Riot Games has released Patch 25.11 for League of Legends, featuring significant updates to Garen's gameplay, Swiftplay Champion Select improvements, stricter LeaverBuster penalties, and a visual refresh for the Black Rose skin line.
Garen Gameplay Update Focuses on Fighter Builds
The centerpiece of Patch 25.11 is a substantial rework to Garen aimed at making fighter builds more viable while reducing the effectiveness of burst-oriented crit builds. His W ability now has a reduced cooldown and improved damage reduction scaling, while his E ability sees a cooldown reduction at higher ranks with adjusted base damage. Most notably, his critical strike damage modifier has been reduced from 150% to 140%, and his ultimate damage decreased from 150/300/450 to 150/250/350.
Quality of Life Improvements for Swiftplay Mode
Swiftplay Champion Select receives several enhancements in this patch. Players can now sort champions by mastery level and favorites, making selection more efficient in the fast-paced mode. Additionally, teammates' keystone runes are now visible during champion select, allowing for better team composition planning and strategic synergy.
What's changing with the LeaverBuster system?
Riot is implementing stricter standards in the LeaverBuster system to discourage game abandonment. The updated system imposes harsher penalties on habitual rage-quitters and consistent disconnectors while still accommodating players with occasional legitimate technical issues. In a related change, detection thresholds for in-game negative behavior have been reduced specifically for higher-ranked players, aiming to maintain a higher standard of conduct among experienced players.
Black Rose Skin Line Gets Visual Refresh
The Black Rose skin line, originally released earlier in 2025, receives comprehensive visual updates. Masque of the Black Rose Vladimir, Samira, Renata Glasc, and Elise all benefit from improved models and textures. Vladimir gets a new recall animation, while Elise receives completely refreshed visual effects. These updated skins will be available on May 28.
Pride Month Celebration Returns
For the fifth consecutive year, League of Legends is celebrating Pride month with special in-game content. Players can claim a free Rainbow Warpaint emote and participate in a mission that rewards Battle Pass experience for playing three games with friends. The Pride celebration runs until Patch 25.13.
Additional Features and Balance Changes
The patch introduces new Kill & Takedown sound effects that escalate with multi-kills, playing exclusively for the player achieving them. Volume can be adjusted via the "Notifications & UI" slider in the settings.
Numerous champions receive balance adjustments, including Aatrox, Kassadin, Samira, and Udyr. ARAM mode sees balance changes for ten champions, including Caitlyn, Janna, and Lux. The Brawl game mode undergoes extensive balance updates, with its surrender timer reduced from 60 to 15 minutes and a new anti-base camping mechanic implemented to prevent players from killing minions from their base.
The Horizon Focus item receives a slight buff with its cost reduced from 2900 to 2800 gold and AP increased from 110 to 115.
For complete details on all champion changes, balance adjustments, and bugfixes, players can check the full patch notes on the official League of Legends website.