LoL Patch 26.13 Preview — Locke Release and Meta Changes

League of Legends Patch 26.13 drops on June 24, 2026 — and it’s the most anticipated update of Season 2 Act 2. The patch brings Locke, the Ashen Exorcist and the year’s sole new champion, alongside five new cosmetics and a final pre-MSI balance pass. With Patch 26.12 having reshuffled mid lane and jungle through targeted nerfs to Lee Sin, Nocturne, and Orianna, the 26.13 meta builds on those shifts and adds an AP assassin variable that mid lane hasn’t seen in seven years. Here’s everything confirmed — and expected — in this LoL Patch 26.13 preview.

What Is Patch 26.13 and When Does It Drop?

Patch 26.13 is the fourteenth update of 2026, going live on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. It follows Patch 26.12 (released June 9) at the standard two-week cadence Riot has maintained throughout Season 2.

The dev team stated it would monitor 26.12 live data for 1–2 weeks before finalizing 26.13 balance targets. The PBE cycle for 26.13 opened on June 9, and as of June 13 no sweeping systemic changes have been confirmed — Riot is using server data to decide exactly where the balance knives land.

Server downtime: Maintenance typically starts at 3:00 AM local time for each region (NA: Pacific Time, EUW: CET) and runs 3–5 hours. Ranked queues go offline during that window and resume once the patch fully deploys.

For up-to-date rankings on the current live meta, our Patch 26.12 tier list remains valid until June 24.

Locke — LoL’s New AP Mid Assassin Arrives in Patch 26.13

Corvin Locke, the Ashen Exorcist, is the first new champion of 2026 and the first true AP mid lane assassin since Sylas — a seven-year gap in a archetype that solo queue has been hungry for. Raised among Demacia’s most ruthless occultists, Locke’s lore connects directly to Vayne’s storyline through a recent cinematic that sets up an incoming High Noon-themed event.

His kit revolves around a mark → dash → execute sequence with a meaningful health-management layer: his W literally drains his own HP to power his offense, turning every fight into a calculated trade. He rewards confident, aggressive play and punishes hesitation hard.

Ability highlights:

• Q — Ritual Nails: Skillshot that marks and briefly roots the target. The mark is Locke’s setup tool — it enables Ashen Pursuit’s dash and raises the R execution threshold.
• W — Soul Ignition: Active that drains a percentage of current HP in exchange for a movement speed burst and empowered attack chain. Rewards aggressive play; punishes hesitation.
• E — Ashen Pursuit: Short-to-medium range blink toward a marked target. Costs no resources and scales with ability haste.
• R — Purgatory: Targeted execute. Damage scales inversely with the enemy’s HP — the lower they are, the harder it hits. Cannot trigger on full-health targets, forcing a full combo sequence first.

Expected solo queue role: Locke thrives against immobile mages (Orianna, Syndra, Ryze are all weaker after 26.12 nerfs), and struggles into high-mobility or heavy-CC picks. His skill floor is high — W’s health sacrifice is unforgiving if mistimed. For a full breakdown of runes, items, and matchups, see our Locke champion guide.

Expected Champion Changes in Patch 26.13

As of the PBE cycle opening (June 9), no official champion changes have been confirmed. Riot stated it wants to observe 26.12 live data before locking targets. The pre-MSI philosophy typically means surgical tweaks rather than systemic overhauls — too many changes right before a major international tournament creates scrim instability.

Top watch list based on 26.12 data:

Champion	Situation	Likely direction
Sylas	W healing buff → climbing toward S-tier mid/jungle	Nerf (W healing or AP ratio)
AP Xin Zhao	Nerfed in 26.12, still under watch	Follow-up nerf possible
Yuumi	Buffed in 26.12 after long slump	Monitor — buff may overshoot high-elo
Tristana	Buffed in 26.12, rising in ADC	Watch — baseline seems okay
Gwen	W/R adjustments in 26.12	Monitor early-game spike

Expect 4–8 champion adjustments total in 26.13 — moderate scope by recent standards. If Sylas data spikes above 53% win rate in high Elo, a day-1 hotfix is also possible before the formal patch.

New Skins in Patch 26.13 — Broken Covenant and High Noon

Five skins arrive in Patch 26.13, split across two lines. All are expected at 1350 RP and go on sale June 24.

High Noon

• High Noon Locke — Launch skin for the new champion. His Ashen Exorcist fantasy gets a wild-west supernatural makeover with demonic energy visual effects. A strong first skin for a long-awaited archetype.
• High Noon Akshan — The demon-hunter joins the High Noon universe, leaning into his revive-oriented, hero-of-the-people thematic with a bounty hunter aesthetic.

Broken Covenant

• Broken Covenant Jhin — The MSI 2026 revenue-share skin. A portion of every purchase goes directly to the organizations competing at the Mid-Season Invitational, making it both a prestige cosmetic and a way to support esports. Jhin’s theater-of-the-mind character is a natural fit for the line’s stained-glass grandiosity.
• Broken Covenant Aurora — Her spirit-bending, ethereal kit translates beautifully into the Broken Covenant visual language: green supernatural energy and shadow aesthetics.
• Broken Covenant Shen — Reimagines him as a holy warrior with glowing stained-glass armor, emphasizing judgment and protection — very on-brand for the Eye of Twilight.

Patch 26.13 Meta Impact — What Changes for Ranked?

Patch 26.13 inherits the meta shaped by 26.12 and adds Locke as a new variable. Here’s how each position is trending:

Mid lane — biggest shift of the patch. Orianna and Ryze both took nerfs in 26.12, cracking open the lane for carry mages and assassins. Sylas has spiked in strength from his W healing buff. Locke’s arrival adds a high-kill-threat AP assassin option that literally did not exist before June 24. Early adopters in Diamond+ will exploit him heavily in Week 1 — expect a high ban rate until the community maps his hard counters.

Jungle — window still open. Briar Briar jungle (53.2% WR in Patch 26.12) and Viego Viego jungle remain strong picks. Lee Sin and Nocturne nerfs in 26.12 made room for scaling options; if Sylas jungle gets adjusted in 26.13, physical assassin junglers reclaim some meta share.

Bot lane — primary win condition unchanged. KogMaw KogMaw adc (52.6% WR) and Jinx Jinx adc lead the ADC tier. Tristana’s 26.12 buffs push her into the conversation; watch her pick rate in Week 1 of 26.13.

Top lane. Aurora Aurora top (54.6% WR top) remains dominant; Singed and Vladimir round out the tier. The AP Xin Zhao nerf cleared room for bruisers and tanks to re-emerge — look for Jax and Dr. Mundo pick rates to grow.

Ranked tip: If you play mid, get 3+ Locke games in normals before queueing ranked. His W health sacrifice punishes overconfident use, and misreading the execute HP threshold will cost you kills early on. Real-time item recommendations from buildzcrank can help calibrate your build path as Locke’s optimal items get discovered in the first week of data.

MSI 2026 — What Locke’s Release Means for Competitive Play

MSI 2026 begins almost immediately after Patch 26.13 deploys on June 24 — Riot explicitly described the patch as landing “right before the start of the Mid-Season Invitational.” The short window between patch release and tournament start is intentional: teams will have scrimmed on the 26.12 meta for two weeks and benefit from a stable, minimal-disruption environment.

Locke at MSI: Riot confirmed Locke will be disabled during MSI competitive play. This is standard policy for champions released within 2 weeks of a major international tournament — live solo queue data is insufficient to guarantee competitive stability. Competitive players will face Locke in solo queue ladder but not on the LCS, LEC, LCK, or LPL stage.

Jhin Broken Covenant — the MSI skin: The Broken Covenant Jhin skin follows the revenue-share model established at prior MSIs: a portion of each purchase goes to the organizations competing at the event. Jhin’s theatrical precision thematic maps naturally onto the Broken Covenant line’s dark-cathedral grandeur.

Expected pro meta: With the top side opened by 26.12 nerfs and bot lane still dominant, expect team compositions built around scaling ADC hypercarries (Jinx, Kog’Maw), engage-oriented supports (Leona, Braum), and flex-pick junglers. Mid lane will likely feature Ahri Ahri mid and Syndra Syndra mid as safe professional options — low-risk, high-ceiling picks that have been strong across the season.

Frequently Asked Questions About Patch 26.13

Conclusion

Patch 26.13 is a milestone moment in Season 2 Act 2: one new champion breaking a seven-year AP assassin drought in mid lane, five high-quality cosmetics including an MSI revenue-share skin, and a conservative pre-tournament balance pass that preserves competitive stability heading into MSI. The first two weeks will reward players who put in the reps on Locke early — his execute-based kit has high skill expression and real outplay potential once the learning curve is cleared.

Once Patch 26.13 lands, check our best mid lane champions guide for updated tier rankings as Locke’s win rate data settles across the ladder. For Locke-specific rune and item optimization, buildzcrank provides real-time build recommendations that adapt to your match’s evolving state — ideal for a champion whose optimal items will shift rapidly across the first week of 26.13 data.