Everything to Expect in League of Legends Season 2 (2026)

Since Riot Games revamped the season system in 2025, each season in League of Legends has taken on a distinct identity, complete with its own theme, lore, mechanics, balance changes, and skins. With two acts per season and a large volume of changes packed into each one, every new season has become a highly anticipated event for the player base.

Season 2, titled Pandemonium, is no different. The season brings a significant number of changes to the game, including WASD movement finally making its way to ranked, along with new items, a new champion, and much more.

In this article, we'll explore everything coming to League of Legends in Season 2, Pandemonium, covering the gameplay changes, upcoming skins, new champion, item updates, and more.

Article Summary

• Season 2, titled Pandemonium, launches with Patch 26.9 on April 29, 2026, and runs for six patches, ending on August 12, 2026.

• WASD movement goes live in Solo/Duo and Flex queues on the same day, with champion-specific keybinds also included in the update.

• A new mid-lane AP assassin champion is confirmed for Act 2, with more details expected closer to release.

• The season's main skin line is Pandemonium, with Prestige skins going to Shaco and LeBlanc, plus new skins for long-overdue champions like Quinn and Ivern.

• The Battle Pass is shorter to match the reduced patch count, with non-Prestige pass skins moving to direct store purchase and replaced by Fiendish Mystery Skin Loot Orbs.

• A vote-to-end feature is coming later in the season for games with detected toxic behavior, with LP consequences for the offending player.

• Your Shop returns May 5th, the Blue Essence Emporium follows on May 13th, and a Discord integration is rolling out in beta for the US, Canada, and Brazil.

Upcoming Skins

Season 2 takes on a demonic theme, with Pandemonium as the main skin line of the season. The season also brings some long-overdue attention to champions like Quinn and Ivern, who haven't received new skins in quite some time.

Here's the full list of confirmed and expected skins for Season 2:

The Prestige skins this season go to Shaco and LeBlanc, with Veigar's Prestige skin pushed to Season 3.

Also Read: League of Legends Controller Support Explained

New Champion

Riot has confirmed a new champion is arriving in Season 2 Act 2. The upcoming champion is a mid-lane AP assassin, though no further details have been shared yet. More information is expected closer to the release.

WASD into Ranked

WASD movement has been available in casual modes since December 2025. After extensive testing and adjustments, WASD has reached a similar performance level to Point and Click controls, with only a small win-rate gap remaining in favor of Point and Click.

WASD goes live in Solo/Duo and Flex queues with Patch 26.9 on April 29, 2026, the same day Season 2 Pandemonium begins. Champion-specific keybinds are also part of the same update, letting you set up different control configurations for each of your champions separately.

Summoner's Rift is laid out diagonally, which means the default WASD layout forces you to hold two keys at once when walking up or down a lane. Toggling the diagonal option rotates the input grid 45 degrees, so W moves your champion toward the enemy fountain and S retreats. It's worth testing these settings in the Practice Tool before jumping into ranked.

Also Read: Rarest League of Legends Skins and How To Get Them

Season Updates

Season 2 runs just six patches instead of the usual eight, ending on August 12, 2026. Riot intentionally shortened it to make room for a longer season later in the year.

Role quests are getting quality of life adjustments for top and mid lane. Roaming and proxying will no longer actively penalize your quest progress, though you still need to return to the lane to advance it. Top lane now rewards more experience for teamfighting, while mid lane is dropping the empowered recall in favor of a 6% bonus to AD and AP.

Riot's goal with these changes is to better reward the variety of champions played in each role, rather than pushing players toward split pushing in top or non-roaming playstyles in mid. Riot is also investing in building diversity this season, with the aim of making alternate champion builds more viable across the board.

Later in the season, a vote-to-end feature is being introduced for games where toxic behavior is detected. Allied players will be LP neutral, enemy players receive full LP as if they had won, and the offending player, along with any premade party members, will lose LP on top of receiving a punishment.

A Discord integration is also rolling out in beta for players in the US, Canada, and Brazil, letting you link your Discord and Riot accounts to invite friends to in-game parties and join lobbies through party links. Your Shop returns on May 5th, and the Blue Essence Emporium follows on May 13th.

Battle Pass Changes

The Battle Pass has been adjusted to account for the shorter season, with the completion time scaled down to match the reduced patch count. The overall effort should feel roughly in line with a standard season.

The bigger change is how pass skins are distributed. Non-Prestige Battle Pass skins (Pandemonium Annie & Pandemonium Kindred) are moving to direct purchase in the store. The slots they previously held in the pass are being replaced with Fiendish Mystery Skin Loot Orbs, each dropping a random demon-themed Epic skin.

Also Read: All League of Legends Champions by Release Date

New Items & Runes

Two keystones are returning in Season 2. Deathfire Touch is coming back, scaling damage-over-time with both AP and AD, making it a strong pick for AP assassins and bruisers running hybrid builds. Stormraider's Surge is also returning, replacing Phase Rush as the alternative movement speed rune.

On the item side, the season introduces Doran's Bow as a new starting item for ranged carries, and Doran's Helm for tanky solo laners. Gluttonous Greaves are being added as a new boot option with sustain properties. Hextech Gunblade is also returning, bringing AP/AD hybrid damage and a slow active back into the game. Trailblazer and Opportunity are being removed.

Statikk Shiv is also being updated so its lightning chain applies full on-hit effects, making it significantly stronger on champions that scale with on-hit like Kayle, Kog'Maw, or any ADC stacking Rageblade.

Final Words

Season 2 Pandemonium is shaping up to be one of the more eventful seasons League of Legends has had in a while. WASD finally reaching ranked play is a big shift, and between the new champion, returning keystones, and item additions, there's plenty to adapt to once patch 26.9 goes live on April 29th. The shorter season length also means things will move quickly, so keeping up with the changes early will matter more than usual.

League of Legends RP Top Up

League of Legends Accounts

League of Legends Items

LoL Smurf Accounts

LoL Boosting