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Galio Build Guide by

Galio- Building a Glass Cannon.. Out of Bricks - Ranked Play

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Introduction

Hello everyone! This is Mikuroo with his new Galio Guide! I hope everyone enjoys reading this or finds any of this useful, as I made this guide just for mobafire. If you find any errors please feel free to comment below or PM me, I will be open and accepting to all opinions, except those of TROLLZ.

DISCLAIMER:
You do not have to follow this build exactly, and in no way am I forcing you to. In fact, I would prefer it if you did not, because Galio is an extremely situational champion, and his builds are pretty wacky. This champion is VERY VERSATILE.

Credits to myself for the signature, and also jhoijhoi teaching me how to code and for her beautiful dividers! Another hand of applause for everyone's favorite vet!

As a final note, I would like to say that this is an in-depth guide, and you should not assume you can take a peek at this to learn all I have to offer. However, I have the guide set up to preferences. The first part of the guide will be for beginners, the middle will discuss people who are just here for the build, and know how to play galio. The end will contain the meaty parts, about how to play Galio himself.

My Weird Build?

Yes, I agree my build is weird. And I was planning to put this section way down lower where it belongs with the items section but then I realized, I’m going to get troll downvoted by a lot of people who see how little magic resistance I stacked, and call my guide bad. I put this section here to stop you if you were about to, and prove you wrong.

In today’s meta game, there will always be a single AP Carry mid. There are almost no AP top laners, and even when there are, they don’t do much damage as the late game progresses. Most AP junglers are bad too. What does this mean? There won’t be much magic damage going around! So buy stacking all that magic resistance, your throwing gold into the garbage can, because in reality the AP Carry isn’t going to focus you anyways.

Who’s going to attack you? The ones that you are in range of, the Ranged AD Carry and the 1 or 2 AD Carries that covered the jungle and solo top lane. Especially the ranged AD Carry, who rips through everybody late game. And this is what you should build to counter. So that is why I have much more armor then magic resistance in my build, to survive and not waste money building otherwise.

I also do not need that tiny bit of extra Ability Power received from the magic resistance. Yay, I have 80 more Ability Power, it’s time to do (0.7 + 0.5 + 0.84) = 2.04 ratio, 160 more damage. Woohoo. That is totally worth the trade off from dying a hell of a lot times faster, right?

So please read on, and look at this new way of playing Galio. The old meta has passed, and it’s time to find new and better builds.

What does Galio Contribute to League of Legends

Galio is a high utility character, meaning he has many uses and tricks he can use. He is not stuck onto one path and playstyle, and can bring help to almost any team. Of course, he works better in some teams then others but we will discuss that later.

Galio is a very unique character. With an area of effect taunt, he has the ability to change tides of battle, and with his slows and movement speed increasers, and a nice shield, he is definitely not any ordinary character. Galio brings a great experience while playing him, and a wonderful play style. However, he requires some amount of skill to utilize his abilities.

When should I play Galio?

When should I play Galio?

I need an Off-Tank.
Well, okay, there are plenty of those in the sea. What else?

I need a Tank that has a lot of cc and can disrupt the other team.
Well, most of the tanks have cc nowadays, and that’s really what makes them viable. What else?

I need a tank that does good damage.
Galio does insane damage early game, because he can build bulky, and still deal a ****-load of damage. Those 's really hurt when landed.

We need either a counter pick for top lane or mid lane
Galio is a nice counter pick that is very underestimated. He can counter heavy burst champions, and deny farm from many champions. In some match-ups, laning with Galio will mean you get close to no farm.

Where should I play Galio?

There are two kinds of ways of playing Galio. This is because Galio is an early game burst mage, but also a tanky champion late game, and so generally there are two different main builds.

Top Lane
We shall play Galio top lane because he has good sustain when maxing Bulwark, and a nice pushing ability. This will allow you to deny top farm. Galio is a nice top laner, because abyssal sceptor will help your AP Carry in mid. Also, did I mention Galio is pretty tanky? and especially tanky against AP Tanks like Cho'gath. however, I am not saying that you cannot lane against characters like Irelia. In fact, you can.
Mid Lane
Mid lane is great with Galio’s passive, and he almost always has control over the lane, as long as you are facing the right champions. Mid lane is generally full of AP carries, so Galio is a great choice. Especially because most champions aren’t Tanky as well as bursty. Which is what Galio is early game.

Why should I play Galio?

Pros / Cons

Pros
+ // He is naturally magic tanky
+ // He has nice utility
+ // Aoe Taunt gives team alot of time
+ // Has nice health sustain
+ // Does not need to be given blue buff thanks to .
+ // He deals alot of early game damage.

Cons
- // Late game his damage falls off.
- // Mana hungry early game before buying chalice.
- // Your team may not like you going mid.
- // Lots of utility means lots of practice.

How Should I play Galio?

Sorry, this is a trick question! The play style of this character can be disputed, and some may argue this, some argue that. But it really is based on what you enjoy. However, I feel the playstyle of Galio should be a bursty ap carry early game, and able to harass your opponent well. Late game however, it is almost always that Galio will be played as a tank, due to low ratios and a tanky set of skills.

The choice is yours, and honestly, in lower levels you can almost play any character however you want. And I am assuming if you are reading this, you probably aren’t in the high sky rocketing elo areas. Play to your strengths, and what you find fun!

Game Etiquette

This is something almost everyone has to go through or experience in the game. Improper game etiquette ruins games for almost everyone. Play nicely and with a good attitude. Especially if you’re just a beginning player, you have a large chance to make other players mad.

Getting mad at other players is not good. That is really there is to say. Even in ranked games at level 30, games are lost because of people getting upset, playing the blame game. Even I must admit, that I get mad at bad players, but I do not do so during a game. Possibly in my head.

This may have nothing to really do with Galio, but it is a very important part of learning how to play Lol, just in the general sense. Taking this step is accomplishing lots, and keeping this in your mind at all times is a good thing to do. Remember, insulting someone causes demoralization in the fact that they are “bad.” It also creates distractions, and causes your team to make more mistakes, only to blame it on a “fed .”

General Skills

I will make a list of these: The first one is the one that most beginners make the mistake of doing. Auto-locking your screen so your character stays in the middle, for ease of access. However, I would advise against doing this. Press “space” to change your screen on your character, and hold it down if needed. But having map awareness and moving your map around is important.

Skill shots and Smart Casting

A skill shot is an ability that is not a hard click, where it has a 100% hit rate. You must aim your skill shots, and against a good player, they may not always hit. Reaction time and predictability take a role in dodging or landing skill shots. Which leads us to the next skill. Smart-casting. It allows for an instantaneous skill shot to be activated, instead of having to press your ability, then click where you want to use it. At the beginner stage, this does not have to be mastered. But on characters like , or especially , smart casting increases your chance of success.

To perform a Smart Cast, hold down shift.

Warding – Map Awareness and Common Sense

These skills should never be overlooked and are very important in not dying to the other team when they come to gank. Also, you can use it the opposite way around, to pull off ganks when you know that an enemy will be somewhere near you very soon.

Map awareness is to know what is going on around you. Even when you cannot see your opponents, you can take a guess at where they are. For an example, around the time blue buff golem appears / respawns for the second time, and the enemy’s mid is missing from his lane, you can guess that he is getting blue buff. However, we are not super human, and we cannot know where everyone is. So to compensate this, we need to buy wards. sight wards and s give sight in the radius where they lie, and when put in important places, you will be able to actively point out your enemies location. An example of this would be to ward the side bushes in middle lane, so that if the enemy jungler comes to score a kill, you can run away before it happens, back to the safety of your turret.

Last Hitting

Last hitting is an essential skill that must be learned in League of Legends before almost anything else. If you get the last hit it means you receive gold. Even if you help kill a minion, you do not get any gold if one of your minions takes the last hit. Because of this you must learn and feel your champion’s auto attack animation, as well as their damage. Missing many last hits means missed gold, means less items.

Last hitting is especially important because the role you are playing will require you to. If you do not, you are disappointing your team. Both roles of an off tank, and an ap carry require tons of farm. However, galio is quite beginner friendly in this way, in that his can farm almost any kind of minion, or require you to give it one last auto attack.

What is a Counter-pick and Why is Galio one?

A counter pick is choosing a champion based on his ability to play against another champion. For example, is very good at playing against , and karthus can really only go middle lane. So if the enemy team locks karthus in, it is a good idea to pick because you will definitely win your lane.

But Galio does not only counter one champion. No, definitely not. He counters many champions due to his magic resistance, which causes your enemy to do less damage. This allows him to trade-off damage and gives himself the advantage in that lane.

Also, Galio has quite a good range on his skills, and both go pretty far, so you can take your opponents damage quite well, and then dish it back out to them. They will take more damage.

Galio counters either heavy burst champions, who rely on that for kills and zoning opponents, the ability to make the enemy unable to farm, because you are “zoning” him, and if he gets close he will just die. But enemy champions like and cannot zone you this way.

Build 1 and 2

The difference between the two builds is the lane in which you shall reside. Soloing mid lane and soloing top lane are two totally different experiences, and need different playstyles as well as different builds. As a starting player, one of the most important things is knowledge of items, what to build and what to buy.

So as we start off, I would like to tell you that these next sections may be the most important, and if you are planning to read any part of my guide at all, read the next sections. They will go in depth about all my decisions, as well as skills, and why I chose to level some skils earlier then others.

It's all there, so take a good look and enjoy! Thus, we shall now begin the real part of my guide. Have fun reading it, and I will repeat this again, it is all my opinions, you do not have to copy everything.

Runes

The runes I take are very self explanatory, but I shall explain them anyways. There are also my strange quintessences, but not so strange after you think about it, for mid lane.

: These are a must, and anyone who thinks otherwise, I'm sorry, is wrong. Especially on Galio, because these runes give him the early game strength he needs. The magic penetration is extremely useful, and allows you to deal much more damage, especially at early levels.

greater seal of vitality: These are so great on galio, because he does not need the mana regen, that most AP Carrys would need. They give him the health that we do not have the money to buy, purely because of other reasons I shall explain later in this guide.
If you are a bit less experienced, you may use these other ones listed:
greater seal of replenishment

however, these are really only if you cannot conserve mana. Remember, should give you all the mana that you need.

: These glyphs give you the early game defense, and carry on to the late game. I choose flat runes because they also give you early game power, that is converted into AP Through Galio's passive. However, you can use the per level magic resistance runes as well.

:
:
Both of these glyphs are great depending on which lane you are choosing. Because magic resistance is usually useless in top lane, take the potency for the early game boost in damage. However, if you are going mid against an AP Carry, feel free to take warding. It will give you 15 magic resistance, as well as 7 AP, not that much worse then 15 AP.

If the runes you wish to run are not listed here, you may want to take another look at what you are thinking about running, and think about if it is even reasonable. Then if it still seems reasonable, feel free to post a comment.

Masteries

I do not take 9 points in offense. The 10% magic penetration will only be worth anything late game, and by the time late game comes I won't be going for damage anyways, rather tankiness and cc.

I then go into the Defensive tree, where I can become less squishy. is a great mastery, and armor as well as magic resistance are in this tree. However, the star of the show for me is . is pretty good, as well as many other stats that lower damage done to you.

Next, I go into the utility tree, for the mana regen. I find these talents are a must, they give you sustain. Also note that is then multiplied by 's passive. The utility tree is a must because you need as much mana regen as you can get. Please realize that I do not take the extended blue buff talent point, because with Galio you do not need it, whether you be top or mid. You may instead, give blue buff to your jungler, which will increase his effectiveness. It does not affect you either because you have .

however, these are just my choices. It would be perfectly reasonable to go into other trees, or take the 9 points in the offensive tree, and switch it to either of the other trees. They do not make much of a difference, really, but If you feel you need to do it, then go ahead.

Note: these choices do not really change for each build, purely because I am building Galio as an off-tank in both builds. However, there may be several things you want to change, and I have also changed. Because the opponent's you will be facing in each lane are different, you will want different defensive points.

Summoner Spells

I think that this spell is a must on Galio, it is his only real escape mechanism, apart from the speed boost from , which is sort of unreliable. This gives galio a more sure escape mechanism. Also, it allows better positioning of your ultimate, which is a team fight changer. Do not take anything or replace this spell with anything.

This skill is very useful for top laning because it gives you fast access to buy items, as well as sustain. it also gives you the ability to get back into lane quite quickly, losing maybe only 1-2 creep score. Late game this will be used to push lanes and such, because Galio is just such a great pusher with his and . However, I do not believe you need this for middle lane, because in mid lane you will be maxing faster, and it does not really take to long to get into lane.

This skill may not seem fitting on an off-tank, but realize that early game you will be able to burst like a frigging beast, and taking ignite like all AP Carries take would be a wise deicision for securing kills. However, if you are not familiar enough with Galio it may be a waste. Also, late game when you are in the middle of the fight you can choose your ignite target because you are so close to each and every one of them.

This would be the only other exception you could take in middle lane other then ignite. It makes life much easier, and even though it does not cut their damage by alot, it gives you an easier target to land your abilities, which is obviously important as Galio. After bringing them close to your with your ultimate, throw this on them and then burst away.

This is an okay summoner spell, but I don't really like it that much because the boost is similar to , they both bring you somewhere. Of course, extra speed boosts are always nice, its just that it does fit the role as nicely as other spells. Still, if you like this spell go ahead and take it.

This is also an okay summoner spell, and may be underestimated. You can use this as a crazy sustain, and make Galio the one person you never want to turret dive. After they do so, pop heal, pop , and they should be dead. However, it sort of loses its power late game, and should only be used on relatively newer players.

Skill Sequence

The skill sequences are not 100% set in stone, and should be upgraded as needed. If your opponent has great poke, feel free to pop points into . If you feel like they are sort of getting zoned, and need more of that power, get . you should not be picking Galio on an enemy champion which you need both and , because then you cannot zone them with .

Generally, in top lane the skill sequence is:

We max bulwark before others in top lane because most other top laners have sustain, and it is important to keep up with their sustain. Also, it gives you reduced damage, obviously.

In middle lane, the skill sequence is:

We need more zoning capacity, and you would be surprised at how much a can do, for your damage, as well as your jungler, giving them quite a speed boost because we do not get until later. We do not need to get early game because only until late game will we have to fulfill the role of an off-tank.

Runic Skin

(Innate): Galio receives 50% of his total magic resistance as additional ability power.

Galio’s entire item build is almost based off of this passive. It gives a passive damage boost while buying tanky items, and really comes in handy while trying to be tanky early game while still going for damage.
This skill works in combination with Bulwark, so the shield gain gives you resistances as well as Ability Power for a while.
The 50% works with your starting 30 Magic resistance, meaning you can start with a high amount of Ability Power if you wanted. You have the maximum amount of Ability Power any champion in the game could start with.
This passive is great, but do not only buy items with Magic resistance. This just helps your early game, when damage is more important.

Resolute Smite

(Active): Galio fires a concussive blast from his eyes to a target location, dealing magic damage to all enemies hit and reducing their movement speed for 2.5 seconds.
Cooldown: 7 seconds
Range to Center of AoE: 900
Radius of AoE: 175
Projectile Speed: 1300
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 mana
Magic Damage: 80 / 135 / 190 / 245 / 300 (+0.7 per ability power)
Slow: 24 / 28 / 32 / 36 / 40%

This skill is your main harassment skill. It has quite a long range, and is relatively easy to land, I must admit it is not the fastest projectile around, but it is not the slowest. It scales quite well early game.
In combination with Chalice of Harmony you will be able to spam this skill quite a lot. Do not be afraid to use this skill whenever it is off cooldown, as long as you are using it wisely.
You can use this skill with righteous gust to farm any creeps you want, and push your lane so that you can do other things. Galio is an extremely good pusher, and you can abuse this early game to deny turret farm. However, that is not recommended if you cannot push fast enough, and maybe only if they have gone to recall.
Hitting this shot gives you a slow to set up the rest of your abilities. As soon as you hit one of these you may want to follow up for more damage.
This does not give you sight. In fact, none of your skills do, so don’t go around scouting bushes with this skill. However, if you are quite certain there is somebody there, feel free to harass.
Early game, past level 3, This skill HURTS. And the best thing is, it is spammable. Keep playing mind games, and even if you only land every second or third one, the damage racks up quite fast.
Usually, shooting this where an enemy is currently standing will miss, you must lead them on and fire where you think they will be. Also remember, while chasing, that this flies quite slowly and has a cast time.
Did I mention that this skill hurts a lot? While building magic resistance early game this skill punishes your opponents after getting hit, with tons of damage, and a 2.5 second slow.

Bulwark

(Active): Galio shields an allied champion for 4 seconds, increasing their armor and magic resistance. Each time that unit takes damage, Galio is healed. The heal is 20% weaker than the last for each consecutive hit.
Cost: 60 mana
Cooldown: 13 seconds
Range: 800
Bonus Armor & Magic Resistance: 30 / 45 / 60 / 75 / 90
Heal: 25 / 40 / 55 / 70 / 85 (+0.3 per ability power)
Maximum Heal: 125 / 200 / 275 / 350 / 425 (+1.5 per ability power)

The heal should never be underlooked, because it can be used 5 times per shield, and the maximum heal per cast is very high, allowing you to sustain in your lane.
The magic resistance that you gain, as mentioned before combines with your passive for a boost in damage. Do not forget that, and apply this before bursting.
However, always know when to use this on yourself, or when to use this on your teammate. Do not forget that it gives a decent amount of resistances, and if your team mate is getting focused, they will survive longer. Once you are used to it, try self-casting this to save time.
Do not waste this. With a pretty long cooldown of 13 seconds, wasting this could be the difference between life and death. Add that to the fact that it only lasts 4 seconds, and you know that you have to use this wisely.
Normally, creep advantage for the enemy is good, but you can use their creeps to your advantage. If the opponent has pushed his lane and you do not have any creeps, pop your shield and quickly take 5 minion hits, for a fast heal. Also, when you are harassing your opponent, this works nicely because you will get minion aggro when you hit.
Popping this before Idol of Durand will show its own affectivity, because you will be focused, and also healed for the maximum amount. Remember, a tank that stays alive longer is better than a dead one.
Try not to cast this before your opponent attacks you, it is quite obvious when you activate it, as a huge shield surrounds you. Bait your opponent into trading off blows, and taking less damage.

Righteous Gust

(Active): Galio unleashes a gust of magical wind that deals magic damage to all enemies in its path. A directional draft remains for 5 seconds, increasing the movement speed of allies passing through it.
Cooldown: 12 seconds
Range: 1000
Cost: 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 / 90 mana
Magic Damage: 60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 (+0.5 per ability power)
Movement Speed Bonus: 20 / 28 / 36 / 44 / 52%

The purposes for this skill will be to run away, chase, deal damage, or push lanes. Because it has so many purposes, but a 12 second cooldown, you must use it wisely.
When running away with this skill, you should look at the situation. Will the casting of the skill give them enough distance to do whatever? Could I get away without using it?
As long as you stay on the wind’s path you will get the speed boost. Keep this in mind as you use it, because if you use it on some random area, you will not be able to use the boost to your advantage.
This skill can be used for chasing because it is an aoe speed boost, and your allies can use it as well. This also compliments it as a good initiator, similar to shurelya’s, except a bit harder to use.
The damage from this skill late game is hardly anything, because of the 0.5 ratio, but early game this does not really matter. It is a great harassing tool because of its range, and because it is fast. Use it to poke your opponents, it deals quite a bit of damage.
When running back to your lane, always use this skill. It speeds up the process by a long run, which is why we do not have to take teleport while going mid. A 52% movement speed boost is quite a lot.
Remember, you can spam both this skill and Resolute Smite, because the more mana you use the higher your mana regen passive from Chalice of Harmony gets. This gives Galio quite a bit of power to harass.

Idol of Durand

(Active): Galio channels for 2 seconds, taunting nearby foes and reducing incoming damage by 50%.
After channeling, Galio deals magic damage to surrounding enemies, plus an additional 5% damage for each attack suffered while channeling and capping at 40% bonus damage. It can be cancelled early and will deal full damage.
Radius of AoE: 600
Cost: 100 / 150 / 200 mana
Cooldown: 170 / 150 / 130 seconds
Base Magic Damage: 220 / 330 / 440 (+0.6 per ability power)
Maximum Magic Damage: 308 / 462 / 616 (+0.84 per ability power)

This skill is what makes Galio a tank, and a good pick for the team. In essence, it is like Amumu’s ult, and will incapacitate the other team for 2 seconds, but it also deals quite a bit of damage, even late game, because we can build Galio tanky as well as bursty.
Do not be afraid to use this for the damage early game. Even against one person, if you have lowered then enough for the kill, fell free to pop your ultimate.
This will bring AD melee’s towards you, but remember it won’t bring AD Ranged and AP Carries as close as you want, because they only need to be in autoattack range. A lot of people misjudge this and allow the enemy to escape because there is too much of a gap between them.
Try to use this every time you jungler ganks, because you can set up very nice kills, pretty easily. Do not keep this skill for 3 minutes without using it, saying that you are waiting for a perfect time. Even if you send the enemy back to base to recall, you are still denying farm, and can push a turret if you would like.
Situationally, this can be used for the 50% damage reduction. However, I would only advise using it if you know you are going to die. A tank that feeds their carry is failing his job, and a fed Caitlyn or Karthus would be pretty bad. Example: You and your teammate are about to die, Caitlyn uses her ultimate, you use Idol of Durand and block the incoming Ace in the Hole.
Sure, Flashing into this sounds cool, but in reality it may not be the best usage. Try to find the prime moment for this, where you can give your team the opportunity to focus and kill a target.
Save your teammates if you can, and you should die for them, unless they are trash players and are worth 15g. However, usually they aren’t, and though some people may say: Why did you do that? A good player will recognize your sacrifices to save your carry.
I would like to specially mention this for players that can positions themselves correctly. Positioning your ultimate wins games, no joke. A good ult shows the difference in skill level, and your team will recognize it when you win the game for them. Something I have recently done, is catch the whole enemy team at baron with my ult, and finish baron off when the damaging component of the ultimate kicks in. The 2 second taunt gives your team time to steal baron.
Never forget, this is a taunt and if you catch an enemy under your turret, you can give them turret aggro. This is why Galio should not be turret dived, and anyone who does do so will be stuck for 2 seconds under your turret.

Chalice of Harmony

I feel this item should get special honors because of its importance to a good Galio player. I also feel that anyone who feels otherwise, I can change their mind with this section. is the most important item to build as fast as possible, and gives Galio everything he would ever want. Here are the stats:

30 Magic Resistance
7.5 Mana Regen
15 Ability Power due to Runic Skin
Increases your mana regen by 1% per 1% mana you are missing

I believe that this item is unavoidable to be bought. The result from buying it early is an increase in damage, a huge increase in the ability to zone, and less damage taken from Magic Damage. I do not know what else you would want to buy. Rush Mercury’s treads? Rush Abyssal Sceptor? The thing about Galio is you pick him to counter pick another champion, so they get less farm. What good are you doing when you are forced to play passively, and conserve mana, with those huge mana costs on your skills?

To add to all these bonuses, it only costs 890 gold in total. This means you can rush it super super early without any disadvantages. The gold cost allows you to never have mana problems, because by the time you do have mana problems you will have enough gold to recall and buy .

So what does this item do for you? It gives you the ability to farm like a crazy madman. It gives you the ability to stay in lane forever, in combination with the heal from . It gives you the ability to harass your opponent whenever you like, without consequence, almost as if you do not have mana, but energy like . It also gives you the ability to give blue buff to your jungler, or maybe your solo top if he really would like it. It’s not like you don’t NEED it, because every champion can be played without blue buff, you just really don’t need it. You can spam your skills and still never run out of mana. There may be that slight moment where you have 5% mana, but that’s okay, because s passive kicks in, and gives you insane mana regen.

If you have any enquiries or questions/concerns, I would be happy to answer them. However, I truly believe that a Galio without Chalice is a bad Galio.

Abyssal Scepter

I feel this item should also get special honors because of its importance to a good Galio player. I will again try to change your mind about this item, and why I rush it earlier then other guides, or even any other Ap Carry guide. Here are the stats, to start off:

70 Ability Power
57 Magic Resistance
28 Ability Power due to Runic Skin
Decreases the Magic Resistance of nearby enemy champions by 20

it gives a large amount of 100 AP, which is important early game because you really really want your Damage. You can burst so hard early game due to your skill set. That 100 AP would not be worth buying late game, because what are you going to do with that extra bit of damage? Surely you’re not planning to be an AP Tank Carry all at once?

Next is the magic resistance. There’s a lot of it. That’s just enough said. There are many Ap Casters that can burst fairly hard in the game, and also have aoe damage. This magic resistance makes you wonder if they are even doing any damage, or if they just put some damage over time spell that does 1 damage every 10 seconds. On a serious note, however, they won’t be able to do **** to you.

Finally, theres the aura. This aura is a great aura for all teams, and something that makes it even better is the fact that Galio will be in the center of attention usually, and his aura will affect everyone, everything that is close to him. This makes up for not buying sorcerers shoes, and will give your AP Caster, (if you are solo top) practically true damage.

These are the reasons why I think rushing this item is a wise choice, however it really fits my playstyle and if you do not like it, go ahead and replace it. My opinion on this item is not as strong as , and if you feel like going more tanky earlier on, I’m not going to tell you that your wrong.

Pushing your Lane - Middle Lane READ

Pushing your Lane – ONLY FOR MID LANERS
Galio has the ability to push his lane whenever he wants, because of his infinite mana supply from , and his two low cooldown aoe spells, which in combination can clear a whole wave when positioned correctly. Now, normally this is horrible, and will lead to the opponent ganking you like a boss, however, there are several good things that come out of this.

Assuming that you ward: You can overextend for a slight moment to push your lane consistently, so that the enemy champion will lose more farm, which is your goal in the long run anyways, right? Pushing your lane also does not allow the enemy champion to recall, or else lose tons of last hits.
Assuming that you gank: There is nothing better than a mid laner who can constantly pressure the other lanes into playing offensively. Pull off one successful gank, and you’ll have the enemies running back to their turret every time you leave your lane. By pushing your lane, you have access to the other lanes in the time that your enemies can push the lane back. Plus, Righteous Gust gives you a quick way to get from lane to lane.
Assuming that you counter-jungle: It doesn’t even have to be counter jungling. But the moment you leave your lane you threaten their jungler as well. Simply because, your Q-E combo clears jungle creeps quite fast. You can either a) take your own wraiths if your jungler isn’t nearby and they will respawn by the time your jungler gets there, so you don’t steal his farm. Or b) take the enemies farm, but leave one creep. The reason for this (for people who are less experienced) is that if you leave one creep, they won’t respawn. Example: at the camp of four wraiths, if you kill the big wraith, and two small wraiths, the enemy will get there, only to find one small wraith which gives him about 5 gold. Aka wasting his time and stealing his gold. There is no loss when you do this, all you do is gain gain gain!
The reason you don’t do this in top lane is because you only have access to middle lane from top lane, and you don’t have access to the enemy’s jungle in a fast way. By walking all the way to let’s say their wolves, you actually waste more of your time. Also, a pushed top lane is much scarier than a pushed middle lane, you are much more vulnerable to ganks.

Magic Resistance

Magic Resistance is always great on Galio, but like most things, there is an extent on which it is good, and it is not simple. Magic resistance is calculated in a simple manner.

x is the amount of magic resistance you have.
now take (x+100) and divide x by that.
Example: 50 magic resistance = 50/(100+50) = 33% damage reduction.

So what does this mean? If you graph this equation, you can see that the magic resistance starts to dwindle per point of magic resistance. Add on top of that, the amount of AP the other team has, which is a maximum of two champions, you do not want to stack magic resistance. You still have to buy armor and health, your passive does not mean stack only magic resistance.

Now, I will create a list of all the items in the game that give magic resistance, as a helper for people who want to buy more magic resistance for your passive. You should only buy a few of these during one game, due to the fact that you need other stats to. Also, some of these items are just plain useless:

Abyssal Mask – already mentioned in an above section. This item is pretty great.
Aegis of the Legion – Please don’t buy this, sure it’s an aura item but you will want to leave this for your support to buy. You have no place to buy this early game, and late game its power starts sliding off.
Banshee's Veil – this item is really good, it gives you everything you need, and a great passive. However, it does not give armor, which is something you still need to think about.
Chalice of Harmony – again, discussed earlier. A must have on Galio.
Force of Nature – This is an item that I really despise, but can find its uses sometimes. The reason for this is, you don’t buy that many health items with Galio, and the 0.35% health regen per second passive has its potential reduced.
Guardian Angel – I have mixed feelings about this item, but all in all it is pretty great. The one thing I am skeptical about is the reason you need to reborn, because this seems like a chunk of wasted money, if the other team is focusing you, it is their loss. Still, a great item.
Hexdrinker – We aren’t going to play AD Galio, and even if you were to buy this purely for early game, it is just a waste of money, because any AP Carry shouldn’t be able to burst you down anyways, for you to need the passive shield.
Lich Bane – This is just really bad, because Galio has quite high cooldowns, and he also doesn’t end up with a lot of AP. Not to mention his auto attack isn’t ranged. The only thing I could think of you doing with this is pushing a turret, but Twisted Fate is better at that.
Maw of Malmortius – Same as Hexdrinker except even worse. Honestly, I don’t really know why I put this item here, so don’t feel offended, I’m not calling you stupid. I just don’t want people doing anything stupid.
Mercury's Treads – These are probably the best shoes in the game for Galio, with the exception of Mid Lane Galio early game buying sorcerers shoes. These give you great stats, and you should always be ending games with a pair of these.
Negatron Cloak Null-Magic Mantle – Pure Magic Resistance isn’t that great, so you better be building this into something useful. Do not buy these for the pure magic resistance, it is not worth it. They also just take up space in your item slots.
Quicksilver Sash – This is kind of good, but I would prefer to buy more armor/health to be on the safer side. Sure, it has a great active, but I really don’t think the other team will be wasting cc on you, except to interrupt your ultimate, and quicksilver sash can’t help you stop others from stopping that. Only buy this is they have a cc team.
Spirit Visage – This actually has great stats, but in my opinion it is a huge waste of an item slot, and also healing and regeneration increase of 15%. You may point out that Galio actually DOES have a heal, but it really isn’t anything. I could accept you buying this early game as top lane, but it is definitely not one of the best choices.
Wit's End – Again, the same as all the AS/AD items that have magic resistance. This is 100% not viable on Galio, and if you think you can play him as an on-hit Galio, go take a nap.

From these showings, you can see that Galio’s passive isn’t actually as great as it sounds. This is because there are a huge limit to items you can actually buy, and some of them are just plain bad. So I will now express my opinion. Galio’s passive is just a cherry on top of the magic resistance you are getting. Do not base too much of your build upon it, or else you will definitely fail.

In case you don’t want to look through a list, here are the viable options:

And that’s honestly really it. Be shocked, I was actually shocked when I was writing this myself, and I looked through to only find 5 items that suited how I play. And that is why Galio’s passive is overrated.
Pertaining to that point, we still can’t just ignore it. We have to use it to its potential, and then we can disregard it, which is how my build works.

Armor

Armor Items:

Now the only other items I would decide to buy would have to include some health or armor. I would not buy a on Galio, ever. Now you may say, but it multiplies your passive bonus Ability Power by 30%! Why do I care? I’m just a tank, that damage makes no difference in comparison to how much damage you can take and tank. As a wise philosopher once said;[/color=yellow] “A tank that cannot tank is not a tank.”[/color] haha just kidding, but anyhow, once you look at it that way it is quite obvious why you do not buy pure AP Items.

Armor

I am only going to list the items that could be considered ever. So I am not adding items like , because it’s just stupid and bad.

Frozen Heart – This is actually quite a good item, and you can replace your Chalice of Harmony with it, because of the 500 mana. Overall, the aura affects all the enemies because you will be in the middle of the fight. The 20% CDR is great, and it really cuts down on Galio’s long cooldowns.
Guardian Angel – Already talked about in the magic resistance section! It is a pretty good item overall, I just have a few difficulties with the passive’s usefulness in reality.
Locket of the Iron Solari – You do not even need to buy a Heart of Gold early for this to be good, but it could be recommended if you are planning to buy this, to get more gold out of it. For a tank that has slightly less use then others after you use Idol of Durand, this may be useful to give that tiny bit of shield to help your team win. However, the health regen is kind of sketchy, and a waste of money.
Randuin's Omen – the same opinion as locket of iron solari, and you can really lower the other AD Carry’s damage through this, since you will be in the midst of battle. Once again, buy Heart of Gold earlier when you intend to buy this late game.
Sunfire Aegis – Possibly one of the worst items in cost efficiency in my opinion. Sure, you will be dealing consistent damage because you will always be near enemies, but that miniscule damage won’t really change anything, and your gold could really be spent better elsewhere.
Thornmail – This is one of the best items I think to buy for its armor. It is insanely cheap and the passive poke back damage is a tiny bonus, as your ultimate, Idol of Durand, forces people to attack you. I like buying this item.
Zhonya's Hourglass – This item looks pretty good, and gives a great deal of armor/survivability with its passive, but once again I would like to mention that if the other team is focusing you they are stupid and you will probably win teamfights anyways. The 100 AP, in my opinion is money spent in the wrong direction, and when you buy that 1600g needlessly large rod during a real game, you will feel that needlessly large amount of gold leave you in the wrong direction.

All of these armor items are quite viable; I disclosed the ones that should never be used. These ones should be swapped around every game depending on what their team looks like, and every item has its own unique little uses. There are definitely better choices than others, but it’s your choice and your game on what to buy! In my cheat sheet I have used the most common items, and you may copy my build if you would like, but once you get more experienced you should make these decisions for yourself, definitely.

Health

Health items:

Health is an important part of every tanks breakfeast, as resistances just aren’t enough when you only have 2 000 health. People will begin to build s and s to counter you tankiness, so buying flat health is more cost efficient.

Heart of Gold – this is a quick way to give yourself some tankiness, and has it’s uses when you build it into another item late game for team fights. 250 health is actually a lot, and this item is so cost efficient once time goes by. Get this early game preferred, however you can still buy this late game if you really need it. Randuin's Omen and Locket of the Iron Solari.
Rod of Ages – This item is overrated in my opinion, and should only be bought when you are relied on to go more offensively. The Ability Power is really not needed too much late game, and the passive is best rushed early, so you will have to rush it right after Mercury's Treads.
Shurelya's Battlesong – This item is pretty great, and in a team fight it gives you a lot of utility. However, usually your support will buy this, and in fact every support should always buy this item. If you feel you need that extra speed, feel free to buy it. However, don’t feel motivated to buy a philo stone early, it’s not needed.
Warmog's Armor – This may seem like an elementary item, but you should never underestimate an early warmogs. It gives you the ability to tower dive unsuspected enemies, and not to feed other teams. It also discourages people from attacking you, when they see all those bars of health.
Doran's Ring – I do not believe too much in stacking Doran’s rings on Galio, but it works sometimes. However, I would advise stacking only 2, not 3 because you need to complete your early game core item.

You may have noticed I did not mention a lot of items. Leviathan is not good in competitive play. The other items are just bad on Galio, (The items mentioned in armor section I skipped because I did not want to talk about twice) and if you believe there should be an HP Item in this section just let me know. However, I have thought about this and I will probably tell you the reason it is not included.

Your Item Build

Your item build should contain several things. First, a rushed . Then, you need boots. The primary boots are , but boots like ninja tabi work too. This is the required starting set-up, and I think this is the way to go.

Next, you should build one of your core items. I usually go for , but only because I am comfortable enough not to build too tanky. You could build some other item, some examples I would choose are , , or a quick if you feel like some tower diving.

After that, you should build something with stats that you did not buy something for already. If you bought , you should get an item with Health, or armor. If you bought , then buy something with Health or Magic Resistance.

By this point in the game, you should be accessing your death recaps, and buying the stats that you need in order to survive. However, please remember you will need some health, so don’t stack magic resistance and armor only! That finishes the item build!

Summary

Change Log
I decided to put this here to make my summary look longer, as at the moment I don’t have much to say! Haha! =3
April 4th, 2012
Guide published.
April 5th, 2012
There were some errors in the build, Plus I'm still kind of editting stuff. Thanks haha

I really hope you enjoyed reading this, as I spent quite a while to finish this and fit it into my busy schedule. Leave your comments below if you have any, compliments or problems, they will all help me / make me happy. Thanks for reading! And leave a vote if you found it interesting at all!

I will be adding more pictures once I find the time to take them and upload them, but currently they are not up yet. If I feel the need, or anyone requests so, I will add sections that HELP THE READER.