TFT patch 12.6 notes: Release date, PBE leaks, Malzahar & Irelia nerfs, more

September 2022 · 9 minute read

TFT patch 12.6 is here ⁠— and it’s a big one in the race to Worlds. Riot are really slowing down the rapid pace of combats with sweeping changes to AD across units, while meta carries like Irelia, Malzahar, and Warwick also get nerfs. Here’s the patch notes so far.

TFT patch 12.6 is going to be pretty massive for the balance of Set 6.

While the meta is in a relatively healthy spot, there’s been one concern all Set: how quick combats end. Riot didn’t want to disturb the meta too much as regional qualifiers for the Gizmos & Gadgets Championship take place, but straight after there’s plenty of changes.

Sweeping changes to unit AD will reduce damage, while meta carries like Irelia, Malzahar, and Warwick will also face new nerfs.

Here’s what you need to know about TFT patch 12.6, including the full patch notes.

Bug fixes galore have dropped ahead of TFT patch 12.6.

What’s changed in TFT patch 12.6?

TFT patch 12.6b hits Warwick, Talon, more AD carries

While TFT patch 12.6 slowed down the pace of combat somewhat, some of the same carries reared their ugly heads again. Sick of seeing Warwick players in your games? Another nerf might knock them back again in TFT patch 12.6b.

The Challenger-Chemtech unit is having his attack speed cut slightly, which impacts his damage and healing. Small nerfs to Chemtech and Challenger traits overall also add on to this.

Twitch, Talon, Lucian, and Sivir are all being nerfed too — hitting all the beats from reroll to fast-8 Striker boards. AP comps aren’t immune either with an overall nerf to Arcanist. Draven and Jhin, however, are getting buffs.

Talon (right) is one of the best Debonair carries right now, but nerfs might challenge that.

You can find the full TFT patch 12.6b notes below.

TFT patch 12.6b notes

Champions

Draven

Jhin

Lucian

Sivir

Talon

Twitch

Warwick

Traits

Arcanist

Challenger

Chemtech

Hextech

Augments

Smoke Bomb (Gold)

Double up changes nerfs Mercenary strat

As Riot pushes towards making Double-Up a permanent “fully-supported experience”, the devs are giving the co-op mode a couple of adjustments in TFT patch 12.6.

This includes adjusting player damage to be slightly higher, as well as increasing the time it takes reinforcements to jump from one board to the other ⁠— making wipes a little less easy to come by.

The Mercenary strategy ⁠— to have one player play open fort Mercs while the other wins to save HP ⁠— is also being nerfed, with dice rolls only getting luckier if both players lose.

No more Mercenary sacking in Double Up.

Sweeping AD changes slows down combat speed

One of the more surprising changes in TFT patch 12.6 comes in sweeping changes to unit AD. Over 30 units are having their AD numbers lowered by anywhere between 5 and 10, with both spellcaster and auto-attack based units being hit by the nerfs.

The changes will have a sweeping impact of slowing down combats in TFT – something Riot has been attempting to do across the last few patches.

Developer Stephen ‘Mortdog’ Mortimer wanted to avoid any big changes in the mini-updates leading up to 12.6 so as to not disrupt the competitive meta. After the regional qualifiers from March 25 to 27 in most regions that’ll change in the leadup to Worlds.

Advertisement

The units that will be hit the hardest by the changes will be Illaoi, Corki, Zyra, Ekko, Gangplank, Gnar, Senna, Zac, Alistar, Irelia, Vi, Tahm Kench, and Zeri. They’ll receive a ten-point nerf to their base AD, where other units will receive only five.

Warwick is one of the 31 champions facing an AD nerf in TFT patch 12.6. He’s one of the most powerful carries this update.

This is on top of nerfs to Irelia, Warwick, and Malzahar (although this is debatable, with mana nerfed but damage increased) to tone back the three carries further, as well as more Innovator nerfs. Hextech, however, will be getting a buff allowing it to scale better into the late game — making Sivir more viable once again (even through the AD nerf).

Advertisement

You can find the full TFT patch 12.6 notes below. The update went live on March 30.

TFT patch 12.6 notes

Champions

1-cost

Caitlyn 

Camille 

Ezreal

Illaoi 

Nocturne 

Twitch 

2-cost

Corki 

Quinn 

Rek’Sai

Sejuani

Swain 

Talon 

Warwick 

Zyra 

3-cost

Ekko 

Gangplank 

Gnar 

Lucian 

Malzahar

Miss Fortune 

Senna 

Vex 

Zac 

4-cost

Alistar

Draven

Irelia

Jhin

Kha’Zix 

Sivir 

Vi 

5-cost

Galio

Jayce 

Jinx 

Silco

Tahm Kench 

Zeri 

Traits

Enforcer

Hextech

Innovator

Augments

System changes

Component Grab Bag (Gold)

Cybernetic Shell I / II / III

Electrocharge I / II / III

Golden Egg (Prismatic)

Golden Ticket (Prismatic)

High End Shopping (Prismatic)

Lifelong Learning (Silver)

Luden’s Echo’s I / II / III

Innovator Heart (Gold)

Innovator Soul (Prismatic)

Rich Get Richer (Gold)

Share The Spotlight (Gold)

Sharpshooter (Gold)

Smoke Bomb (Silver)

So Small (Gold)

Tiny Titans (Gold)

Titanic Force (Gold)

Woodland Trinket (Gold)

Items

Edge of Night

Mistral (Radiant Zephyr)

Double Up Changes

Systems

Combat Recap Interface changes

Mobile changes

Bug fixes

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbHXnqmtp16YvK57y56YoK2VYrynecuenp6mlKh8tbHApp2in5iperWtwq2gnKtdqbO1ec%2Baq5ygXWZ%2FboKMp6atnaNifniFkGpocWc%3D