Irelia Build Guide by hi im kmp

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[11.2] kmp's Irelia guide (5 year experience)

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Runes: [TOP] General 1

1 2 3

Precision

Conqueror

Presence of Mind

Legend: Alacrity

Coup de Grace

Inspiration

Magical Footwear

Cosmic Insight

Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor

Spells:

1 2 3 4

Top Spells [GENERAL]

Flash

Teleport

Ranked #57 in
Top Lane

Win 47%

Get More Stats

Items

Absolute core item

General Build Path

General starter

Aggressive starter

First back (Optimal)

First item

Core

Full build

Sustain Build Path

Core

Defensive build

Full build

DPS Build Path

Core

Full build

Boots

Ability Order General skilltree

1 2

Irelia Passive Ability

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Fiora

Extreme

This matchup is a nightmare.. All you wanna do is farming as much as you can, 'cuz if she's good, your chances of winning are 0. You'll probably outscale her if you can keep up with the gold and you can still roam or tp for kills/assists but you shouldn't fight her alone. If she makes a mistake, say used her parry, then that's the right time to go in, 'cuz you are stronger if she can't parry your damage/mark.

Champion Build Guide

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

★ About Me
★ Pros / Cons
~~★ FAQ~~

PRE-GAME

★ Runes
~~★ Masteries~~
★ Summoner Spells

CHAMPION INFO

★ Abilities
★ Skill Sequence
★ Items

GAMEPLAY

★ Early Game
★ Mid Game
★ Late Game

Introduction

Hi!

My name is Viktor aka kmp (currently 21st if you wanna check out my OP.GG). The origin of my name in case you wonder, is literally 3 random characters next to eachother. Don't bother asking or figuring out what does it mean.

I've started playing League in S5 and I've been playing Irelia ever since. I've started my first season in gold with . I almost got to diamond in S8 and S9 (Platinum 1 was my highest rank unfortunately).

This guide isn't finished yet.

I'm trying to add as many details as I can, so stay with me if you stopped by ;D

Remaining topics:

More threats and synergies (I'm actually planing on adding every champ to both and explain them)
Special matchups
More precise laning phase
More precise mid and late game

Most of this guide is about laning phase, so keep that in mind whilst reading my guide.

Enjoy!

Pros/Cons

Pros

→ Easy to farm
→ Strong early/mid game
→ High skillcap
→ Incredibly mobile
→ Diverse gameplay

Cons

→ Can be double-edged sword
→ Falls off in late game
→ High skillfloor
→ 1 CC destroys her
→ Requires a lot of time to master

Summoner Spells

SUMMONER SPELLS
-

FLASH: Best summoner spell in the game. Allows you to engage easier, dodge abilities and escape death.

TELEPORT: This is a game changer. gives you easier lanes BUT you can split push (which wants to do), turn around a fight or contest objectives. You can also go back to lane faster, so you can keep up your pressure.

IGNITE: Most powerful summoner spell for laning! BUT doesn't need that eventhough it provides you easy early kills, thus lead and/or pressure.

CLEANSE: I'd suggest this summoner spell exclusievely on mid against high CC or long-range mages. It allows you to counteract their pressure, e.g. pokes with and stuns you with when you want to react or engage on him. Hit and boom.. easy kill (or at least a free since it has a bigger cooldown).

Runes

PRECISION

: Gives you 2-5 adaptive force and stacks up to 12 times. Each attack / spell gives you 2 stacks so basically, you gain 24-60 bonus ad. Not just that, but you have 9% healing from all sources when is fully stacked. is good, but not good enough to beat (keep in mind, that is stronger in 1v1 all-in's, so if you want to split all game, feel free to take it)

: Since S11 Pre-Season this is THE BEST RUNE in the game. If you can use it correctly you'll never ever run out of mana / energy (which needs badly). This makes her gameplay easier and stronger, 'cuz you're constantly trading with the enemy almost cost free.

: This is the best in my opinion, 'cuz I don't buy anymore.

Against a champion with a handful of CC, take instead.

Against a lane bully, take instead.

: This is the most powerful of all available rune in this bracket. It offers you the chance to burst people / trade more efficiently.

: Bonus 10% attack speed - Needed, especially in the early laning phase
: Bonus 9 adaptive force - Needed 'cuz doesn't have high base stats
: Can be changed to def, depending on the matchup

General 1

General 2

Poke

Skill Sequence

COMMON BUILD

Ability Sequence
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18

✦ This is the default for me, but I honestly think that starting with is much better in any matchup. This kinda fits my style more. Use it only if you're playing aggressive on lane from the start.

BULLY BUILD

Ability Sequence
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18

✦ This is the go to skilltree in a bully matchup e.g. , , etc.

Abilities Usage

is your main damage especially in the early/early-mid game. If you don't get a huge lead on the enemy team, start stacking your passive even before teamfights (use minions) otherwise you won't deal much damage.

The best ability in her kit is . It heals you, makes you more mobile, you can make small trades, bait abilities by jumping in and out, but most importantly deals the most damage in her kit apart from . Use it to engage, to escape or to heal, but you have to focus on getting those resets!

After the nerfs/buffs/adjusts to , it became more of a useless ability in my opinion.. but you can always use it to reduce AD damage which is good since you should play Irelia on top :P (if you only want to stack it's a fine use too).

The only thing I can say about is, if you miss and you don't have a lead, you'll probably lose the trade. Use at it's max range, meaning, jump on minions as a gap closer to lengthen .

The way I like to use is either start the fight with it or use it right before I claim the kill. Other usage for this should be in teamfights when you can hit at least 2-3 people (don't waste it on only 1 if you don't need to..).

Itemization

Core items

Usually you start building after starting with into . But in certain matchups where I don't need minions to to, I simply rush so I can all-in whenever I want to, because the movementspeed and AD from is enough in the early laning phase to kill someone with your active.

I'd say is mostly a oneshot tool and it helps you spam . I used to think it can be skipped, but it really can not be. You don't have to upgrade it right away. Build HP if you are playing against a burstier team, then your upgrade should be , or build damage/sustain against a tankier team, then your upgrade should be .

Optional sustain items

is by far the best item for bruisers in the game in my opinion. It gives you tons of HP and AD, pops a shield everytime you get a huge burst, gives tenacity everytime it pops.. Do I need to say more?

is an interesting item since it's rework. For , it's useful if you're playing against a heavy AP team, but unfortunately it loses usefulness against a full AD team even with it's OP healing
(I'd recommend buying for sustain in this case).

is an all time pick for me. I really like what it gives to you. Delayed damage and 33% healing from AA and abilities.. How could I say no to this?!
This is the best sustain item against burst.

Personally, I don't buy defense usually, but if I did, would be my choice (if I'm not facing a full AD team).
It improves every income healing by 30% including runes and teammates stuffs eg. , 's or 's , .

Optional tank items

My personal preference is buying right after simply because it gives you a much better pressure in teamfight (and more damage). Altough if I have a huge lead, I'm not buying defensive items, I'm going for damage and sustain so I can close up the game by myself.

This item is deprecated for in my opinion, but I still had to include it in the guide, because I love . I feel like it's needed in some cases (after the 5 movementspeed nerf) when you need movementspeed to catch up to someone or to get away from it (also, the bonus 100 damage and slow implementation on-hit is pretty useful too).

is good against crit champs eg. , , etc. If you're up against any of these champs buy right after . The active slow is good, it doesn't let the enemy to kite you (they have to burn ).

is my all time pick, just like , if I want to get some armor. I think the Grievious wounds implementation and attack speed slow is so OP, the enemy doesn't stand a chance even if they're fed.

Other options

is purely for tankiness. When you're lacking damage and you have to build tanky, is a good choice (build first, so you don't lose damage that way).

is good against constant AP damage eg. , , etc.

Combo Tips and Tricks

This video wasn't made by me. Credits for Luviana, check out his channel HERE

Early laning phase

Alright.. 2 quick tip to easily win/hold your lane:

Farm with Bladesurge - It keeps Ionian Fervor stacked up, meaning, you have bonus on hit damage.
Poke (with basic mostly) between every minion you take.

If you have stacked up, you should go in for a trade. You win everytime with .

The basics of top lane is understanding the matchup. Meaning, you have to figure out what do you want to do in the first 5 minutes. Say you're laning against a . You want to start with 'cuz his lv1 is stronger because of his . That way, you can take CS from the first waves.

Lv1:

Start with Bladesurge
Stack Ionian Fervor
Jump in for an early trade with Ionian Fervor
Push lv2

Lv2:

As soon as you hit lv2, hit Flawless Duet and engage with Bladesurge. It should be a fix kill, but make sure you have Ionian Fervor fully stacked
If you killed your opponent, push the wave or kill him again if he Teleports back (keep Ionian Fervor stacked up)
If you didn't kill your opponent, pressure him with Ionian Fervor. Keep farming with Bladesurge so as soon as he comes to farm, you jump in and kill him

Lv3:

Even easier and faster trades with Defiant Dance
Keep up the pressure
Try to freeze

After Lv6:

Roam
Pressure top
Take Rift Herald
Take the jungle
Transfer your lead to the other lanes
Combos:

#1 + + + + +

#2 + + + + +

#3 + + + + +

** These are only mechanical combos, autoattack and active items are excluded!!! **

Watch the Combo Tips and Tricks section of the guide!

When behind

doesn't really have a behind state. What I mean by that is she can kill / pressure a lane in 0/3 if she's played correctly.

Altough she can get behind on lane and when this happens:

Focus on farming instead of trading, but keep stacking Ionian Fervor.
Ask your jungler to be nearby and eventually try to gank
Go for roams mostly, like scuttle fights and mid ganks or even bot ganks with Teleport
Build sustain, such as Ravenous Hydra or Death's Dance or just Vampiric Scepter
If your opponent leaves, split push
If you just roamed mid / bot, push the lane as much as you can

You need gold, exp and map pressure.

Out of lane doesn't have a behind state. She can always win a teamfight with a single well-used .

Out of lane

With a lead:	Without a lead:
Pressure other lanes (especially mid) Contest objectives (dragon prio since 9.23) Take early Rift Herald and try to push it at least to 2nd tier Setup an early baron (potentially) by pressuring bot Call your team for an aram, you can end the game quickly	Split all the time and build Sanguine Blade If you feel like you got back to the game group up, contest objectives and pressure the enemy team (they should fear the power of Vanguard's Edge)

Mid game

has a lot of potentials in this state.

She can:

Split push
She can 1v1 anyone
She can win a teamfight by a single Vanguard's Edge

The main thing you want to do is making pressure.

Split push when:
- You have Teleport
- Your team stalls the enemy team
- You can 1v1 anyone on the enemy team
Group up with your team when:
- You don't have Teleport
- Baron or Dragon is up
- You have a huge lead on the enemy team
- The enemy team is sieging your towers