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Galio - The Guardian of the Rift
Build Guide By nxKythas
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18,089
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Galio Build Guide By nxKythas
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Recommended Items
Spells:
Flash
Ignite
Items
Starting Items
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Starting Mid-Game Items
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Building for Late-Game
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Standard 6-Item Core Build
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Ability Order
Colossal Smash (PASSIVE)
Galio Passive Ability
Introduction
LORE
Long before the League's regulation of such magic, mages experimented with the creation of artificial
life. Now forbidden, instilling golems with reason was once not so uncommon a practice amongst the more expert of craftsmen. One such visionary was the Demacian artificer, Durand. Peerless at crafting sentient beings, Durand's constructs served as tireless guardians for the border towns of his beloved city-state, affording them protection from their Noxian neighbors. For his own defense, however, Durand kept his magnum opus: Galio. This mighty construct - forged in the image of a gargoyle - kept him safe on his journeys, allowing him to perform his important work without fear of reprisal from those hostile to his homeland. That is, until dealing with his taxing sentinels finally roused the ire of the Noxian High Command.
As Durand crossed the Howling Marsh with his masterwork in tow, he was set upon by Noxian
assassins in force. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, Galio looked on in horror as the murderers cut down his charge, executing him swiftly before vanishing back into the mists. Stripped of his reason for being, Galio despaired. For years he remained in solitude, standing vigil over the bones of the master he had failed to protect... a literal monument to his own everlasting shame. Then, one nondescript day, a sad but determined yordle girl carrying a mighty Demacian crown stopped in the shadow of a great statue to rest. Hidden in plain sight from his unsuspecting visitor, Galio studied the forlorn yordle. She looked as though she too shouldered a tremendous burden. As quietly and as stoically as she had arrived, she departed in the direction of Demacia. This encounter lit a spark in Galio's eye. Remembering the cause that his master had died defending, Galio arose from his silent purgatory and followed in the wake of this brave creature. He had a new reason to live: to join the League of Legends and fight for the will of Demacia.
''There is no such thing as redemption. Only penance.''
-- Galio
-- Galio
Pros / Cons
PROSGreat Tankiness MS Buff / Enemy Slow Amazing lockdown ultimate Bulwark Gives MR and ArmorAny MR built gives AP --> Runic SkinEasy to get defense capped Can tank turrets and gain health back Can step on Teemo mushrooms and gain health back Can step on any trap and gain health back Very hard to beat in lane Farms well |
CONSMana Problems Relies on Blue-Buff Early No Escape Q is fairly easy to dodge AD mids make your build worthless Idol of Durand does not show stealthed even if taunted Idol of Durand is interrupted very easilyMelee Somewhat long cooldowns AD Champions will do true damage |
Masteries
Masteries
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Overview of Masteries
Masteries account for a lot of Galio's early-and-mid-game power. IMO, going 9/21 is the strongest tree because the little bit of offense helps Galio maintain competitiveness within the lane while still being able to put points elsewhere.
Why no points in Utility?
I believe going 21 points in to the defense tree puts Galio in a very strong position in the latter part of the game compared to putting points in the Utility tree. Yes, mana-regeneration and movement speed is very key on Galio, but you need to go pretty far into the Utility tree to completely take advantage of its benefits. If you put too many points in Utility, then you won't have enough to benefit from the Defense tree's amazing mid-tier masteries. Yes, it is your choice to go between the two trees, but I highly recommend the added tankiness and threat it gives to Galio late-game.
Runes
Runes
Greater Mark of Magic PenetrationHaving
Greater Mark of Magic Penetrations in your runes for Galio is a very strong pick. I chose to have this over Greater Mark of Ability Power because you have a decision to either go Greater Glyph of Magic Resist or Greater Glyph of Ability Power, both very strong. After doing some math, Greater Glyph of Magic Resist benefits you a lot more than taking Greater Glyph of Ability Power and Greater Mark of Magic Resist. Since you'll be freeing up your marks for offensive runes, I found that Greater Mark of Magic Penetration is better to pick up than Greater Mark of Ability Power, as you'll be having a good deal of AP already, and Greater Mark of Ability Power does not give a lot of AP per rune. Seal of Armor Seal of Armor gives a tremendous amount of armor (12.69) for a level-1 Galio. Every point of armor Galio can receive by not sacrificing his ability as an AP tank is necessary to have, since throughout the entire game, the only bonus-armor he will get is from Runic Bulwark. Even then, that's not a lot of armor. Strong/Popular junglers such as Xin Zhao, Vi and Jarvan IV all do physical damage, so having armor will negate a lot of that damage that junglers will be doing when they come to gank, also increasing the effectiveness of your Bulwark. Greater Glyph of Magic ResistMagic resistance is what makes Galio so strong in lane. When you take 9
Greater Glyph of Magic Resist, you'll instantly get 6 AP from these alone. I chose flat MR over scaling MR because Greater Glyph of Magic Resist gives you a good deal of sustain against your laning opponent, and the extra-ap at later levels is not as important as being able to get Chalice of Harmony and Kage's Lucky Pick earlier. Greater Quintessence of Ability PowerPretty much the same thing as said above. 4.95 Ability Power is incredibly strong for one Quintessence.
Greater Quintessence of Ability Power is pretty standard on all AP mids. Also increases the effectiveness on all of your abilities quite nicely.
Spells / Skill Sequence
RESOLUTE SMITE ACTIVE: Galio fires a concussive blast from his eyes to a target location, dealing magic damage to all enemies hit (80 / 135 / 190 / 245 / 300(+ 60% AP)) and reducing their movement speed for 2.5 seconds (24% / 28% / 32% / 36% / 40%).
BULWARK ACTIVE: Galio shields an allied champion for 4 seconds, increasing their armor and magic resistance (30 / 45 / 60 / 75 / 90). Each time that unit takes damage, Galio is healed (25 / 40 / 55 / 70 / 85 (+ 30% AP)). The heal is 20% weaker than the last for each consecutive hit.
RIGHTEOUS GUST ACTIVE: Galio unleashes a gust of magical wind that deals magic damage ( 60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 (+ 50% AP)) to all enemies in its path. A directional draft remains for 5 seconds, increasing the movement speed of allies passing through it(20% / 28% / 36% / 44% / 52%).
IDOL OF DURAND ACTIVE: Galio channels for 2 seconds, taunting nearby foes and reducing incoming physical and magic damage by 50%. When the channel ends, Galio deals magic damage to surrounding enemies ( 220 / 330 / 440 (+ 60% AP)), plus an additional 5% damage for each attack suffered while channeling, capping at 40% bonus damage (308 / 462 / 616 (+ 84% AP)).
SPELL SEQUENCE
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The above says to take
Idol of Durand above anything else (When possible, at levels 6, 11, and 16) Resolute Smite for maximum damage/burst/chasing potential, Righteous Gust soon after for bonus damage and the speed buff for the team, followed by Bulwark, the least crucial to have at max rank.
Items / Alternatives
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ITEM JUSTIFICATION
The synergy with
Galio and this item is strong. Too strong. Anywhom, just imagine a giant, winged, statue flying at you with uncomparable speeds because his manly Taric popped a Shurelya's Battlesong, and he used his Twin Shadows. Oh my goodness, your movement speed is slowed by 40% while Galio's is increased by 40%. That's a Galio with 200% faster movespeed than you.
Almost every team comp needs a
Runic Bulwark. Ontop of that, when using this Galio build, you're not receiving a lot of health. For that matter, you're not receiving any health at all, aside from the 400 that Runic Bulwark gives. If anybody on your team is going to have it, it should be you, since you benefit twice as much as the next. Like I just said, the 400 health is a monster when it comes to teamfights, and increases your mitigation of any damage so much more, since it gives both MR and Armor.
VS.
Alright.
Abyssal Mask is probably the most godlike item on Galio. Period. 70 AP is a ridiculous amount, plus you're getting an extra 22.5 from Runic Skin, totaling to 92.5 AP, and the range on Abyssal Mask's AOE MR shred is conveniently just in range for Idol of Durand. You're getting so many more stats for just a little bit more gold.
You're probably thinking; "Why Deathcap on
Galio? Isn't he supposed to be an MR tank?! The answer is, yes, but take a look at the selection of items you are able to take that benefit Galio while still giving MR:
Spoiler: Click to viewNot a lot of choices you have to benefit
Galio and his team without sacrificing his damage and late-game threat. In my opinion, the two only logical options out of this list is Spirit Visage and Mikael's Blessing. ( Banshee's Veil only blocks one spell per teamfight, and with so much AOE going out, the shield can be broken even by a lousy Demacian Standard.)Which brings me into my next topic:
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT GET SPIRIT VISAGE
As you start to get farther into your build, you'll have to make decisions on what items to get. The current state of the MR stat lays primarily in cheap, useful yet sub-par items. Don't get me wrong,
Twin Shadows has a great active, but the stats on it are not amazing, such as a Athene's Unholy Grail or Runic Bulwark with very uesful stats. I used to include Spirit Visage in my build, until I decided that Rabadon's Deathcap was the clear choice because it benefits Galio so much more by giving him around 300 AP (After your build is complete otherwise) alone.If you strongly feel that
Spirit Visage should replace one of the items I put in my build, then by all means go for it. This is my personal opinion alone. Spirit Visage is a great item, and I get it on a lot of champions. It's not that it's bad, it's that there's better options.
Team Composition / Synergies
Individual Champions
Taric works really well with Galio because of his initiate-stun Dazzle, plus Shatter, giving a ridiculous amount of free armor, making up for the stat you lack in. Overall a really good champion to have on the team. Don't forget his great Radiance aura.
I typically do not like having a Soraka on the team because of her natural passive-nature, but in this case, I really like Soraka. She gives 16 free MR to her team, which very nice throughout the entire game. Not only does Soraka bring to the table free AP and MR, but her Starcall shreds the team's MR while you're locking them down with Idol of Durand. It depends on how many stacks she's accumulated, but it can be a ridiculous amount of MR shred - 120 MR - if she's allowed to constantly cast it.Don't take it from me, take it from a professional. HotshotGG knows all about it.
Team Work / Team Fights
When Galio gets to late game, then is when it gets intense. Your job as Galio is to get to the enemy team as quick as you can (When you're engaging, of course) and disrupt all of their plans and mobility by using your ultimate, Idol of Durand.
If you are not very tanky by this point in the game, hopefully you have another person on your team that can initiate well, such as Hecarim, Amumu, Xin Zhao, Jarvan IV, or Vi. Something also to be thinking about is, "When and where can I use my Idol of Durand so that it will benefit my team the most, locking 3-4-5 people down at once?"
Galio literally makes or breaks your teamfights. He has great initiation and ability to do massive damage to everyone at once while your team makes use of the two seconds they're taunted from Idol of Durand. Take a look at the video below;
Sorry for low-quality, first video recording with Fraps. The Galio you see is me.
This is a video I received from my friend a while ago through LoLReplay. I was playing Galio and was up against a Talon mid. I was doing fine in lane, thanks to Bulwark, until mid-game, when the enemy team became VERY strong. Needless to say, we were losing bad. Eventually, we started trading evenly, and then some 3-for-2s, and we started realizing that we were coming back. At the very end of the game, they went for a Baron Nashor to try and seal the game. We didn't have wards, and it was very intense. I popped my Twin Shadows to confirm they were at baron, we mobilized over there and Idol of Durand caught 4 people, finishing the game for us.
The main thing to realize from this is that Galio, and you, when put together, have ridiculous game control. You have the potential to win or lose games for your teams. That's why I have faith that by reading this guide, you'll learn a lot more about an underestimated champion that can really do a lot to seal a victory.
Spoiler: Click to view
Galio gets to late game, then is when it gets intense. Your job as Galio is to get to the enemy team as quick as you can (When you're engaging, of course) and disrupt all of their plans and mobility by using your ultimate, Idol of Durand.If you are not very tanky by this point in the game, hopefully you have another person on your team that can initiate well, such as
Hecarim, Amumu, Xin Zhao, Jarvan IV, or Vi. Something also to be thinking about is, "When and where can I use my Idol of Durand so that it will benefit my team the most, locking 3-4-5 people down at once?"Galio literally makes or breaks your teamfights. He has great initiation and ability to do massive damage to everyone at once while your team makes use of the two seconds they're taunted from
Idol of Durand. Take a look at the video below; Galio you see is me.This is a video I received from my friend a while ago through LoLReplay. I was playing
Galio and was up against a Talon mid. I was doing fine in lane, thanks to Bulwark, until mid-game, when the enemy team became VERY strong. Needless to say, we were losing bad. Eventually, we started trading evenly, and then some 3-for-2s, and we started realizing that we were coming back. At the very end of the game, they went for a Baron Nashor to try and seal the game. We didn't have wards, and it was very intense. I popped my Twin Shadows to confirm they were at baron, we mobilized over there and Idol of Durand caught 4 people, finishing the game for us.The main thing to realize from this is that
Galio, and you, when put together, have ridiculous game control. You have the potential to win or lose games for your teams. That's why I have faith that by reading this guide, you'll learn a lot more about an underestimated champion that can really do a lot to seal a victory.Spoiler: Click to view
Closing Notes
If you liked this guide and found it helpful, please upvote it to support me. If you have any suggestions on improving this guide, please don't hesitate to let me know. Any questions you have I will be happy to answer in the comment section. If you didn't like this guide, please tell me why so I can improve. This is my first guide on Mobafire, so it is very much a learning experience for me, and I hope you enjoyed reading this guide as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Good luck playing with Galio, one of the best AP-Tank-Initiators in the game, and never forget to carry your team "with great force." - Galio
Last Update: 3/6/2013 / Patch 3.03
Good luck playing with Galio, one of the best AP-Tank-Initiators in the game, and never forget to carry your team "with great force." - Galio
Last Update: 3/6/2013 / Patch 3.03
nxKythas
Galio Guide
Galio - The Guardian of the Rift
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