Click to open network menu
Join or Log In
Mobafire logo

Join the leading League of Legends community. Create and share Champion Guides and Builds.

Create an MFN Account






Or

Not Updated For Current Season

This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page

x
Galio Build Guide by Masticator

Galio, Underplayed Powerhouse

Galio, Underplayed Powerhouse

Updated on August 11, 2011
7.5
6
Votes
1
Vote Vote
League of Legends Build Guide Author Masticator Build Guide By Masticator 6 1 14,191 Views 7 Comments
6 1 14,191 Views 7 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Masticator Galio Build Guide By Masticator Updated on August 11, 2011
x
Did this guide help you? If so please give them a vote or leave a comment. You can even win prizes by doing so!
Vote
Comment

You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.

I liked this Guide
I didn't like this Guide
Commenting is required to vote!
Would you like to add a comment to your vote?

Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
creating helpful guides for the League of Legends community.

In Flight



Hey, it's Masticator here, with my first guide and my favorite champion, the under-used Galio. It does make me sad sometimes to see that he is the most under-played champion, but that does have it's advantages, of course. Less patch work, which has recently been basically solid buffs. He is very balanced, and hasn't been anything close to the FoTM, even after his release he was generally ignored. But that's why we have a taunt, isn't it?
Back to Top

Why Tanky AP?

Yep, you read right. Galio is not a straight tank, but a tanky mage. Everyone generally comes down to the fact he has his passive to get AP, but honestly MR isn't easy to get, and generally hard to come by, too. Can't build MR when they have a Caitlynn, right? So I'm here to teach you what Galio does at his best.



Galio built as a straight tank might have 100 AP, at best (Can't just build MR, and tanks have to stay above the carrys item wise at all times). That's laughable compared to his ratios. He doesn't need to turn into a walking R button, right? So why not throw on some tanky AP items. Like ROA, Frozen Heart, and Abyssal Scepter (I'll go into item choices later), and just see what is born.
Back to Top

Runes and Masteries

I go a pretty simple Tank Mage rune Page, designed more so for the tanking side:

Flat MR.

Armor.

Cool-downs per level, since they give the most late game.

Flat health is always nice.

Armor, MR (A double of for Galio, of course with AP too!), Cooldowns for more spammage, and flat health. Nothing special, but it does it's job really well.



Masteries are simple Defense/mage, with the 9-21 thing. Again, simple.
Back to Top

Items

This is where people really question my build, just since it's not the usual of what everyone else generally does. Tanky Mage is the best, just believe me. If it starts to fail, then rush a few items. I'll be listing what I go, and always go for early game items. I'll add suggestions later since as a tank you cannot have a straight build. you have to adapt.

Early health regen coupled with a mana pot. Great start for harass and sustain. Build this into Philosopher's stone after your first recall! It turns into a great item to build with the extra mana, health, and gold generation.


Mana regeneration and MR. Sweet. Never be mana hungry again.


MR and Tenacity. Few other boots are good for Galio. Go Ionian boots if they don't have a lot of CC, if any at all.


Everything a good tanky mage needs. Expensive yes, but you should be farming. You. Should. Be. Farming.


Great stats from this item. The passive AS reduce won't cut the damage of your ultimate with five people beating on you.


MR + Ability power + MR reduction = My god a great item. Your mages will love you. You will love this item.


Along with your ultimate and Bulwark, this item will make you near invincible against those AD carries. Get this when there is at least two heavy AD characters on the enemy team.


This is only good when your actually getting focused, really. If your not the first to die in fights, then don't get this. Better to spend that 2600 gold on a better item for support and damage, etc.


Why would you ever question this item on anyone, ever? On Galio it shines.


Great for health regeneration when you have a lot of health. As Galio, you'll usually end up with 3000 if you play it right. Even having 2500 health won't make much of a difference.



Some items I find are generally just not very good on Galio.

35 damage a second isn't a lot, and to be honest I can get twice that armor on Frozen Heart with much better stats. It's not even that more expensive.

It's okay, but again, Frozen Heart is just way better. The passive might even reduce your ultimate's damage at early levels, and even late levels.

Sadly this item just ins't actually that great on Galio. I've tried it before, but it's only good if you play solid support Galio, which isn't as much recommended. He's a much better tank.

This is really expensive item for a health stat which isn't needed. You just need ROA to get 3000 health, which makes FoN very useful.

Some have debated on whether this is a good item, but sadly not exactly. The active is what this item is really useful for, but since your ult is channeled this basically makes this item useless on a tank.

Not going to lie when I say I love this item on Galio, but generally it's only good when you already have a main tank. If you don't, then grab this for some awesome stats. This coupled with your E makes for some perfect chases. But only grab this when you don't have a main tank!!
Back to Top

Skill Sequence


The only passive I can say I truly love. This makes building early items perfect, and late game turns out to be great when trying to keep up with the damage dealers.
-Note that 50% isn't as much as you think. Still a great passive, but don't just start stacking MR when they have some heavy AD going on. It's not good to rely on bulwark.


Every self respecting Galio levels this maxed-out first. It just does everything! Support, damage, harass, farm, kill, slow, save, just everything you can think of Resolute smite does in some form or another.
-The travel time takes some getting used to. Practice makes perfect!


You max this second for good reasons. Ever since the recent buff, at rank one it gives you 30 of each resist and healing on each hit taken by the target of the shield. At rank 5, this becomes Insta-Tank-Button, basically turning the focused target into a much harder target. I max this after Galio's Q.
-Saving the carry is your first priority. No less, always more.


I take a point at level three, then leave it alone until it's the last thing to level. I take it for the speed boosts mostly, and leveling it doesn't give you early game tanking opportunities. You just become a cannon, which is not what your meant to do.
-Don't level this for damage. It's not a lot, believe me.

Best tanking ability in the game. Out-passes Amumu's, Alistar's, Malphite's ults, basically all tanks ultimates if your team and you pull it off correctly. People always say that you need flash to pull this off, but you'd be surprised what works just by using high level E as a team-wide gap closer to pull off the distance. If you can, Bulwark yourself before, so you take literally zero damage from a five-man taunt all beating on you.
-Watch for people with active moves like Blitzcrank's Fist and Udyr's Bear stance. They'll waste your ult to quickly.


Simple tips:
-Early game, use it for carry protection and killing.

-Late game, NEVER USE THIS FOR KILLS. ONLY FOR PROTECTION AND INITIATION. Using this to kill just one person can make the difference between a won fight, and all your carries dead since you didn't stop the rush for them.

-Remember, minions will proc the damage increase with each hit, and those melee minions attack fast for such a weak strike, making the damage increase ten-fold for great early game kills. Don't really worry about this late game when the entire enemy team is beating on you.

-The cool-down is long for a reason. Use it only, and only when the moment is either a perfect initiation, or when that last second save to save your team from getting killed. If you die to save your team, you have done your job extremely well, since getting the enemy's team focus on you is something of an achievement outside of the taunt.
Back to Top

Summoner Spells

Recommended heavily for obvious reasons. I mean, it's flash. Never question THE SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE.


Some people like Ghost better for chasing, etc. I've had this before along with my E to make flash look weak, just by how shocked the enemy team was to see that it worked. Some people like this better, and it's all preference.


This is really only good for early game, but does make it so you can spam mindlessly really. Just play with this smart and this can turn into a game-changer. Late game it lags out, since you'll end up having a ton of Mana of this build, another reason why I get what I do.


Good for that Mundo and Swain. If your taking solo-top lane, then this can be a good spell, but I'd rather really take something else. I'll take it once in a while for some extra damage.


I take this every game as Galio, alongside flash. Quick recalls are really important, and this is just a great spell in general for tanks. You always need to be near your team.


Good for if your going for a more support style, and less tank really. A good spell nonetheless.


If you think you might need it, sure! Ult and enemy with Fortify on? I call GG.


good for shutting down what you think would a troublesome carry, preferable those pesky AD Melee.







I would not recommend the above.
Back to Top

Tips and Tricks!

These are general small things that can be useful to know, in many cases.

Early game tips:
-Maxed Q and one level in E can usually wipe a caster mage group.

-Rank five bulwark can be good for burst healing. Just walk in front of a minion wave ahead of your minions, bulwark, and get health. Nice way to get some health in if you don't have mana issues.

-Keep in mind that Galio is mana-hungry early game, so don't just spam, think before you shoot.

Harassing
-Minions are generally emphasized with safety, so when aiming for champions aim for minions too. You don't know how many people usually walk to minions without thinking about it, and walk right into the shot.

-Be quick, and unpredictable with your shots, unless its for a kill or something important. His Q still can be dodged easily.

-E is not good harass, even when leveled. The damage is a lot less then you think it is, that's why I level it last, and only for the speed boost. Damage is a bonus.

Protection
-Bulwark saves lives, use it often to scare away attackers.

-Enemies may never know when your ult is up, so even when it's down you can pull off a bluff to get them running, or just separate them. This take's practice to make it look like your going to actually ult.

-Use you big hit-box to block skill-shots! Important to use your body as a living shield for those poke fights before the big fights. This is when you want to use bulwark before ulting, since you might be low, and Bulwark will keep you alive long enough for the effect to finish.

-Dying to save a teammate is never a bad thing. Save the carries!
-Don't be a afraid to finish off a low enemy if they might have a chance to get away. It's a team game, remember?
Back to Top

Team Work

I'm adding this chapter since I forgot that Galio needs a good team to do well. He cannot carry, but when his team carries him you will win. Just a straight fact Galio destroys with good teamwork. This will again follow a pretty simple guide-line for situation things.

-Remember the AOE Meta? Galio brings that back, and he brings it back with a vengeance. Fiddle + Galio anyone?
-Coordinate with your teammates! Please use this thing called teamwork! Use chat, don't just /ignore every game!
-If you can, set up what you can get. Ganking isn't Galio's strong point, but he can just walk right into the center of the enemy team. They won't go for you at first...
-Again, if they blame you for feeding, ignore the trolls and keep tanking. You are meant to die, and if the time comes, sacrifice yourself for the greater good.
-In premade, Galio does extremely well in solo-top lanes, and the support+Tank combo. You can even have the support farm with you (I know that sounds strange, but the tank doesn't need all of it. Support needs farm, too! They could use it, too!).
-If some stupid team puts you bot lane, and says you shouldn't farm, Farm. I don't care what they do, farm. You are not support, ever. You are a tank, and you will farm for items, just like the carry.
Download the Porofessor App for Windows
League of Legends Build Guide Author Masticator
Masticator Galio Guide
Vote Vote
Galio, Underplayed Powerhouse

League of Legends Champions:

Teamfight Tactics Guide