Patch 18.6 review — November 4, 2026
Curio Cart Emblem costs 17g (previously 15g). Middle Path costs 5g at base and 4g when upgraded (previously 4g and 3g). Moonrise and Solar Gift upgrades should no longer be offered when Blossom is inactive. These purchase prices and offer conditions are separate from rewards and normal item recipes. The reviewed 18.6 notes announce no change to the retained level-transition requirements of 56/68/68 XP.
Official Riot Patch 18.6 notes, published November 3 UTC / November 4 JST. Review scope: the released notes; PC/mobile regional deployment may take longer. Earlier dated sections retain their historical patch scope.
Patch 18.5 B-patch review — October 23, 2026
Set 18 — Enchanted Wilds · Current guide · Patch 18.6. The September 14 correction left the level 7→8 requirement at 56 XP and restored both later transitions to 68 XP. No further threshold change is listed in the reviewed 18.3–18.6 notes.
Current late-level requirements
| Level transition | Total requirement | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| 7 → 8 | 56 XP | Using the pre-18.2 60-XP total |
| 8 → 9 | 68 XP | Using the short-lived 64-XP launch value |
| 9 → 10 | 68 XP | Assuming the original late-level discount remains |
These are the totals for each transition, not the amount every player still needs to buy. Check the XP already on the bar and any active economy effects.
Budget the remaining gap
If the experience bar reads 40/68 at level 8, the remaining gap is 28 XP. A plan still needs gold for the replacement unit and possibly rerolls after leveling. Reaching a level is not the same as finding, buying or upgrading the desired carry.
Where items enter the economy decision
Combining components already owned does not itself spend gold. Leveling, rolling, buying champions and buying Wisps do. A useful item can stabilize the current board while that gold is saved; an unusable item does not become a good decision merely because a later holder might appear.
The October 22 B-patch also fixes Luxury Subscription so it correctly grants 2-star 1-cost champions. This is an Augment reward correction, not a change to XP requirements or shop probabilities. See Riot Patch 18.5 notes, October 22 mid-patch update.
Wisp opportunity cost: retained 18.5 terms
Abandon Ship costs 2g, and the October 22 B-patch also fixes its Blossom upgrade at 2g. Blood and Iron costs 4g. Hand of Baron costs 4g while granting smaller bonuses than its old version. The same B-patch adjusts six other base or upgraded Wisp prices. Treat a Wisp as a specific competing purchase and read the exact version’s current cost before budgeting for level 9. Check the current Wisp cost guide.
Two board checks
- Stable board with a useful extra unit already owned: compare the next slot’s immediate value and the gold left after leveling.
- Weak board with no replacement carry found: compare upgrading owned units and equipping useful items with spending everything on a level. An empty plan for a future shop is not immediate strength.
Transfer only when the replacement is real
Before moving completed items, confirm the new holder’s star level, active traits, open slots and the method for removing the old equipment. Keep enough power on the board to survive the transition. Use the item-holder checklist.
Historical origin
The 56/68/68 baseline comes from the 18.2 main patch and September 14 update. The original 64-XP costs for the last two transitions are superseded. The arithmetic above is a budget example, not a fixed stage timing or a universal fast-8, fast-9 or fast-10 plan.
Official sources and review scope
Reviewed November 4, 2026. Current terms and the 18.6 changes above are reconstructed from Riot’s released notes through 18.6, not a fresh in-client measurement. The tables cover the named effects, not complete champion or item tooltips. Holder advice and arithmetic are TFT Item Guide editorial analysis; no measured best-in-slot or placement ranking is claimed.
