Wild Rift Patch 7.3 Notes (2026) | Hwei, ADC Rework, Ranked & Jungle Changes

Wild Rift Patch 7.3 Notes (2026) | Hwei, ADC Rework, Ranked & Jungle Changes

Wild Rift Patch 7.3 is one of the biggest updates of 2026, changing several systems that directly affect ranked games.

The update introduces Hwei, launches Ranked Season S23, completely reshapes parts of the marksman ecosystem, changes critical strike damage, adds new items, updates jungle progression, adjusts minion waves and turrets, and introduces a new approach to Ranked performance evaluation.

Patch 7.3 was released on September 21, 2026, with some content rolling out throughout the patch.

If you are preparing for the new ranked season, this update is important because the changes go far beyond simple champion balance.

---

Wild Rift Patch 7.3 Release Date

Wild Rift Patch 7.3 launched on September 21, 2026.

The new Ranked Season S23 begins on September 23, 2026 at 03:00 UTC and is currently expected to run until January 2027. Riot recommends checking the Ranked queue interface in-game for the exact season schedule.

Patch 7.3 also introduces new content throughout the patch, meaning not every feature necessarily becomes available at exactly the same time.

---

Patch 7.3 at a Glance

The biggest changes in Wild Rift Patch 7.3 include:

• Hwei joins the champion roster
• Ranked Season S23 begins
• Critical Strike Damage increases from 175% to 200%
• Marksman itemization receives a major overhaul
• Attack Speed cap increases from 2.5 to 3 attacks per second
• Several ADC abilities receive scaling changes
• Twitch receives a substantial kit update
• New marksman items are added
• Jungle progression and Smite are adjusted
• Minion waves receive major changes
• Super Minions become stronger as inhibitors are destroyed
• Turret and objective pacing is adjusted
• Ranked S/A evaluation is redesigned
• MVP selection is updated
• Priority Role Bonus is introduced
• Platinum through Diamond receive five bans per team
• Legendary Ranked progression is updated
• The Wild Pass receives a major redesign
• New Hwei and seasonal content arrives

---

Hwei Joins Wild Rift

One of the headline features of Patch 7.3 is the arrival of Hwei.

Hwei is an Ionia-based mage who uses his paintbrush and different forms of artistic magic to create a wide range of abilities.

His design revolves around multiple spell categories, giving him a large toolkit for different situations.

Hwei's release gives mid-lane players another highly flexible mage option and adds a champion with a very different mechanical identity from traditional burst mages.

Because Hwei has a large ability toolkit, learning his combinations and understanding when to use each spell category will be especially important.

---

Major Marksman Rework

The marksman system is arguably the largest champion-system change in Patch 7.3.

Riot says the goal is to create clearer differences between marksmen that rely on critical strikes, Attack Speed, sustained damage and other forms of scaling.

Previously, many marksmen increasingly converged on similar Attack Speed-heavy builds.

Patch 7.3 attempts to separate those identities.

Critical Strike Damage Increased

Base Critical Strike Damage increases from:

175% → 200%

This gives critical-strike-focused marksmen significantly more damage on their basic attacks.

It also makes Critical Strike Chance and Critical Strike Damage more important when building traditional ADCs.

---

Attack Speed Cap Increased

The Attack Speed cap changes from:

2.5 → 3 attacks per second

This creates additional room for champions that specifically scale through Attack Speed.

At the same time, Riot is adjusting individual Attack Speed ratios and growth values across the marksman roster.

The result is that two ADCs with similar item builds may no longer scale in exactly the same way.

---

Major ADC Champion Changes

Patch 7.3 contains a large number of marksman adjustments.

Here are some of the most notable ones.

Ezreal

Ezreal receives changes to his base Attack Damage and Mystic Shot.

His Q receives a longer cooldown and lower base damage, while its cooldown refund mechanic is changed.

Trueshot Barrage also receives changes to its cooldown and damage scaling.

These changes shift some of Ezreal's power away from repeated Mystic Shot usage and toward other parts of his kit.

---

Kai'Sa

Kai'Sa receives several changes to her base stats and abilities.

Her base Attack Damage is reduced, while parts of her passive and abilities receive different scaling.

Supercharge also receives changes to how Attack Speed contributes to its movement speed.

Her ultimate shield is adjusted as well.

The overall goal is to give Kai'Sa a clearer relationship between her item stats and ability scaling.

---

Twitch Rework

Twitch receives one of the most noticeable ADC changes in Patch 7.3.

His identity is being pushed further toward stealth-based positioning and explosive damage windows.

His Ambush ability now grants bonus Attack Speed after leaving camouflage.

Several parts of Deadly Venom and Contaminate are also changed.

Contaminate receives both physical and magic damage interactions, while its casting condition is adjusted.

The result is a more deliberate pattern:

Stealth → Position → Apply Poison → Reveal → Burst

Twitch players will need to rethink how they approach fights instead of simply relying on sustained Attack Speed.

---

Lucian

Lucian receives changes designed to strengthen his mid- and late-game damage windows.

His base Attack Damage increases while his Attack Damage growth is reduced.

Lightslinger and Piercing Light receive scaling adjustments.

The Culling is also redesigned around Critical Strike Rate and Critical Damage.

This makes Lucian's item choices more directly connected to the way his ultimate scales.

---

Caitlyn

Caitlyn receives changes aimed at strengthening her crit-focused identity.

Her base Attack Damage increases, while Attack Speed-related values and Attack Damage growth are adjusted.

Headshot also receives changes.

The goal is to make well-positioned Headshots more meaningful while reinforcing Caitlyn as a crit-oriented marksman.

---

Marksman Item Changes

Patch 7.3 doesn't stop at champions.

The marksman item ecosystem is receiving a major overhaul.

Riot is introducing new items and adjusting existing ones so that completed items have more distinct purposes.

Some of the biggest changes include:

• New marksman items
• Adjusted Attack Speed values
• Changes to Critical Strike items
• Changes to Armor Penetration
• Adjusted movement-speed values
• More distinct first-item choices
• Stronger late-game crit scaling

Two notable new items are:

Fiendhunter Bolts

Fiendhunter Bolts joins the item system as a new option for marksmen.

It is part of Riot's effort to create more distinct first-item and build-path choices.

Yun Tal Wildarrows

Yun Tal Wildarrows is another new marksman item designed to provide a different route for physical-damage carries.

The broader item update means ADC players should not automatically copy older builds from Patch 7.2.

The new item ecosystem makes it more important to evaluate your champion's actual scaling and the enemy team composition.

---

Jungle Changes

Patch 7.3 also changes the jungle to create a more consistent progression path.

Riot's stated goal is to reduce situations where games stall in the mid game and then suddenly end around a powerful late-game objective.

The changes therefore connect:

Jungle Progression → Objectives → Towers → Wave Pressure → Game Ending

rather than making individual objectives feel disconnected from the rest of the map.

Smite and jungle progression are also being adjusted as part of the update.

For jungle players, this means that pathing and objective timing become even more important when planning the first several minutes of a match.

---

Major Minion Changes

Minions receive some of the most important macro changes in Patch 7.3.

The goal is to make successful pushes matter more and create a more consistent relationship between winning fights and actually taking structures.

Super Minions Become Stronger

Super Minions now gain additional power depending on how many enemy inhibitor turrets have been destroyed.

With one inhibitor turret destroyed, nearby minions receive defensive bonuses.

With two destroyed inhibitor turrets, they gain additional Attack Damage.

With all three inhibitor turrets destroyed, the Attack Damage bonus becomes even stronger.

Super Minions themselves no longer benefit from the Super Minion Aura.

Their base Health also increases:

800 → 1100

This makes breaking multiple inhibitor turrets more meaningful.

---

Cannon Minion Changes

Cannon Minions receive changes to their structure damage.

Their structure damage is no longer scaled in exactly the same way as before and instead uses a fixed value.

This is part of the larger attempt to make wave pressure more predictable.

---

All Minions Now Deal More Consistent Champion Damage

All minions now deal 60% damage to champions.

Minion experience range also increases:

8 → 10

This makes positioning around waves and experience slightly more forgiving while also giving minion interactions a clearer role in lane control.

---

Minion Movement Speed Changes

Starting at 5:30, minions gain additional Movement Speed every 150 seconds.

They can receive this increase up to six times.

The previous system based on out-of-combat Movement Speed is removed.

This should make later waves move more consistently toward their destination.

For laners, this means wave timing becomes increasingly important in the mid and late game.

---

Minion Push Advantage

Patch 7.3 also introduces a new Minion Push Advantage system.

The team with the higher total level and a turret advantage in a lane can receive additional advantages when fighting enemy minions.

This is designed to reward teams that have already created a meaningful lead.

The practical effect is important:

Winning a lane should make it easier to maintain pressure in that lane.

Instead of every wave resetting to roughly the same strength, existing advantages can now help convert a lead into additional structure pressure.

---

Turret and Objective Pacing

Riot is using Patch 7.3 to change the overall pacing of Wild Rift.

The stated goal is to reduce long mid-game stalls followed by sudden endings around powerful late-game objectives.

The new system places more emphasis on:

• Turrets
• Wave control
• Jungle progression
• Objective timing
• Inhibitor pressure
• Maintaining a lead

This makes macro decisions increasingly important.

A team that wins a fight but fails to convert it into a turret, wave advantage or objective may not gain as much from that fight as it could.

---

Ranked Season S23

Ranked Season S23 begins on:

September 23, 2026 at 03:00 UTC

The season is currently expected to end in January 2027.

The season-exclusive reward is:

Glorious Eminence Milio

Patch 7.3 also introduces several major changes to how individual performance is evaluated.

If you're preparing for the new season, our Wild Rift Ranks Explained guide covers the current ranked structure.

---

Ranked S/A Rating Changes

Riot is changing the way S and A ratings are calculated.

Previously, statistics such as KDA played a major role in performance evaluation.

Patch 7.3 expands the evaluation model to consider more information related to:

• Champion
• Lane
• Role
• Team contribution
• Role responsibilities
• Objective contribution
• Other performance factors

This means a player doesn't necessarily need to have the highest kill count to demonstrate strong overall performance.

The new system is designed to better account for the different responsibilities of different roles.

---

MVP Selection Changes

The MVP algorithm is also being updated.

Rather than relying primarily on traditional combat statistics, the new system considers the responsibilities and contributions associated with different roles.

This is particularly relevant for players who contribute through:

• Objective control
• Vision
• Team setup
• Peel
• Initiation
• Map pressure
• Utility

The goal is to make MVP selection more representative of overall team contribution.

---

Champion Record Score Changes

Champion Record Score receives an important change.

It will no longer decrease after a normal loss.

Except in cases involving rule violations, Champion Record Score can only increase.

This changes the long-term progression system for players who specialize in particular champions.

---

New Priority Role Bonus

Patch 7.3 introduces the Priority Role Bonus.

The system is designed to encourage players to queue for roles that currently have higher demand.

The bonus applies to Ranked matches from:

Platinum through Challenger

For the current season, the bonus roles are:

• Support
• Jungle
• Any Position

The eligible roles can change in future seasons depending on player preferences and matchmaking conditions.

The Priority Role Bonus also counts toward the weekly cap for performance bonus points.

---

Five Bans Expanded to Platinum and Diamond

One of the most important competitive changes is the expansion of the five-ban system.

Previously, Platinum through Diamond used three bans per team.

Patch 7.3 changes this to:

5 bans per team

The restriction that previously delayed the five-ban system during the first two weeks of a new season is also removed.

That means eligible ranks use the five-ban system immediately when the new season begins.

This gives teams more options when preparing for difficult matchups and team compositions.

---

Legendary Ranked Changes

Legendary Ranked also receives several progression changes.

The update introduces a new evaluation structure and changes how Champion Record Score and Ranked Performance Score work.

Players can accumulate net wins with a champion to gradually unlock that champion's Legendary Ranked Multiplier.

The previous Season Inheritance Score Bonus is removed and replaced by a new:

Master of Versatility Score Bonus

This puts more emphasis on maintaining performance across a broader champion pool.

---

Wild Pass Rework

The Wild Pass receives a significant redesign in Patch 7.3.

The new Pencil Sharpener Wild Pass features:

• Pencil Sharpener Kog'Maw
• Ascended Pencil Sharpener Kog'Maw
• New personalization rewards
• New Battle Ensign
• New emote
• Returning Wild Pass skins
• Returning Mini Pass skins
• Battlecast Urgot Mini Pass track

The Wild Pass interface is also being redesigned.

---

Wild Star Changes

Wild Stars are easier to earn under the new system.

All Wild Stars will now be obtainable within the first 75 Wild Pass levels.

The maximum number of Wild Stars from level 75 increases from:

250 → 330

Mini Pass level 50 increases from:

100 → 140 Wild Stars

Purchasing Wild Pass Elite also immediately grants:

200 additional Wild Stars

Expired Wild Stars are now automatically converted into 5 Condensed Ore instead of 1 Blue Mote.

---

Wild Pass Reward Changes

The Wild Pass skin and Random Skin Chest switch positions.

When purchasing the Advanced Pass or higher, the Wild Pass skin now unlocks immediately at:

Level 1

The Random Skin Chest moves to:

Level 20

The Wild Pass Emporium is also removed.

Personalization rewards can instead be redeemed through the Set Redemption system.

---

What Patch 7.3 Means for Ranked Players

Patch 7.3 changes much more than individual champion strength.

The most important thing to understand is that several systems now work together.

ADC Players

Marksmen should revisit their builds.

Critical Strike Damage is higher, Attack Speed has more room to scale, and item identities are changing.

Old Patch 7.2 builds shouldn't automatically be treated as optimal for 7.3.

Jungle Players

Jungle progression and Smite changes mean early pathing deserves more attention.

Objective timing should also be considered together with lane pressure rather than as isolated events.

Support Players

Support becomes one of the current Priority Role Bonus roles in Ranked.

This can make Support particularly relevant for players looking for additional role-based rewards.

Solo Laners

Minion changes and stronger wave scaling make wave management more important.

A lead can potentially be converted into stronger lane pressure through the new Minion Push Advantage system.

High-Rank Players

Platinum through Diamond now have five bans per team from the start of the new season.

Champion pools and draft preparation therefore become more important in higher-ranked games.

---

How to Prepare for Wild Rift Patch 7.3

If you're starting Ranked Season S23, don't simply copy your Patch 7.2 routine.

Instead:

1. Recheck Your Main Champions

Several marksmen and other champions have received major changes.

Read the ability changes before jumping into ranked.

2. Test New Item Builds

The marksman item system has changed significantly.

Use normal games to test your first-item and second-item choices.

3. Learn the New Wave Timings

Minion Movement Speed and wave behavior have changed.

Understanding when waves arrive can help with recalls, rotations and objective setups.

4. Adapt Your Jungle Routes

Jungle progression and Smite changes mean that old routes may not always produce the same results.

Test your first clear and objective timing before relying on them in ranked.

5. Prepare More Champions

Five bans per team means popular champions are more likely to be targeted during draft.

A deeper champion pool gives you more options when your main pick is unavailable.

6. Don't Ignore Macro

Patch 7.3 places more emphasis on converting advantages into actual map progress.

Kills are useful, but towers, waves and objectives are what turn those kills into lasting advantages.

For a broader climbing strategy, see our How to Rank Up Fast in Wild Rift guide.

---

Is Patch 7.3 Good for ADC Players?

Patch 7.3 gives ADCs more differentiated build paths rather than simply increasing every marksman's power.

Critical Strike Damage increases from 175% to 200%, while Attack Speed receives system-wide changes.

At the same time, individual champions receive adjustments designed around different scaling profiles.

This means the biggest change for ADC players isn't simply "crit is stronger."

It's that champion identity and item choice matter more.

Players should therefore evaluate builds based on the champion they're playing rather than automatically using one universal ADC build.

---

Patch 7.3 and the Wild Rift Meta

The meta will likely take some time to settle because so many systems changed simultaneously.

The main areas to watch are:

• Crit-based ADCs
• Attack Speed carries
• Twitch's updated playstyle
• Hwei
• Jungle pathing
• Wave control
• Objective conversion
• Five-ban drafts
• Priority roles
• Legendary Ranked progression

Early Patch 7.3 games should therefore be treated as an adjustment period.

Builds and champion choices that worked during Patch 7.2 should be re-evaluated against the new item and system changes.

---

Wild Rift Patch 7.3 FAQ

When did Wild Rift Patch 7.3 release?

Wild Rift Patch 7.3 was released on September 21, 2026.

When does Ranked Season S23 start?

Ranked Season S23 begins September 23, 2026 at 03:00 UTC.

Who is the new champion in Wild Rift Patch 7.3?

Hwei is the new champion introduced with Patch 7.3.

What happened to Critical Strike Damage?

Base Critical Strike Damage increases from 175% to 200%.

Did the Attack Speed cap change?

Yes. The Attack Speed cap increases from 2.5 to 3 attacks per second.

Does Patch 7.3 change ADC items?

Yes. Patch 7.3 introduces new marksman items and significantly changes existing itemization.

Did Wild Rift change the ban system?

Yes. Platinum through Diamond now use five bans per team instead of three.

What is the Priority Role Bonus?

The Priority Role Bonus provides additional rewards for choosing roles that are currently in higher demand. In the current season, Support, Jungle and Any Position are eligible.

Did minions change in Patch 7.3?

Yes. Minion Movement Speed, experience range, champion damage, Super Minion scaling and lane push mechanics all receive changes.

Where can I learn more about climbing in Wild Rift?

You can read our Wild Rift Ranks Explained, Wild Rift MMR Explained, and How to Rank Up Fast in Wild Rift guides.

---

Final Thoughts

Wild Rift Patch 7.3 is a major systems update rather than a normal balance patch.

Hwei joins the roster, marksmen receive a large-scale overhaul, Critical Strike Damage increases, Attack Speed mechanics change, the jungle is adjusted, minion waves become more important, and Ranked Season S23 introduces a new approach to performance evaluation.

For ranked players, the most important lesson is simple: don't assume your Patch 7.2 builds, champion priorities or macro habits still work exactly the same way.

Patch 7.3 changes enough systems that the opening weeks of Season S23 are a good time to test builds, refine your champion pool and adjust your macro around the new wave and objective systems.

If your goal is to climb the new season, start by understanding the Wild Rift ranking system, then build a small champion pool and adapt your strategy to the new patch.