Brand Back for Worlds? League of Legends Patch 25.19 Preview: Mel Buffs, Pantheon Nerfs, and More

Every new League of Legends update that arrives continues to reshape the meta ahead of Worlds 2025. Patch 25.19 is just around the corner, which means there will only be one more patch to go before the start of the biggest tournament in the game.

The new patch aims to shake things up in the jungle, with several AP junglers rising up just in time. Meanwhile, some problematic champions like Mel are also getting buffed, which may see her ban rate spike even higher in the new patch.

Let's go ahead and take a look at some of the biggest changes to come when LoL Patch 25.19 goes live on Wednesday, September 24th.

AP Junglers on the Rise

When it comes to pro play, picks like Xin Zhao, Wukong, Vi or Pantheon have reigned supreme for far too long. Now, Patch 25.19 aims to change that ahead of Worlds 2025.

First off, Pantheon and Poppy will see their jungle clear speeds take a hit in the new patch. While these champions take a hit, AP junglers like Brand, Diana, and Lilia will all be receiving considerable buffs.

Diana will be able to clear the jungle a little faster thanks to a higher monster damage modifier on her [P] Moonsilver Blade, while buffs to the damage and cooldown of Lilia's ultimate will see her sleep pack a stronger punch. The real winner of this patch, though, is none other than Brand.

The fiery menace will not only be faster in the jungle thanks to buffs to his [P] Blaze - Ablaze damage to monsters, but will also be considerably burstier in the coming patch after buffs to both his [W] Pillar of Flame and [R] Pyroclasm. Now it's only a matter of time before we get to find out whether Riot overshot the mark and we see Brand take over the jungle at Worlds 2025.

Ahri, LeBlanc, Syndra: Mages Want to Fight

The jungle will not be the only affected role once the new patch arrives to League of Legends, though. Over in the mid lane, three classic mages are getting important buffs that will no doubt see their stocks rise.

First up we have Ahri, who will have a shorter cooldown on her [R] Spirit Rush, and LeBlanc, whose [W] Distortion will begin to hit like a truck. Last but not least, we have the return of Syndra.

Back in the day, Syndra used to be nearly synonymous with burst, playing the role of one-shot machine while also being easily one-shot herself. Now, The Dark Sovereign could well be returning to those days. LoL Patch 25.19 will buff the damage of Syndra's [Q] Dark Sphere considerably, while also reducing the cooldown of her [E] Scatter the Weak in order to grant her better playmaking.

This will all come at a price, though, with Syndra's durability taking a hit instead. Now, Syndra's role may be that of taking down an enemy target before she gets brought down herself.

Mel: Buffs for the Problem Child

Currently, Mel's ban rate sits at over 28% across all ranks in Solo Queue (second highest in the game behind Shaco). Ever since her release back in January of 2025, Mel has been a vastly polarizing figure. Few players really enjoy playing against the champion, mainly due to the frustrating nature of having to deal with the reflection mechanic of her [W] Rebuttal.

Despite her high ban rate, though, Mel really isn't particularly strong. Her current win rate in the mid lane, for instance, is just 48.74% (very far from overpowered). So, now that players have had some time to get adjusted to the champion, Riot has deemed it time to start buffing Mel, giving her higher damage on her [P] Searing Brilliance to start with.

Though the buff may seem mild at first, it's a good way of boosting the satisfaction of playing as Mel, without increasing the frustration of playing against her.

Redemption Takes a Long-Overdue Hit

As far as pro play is concerned, Redemption has been a must-pick for support players for quite some time now. No matter if you're playing an enchanter, a tank, or any other form of support, the power of Redemption's active meant that players would always build this item first, regardless of whether it synergizes with their kit or not.

To correct this, the strength of Redemption's heal is being reduced by a flat amount (-50) in Patch 25.19. Hopefully, this will mean some more build variety in the support role ahead of Worlds 2025.

"We're looking at a nerf to Redemption to reduce its priority amongst Tank Supports (because it gives them no strategic tradeoffs); it's OK if they opt into it at some cost, but that's not the case right now."

All information about LoL Patch 25.19 was taken from an X (Twitter) post made by Matt "Phroxzon" Leung-Harrison, Lead Gameplay Designer for League of Legends. If you'd like to have a look at the complete list of changes, make sure to check out the post!

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Featured image credit: Riot Games

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