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Illaoi Build Guide by Kamisshake

AD Offtank Top/Mid Illaoi - Break Their Spirits {Comprehensive}

AD Offtank Top/Mid Illaoi - Break Their Spirits {Comprehensive}

Updated on March 25, 2016
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Kamisshake Build Guide By Kamisshake 12 2 534,771 Views 22 Comments
12 2 534,771 Views 22 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Kamisshake Illaoi Build Guide By Kamisshake Updated on March 25, 2016
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1
ObitoUchiha15 | May 24, 2016 9:45am
I don't believe W max is worth it anymore because the CD is fixed instead of scaling. I find myself maxing q-e-w now. What do you think about that?
1
Kamisshake (10) | August 15, 2016 12:09pm
While the %hp damage granted from W max is nice for consistent damage, I agree with your in that Q max into E max is much more efficient. Q max will increase all tentacle damage now, so it is #1 max; E max second is very good for poke/siege/lane control.
1
BlackStardust | April 16, 2016 6:04am
Kamisshake wrote:



You have to consider what the item does and what you are facing. Deadman's is an item that speeds you up and slows the first target you hit, ideal for a champion who engages. Illaoi is not a champion that is built for engaging, she is made for countering engages. Sterak's is an item that protects against burst and gives damage and HP, ideal for Illaoi. It allows you to sit in the front, take most of the enemy teams damage, and keeps you alive long enough to make use of the healing in your kit. Movespeed is good, but you must consider what your champion is made to do and what the items are made to do.

Sterak's + Randuin's or Sunfire is much better (Randuin's is usually the better item).


Okay thanks,now my question is solved ^^,ill practice a lot more with her cause she have a high skillcap in my opinion,cause most of your damage comes from the tentacles and you need to position yourself+tentacles.
1
Kamisshake (10) | April 15, 2016 9:14pm

Hello,thanks to your guide im playing a lot of Illaoi and im loving her <3,a simple question,Why we not priorize Dead Man's Plate over Sterak's Gage? DMP passive grants mobility + damage(doubled and 50% slow if fully charged) could be useful with the Gauntlet,what you think about it? :D


You have to consider what the item does and what you are facing. Deadman's is an item that speeds you up and slows the first target you hit, ideal for a champion who engages. Illaoi is not a champion that is built for engaging, she is made for countering engages. Sterak's is an item that protects against burst and gives damage and HP, ideal for Illaoi. It allows you to sit in the front, take most of the enemy teams damage, and keeps you alive long enough to make use of the healing in your kit. Movespeed is good, but you must consider what your champion is made to do and what the items are made to do.

Sterak's + Randuin's or Sunfire is much better (Randuin's is usually the better item).
1
Kamisshake (10) | April 15, 2016 9:07pm
dmth wrote:

Hello, i wanted to add one more thing you didn't really touch to much on; Summoners.

Flash is fine as you want to be in the middle of the enemy team as Illaoi and the flash helps in situations where that is hard to do.

Teleport however. The only reason you would take teleport is split pushing. So dont split push.
I found that when i tele to a fight bot lane it is so hard to do anything at all since Illaoi requires an aera with tentacles to do damage. Therefore i learned that ignite is WAY more usefull on illaoi since the ignite pressure aligns well with her being an insane lane bully.

Also i would advice maxing Q, build 3 early long swords. This makes your Q actually do significant damage since it scales of % AD. Build these 3 longswords into a black cleaver.
Thoughts?


I disagree with your breakdown of summoner spells. Flash will always be useful, on every champion. There may be better spells for specific champions and situations (Olaf for example), but Flash will always be useful because it provides so much versatility.

As to your point with teleport, I don't think that is right because Illaoi is at her strongest when she is solo in a lane with multiple tentacles in front and behind her. Very few champions can deal with that kind of pressure and you can 1v1-1v3 most champions late game if you use your tentacles properly. You can't play her as a traditional teleport user because she has no hard CC in her kit, so the situation that you described where you TP bot is not going to work unless they are really extended. Tp is used so that you can draw pressure into your lane and then join your team at an objective for a teamfight, which is where Illaoi shines.

You mentioned that you realize Illaoi is a lane bully, and that is exactly the scenario where you want TP. You can get control of your lane, push it up, draw pressure, kill the enemy laner and jungle if they gank you, and you can join your team for a fight as well.

Your idea of maxing Q can be useful against some champions, mainly ranged champions where it is difficult to trade with them. Starting longsword-3 potion can also be good in some matchups, as it gives you more damage early so you can play more aggressively. I do not reccommend this for every lane matchup as you will do more damage over time with a W max if you play near your tentacles (which you should. always.). I also don't really like building black cleaver early, or sometimes at all. It is a powerful item and it is good on Illaoi, but you already have enough base damage so it is not for every situation. Build it if you are ahead and snowballing or if you need extra armor shred.
1
BlackStardust | April 14, 2016 4:41pm
Hello,thanks to your guide im playing a lot of Illaoi and im loving her <3,a simple question,Why we not priorize Dead Man's Plate over Sterak's Gage? DMP passive grants mobility + damage(doubled and 50% slow if fully charged) could be useful with the Gauntlet,what you think about it? :D
1
dmth | April 14, 2016 2:12am
Hello, i wanted to add one more thing you didn't really touch to much on; Summoners.

Flash is fine as you want to be in the middle of the enemy team as Illaoi and the flash helps in situations where that is hard to do.

Teleport however. The only reason you would take teleport is split pushing. So dont split push.
I found that when i tele to a fight bot lane it is so hard to do anything at all since Illaoi requires an aera with tentacles to do damage. Therefore i learned that ignite is WAY more usefull on illaoi since the ignite pressure allignes well with her being an insane lane bully.

Also i would advice maxing Q, build 3 early long swords. This makes your Q actually do significant damage since it scales of % AD. Build these 3 longswords into a black cleaver.
Thoughts?
1
Kamisshake (10) | March 11, 2016 9:37pm

so you take exhaust top over tele?


Often, I do not because I like the map pressure that you can bring with tele. I do think exhaust is the better summoner for Illaoi though and if I don't need the map pressure, I will take it. Exhaust just gives you so much more in combat potency, your teles are underwhelming as Illaoi has no CC, and if you know how to group properly exhaust can win you fights.
1
blairwest43 (1) | March 9, 2016 11:58pm
so you take exhaust top over tele?
1
Vodkatronic | March 4, 2016 1:57pm
Kamisshake wrote:


Hoped that answered everything, happy to help. Have fun out there.


Oh my gosh, I kept opening mobafire home page and seeing no notifications or messages so I assumed you hadn't replied yet. Now I check the comment and there's an amazing long response that I've left unthanked and unrep'd. Thanks so much for your reply and you've answered all my questions, even the ones I didn't ask! I really appreciate it and this guide. You da real MVP (is it crass to meme while expressing gratitude? I hope not.)
1
Kamisshake (10) | February 21, 2016 6:25pm

Thanks for the guide and your time reading my ignorant reply. Any advice is appreciated.


Didn't want to quote the whole thing because this will be a novel too.

I too enjoyed some old Karma. The old Mantra Shield was my favorite thing on low HP, but alas old Karma is no more.

The core build I have listed (Sterak's and Iceborn) pretty much serves that purpose. Since you try to stack a ton of HP to increase your healing form tentacles the Sterak's shield is already pretty large. Combine that with a Maw shield and you'll be able to withstand enough to be able to get your damage and healing off. Pretty much you want to try and get as durable as possible while mixing a little damage, though Sterak's and Iceborn do give you enough damage to kill any non-tanks, and even some tanks. Depends on the game, but the items I listed are generally the best options to fill that need. Each game is different so it is up to you to decide what resists you need, but try to get items that stack HP with defensive/offensive stats.

In regards to your tower taking abilities, it is not always beneficial to take your tower early so I wouldn't stress about it too much. Buying a Sheen will help with your W spam and taking towers if that is your goal, but Illaoi is a good laner and able to defeat ganks so it is often in your interest to extend the laning phase. Sometimes you can force it and kill tower while they are under it and then kill them if they defend, but you will be able to get it at some point so I would worry more about other things.

Illaoi is kind of hard to gank for honestly and the most utility you can give will be from the slow when you kill their soul or they outrange it, better to get ganked as Illaoi and then counter it. Mana is usually only an issue until you complete the Iceborn item. I would probably try to spam your Q less, as W with passive tentacles will be most of your damage. Just use Q if you pull a soul and need the damage, if you want to push a wave, or if you need to recover HP from a bad trade. Try to use your passive tentacles more than your Q via W. You don't need to always spam, sometimes its better to just get them to try to commit to fighting you and using your mana then.

Summoner spells are player choice. I usually take TP as it has good late game value, but I recommend Exhaust because it is, imo, the single best spell for Illaoi. It buys you time to heal up and turn a dire situation, but it also reduces their armor and mr by 10 each giving the best of both offense and defense. I don't take barrier because I just don't like it myself, never have, but it can have value if you like it and time it well. Summoner spells are always player choice, play with what you are comfortable with. TP plays to your team and the map, things like Exhaust and Barrier will be for dueling and teamfights.

On to your list

-Spirit Visage: I don't list it under core because I am a firm believer that you should always build to the situation and not because I told you to. If the enemy team has no magic damage, then there is no reason to buy it but some people still would if I listed it core. That being said, it is an excellent item on Illaoi and I do find myself building it quite often. You don't always need the CDR and that can be wasted, but it is a go-to item if you face any sort of magic damage.

-Maw: The fact that it lacks HP is the exact reason I listed it under offensive items. Maw is an excellent choice if you find your team needs more damage and are facing a lot of magic damage (this thing has saved my life on multiple champions more than I can count). The shield gives a flat 300 HP +1 HP per bonus magic resist, so it effectively has 300 HP on it every 90 sec (against magic teams, which is the only time to build it). It also gives significant lifesteal via passive and attack speed (faster W's, more tentacles) when it procs. To sum this one up, if you are carrying (or need to be the one to carry) against magic teams, buy it. You can always get a Spirit Visage later or something and vice-versa.

-Death's Dance: This is an extremely situational item and I wouldn't build it often, but it can be extremely powerful because it can buy you time to do damage and heal. Your tentacles deal physical damage, so yes it will apply the lifesteal (at the 33% reduction because aoe).

-Runic Armor: Looks like you solved that one

-Mikael's Crucible: If you are playing Illaoi as support, sure. You can't use it on yourself when CC'ed so no reason to buy it unless you are supporting, and even then only against heavy CC teams or something like a protect Kog Maw comp where all your damage is on one guy and if he gets CC'ed you lose. Get QSS if you want this for yourself.

-Ohm Wrecker: I wouldn't get it because Illaoi is not built to chase, so your dive is honestly not very good. Much more effective when getting engaged upon. You won't really need the CDR either, unless you change your rune setup specifically to incorporate this item. But yeah, you aren't really built to dive so no real reason to buy it

-Locket: Locket is always good vs magic damage teams. Usually someone will buy it if the game calls for it, and I don't think that should be you. Illaoi makes better use of other MR items (Spirit Visage, Maw) and you only have so many slots; better to make your supp or jungler buy it. If you need it and they won't get it, sure. Locket is just a good item in general so if the situation requires, go for it.

Hoped that answered everything, happy to help. Have fun out there.
1
Vodkatronic | February 21, 2016 4:01pm
This feels so much like old Karma and I absolutely love it. The amount of fights you can bait at low health and win with the Q passive, ult, and W combo is monstrous. Karma's old passive made her AP scale as her health went down and it was so much fun to get free kills off people trying to get an execute.

Are there items I could gear towards after the core that would bolster the counter-all-in type of gameplay? I feel like Maw's and a few others would possibly be options for triggering a suddenly unkillable Illaoi under 20% hp. However, my game knowledge is limited and I'd defer to better judgment.

Also, I find myself just a few hits short of taking down a turret when my opponent leaves lane. Don't get me wrong, W is an absolute monster to spam on unguarded turrets, but it feels like I'm just a few hits shy of taking it before I have to back off and try with the next wave.

Lastly, I often find myself OOM during ganks from my jungler. Part of that is not communicating and syncing up ganks correctly, but part of it is clearly mana mismanagement on my part. Any tips on managing mana better in general (regardless of matchup) or on how to communicate to my jungler when is best to gank so I'm not OOM.

For summoner spells, I love exhaust. Soemtimes I get yelled at to take TP by my team, so that happens. Stupid question time: is barrier ok? I find myself in delicious 4-man ult situations where if I had just one or two more tentacle swings, I'd get the heals necessary for a quadra or more. As it stands now, I feel really strong and monstrous though.

I love this guide and although I get many guides from here, this is the only one I felt compelled to post to because of how much I appreciate it. I'm hoping I can mine some of the expert knowledge from your brain and infuse it into my play.

I'm going to list some stuff and most--if not all--of it will sound really stupid. I ask only for your thoughts on said questions.

-Spirit Visage: why isn't it core? It seems like such a perfect match AND it's synonymous with Ghostface (irrelevant bonus lol).
-Maw: omg the passives. Am I sacrificing too much by not having HP on this item since my heal is HP based?
-DEaths dance: tentacle damage apply to the lifesteal too?
-Runic Armnor: isn't it better than--oh wait I just read what you wrote on it "Tier 3, you want the HP more than the increased healing. This one is close as they are both good on Illaoi, but the HP is better because it will increase your healing and your innate tankiness. Runic Armor will increase your healing, but 8% is not enough to make it better than the HP. HP has a similar increase to healing and it also helps in other areas of the game, making it more valuable."
KK, question answered lol.
-Mikaels Crucible: pls don't laugh. I'm just wondering.
-Ohm Wrecker: same thing. pls no laughy-taffy.
-Locket of IRon Solari: has an activated shield and could be useful for whole team.

Thanks for the guide and your time reading my ignorant reply. Any advice is appreciated.
1
Kamisshake (10) | February 15, 2016 8:41pm
Deershank wrote:

This guide has been carrying me. I've had so much fun with this champion and the reactions of people when I get ganked and come out with a double kill. Played against a Shen and he ult'ed bottom while he was a vessel and I casually got a double kill from my tentacles while I was at base. I lost my mind. Great guide.


It really is the best when the enemy jungle comes, you pull his soul and just destroy his health pool and then he tries to run but you double kill. If you can make the jungler a vessel at some point, you can often take creeps from his jungle.

Glad you are enjoying the champion
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