Zaahen Is Arriving! League of Legends Patch 25.23 Preview: New Champion, Zeri Buffs, and More
A new League of Legends patch is coming our way, and it's set to deliver a large wave of buffs and nerfs. Best of all, though, LoL Patch 25.23 will introduce the game's newest champion to the fold: Zaahen.
Let's take a look at what's coming our way when LoL Patch 25.23 arrives on November 19th!
Make Space for Zaahen!
Credit: Riot GamesA mix of Xin Zhao and old Aatrox, Zaahen will arrive to League of Legends in Patch 25.23. Though his kit won't entirely revolutionize the game, the fact that the new champion will have a revive mechanic will be very interesting, to say the least.
Historically, revives have proven problematic for the game. Instances like old Aatrox's revive or the former Chemtech soul buff were all removed from the game after they proved too frustrating to deal with. Admittedly, Zaahen's revive mechanic will always kick in when his passive is fully stacked, something which shouldn't happen too often.
Whether this will finally prove to be the right way to introduce a new revive mechanic to League of Legends remains to be seen. To find out more about Zaahen's kit and playstyle, make sure to check out our complete cover of the game's new champion here.
ADCs Rise, ADCs Fall
Credit: Riot GamesThe AD carry role is likely the one that will be most affected from the arrival of LoL Patch 25.23. To put it simply, a total of 9 ADC champions are receiving tweaks of some sort in the new patch.
First up, we have the winners: all of Jhin, Xayah, Miss Fortune, Tristana, and Zeri are getting buffed. Most of these are not over-the-top buffs, but they will see these champions rise in strength and priority to close out the year. Out of this bunch, Jhin looks like the biggest beneficiary, with his Base AD, his [P] Whisper, and his [W] Deadly Flourish all getting buffed.
As for the losers, we have Ashe, Caitlyn, Jinx, and Kai'Sa getting nerfed in Patch 25.23. Most of these champions have had incredibly high pick rates over the last few months, so expect some of these to be overtaken by a few of the champions above with the coming changes.
Everybody Gets to Jungle
Credit: Riot GamesAnother big aspect of LoL Patch 25.23 will be the fact that a large number of champions (9, to be specific) are getting either brand new Jungle damage modifiers for some of their abilities, or buffs to their pre-existing modifiers. This will be the case for Aatrox, Ambessa, Cho'Gath, Fizz, Jayce, Malphite, Ornn, Riven, and Sion.
The main objective with these changes is to allow players who are autofilled into the Jungle role in Solo Queue to still be able to play champions they feel comfortable with, without sacrificing too much clear speed and effectiveness in the role.
"Many regions suffer from high jungle autofill rates and being able to play your mains when you're autofilled we think is overall net positive. Some of these changes are more experimental (we're trying Fizz in the jungle for example), but will be monitoring closely to see how they shake out."
Mel Gets Tweaked Due to Faker
Credit: Riot GamesAfter consistently picking the champion on his way to becoming a six-time World Champion, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok managed to turn Riot's eyes towards Mel. It's worth noting that, despite the negative reception when she first released, Mel now sits at a healthy 8.8% pick rate and 49.87% win rate in Solo Queue across all ranks.
And yet, Riot is not entirely happy with where the champion is currently at, which is precisely why her [P] Searing Brilliance is getting considerable damage buffs in LoL Patch 25.23, while her [E] Solar Snare root duration is reduced instead to compensate. These changes aim at making Mel less frustrating to play against, but more satisfying to play as.
The Year Draws to a Close
With only two patches remaining in 2025 for League of Legends, the new update will aim to close out the year in style. Given that pro play has wrapped up after the conclusion of Worlds 2025, this is the perfect time for Riot to start testing out different Jungle modifiers, let new ADC champions shine, and introduce a brand new champion to the game.
All information about LoL Patch 25.23 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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