Wild Rift Patch 7.2 Notes (Full Guide): Yunara, the Item Overhaul, Runes & Season S22

Wild Rift Patch 7.2 isn't just another balance pass — Riot themselves called it "one of our biggest gameplay updates," and for once that's not marketing. This patch tears down and rebuilds four whole systems at the same time (enchantments, boots, mage items and runes), drops a brand-new marksman in Yunara, gives Ahri a long-awaited visual glow-up, and launches Season S22 on a completely new ranked engine. If you main Wild Rift, your builds, your runes and your climb all change the moment you log in. Here's the full breakdown — organised, explained, and with the "so what does this mean for me?" takeaways most patch notes skip.

Patch 7.2 reshapes the item shop, the rune trees and the ranked ladder all at once.

# New champion: Yunara, the Unbroken Faith

The headline arrival is Yunara, the Unbroken Faith — a marksman devoted to Ionia who channels the ancient Aion Er'na relic. She's built to sit in the bot lane as a hyper-carry but flexes into a mid-lane carry pick when the draft calls for it. Expect a kit that rewards precise positioning and steady damage over burst — a "true marksman" in the classic sense.

• Release: July 9, 2026 (00:01 UTC).
• Role: Marksman — bot lane primary, mid flex.
• Playstyle: disciplined, range-based, scaling — she wants items and space, not early all-ins.

New-champion release windows are historically one of the best times to climb: opponents don't know the matchup, and if you learn her early you'll bank easy LP before the meta settles.

# Ahri's visual refresh

One of Wild Rift's most-played mid champions, Ahri, gets a full model, animation and spell-effect refresh. Nothing about her power budget changes — but her charm, orb and ultimate now look modern and read far more clearly in a teamfight. If you love her, this is the update you've been waiting for.

# The item revolution

This is the heart of 7.2 and the part that will actually change how you build every single game.

Class-restricted enchantments

Active enchantments are no longer available to everyone. They're now class-restricted, which means the tool you reach for depends on your champion's role. This kills the "everyone builds the same enchant" problem and forces real build diversity — a tank's engage enchant is no longer on your ADC's boots.

The boots overhaul

Boots got the biggest structural change in years. Tier 2 boots are now a meaningful purchase, and a new Tier 3 tier unlocks later in the game with genuinely powerful passives.

Practical takeaway: don't auto-buy the same boots every game anymore. Upgrading to Tier 3 at the right moment is now a real power spike worth planning your gold around.

Mage items reworked

Magic Penetration has been consolidated onto specific items — Void Amethyst, Spellslinger's Shoes, Void Staff, Cryptbloom and Bloodletter's Curse — instead of being sprinkled everywhere. First-item power was strengthened too (Malignance and Lost Chapter now come online earlier), so mages feel impactful sooner. Marksmen finally get built-in cleanse through Quicksilver Sash and Mercurial Scimitar, a huge quality-of-life win against heavy-CC comps.

# Champion buffs & nerfs

Dozens of champions were touched. Here are the ones that actually move the meta:

# The rune shake-up

Runes across every tree were trimmed to bring the overall damage ceiling down. Electrocute deals less, Conqueror gives less per stack, Phase Rush is slower with a longer cooldown, and Guardian shields for less. Nothing was gutted, but the "burst everything before it can react" playstyle is weaker — patient, scaling play is rewarded again.

Lower rune damage means fights last longer — positioning and vision matter more than ever.

# New systems worth knowing

7.2 adds several progression and gameplay systems that quietly change how you play:

• Ranked Energy — replaces Fortitude/Rising Star. You earn energy from performance, MVP ratings and standout plays, and it feeds directly into rank progression. Your individual impact matters more than ever.
• Knockdown (new CC type) — a control effect that specifically interrupts dashes, baked into champions like Ahri, Veigar, Amumu, Jinx, Lissandra, Vex, Viktor, Warwick, Yone and Poppy.
• Honorary Medals — achievements you unlock and display on your profile.
• Omnichamp — a mastery tracker for players with a wide champion pool, with exclusive icons.
• Vision Score — live tracking of your warding and de-warding impact during a match.
• Bounty rework — bounties now scale off total gold advantage (farming and assists included), not just kill streaks.

# New skins & Battlefest Season S6

The cosmetics lineup is stacked. Headlining is the Movie Director Wild Pass (July 9) featuring Movie Director Ryze with an Ascended variant, alongside Cosmic Sting Skarner and the season-exclusive Glorious Eminence Renekton (July 10). Later drops include Scorpio Deity Skarner and Purple Garlic Lulu, plus returning favourites like Dream Raider Kha'Zix and Superhero Jayce. Battlefest Season S6 brings new Unbound Frenzy champions (T-Hex, Aurelion Sol, Swain, Yone) and a fresh set of Elemental Augments.

# Season S22 & the Ionia "Summer Rift"

Season S22 begins July 10, 2026 and runs to roughly the end of September. It launches on the new Ranked Energy system, so the climb feels different from day one. The map also gets a seasonal makeover — the Ionia "Summer Rift" refresh adds waterfalls, lotus flowers, vibrant wildlife and warmer lighting, while Battlefield Tempo tweaks (minion waves, turret scaling, baron-lane mechanics) create clearer early, mid and late phases.

# What Patch 7.2 means for your climb

Put it all together and the message is clear: scaling and fundamentals beat cheese this patch. Lower rune damage and the item reshuffle punish one-dimensional burst builds and reward players who farm well, ward well and pick their fights. A big patch is also the single best time to gain LP — the meta is unsolved, everyone is relearning their items, and the players who adapt first climb fastest.