and better capability to open team engagements. Ekko and Nautilus gain minor damage increases. Gangplank, Jayce, Nautilus, and Sion receive quality-of-life changes. Teemo monster damage increases shift him towards jungle, and Yasuo changes encourage experimental crit-focused builds.
Ashe
- Ranger's Focus (Q): Total Damage per Flurry: 110/115/120/125/130% AD >
111/117/123/129/135% AD - Volley (W): AD Ratio: 100% bonus AD > 110% bonus AD
- Enchanted Crystal Arrow (R): Damage: 200/400/600 (+120% AP) > 250/450/650 (+120%
AP); Secondary Target Damage: 50% > 100%
Ekko
- Timewinder (Q): Damage: 70/85/100/115/130 (+30% AP) > 80/95/110/125/140 (+30% AP)
Gangplank
- Base Stats: AD Growth: 3.7 > 4.2
Jayce
- Hyper Charge (W): Set Attack Speed: 2.67 > 3.0
Nautilus
- Dredge Line (Q): Damage: 70/115/160/205/250 (+90% AP) >
85/130/175/220/265 (+90% AP)
Sion
- Base Stats: Base Armor: 32 > 36
; Health Regeneration: 7.5 > 9
Teemo
- Toxic Shot (E): Monster Damage 125% > 145%
Yasuo
- Way of the Wanderer (Passive): Critical Damage Reduction: 10% > REMOVED
Nerfs
Kalista and Hwei have been menacing in pro play, so Riot Games is taking them both down a peg with significant skill-focused nerfs.
Hwei
- Signature of the Visionary (Passive): Damage: 35–180 (based on level) (+35% AP) > 35–180 (based on level)
(+30% AP) - Severing Bolt (QW): Damage: 80/100/120/140/160 (+25% AP) > 60/85/110/135/160 (+25% AP)
- Stirring Lights (WE): =Damage: 25/35/45/55/65 (+20% AP) > 20/30/40/50/60 (+15% AP)
Kalista
- Sentinel (W): Target Max Health Damage: 14/15/16/17/18% > 10/12/14/16/18%
Kog'Maw
- Caustic Spittle (Q): Damage: 90/140/190/240/290 (+70% AP) > 80/125/170/215/260 (+80% AP)
Lulu
- Whimsy (W): Bonus Attack Speed: 25/27.5/30/32.5/35% > 20/22.5/25/27.5/30%
; Cooldown: 17/16.5/16/15.5/15 > 18/17.5/17/16.5/16 seconds - Help, Pix! (E): Base Damage/Shield Strength: 80/125/170/215/260 > 80/120/160/200/240
Warwick
- Jaws of the Beast (Q): Mana Cost: 70/75/80/85/90 > 80/85/90/95/100
Mixed Changes/Adjustments
Elise and Diana will receive changes intended to shift their main lane presences. Diana's main abilities will see buffs shift her focus into mid-lane while her Passive is nerfed to discourage Jungle play. Meanwhile, Elise's "sustained spider powers" will be buffed to encourage jungle play while Riot Games lessens her one-shot support capabilities.
Mel will also see ample adjustments — while her late-game Solar Snare power and damage scaling are slightly buffed, her Q, W and E abilities face serious setbacks that will reduce her safety. These changes likely lean in the direction of a nerf.
Diana
- Moonsilver Blade (Passive): Monster Damage: 300% > 225%
- Crescent Strike (Q): Damage: 60/95/130/165/200 (+70% AP) >
70/105/140/175/210 (+70% AP) - Pale Cascade (W): Maximum Damage: 54/90/126/162/198 (+54% AP) > 60/96/132/168/204 (+54% AP)
Elise
- Volatile Spiderling (W): =Damage=: 60/105/150/195/240 (+95% AP) > 60/100/140/180/220 (+75% AP)
- Skittering Frenzy (W): Cooldown: 10 > 6 seconds;
Bonus Attack Speed;: 60/70/80/90/100% > 60/75/90/105/120% - Spider Form (R): Spiderling Damage: 8/14/20/26 (+15% AP) > 10/20/30/40 (+15% AP)
Mel
- Radiant Volley (Q): Cast Range: 1000 > 950
; Projectile Speed: 5000 > 4500 - Rebuttal (W): Duration: 1 > 0.75 seconds
; Mana Cost: 60/45/30/15/0 > 80/60/40/20/0
; Reflected Damage: 40/47.5/55/62.5/70% > 40/45/50/55/60% - Solar Snare (E): Root Duration: 1.75/1.88/2/2.13/2.25 > 1.25/1.5/1.75/2/2.25 seconds
; Direct Hit Damage: 60/100/140/180/220 (+50% AP) > 60/105/150/195/240 - Golden Eclipse (R): Damage per Overwhelm Stack: 4/7/10 (+2.5% AP) > 4/7/10 (+3.5% AP)
League of Legends Patch 25.04 Items and Systems Changes
This patch's item changes mainly benefit ADCs while putting tanks at a disadvantage. The endless Heartsteel saga continues, as the item will be nerfed alongside Abyssal Mask, Fimbulwinter and Unending Despair. Mercury Treads and Symbiotic Sole will be buffed, but Plated Steelcaps are facing a nerf. Infinity Edge buffs also strengthen ADCs.
Item Buffs
Infinity Edge
- Price: 3,600 > 3,450 gold
- Attack Damage: 70 > 65
Mercury Treads
- Price: 1,300 > 1,250 gold
Symbiotic Soles
- Flat Movement Speed: 35 > 40 (Note: Evolved movement speed
unchanged at 45)
Item Nerfs
Abyssal Mask
- Magic Resistance: 50 > 45
Fimbulwinter
- Everlasting Shield: 100-180 (based on level) (+4.5% current mana) > 100 (+4.5%
current mana)
Heartsteel
- Colossal Consumption Max Health: 10% of damage > 8% of damage
Plated Steelcaps
- Damage Reduction from Auto Attacks: 12% > 10%
Unending Despair
- Anguish: 8-15 (based on level) (+3% bonus health) > 3% of bonus health (Overall 10-15% damage nerf)
Atakhan Changes
Atakhan changes will redefine how the 'bloodiness' of a game is calculated. PvP, especially in early game, will have more impact. Here's a full list of changes:
- "Early Lane Trading: [...] we are increasing the impact of early game PvP damage on Bloodiness Score to a
greater degree." - "Early PvP generates double the points, decreasing down to the normal amount over 14 minutes."
- "Diminishing Kill Score: Functionally, so long as “enough” kills happen, the game feels
bloody and lively. This means that the first few kills are more significant than subsequent ones." - "The first few kills per game grant significantly more points, diminishing with each subsequent kill."
- "Tower dive kills grant
multiplicatively more points.
" - "Threshold Recallibration: Because these adjustments change point values
significantly, we are adjusting the Voracious vs Ruinous threshold to try to better match these new
expected values."
Honor System Update
Make sure to be nice in your games — the Honor System will now prioritize your recent in-game behavior. You might want to save those question marks for later!
According to Riot Games, the Honor Rank system will see several changes. Players with higher Honor Ranks can access more in-game features. Honor Ranks span from 1 to 5.
- "Honor Levels: Amount of games played without penalties; Dynamic evaluation based on recent positive behavior.
- Rewards & Entitlements: Based on your current Honor [... more info available on the Riot Games FAQ.]
- Honor Checkpoints & Seasonal Resets: Gone!
- Demotion Warnings: Will notify you when your Honor is sliding to the previous level.
- Honor Penalties: Game-based; The amount of matches you must play to lift the penalty is viewable in
your profile the same way Ranked Restrictions are today. - Honor Tokens: Any remaining Honor 5 tokens in loot will be converted into 1050 Orange Essence at the
start of patch 25.06. - Progression: Honor Orbs and Capsules have been replaced with Battle Pass XP drops.
- Rewards: After 25.04, the first time you reach Honor 5 you will be permanently awarded the Three
Honors Malzahar, Shen, and Akshan skins, alongside Grey Warwick and Medieval Twitch and their chromas."
New 2025 Clash Schedule
The League of Legends team has released the full 2025 Clash upcoming event schedule. If you want to take a step towards getting more involved with LoL esports, start your journey with one of these events:
- ARURF Cup: March 1-2
- Summoner's Rift Cup: April 19-20
- MSI Clash: June 21-22
- ARAM Cup: August 16-17
- Worlds Clash: October 18-19
- ARAM Cup 2: December 13-14
These events will also have updated rewards.
New Masked Justice Skins
Yone, Lucian and Senna will all receive mysterious new Masked Justice skins. The skins will include chromas.
For more information including a complete list of bug fixes, ARAM, ARURF and Swiftplay changes, check Riot Games' official Patch Notes here.
