LoL patch 25.05 notes and release date: First Stand 2025 time! (2025)

The next League of Legends (LoL) patch draws near. On Feb. 24, lead gameplay designer Matt “Riot Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison posted teasers of what players can expect in the update. A couple of days later, on Feb. 26, he also revealed the full preview! Finally, on March 4, the full patch notes were revealed! Read on for these LoL patch 25.5 notes plus the LoL patch 25.05 release date.

Patch 25.5, also known as "LoL patch 25.05," is set to arrive on March 5. This is confirmed by Riot Games' official LoL patch release schedule. Riot Games recently changed the patch format. It went from the "year.season.patch-number" structure to the "year.patch-number" version.

Below are some LoL patch 25.05 highlights. While champion buffs go to Aphelios, Mundo, Seraphine, and Zed, nerfs go to Ambessa, Ashe, Aurora, Cho'Gath, Elise, K'Sante, Skarner, and Yorick. The full list of updates can be found on Riot Games' official website. Notably, this update is the patch for the upcoming First Stand 2025tournament!

Ahead of the March 4 reveal, Riot Phroxzon shared details on X about Atakhan, lane swaps, pro balance, and runes, too. Below is the breakdown of it all.

Atakhan: Riot Games increased the occurrence rate of Ruinous in pro play in patch 25.4. Around half of the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) games have been Ruinous. The goal is for 60% of pro games to be Ruinous while keeping it available in Solo Q.

Lane Swaps: Lane swaps penalties are getting adjusted to address edge cases like deep proxying and lane shift strategies. Riot Games is increasing the mid penalty time to 3:30 to prevent early-game exploits — especially during the upcoming First Stand 2025 tournament. A warning system is getting added to notify players before they hit penalty zones as well.

Pro Balance: Riot Games is focusing on heavier nerfs this patch such as scaling back changes to Ashe. The company is also maintaining the current ADC meta. Some high-presence pro picks are also being adjusted for a more diverse meta ahead of the First Stand 2025 tournament.

Runes: Weaker runes are getting buffed, including Sixth Sense and Unflinching. Meanwhile, Riot Games is reducing Axiom’s overall power. Finally, discussions are continuing around balancing true damage and damage amplification.

On Feb. 26, he also talked about Tahm Kench, Zed, Yorick, Cho'Gath, and some pro-focused nerfs.

Tanks: Riot Games is monitoring the impact of recent tank item changes. Mundo is getting buffs because of his drop in performance. Meanwhile, Tahm Kench isn't getting buffs because "he consistently rates among the highest frustration on our surveys and his gameplay often feels some of the least interactive of the group."

Melee Crit: Melee Crit carries have lacked a strong first-item option, and while Yun Tal isn't the best fit, it is the most viable choice for now.

Zed: Zed has been underperforming compared to Season 14. Therefore, Riot Games is giving him a small buff. In particular, his frequent bruiser builds show that his assassin role isn't working well in Riot Games' eyes.

Yorick: Jungle Yorick’s Liandry’s third-item build has become too powerful in lower-skill matches. Therefore, Riot Games wants to tone this down.

Cho'Gath: Mid-lane Cho'Gath has been rising in popularity. Riot Games is planning targeted nerfs to him without heavily affecting his performance the top lane.

Pro-focused Nerfs: According to Riot Phroxzon, a bunch of pro-focused nerfs are on the horizon to increase game diversity — especially in the first games of a series.

Meanwhile, developers Andrei "Meddler" van Roon and Paul "Pabro" Bellezza revealed a significant update on Feb. 26. The update pertained to the return of Hextech Chests starting in patch 25.05, updates to the Noxus Act 2 Battle Pass, and more.

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