League of Legends developer Riot Games has officially announced it will remove Atakhan for the upcoming 2026 season.
The neutral objective, which was introduced earlier this season, will no longer be part of Summoner’s Rift. Riot Games cited objective overload as one of the key issues for its removal across this season’s gameplay.
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“We tried to alleviate this overload by removing his second form and the second set of Grubs earlier this year, but we don’t think it was enough,” said Riot Games in their dev update.
Feats of Strength and the Blood Roses and Petals that came with Atakhan will also be removed, with first blood and first turret bonus gold being brought back. Additionally, Baron Nashor’s spawn timer will be brought back to the 20th-minute mark, similar to previous years.
The 2026 Season Fill Feature Faster Early Games, Monster Changes, and Split Pushing
In the dev update, Riot Games will also make epic monsters tankier, with more power shifted into the buffs and comeback XP. As a result, steals and late contest attempts will likely be more meaningful for losing teams.
Alongside that, the early game will be accelerated. Minion spawns will start at the 30-second mark, and the jungle camps will also spawn 35 seconds earlier. In the later stages of the game, the minion spawn time will also be reduced to 20 seconds.
The other big change of the new season will be the increasing importance of side lane pushing. Riot Games will introduce a new mechanic that builds up on towers and can be consumed for extra tower damage. Paired with other tweaks to the turret plates and how turrets take damage, Riot’s goal is to increase the rewards teams can get with well-executed split pushing strategies.
Vision control will also be adjusted. With the introduction of Faelights, the map will have new marked ward spots that extend vision range. The aim is to help teams that want to execute game plans through the side lanes.
How Will the Changes Impact Esports?
With the list of changes brought by Riot Games, it’s clear that the developers are looking to make the game rely less on teamfighting and objective stacking.
The Atakhan removal, as well as the earlier minion spawn, means that games can accelerate faster, especially now that teams can once again obtain the Baron Nashor buff as soon as 20 minutes.
That being said, strong teams can look to contest their opponents with alternative splitpushing strategies, generating leads through well-coordinated game plans that allow them to take down turret plates and gain extra gold away from the neutral objectives.
Source: https://esportsinsider.com/
