League of Legends Patch 25.23: Zaahen Release Date, Champion Changes, and ARAM Rework

The new League of Legends Patch 25.23 has been released, bringing a large number of updates: visual changes to the map, adjustments to many champions, and improvements to several game modes. In addition, the Essence Emporium will be available until the end of the year, and the Arcane Anniversary event is coming as well. And of course, we shouldn’t forget about the upcoming new champion - Zaahen. In this blog, we’ll go through the key changes Riot Games introduced in this patch.

Zaahen – New League Champion

Credit:leagueoflegends.com

Zaahen will be added to the game only in Patch 25.24 (December 3, 2025), and the developers have explained the reasons behind this decision.

Usually, the team relies on PBE data to determine which Eternals best represent a new champion’s playstyle. However, in Zaahen’s case, this process was shortened because the developers didn’t want to reveal his release before the dedicated announcement video. Because of this, the team had less time to choose appropriate Eternals. We already have a full overview of the new League of Legends champion Zaahen, his abilities, and his role in the game.

For now, players are encouraged to try Zaahen in the current version and help gather gameplay data. The information collected from matches will help determine which Eternals are the best fit for him.

Arcane Anniversary

This November marks one year since the release of the final episode of Arcane, and the team has prepared several updates and special content to celebrate the anniversary.

The creators of Arcane will share their experience working on the series, revisit behind-the-scenes moments, and temporarily bring back themed merchandise.

In League of Legends, all Arcane skins from Seasons 1 and 2 will return, including the updated Multifaceted Arcane Jinx. The skin will be available in the Sanctum for two patches. It has received updated spawn animations, visual improvements for all three forms, and reworked Recall animations, as well as updated interactions with Jinx’s chompers in the Piltover Enforcer and Powder forms. All these updates will automatically apply to players who already own the skin. The loading screen border will not return.

A themed reward track with 8 rewards has also been added. Each reward requires playing 4 matches during Patch 25.23; party games count as 2. All rewards are claimed through the Activity Menu. The list includes:

• Icon: Jinx Butterfly
• Emote: Screaming Caitlyn & Vi
• 500 Battle Pass XP
• Emote: Jinx Salad Cat
• Icon: Robot Mask
• 500 Battle Pass XP
• Emote: Heimerdinger with Guitar
• Title: Arcane Anomaly

These rewards can only be obtained in Patch 25.23 by completing in-game tasks such as playing a certain number of matches. Arcane skins will be available in the store for a limited time, and the Multifaceted Arcane Jinx skin will remain in the Sanctum until the end of Patch 25.24.

Winter Rift

Credit:leagueoflegends.com

With the release of the update, Winter Rift has returned to the game and will remain available throughout the holiday period. The map features seasonal decorations, snow effects, and a refreshed winter-themed look for Baron.

Starting with Patch 25.23, all archived winter skins will also be available in the store. They will stay until the beginning of next year and will leave the game together with the Winter Rift.

Several new winter-themed skins are also being prepared for Patch 25.24 to complement the existing collection.

Patch 25.23 Champions Changes

Credit:leagueoflegends.com

And as always, the new patch includes balance adjustments for several champions being considered for jungle play. The goal of these changes is to improve their early-game stability and give them a reasonable jungle clear speed - without allowing them to fully clear the jungle in just three minutes.

These adjustments are based on two main factors. First, autofill can make certain matches less comfortable, since the role requires specific skills and an understanding of jungle mechanics. Second, previous examples - such as the changes to Sylas — have shown that similar updates can increase interest in the jungle role and reduce the number of autofill cases.

However, the developers note potential risks. Most of these champions were not originally designed as full-fledged junglers, and there is a significant difference between simply clearing camps at a basic speed and fully matching the requirements of the role. The team will continue monitoring the results after the changes go live to see which champions perform well in the new position and resonate with players.

Patch 25.23 ARAM: Chaos Changes

As expected, the developers introduced a number of adjustments to ARAM: Chaos, since some builds were, to put it mildly, far too strong and extremely difficult to play against.

The main focus is on augments: several options that were difficult to use or didn’t have a meaningful impact have been reworked to make them more effective and influential during matches.

System elements have also been updated. Players can no longer receive two Silver augments in a row at the start, and the chance of seeing Silver augments in the first slots has been reduced. The Bloom Portal has been converted to Hexgate mechanics, making teleport timing easier to manage while still keeping its combat utility.

To maintain better match pacing in ARAM: Chaos, additional adjustments help the losing team close the gap and keep the tempo consistent until the end of the game.

A new item - the Stat Anvil - has also been added. It becomes available starting at level 9 and allows players to enhance their champion’s stats in the late game. For a detailed overview of all ARAM: Chaos changes, visit the official League of Legends website to learn more about current and upcoming updates.

Other Important Changes in Patch 25.23

The update also includes bug fixes and several other meaningful improvements. We’ve highlighted the most important and interesting ones below.

Arena

The patch adds Zaahen and updates the Eternal Sentinel augment: after reviving, Zaahen deals damage around him, knocks enemies back, becomes immune to damage from outside the circle, and temporarily gains movement speed.

Several fixes were also implemented: correct behavior of Tear of the Goddess items obtained through the Item Anvil, proper visibility of Orbital Laser effects, no more ability interruptions when using Hexgates, correct handling of Aurelion Sol’s auto attacks during flight, preventing Zeri from exceeding the attack speed limit, and fixing multiple augment interactions.

Essence Emporium

The Emporium returns from November 19, 2025, to January 7, 2026. All items are available for Blue Essence, and a new title has been added for highly dedicated players.

Practice Tool

A new option has been added to display auto-attack range indicators underneath champions.

Champion Select

To speed up the champion select process, several timings have been reduced:

• Intro animation: 10 → 5 seconds
• Champion viewing phase: 15 → 7 seconds
• Ban phase: 30 → 25 seconds
• Overall pick phase: 3 minutes → 2.5 minutes (25 seconds per player)

These changes will first roll out on NA and OCE servers in Patch 25.23, and will expand to more regions with Patch 25.24.

The patch is substantial and especially beneficial for regular players. Riot not only focused on balance updates but also expanded gameplay variety, improved training options, and added pleasant rewards simply for enjoying the game we all love.