Build Guide by Sir Stobbacus

Galio, the Sentinel's Sorrow

Introduction

Before Galio's release, I was looking for a champion that I actually wanted to play other than Ashe. When he came out, I took a look at him and thought he looked like fun, and so I grinded up 6300 IP as fast as I could to unlock this champ. When I finally got him, I did alright for a little while, winning, losing, having fun, but it wasn't until I met someone who was playing him and asked him to teach me how to play Galio as he did that I began to excel. With a new build and playstyle in-hand, I took to the fields of justice and devastated opposing teams with them. Galio then suffered three massive nerfs, but I still managed to do alright.

Galio is a tanky Support Mage champion, who benefits from stacking Magic Resist, a skillshot slow, a haste for both himself and his teammates, a shield that gives bonus MR and Armor and heals upon being hit, and the big reason to use Galio: a beautiful AoE Taunt capable of turning the tide of a teamfight in an instant. Is he the most viable champ to take into a match after his heavy nerfs? No. Is he still capable of wrecking teams on his own? No. Is Galio still able to be a massive benefit to a team? Yes. I'm not here to say that Galio's the best thing since sliced bread or that he's the end-all be-all champion that every team should have. I'm here to say that Galio is still capable, assuming his team takes advantage of his abilities, of being a fantastic addition to any team.

Pros / Cons

Pros

Amazing Passive in Runic Skin
Decent early- and mid-game damage
Good CC with an AoE taunt and slow
Haste helps to get places quickly or escape
Farms well
He's a friggen Gargoyle!

Cons

Mediocre late-game damage
Isn't heavy enough to tank on his own
His ult's damage is meh, it needs turret damage and/or teammates to make it truly effective
Interrupted easily by CC (for example Xin Zhao's Three Talon Strike during Idol of Durand)

Runes, Masteries, and Summoner Spells

Greater Mark of Insight x 9 - Standard caster marks.
Greater Seal of Clarity x 9 - Galio likes his mana and abusing it. This lets him do it more efficiently, especially late-game.
Greater Glyph of Shielding x 9 - Magic Resist glyphs on someone who typically has a lot of Magic Resist to abuse his passive while being able to take hits?! Blasphemy.
Greater Quintessence of Fortitude x 3 - Galio, despite usually being able to take a hit later on in the game, is horrendously squishy early-game. This helps him stay alive when his game is the strongest.

Greater Glyph of Focus / Celerity - CDR gives Galio something he really loves: a lower cooldown on his ultimate. That's really about all it does, but if having his ulti up more helps you out more than the MR, go for it.
Greater Seal of Vitality - Health is tasty and delicious, especially with Galio being a bit on the squishy side.

For Galio I take 9/21/0 masteries, grabbing the bit of AP, M. Pen, and CDR from the Offense branch, while taking Armor, MR, Health, and Tenacity from the Defense branch for overall bulk and defensiveness so that Galio can be the tanky mage he is. This I feel is the best setup you can give Galio in terms of being able to support your team, initiate a fight, take a few hits, and do your job to help your team. Another option if you want to try going more support would be taking 9/0/21 and taking up Health Regen, Mana Regen, Experience, and lower CD on summoner spells from the Utility tree with:



Flash - Flash is a skill Galio should always carry, at least until Riot removes it (assuming it eventually is removed). Flash can be used defensively of course, but the real reason to pack Flash is the combo. This incredibly potent combination allows you to initiate a teamfight with ease, catch someone unaware and gank them by holding them in place for your teammates to kill. It allows you to have deceptively large range with your ultimate, which makes it even more amazing than it already is. Pack Flash . Do it.

Teleport - Teleport is one of my favorite summoner spells, period. Being able to move all over the map at whim (Assuming you and your team ward well), and being able to defend your own turrets and such is a beautiful thing. My absolute favorite thing to do with it is to Teleport to a tower under attack by an enemy champion, and if they don't get out of range in time, right under your own tower so that they start taking heavy aggro from the turret and are either killed or forced to retreat.

Ignite - Ignite was a part of the original build I was taught to use, and so I put it here. It can be used to kill off enemy healing, or even just for added bonus damage to help try and get a kill. It'll usually be the former, if you use Ignite at all.


I honestly don't see the point in being excessively restrictive about Summoner Spells, different sets work for different people. The one big thing I must repeat though is, pack Flash . Do whatever with the other spell, but please, bring Flash .

Fortify - Fortify is a good option if you feel you need one for your team and nobody else wants to pack it. It can also be used pretty well in conjunction with Idol of Durand.

Ghost - Ghost is a good Summoner Spell that can work on every character whether it's for escapes or getting somewhere you need to be fast. I personally never get this with Galio, because Righteous Gust gives me enough speed when needed, and I use Flash for short-range placement.

Exhaust - Exhaust is another one of those abilities I feel can go on any champion. It's always nice to have one or more of these on a team because they can really help in a fight.

Clairvoyance - Clairvoyance is just a good support spell. Map visibility with a relatively short cooldown is always nice to have just to throw out every time it's up. Now you can warn your Teemo that Garen is in the bush he was thinking about facechecking!

Clarity - This works if you're putting heavy harassment on early-game or if you're somehow out-of-mana late-game. I never really had mana issues with Galio, especially with Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration and Chalice of Harmony, so I never took it.

Heal - I thought about this one for a while, and decided to add it on. Heal can be viable on Galio I feel because he is very squishy in the early-game, and lacks healing of any kind outside of Bulwark which relies on the enemies actually hitting whatever has the shield for any health return.

Cleanse - I'd honestly like this spell on Galio more if I could cast Idol of Durand again if it were interrupted. It would be so beautiful to be able to just Cleanse and then re-cast it, but since you can't do that, clearing CC off of Galio isn't as much of a priority for me. If CC is an issue, I'd recommend picking up a Quicksilver Sash before using Cleanse , but that decision is up to you.


Smite - Galio really shouldn't be jungling... Oh, you say you need to pick off minions to farm? Start using Resolute Smite and Righteous Gust more.

Rally - Galio doesn't care much for the bonus damage, and he could be doing more with a different Summoner Spell.

Revive - About that.

Skills, Basic Combos, and Skill Sequence

Runic Skin - I adore this passive, I really do. Half of Galio's MR is transformed into AP? Yes please. This lets him get some power along with his toughness, and it makes me overwhelmingly happy whenever I think of Abyssal Mask on him.

Resolute Smite - This is Galio's basic harassment ability. It's a skillshot bomb that explodes on impact, dealing damage and slowing in a small AoE. It's an excellent damage-dealing tool and something to keep enemies off of your minions early-on in the game, and later becomes more useful for its slowing capability.

Bulwark - The "Shield of Galio," Bulwark gives an ally bonus armor and MR for a short time, and you heal a percentage of the damage dealt to whoever has the shield on it. I wish this did more, it just feels... weaker than it should be.

Righteous Gust - This skill is wonderful for the haste it gives to you and any allies in the gust, and really that's about it. The damage output is laughable compared with Resolute Smite, and I'd much rather throw the slow at the enemies and use Gust to get away than throwing Gust at them and losing a valuable escape mechanism.

Idol of Durand - Ah, Galio's ultimate, how I love it so. The radius was recently increased, allowing for more taunt-tastic fun! Galio becomes unable to move, but taunts everything within range of him, and returns damage based upon damage dealt to him. Sorta like Bide from Pokemon, except with an AoE taunt and actually good. It can start teamfights, interrupt teamfights, catch someone by your own tower and make them get a facefull of turret aggro, stall the enemy team if a teamfight goes sour and you didn't use it to initiate, etc. This is what makes Galio truly the Master of All-Things Galio, including Galio-Related Things.


The most important, and most basic combo Galio has to offer. Flash in where you can capture a good portion of the enemy team, and immediately activate Idol of Durand to taunt them all and, assuming you have help, initiate a teamfight in your own favor.

This is your farming combo. Resolute Smite the group of minions (if they're grouped up you should easily hit almost all, if not all of them), and immediately follow up with a Righteous Gust. This should eradicate most, if not all of the minions, and the rest are easy cleanup. It allows for quick farming especially late-game, so you can get a good portion of your build done even if you were being a good boy / girl early on and letting your laning partner last-hit early and mid-game.

Another use of this is for escaping one or more enemies, possibly with teammates in tow. Throw Resolute Smite at the enemy / enemies to slow them, and throw up a Righteous Gust to speed up your getting the hell out of there.


1. Idol of Durand most definitely comes first here, take it whenever it is available, no questions asked.

2. Resolute Smite should be the first skill Galio gets, and it should be the first he maxes out. This IS your early and mid-game damage. The slow is also wonderful to make use of in escaping enemies or catching up to them.

3. Bulwark / Righteous Gust. To be honest, I just feel Bulwark is nicer to have maxed out earlier, since I only use Righteous Gust for the haste and clearing of minions. So for me, I'd keep this order, but if you really feel that Gust does more than Shield for you earlier, go for that.

Items

These are the items I aim to always have on Galio. The other slots are situational, but these items here are usually necessities. Only in extreme need of other items should these be replaced.

Chalice of Harmony - This item builds out of one of the two items you start with on Galio, the Meki Pendant or the Null-Magic Mantle, and it gives Galio many things he likes, notably the MR which also adds to his AP, and Mana Regen, which should take care of any mana problems that you may have.

Mercury's Treads - Looking at what Galio is, Mercury's Treads really are the only fit for him. He doesn't need the speed from Swiftness or Mobility, he's not trying to nuke the other team to death, so Sorc Boots are pointless, Tabi and Greaves are just dumb on him, while Merc Treads give him some MR for his bulk and passive, and some CC reduction.

Abyssal Scepter - Oooooooooh yes... This is what I like. This takes wonderful advantage of Runic Skin, giving Galio its 70 AP and 57 MR, and its additional effect of lowering the MR of nearby enemies, while giving Galio even MORE AP from the MR it gives him. This item is just full of tastiness and deliciousness, and I absolutely love this on Galio. Damage with a side of Magic Resist please!

Banshee's Veil - This is everything a tank (and most other characters, really) loves. Health, Mana (for those tanks that use it), Magic Resist, Immunity to an enemy champion's spell every 45 seconds, and- oh hey! Galio gets some AP out of it too. Despite the nerfs, it's still a fantastic item and it gives you some nice added bulk to the MR side.

Elixir of Brilliance - Try and keep this on Galio as much as possible after Level 6, so Idol of Durand is up as much as possible. Remember: CDR is good for you!

Elixir of Fortitude - While this isn't as big of a priority as the Elixir of Brilliance, the extra bulk from the Health bonus this gives is always nice to have.


Thornmail - This is usually my 5th (or 4th, depending on the composition of the other team) item in the basic build. I get it so that even though I stack MR, I have some semblance of Armor and don't always die to the other team's DPS while I'm ulting (this happens sometimes, even with reduced damage, and ESPECIALLY if they get fed). Also, the return is nice when enemies are taunted because it makes them hurt themselves more.

Guardian Angel - This is what I typically build last with Galio, so that death isn't always a guarantee when going into a fight. Having the ultimate that Galio does, you will be taking tons of damage, and you will most likely be dying some. Extra insurance is always nice anyway, right?

Randuin's Omen - Sometimes I'll take this if I want the extra Health over the extra Armor and Thornmail's passive. Heart of Gold first, always!

Frozen Heart - Mana, Armor, and excellent Cooldown Reduction for your ultimate. Three beautiful, beautiful things. Does the passive mess with your ultimate? Certainly. Lowered AS means they hit you less which means you return less damage. Idol of Durand is still doing what it needs to do though even with that, and that is hold the opposition in place while your team wails on them which makes this item plenty viable on Galio.

Force of Nature - Magic Resist, Health Regen, and a Movement Speed bonus make Force of Nature one of my favorite items in this game, but not always a choice for me on Galio because I never get enough Health to make it feel like Force of Nature's Health Regen is necessary, and the Movement Speed isn't necessary with Righteous Gust. The Magic Resist is the selling point, so if you are desperate for more, pick one of these up.

Quicksilver Sash - This is one of the best items in the game, hands-down. It gives a healthy amount of Magic Resist, is VERY cheap at a full cost of 1440, and the active removes ALL debuffs on you currently. Oh, by the way, the active isn't unique. Having a Super-Cleanse at your disposal is always fun. Having two is... Amazing. HAVING SIX IS... Oh wait, then you don't have any other items and no boosted stats other than MR...

Gameplay

Galio enjoys starting the game off with either a Meki Pendant or a Null-Magic Mantle, depending on the other team, and the standard two Health Potions. Whether you're in a 2 v 2 lane or solo top, use your Resolute Smite to harass early on. If you can't seem to land your Q, learn, or pick a new champ. The early stages of the game should be played out with you behind your minions, letting your partner last-hit if needed, and poking the other team with Resolute Smite. If you and a partner can get a kill, go for it, otherwise play more defensively and relaxed while poking the other champs when you can.


This is Galio's strongest part of the game. With Idol of Durand and Flash in tow, either team up with your laning partner and take out one or both of the opposing laners, or take to another lane and gank. Soon, your Resolute Smite is maxed out, and your Abyssal Mask is nearing its completion. Your damage output is the best it will be this game, so take advantage of it. Because once the major teamfighting begins and the overall game shifts to the late-game phase, your damage stops improving, and your abilities become more used for their secondary effects and support than damage.

By now, hopefully your Banshee's Veil is done and maybe another item is at least partially done. Your damage output isn't fantastic, and so your abilities are relied upon for the secondary abilities. Righteous Gust becomes a team haste, and Resolute Smite still pokes, but is used more for the slow. Idol of Durand is still your greatest tool, and Bulwark is always nice to just throw on an ally to give them a bit more longevity in a fight. At this point, stay with your team. Protect them, help them escape if needed, and help teamfight by throwing in Resolute Smite, but more importantly by catching as much of the other team as possible within Idol of Durand. This is your job. This is your duty. You are sworn to protect, and that is what you must do.

Summary

So while Galio isn't what he was upon his release, or a super-tank or an amazing nuker, he is incredibly fun to play, and does a decent job of supporting his team when played well. With a fantastic AoE taunt in Idol of Durand, a smexy AoE slow in the form of Resolute Smite, a shield for allies and self-healing in Bulwark, and a haste for quick getaways or just general movement increase in his Righteous Gust, Galio is still a wonderful option for a support character who can dish out decent damage early in the game, and has the CC to be viable later on in the game. I hope whoever reads this and plays Galio has as much fun playing him as I do, and that this guide was an enjoyable read!

Have a good one!

- Sir Stobbacus

Credits

Sexticles - This is the LoL player who I saw playing Galio that one day and who was willing to teach me what he knew and how he played Galio. Without him, I never would have made it far most likely, and this guide would not even have come across as an idea in my head.


Critorious - I took some of the ideas for how I wanted to format the guide from their guide: LeBlanc, Insane Mid


Apollymia - I took some other formatting ideas as inspiration for what I did in my guide from their guide: Lux - PewPew Lazer