Wild Rift Patch 7.3 is officially live, and it’s a big one. Hwei has finally arrived on the Rift, while marksmen have received a major overhaul alongside significant jungle changes, new items, and updates to turrets, minions, Ranked, and Legendary Ranked.
Riot released Wild Rift Patch Notes 7.3 on September 21, 2026, and more content was added as the patch rolled out. Ranked Season S23 kicked off a couple of days later, on September 23 at 03:00 UTC. Along with the usual champion and item changes, this update also shakes up the jungle, lane pressure, turrets, Ranked progression, and the Wild Pass.
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What matters most in Wild Rift Patch 7.3
Patch 7.3 is one of the larger Wild Rift gameplay updates of the season. Riot is changing how marksmen scale, increasing the value of critical strikes, rebuilding parts of the marksman item system, and making Attack Speed work differently across individual champions.
The jungle is also being redesigned around a persistent monster-damage burn that scales with a broader selection of champion stats. That change is intended to narrow the clear-speed gap between different jungle archetypes and make tanks, mages and other non-traditional junglers more viable.
| Patch 7.3 area | Main change | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| New champion | Hwei joins Wild Rift | A new mage with a multi-spell paint-based kit enters the roster. |
| Marksmen | Critical Strike Damage increases from 175% to 200% | Crit-focused champions gain more damage from critical attacks. |
| Attack Speed | Cap increases from 2.5 to 3 attacks per second | Champions can scale further through Attack Speed, with individual ratios defining their growth. |
| Jungle | Monster damage shifts toward a persistent burn | More champion builds can contribute meaningful jungle clear speed. |
| Smite | Maximum damage increases to 1,400 | Junglers get stronger control over major objectives. |
| Ranked | New performance evaluation and role incentives | S/A ratings, MVP selection, Champion Score and role bonuses are revised. |
| Pick/Ban | Platinum through Diamond move to five bans per team | Higher-ranked games get a standardized five-ban system from the start of S23. |
Hwei arrives in Wild Rift Patch 7.3
Hwei is the headline new champion in Patch 7.3. The brooding painter uses his palette to create different forms of magic, giving him a kit built around a wide selection of spells and situational tools.
Riot describes Hwei as an artist driven by the aftermath of a temple massacre and a desire to confront Ionia's criminals while helping their victims. His arrival adds another complex mage option to the roster, with his abilities designed around choosing the appropriate type of painting for each situation.
Ranked Season S23 brings major progression changes
Ranked Season S23 began on September 23, 2026. The season introduces a revised evaluation system intended to account for more than traditional combat statistics when determining S and A ratings and MVP selection.
The new system considers factors connected to a player's role, champion and responsibilities. Riot has also added a new Legendary S rating, which provides additional Ranked Fortitude.
Legendary Ranked changes
- Players who reach Master during the current season, or Grandmaster and above in the previous season, can participate in Legendary Ranked when it is available.
- The new Legendary Trial provides a route to advance directly to Legendary Master after completing its requirements.
- Provincial Legendary Ranked leaderboards have been added.
- The point system at higher Legendary Ranked tiers has been adjusted to place more emphasis on maintaining a higher win rate.
Champion Score has been reworked
Patch 7.3 also changes how Champion Score works. Legendary Ranked Performance Score has been removed, while the Legendary Ranked Multiplier remains and has been increased. Champion Record Score can now only increase after a match, except in cases involving rule violations.
Priority Role Bonus
A new Priority Role Bonus applies to Ranked matches from Platinum through Challenger. Eligible roles are adjusted based on demand, with Support, Jungle and Any Position listed as the bonus roles for the current season.
Five bans expand to more ranks
Ranked matches from Platinum through Diamond now use five bans per team instead of three. Riot has also removed the previous restriction that delayed the five-ban system during the opening weeks of a new season.
The biggest marksman changes in Patch 7.3
The marksman system is getting one of the biggest overhauls in Patch 7.3. The changes are meant to give crit-based carries, Attack Speed-focused champions, and other marksmen more distinct playstyles.
Critical Strike Damage is increasing from 175% to 200%, while the Attack Speed cap is going up from 2.5 to 3 attacks per second. Champions will also have their own Attack Speed ratios, rather than using the same melee or ranged scaling rules.
Several marksman abilities have also been changed so Critical Strike Chance and Critical Strike Damage can contribute more directly to their damage. Infinity Edge consequently has a clearer role as a late-game capstone for champions that benefit from critical scaling.
Ezreal, Kai'Sa and Twitch receive major adjustments
Ezreal gains base Attack Damage, but Mystic Shot has lower base damage and a longer cooldown. His cooldown refund has also been changed so the ability can reduce the cooldown of all of his abilities, while Trueshot Barrage receives new scaling and damage values.
Kai'Sa receives a substantial set of changes to her base Attack Damage, passive, Void Seeker, Supercharge and Killer Instinct. The changes alter how she converts Attack Speed and offensive stats into damage and survivability.
Twitch receives a more direct kit adjustment. His Ambush now grants bonus Attack Speed after leaving camouflage, while several parts of Deadly Venom, Venom Cask, Contaminate and Spray and Pray are changed to give him a stronger burst window after emerging from stealth.
More marksmen receive balance changes
Caitlyn, Draven, Miss Fortune, Samira, Zeri, Jinx, Akshan, Corki, Kalista, Kog'Maw, Varus, Xayah, Tristana and Sivir are among the other marksmen receiving adjustments in Patch 7.3. These changes cover base statistics, Attack Speed, ability ratios, critical scaling and specific mechanics.
New marksman items and item system changes
Patch 7.3 adds new options while simplifying several existing marksman items. Fiendhunter Bolts and Yun Tal Wildarrows join the item ecosystem, while the overall system places greater emphasis on giving completed items clearer identities.
Dagger becomes cheaper but gives less Attack Speed. Recurve Bow also becomes cheaper with a lower Attack Speed value, while Noonquiver is introduced as a component combining Attack Damage and Critical Strike Chance.
Navori Quickblades becomes cheaper, while Lord Dominik's Regards changes its build path and receives more Attack Damage. Mercurial Scimitar loses Physical Vamp and gains Lifesteal.
Several items are removed entirely, including Magnetic Blaster, Soul Transfer, Cloak of Agility and Nashor's Talon.
Jungle changes reshape Patch 7.3
The jungle has been rebuilt around a new persistent burn system. Instead of placing as much emphasis on the direct damage dealt by basic attacks and abilities, a larger portion of monster damage now comes from a burn that benefits from a wider range of champion statistics.
The change is designed to help different classes keep pace with jungle camps. Tanks, mages and other champions that traditionally relied on specific items to improve their clear can now gain more jungle damage naturally from their builds.
Jungle monsters also provide less base Gold, with more Gold shifted into the bonus supplied by Smite. Monsters become tougher and deal more damage to non-junglers, making it more difficult for laners to take jungle resources without being dedicated to the role.
Monster levels now scale according to the average level of both teams rather than simply following game time. Jungle healing has also been moved from casting Smite to killing monsters.
Smite reaches 1,400 damage
Smite now upgrades twice as players collect reward stacks, eventually reaching 1,400 damage. Combined with stronger monster resistances, this gives junglers more control over contested objectives and makes non-jungler steals more difficult.
Baron and objective pacing
Epic monsters receive durability adjustments, while Baron Nashor gets stronger mid-game rewards. The wider objective changes are intended to make successful objective control translate into more reliable map pressure rather than producing a long period of stalled gameplay followed by a sudden late-game finish.
Turrets and minions are changing the pace of the Rift
Patch 7.3 also changes how teams convert an advantage into tower pressure. Minion waves have been adjusted to make sustained pressure after destroying inhibitor turrets more meaningful, while siege minions reach their full structure damage earlier.
Super Minions gain additional movement speed, defenses and Attack Damage depending on the number of enemy inhibitor turrets destroyed. Empowered minions also receive a minimum Movement Speed value of 3.3.
The mid- and late-game minion acceleration effect is also changing from out-of-combat Movement Speed to persistent Movement Speed, helping waves advance more consistently across the map.
New items, custom mode and quality-of-life updates
Patch 7.3 introduces several additional items outside the marksman overhaul. Endless Hunger grants temporary Omnivamp after a champion you damaged dies, while Profane Hydra adds area damage to attacks and empowered basic attacks.
Three new Elixirs are also available: Elixir of Iron, Elixir of Sorcery and Elixir of Wrath. Each is designed around a different late-game stat profile.
Rift Trials is a new custom game mode where two players face off in a 1v1 battle on Baron Lane. Summoner's Rift also receives smaller interface and visual improvements, including clearer Gold displays in the item purchase area and a new visual cue for incoming Elemental Dragons.
Patch 7.3 champion balance changes
The update is not limited to marksmen. Olaf, Volibear, Nunu & Willump and Zed receive changes outside the main marksman overhaul, while the durability appendix includes additional adjustments for champions such as Garen and Aatrox.
| Champion | Key Patch 7.3 change |
|---|---|
| Olaf | Lower base Health, higher Health growth, lower Undertow bonus AD ratio and reduced Ragnarok resistances. |
| Volibear | The Relentless Storm damage scaling is adjusted. |
| Nunu & Willump | Snowball Barrage loses its monster damage modifier. |
| Zed | Monster damage modifiers are removed from Razor Shuriken and Shadow Slash. |
| Garen | Higher base Health with lower base Armor and Armor growth. |
| Aatrox | Higher Armor growth but lower base Magic Resist. |
Patch 7.3 meta picks to watch
The broader system changes are already creating new conversations around which champions benefit most from the patch. A current Patch 7.3 champion analysis featured in the supplied source material highlights Malphite in Baron Lane, Rammus in the jungle, Syndra in mid lane and Senna in the Dragon Lane and support positions.
The analysis points to Malphite's recent buffs and his ability to punish physical-damage champions, while Rammus benefits from the new jungle damage system because his defensive statistics contribute to monster clear speed. Syndra remains a strong ranged mage option, while Senna is highlighted for the interaction between her increased Attack Speed profile, souls and the new marksman item environment.
These are meta recommendations from the supplied gameplay analysis rather than official Riot rankings. Actual champion performance can change as players adapt to the patch and Riot makes follow-up balance adjustments.
The featured video also discusses Senna's interaction with Statikk Shiv, Rapid Firecannon and soul collection, including the possibility of playing her as a farming Dragon Lane carry rather than only as a support.
NEW BEST CHAMPIONS for PATCH 7.3 SEASON 23 - Wild Rift
Wild Pass gets a major overhaul
The Pencil Sharpener Wild Pass arrived on September 22 at 00:00 UTC with Pencil Sharpener Kog'Maw and Ascended Pencil Sharpener Kog'Maw. The pass also adds more personalization rewards and gives players more choice over available Wild Pass skins.
Wild Stars are now much easier to earn with the Patch 7.3 Wild Pass. Players can collect all the available Wild Stars within the first 75 levels, with level 75 now giving 330 Wild Stars, up from 250. The Mini Pass has also been increased, offering 140 Wild Stars at level 50 instead of the previous 100.
The Wild Pass Emporium is being removed. Personalization rewards can instead be redeemed through the Set Redemption window, while Battle Ensigns become available through Wild Star redemption for 455 Wild Stars.
Bug fixes and smaller Patch 7.3 updates
- Slow effects now behave correctly when a target becomes Unstoppable or crowd-control immune after the slow has been applied.
- Sivir's Ricochet can no longer trigger the Red Brambleback buff.
- Heimerdinger's first ability description now includes its melee champion bonus damage against turrets.
- Wukong's ultimate no longer occasionally knocks targets up an additional time.
- Warwick's damage reduction duration is fixed when his third ability is activated early.
Image credit: Riot Games
Frequently asked questions about Wild Rift Patch 7.3
When did Wild Rift Patch 7.3 release?
Wild Rift Patch 7.3 was released on September 21, 2026, with some of the new content being added throughout the patch.
When did Ranked Season S23 start?
Ranked Season S23 began on September 23, 2026, at 03:00 UTC. The season is expected to continue until January 2027, with the exact end date available in the Ranked interface.
Who is the new champion in Patch 7.3?
Hwei is the new champion introduced in Wild Rift Patch 7.3. He is a mage who uses different forms of painting and magic through his unique ability system.
What happened to critical strike damage in Patch 7.3?
Base Critical Strike Damage increased from 175% to 200%. Several marksman abilities have also been updated to interact more directly with Critical Strike Chance and Critical Strike Damage.
What changed in the Wild Rift jungle?
Jungle monster damage now relies more heavily on a persistent burn that benefits from a wider range of champion statistics. Monster Gold distribution, monster durability, jungle healing and Smite progression have also changed.
How much damage does Smite deal in Patch 7.3?
Smite can now upgrade twice as reward stacks are collected, eventually reaching 1,400 damage.
How many bans are there in Platinum through Diamond?
Ranked matches from Platinum through Diamond now use five bans per team instead of three. The five-ban system also applies immediately when the new season begins rather than being delayed for two weeks.
What marksman items were removed in Patch 7.3?
Magnetic Blaster, Soul Transfer, Cloak of Agility and Nashor's Talon were removed as part of the item-system overhaul.
What to watch as Patch 7.3 settles
Wild Rift Patch 7.3 changes several systems at once, so the early S23 meta is likely to be shaped by more than individual champion buffs and nerfs. The marksman overhaul changes item paths and damage scaling, while the jungle update gives tanks and other alternative picks more tools for keeping pace with traditional carries.
The new Ranked evaluation system will also take time to settle as players adjust to role-specific performance measurements, Priority Role Bonus incentives and the revised Champion Score system. Meanwhile, five bans from Platinum through Diamond create more room for teams to target specific champions during the opening weeks of the season.
For the complete numerical breakdown, the official Wild Rift Patch Notes 7.3 remain the reference for every champion, item, system and bug-fix change. RiftDaily will continue tracking how the patch develops as players adapt to the new season.
