Patch 25.24 Breakdown: Ranked Season 3 Ends, WASD Goes Live, and Braum Gets Buffed

The final patch of the year has arrived, and Patch 25.24 is more than just a standard balance update—it's a transitional moment for League of Legends. As we wrap up 2025, this patch marks the official end of Ranked Season 3, introduces a major new control scheme to live servers, and makes some key tweaks to the champions and systems we know and love. Let's dive into everything you need to know before the season resets.

**The Ranked Season 3 Finale is Upon Us**

Mark your calendars, climbers! The Summoner’s Rift Ranked Season for Season 3, 2025 will officially end on **January 7, 2026, at 23:59:59 local server time**. This is your last chance to secure your final rank and claim those coveted end-of-year rewards. As in previous years, ranked queues will go down for a 12-hour maintenance period before the fresh start. Season 1 of 2026 kicks off on **January 8, 2026, at 12:00:00 (noon)** local server time, complete with the standard LP and rank reset.

The big prize for your 2025 efforts is the **Victorious Draven** skin and chromas, but Riot is also adding accessories to celebrate your highest achieved rank. The reward pool includes a special **Victorious Skin Border** (compatible with all three 2025 Victorious skins, provided you own them all), a **Season 2025 Ranked Emote**, and a **Season 2025 Ranked Icon**. These will be distributed in Patch 26.1 next year. Good luck on your final pushes!

**WASD Controls Launch in Casual Play**

One of the most anticipated experimental features is now stepping out of the lab. **WASD movement controls are going live in most unranked queues** across all regions starting with Patch 25.24. This is a major shift for players accustomed to traditional point-and-click movement. For now, **Draft and Ranked queues will not support WASD**, as Riot is treating this as an active beta. The rollout will begin on the OCE server and scale to all regions gradually.

Riot has emphasized that they are still iterating on the feature. To ensure a smooth experience, they reserve the right to disable WASD for specific queues or champions if issues arise. Notably for this patch, **both Briar and Taliyah will have WASD disabled**. If you're playing a disabled champion or mode, your controls will automatically revert to point-and-click. The queues where WASD *will* be enabled include Normals (Customs, Swiftplay, ARAM) and Game Modes (Arena, ARAM: Mayhem, ARURF).

The update also brings new WASD features: a **Dynamic Camera** that follows your mouse (with adjustable speed), a **Scout Ahead Button** (middle mouse click) for free camera movement, and full **WASD Remapping** for personalized keybinds. Player feedback during this beta phase is crucial, as it will determine if and when WASD makes its way into competitive ranked play.

**Champion Select Improvements & Balance Tweaks**

Following positive feedback from a pilot program, two quality-of-life improvements for champion select are being fully released worldwide. First, **you can no longer ban a champion that an ally has hovered**. This simple change should reduce lobby friction and accidental griefing. Second, the **speed optimizations for Summoner’s Rift champ select** (tested in NA and OCE in Patch 25.23) are now rolling out to all regions, getting you into game faster.

On the balance front, we have targeted adjustments. **Braum** is receiving some love to help him brawl more effectively. His base health is increasing from 610 to 630, and the damage from follow-up attacks on his passive, Concussive Blows, is being doubled from 20% to 40%. This should make the mustachioed protector a more formidable presence in extended trades. Meanwhile, **Dr. Mundo** is seeing adjustments after a previous bugfix had unintended power consequences; Riot notes their compensation buff "overshot" and are likely reeling him back in.

Patch 25.24 is a bridge between seasons, blending the culmination of a year's ranked grind with exciting experiments for the future. As you queue up for your final ranked games or try out WASD in an ARAM, remember that the landscape is constantly evolving. More details on the 2026 ranked season are promised for the Patch 26.1 notes. For now, lock in, claim your rewards, and get ready for a brand new year on the Rift.