League of Legends Update 26.4 continues Riot Games’ work on balancing the game before First Stand. While the last update made big changes to how the game works, this one focuses more on making specific champions better and fixing confusing parts of the game.

Compared to Update 26.3 which had many system changes, Update 26.4 is more about small adjustments. Riot is looking at champions that are too strong, making weaker ones a bit better, and fixing some annoying mechanics. The game still favors champions that get stronger over time and deal lots of damage in the middle lane, but these changes aim to give more room for classic magic users and support champions.

Besides champion changes, Riot is also adding a new system to stop players from spamming pings too much. “Normal ping use, whether it’s for strategy, fun, or celebration, won’t be affected,” said Riot.

However, players who keep using pings in a way that clearly bothers others might get temporarily restricted from using them. “We’ll watch this system closely and adjust as needed to make sure only players who consistently use pings in a disruptive way get penalized,” Riot said.

Annie Gets Her Power Back

Annie has not been seen much in games lately, according to Riot, and Update 26.4 is trying to bring her back as both a middle lane and support choice.

Her Q spell will do a bit more damage at higher levels, giving her more reliable burst damage as the game goes on. Meanwhile, her E spell—her shield—now has a flat 10-second cooldown, making her more consistent in fights throughout the game.

These changes bring back some of Annie’s early and mid-game power while also making her more useful as a support. If burst damage magic users like her start showing up in the middle lane again, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Annie become a popular choice during First Stand.

Ryze’s Special Move Gets Fixed

A few weeks ago, in a game between Los Ratones and Karmine Corp Bue, LR’s jungler Veljko “Velja” Čamdžić had a bad experience with Ryze’s ultimate ability.

Basically, the player clicked just outside the edge of Realm Warp while standing inside the portal, which caused the spell’s logic to leave him behind instead of moving him with his team—turning what should have been a coordinated escape into a costly mistake.

With Update 26.4, Riot is removing that confusing behavior entirely. Ryze’s Realm Warp will no longer refuse to move champions who are near the edge of the portal and moving outward—if you’re inside the circle when the cast finishes, you’re going wherever the Rune Mage wants.

The change makes the ability much more intuitive and reliable, especially in important competitive moments where one small mistake can decide a fight.

Smite, Ignite, and Healing

Update 26.4 also clarifies how healing works with Summoner Spells, particularly Smite and Ignite which will no longer trigger the healing effect.

Healing is a stat that restores health based on the damage you deal—whether it’s physical, magic, or true damage—after all defenses are applied. But this change removes the special healing interaction with the Summoner’s Spells, keeping combat less confusing to understand.

“We like to make rules consistent when we can, as it helps players understand our complex game a little better,” explained Riot. “We’ve generally kept that summoner spells don’t interact with other systems like applying spell effects or life-stealing effects.”

First Stand is coming soon, and Update 26.4—which starts on February 19—is setting up for the first League of Legends Esports international event of the year.