Mel rework planned for Patch 26.22 removes W’s spell reflection

Riot plans to remove Mel’s spell reflection in League of Legends Patch 26.22. Her reworked W would still destroy projectiles, but would also grant her team a shield and movement speed.

In its October 20, 2026 post, Riot describes a broader effort to make Mel less frustrating to face and shift some of her early power into scaling. Patch 26.22 is the announced target for these changes, rather than a confirmed live release.

W trades reflection for team protection

The proposed W produces a nova that destroys projectiles, shields the team and grants movement speed. It also retaliates against attacks with a small amount of damage. The distinction matters for opponents: an intercepted projectile would still be destroyed, but its ability effects would no longer be sent back at the caster.

For Mel and her allies, the defensive benefit would extend beyond stopping incoming shots. The shield and movement speed give the team protection of its own, shifting part of W’s value away from the enemy ability it intercepts. Removing reflection therefore changes the threat opponents face without removing projectile interception.

Riot also describes discarded prototypes, including a W that let Mel fire back the first intercepted projectile and a version of the champion with shorter range. Those experiments are not the direction announced for this rework.

Q rewards follow-up hits, while E depends on distance

Mel’s Q would become slightly slower, with more damage assigned to subsequent hits rather than the initial explosion. That shifts the damage distribution toward the later hits, making the opening explosion a smaller part of the ability’s payoff.

Q would also recover a fixed amount of its cooldown when it hits at least an enemy champion. Together, these changes put more emphasis on connecting with champions and landing follow-up damage, rather than relying as heavily on the initial explosion.

The proposed E adjustment makes distance matter to its root duration. Nearby enemies would be rooted for less time, while distant enemies would be rooted for longer. A successful hit would therefore offer different amounts of control depending on the target’s position.

Less early durability, stronger defensive growth

Riot plans to reduce Mel’s early durability and passive damage while improving her health and armor growth. Her ultimate would also receive greater cooldown reductions as its ability rank increases. These changes support the stated goal of moving some strength away from the opening stages and into progression.

The announced trade-off is clear: Mel would lose reflection and some early power in exchange for team protection and stronger defensive scaling. The final balance values will determine how substantial that exchange becomes if the rework arrives as planned in Patch 26.22.

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