first off, id like to say that Irelia is teh pwn.

This guide will focus on how to maximize Irelia's potential as an overall carry by doing the most damage possible from AD while spamming skills.

note: change things in guide to fit game properly


Also, PLEASE READ THE GUIDE BEFORE VOTING! you may find the answer/explaination to your complaint.
and please try to leave constructive criticism and give me a chance to improve

4/25/11 - major revamp of the guide

4/26/11 - swapped madreds bz for IE

4/30/11 - major change again but still same mindset
4/30/11 - changed to armor/lvl seals

5/1/11 - learned that CC reduction adds multiplicatively instead of additively

honestly, if u play smart, no one can kill u

with this build, ur opponents will have to decide whether they want to face ur epic auto atk dmg ( Hiten Style) or ur devastatingly low cds from Equilibrium Strike and Transcendent Blades

her passive, Ionian Fervor, will make CC-ing her to death not an option

her movement speed with tri force and tier 2 boots give her a base ms of 440ish
add in Ghost, Shurelya's Battlesong, and Youmuu's Ghostblade and then it really gets ridiculous

the reason i get 40% cd is because it increases irelia's utility greatly

in the beginning of the game u start with 10% cdr from masteries and 1 rune

by late mid game / early late game (when team fights are prevalent) ur cdr will be maxed from Youmuu's Ghostblade and Shurelya's Battlesong

what does this mean?
first off, irelia has almost no mana problems. add in the mp regen from shurelya's, she will never need blue

in team fights, u can jump on their squishy, spam ur skills, then spam them again...this makes her a great chaser due to her 3.6s Bladesurge
her cc will have a 5s cd
and her hiten will have 3s downtime (6s active, 9s cd)

a combination of sheen, dashing, cc-ing, and true dmg auto atk make her deadly


now, her ult, at lvl 3, will have 24s cd. do u know what that means? use during a teamfight, and by the time cleanup starts itll be up again, useable to heal or do some aoe dmg

not only that, when pushing, u can use it every wave, and u can use it between lanes.
ex: pushing bot, use ult. by the time u get to mid, ult will be up.

never be afraid to spam skills

ArPen reds and quints are extremely effective with any AD carry

To make up for lack of survivability, armor yellows are used since she lacks armor

1 cdr rune because it gives 1% cdr, and we need that to max cdr

I like to run Ghost and Ignite
I feel that Ghost synergizes better with Irelia's passive and Trinity Force's stuff (slow, movespeed)
Ignite is for added dmg; i prefer it over Exhaust because Exhaust wont guarantee
a kill and irelia has enough ms to chase (especially with ghost)
but adjust as u see fit
you can replace Ghost with Flash or Ignite with Exhaust
or if u like ghost + flash ; vice versa
just choose the ones that fit your play style

edit: changed to 9/0/21

9/0/21
with this mastery tree, u will get 9% cdr w/o any runes at lvl 1, thats y we get 1 cdr rune, to make it 9.85%

main pros about 21 utility is increased exp, increased buff duration, and cd on summoners

movespeed, mp regen, gold, and death time reduction is also pretty nice

tip: dont ever bother with the mastery perserverence, the one that gives 4% increased mana and hp regen. its impact is so miniscule that there is basically no impact. death dcr is much better

I'm too lazy to individually edit the items and skills part so I'm going to throw this in here :P maybe ill do it later

depending on who ur laning against, u will level different skills
against squishies and fast nukes/escapers like LeBlanc Kassadin Annie, max out Bladesurge after Equilibrium Strike (but do get 1 lvl of Hiten Style early on)
this is to do big burst dmg to the fairly squishy enemies, just q in and e, then run

to compliment this, get a Sheen first to get even more dmg as the sheen proc applies with q



on the other hand, facing tanky (and usually slow) champs like Cho'Gath Malphite Sion get Phage and max Hiten Style after e
phage gives hp, but more importantly it gives slow so u can land more auto atks with hiten


So, around your 2nd trip back you should be getting either Phage or Sheen


BUT, if u feel that u need more survivability or dmg, choose accordingly Sheen for dmg, Phage for hp

Ionian Fervor
This passive is what makes Irelia both durable and potent. It reduces CC duration based on how many enemy champions there are. It'll partially repay for those silly mistakes but won't bail you out of a team fight, so keep that in mind. Does not reduce suppresses, though.


Bladesurge
I level this first to farm. When a unit is killed from this, half the mana is restored and its CD is reset. In early game I use it to get last hits I otherwise cannot. Later, around level 5~, it can be used to effectively harass enemies (along with e).

Later in mid/late game, I use this skill to dash towards their squishy. With 40% CDR, its cd is very short and should be up by the time they're out of range.

I don't level it so much in the beginning because i feel its damage doesn't stack up against Equilibrium Strike


Hiten Style
this (along with ult) will keep u in lane longer than others. its passive works on buildings, so abuse abuse abuse!

in early game, this scales a LOT with Irelia's fairly low hp pool, so it can be worth getting if you like dps early or if u are guaranteed hits off of ur opponent

its active is true damage, which is invaluable. its both great against armor stacking tanks and those carries with little armor. best part, its passive is still up with the active. so theres no downside (except the mana cost, but thats no problem)

I dont level Hiten Style first because i think it doesnt synergizes well with irelia early game. its life steal is pretty good but u have ur ult for that.


Equilibrium Strike
I love CC, so of course this skill is of great importance to me. it either slows or stuns, depending on target hp. I max this out first because of its high damage scaling/level and its long CC. at level 5, it has a 2 sec stun.

I mainly use this skill to add burst damage and quickly escape if im ganked. When i am ganking, i expect them to run and not fight back (usually what happens) so i dont even bother trying to activate its stun.



Transcendent Blades
this is a smart cast spell which means the blades (4) go to where ur cursor is.
i think its damage is miniscule and its main thing is to heal. it can also farm very well (clears a whole wave of minions) this will keep u in lane longer

in team fights, i usually use this after i blow all my other skills for added dps or use it to heal if im in a bad position.

its cd is relatively low at around 30 sec with 20% cdr (lvl 2) so spam spam spam farm farm farm heal heal heal

ITEMIZATION
Regrowth Pendant
gives hp regen, excellent for staying in lane. In early game, this + hiten + ult will make u fit to live in lane lol

philosopher's stone
as soon as u have enough for this and boots, get it to maximize gold boost. this is a great item because it gives hp regen, mp regen, and gold. one of the best items to keep irelia in lane to farm up
it takes 27 minutes to regain all gold, but 13.5 if u sell it.

Phage
gives hp and a slow, and some dmg, not bad not bad. mainly i get this after Sheen. if u need survivability get this first

Sheen
after u get this ur mana problems, as stated b4, are reduced. this also boosts ur farming because it procs with q, so u can bring a minion down from half health. just remember its 3s cd

The Brutalizer
getting this after trinity may make it not as useful, but it gives 10% cdr, 15 arPren and 25 dmg, all good for offense

Shurelya's Battlesong
i get this to replace the spirit visage's defensive stats. this gives hp, mp and hp regen, and a nice 15% cdr. i get this after The Brutalizer to maximize gold profit from philosopher's stone
its active is like a mini ghost, great for team chases and to get to places and to run.

Youmuu's Ghostblade
this compliments ur assassin role by giving an active ms and atkspd boost (talked about later). the other stats are great too

CORE ITEMS
Trinity Force Mercury's Treads
trinity is probably the best item on Irelia, giving her all around good stats of Sheen and Phage + atk spd and move spd

since we no longer need cdr boots to max cdr, we now get Mercury's Treads these things will make u almost invulnerable to CC. plus its mres makes up for the loss of spirit visage. this item synergizes well with ghost because the cc's only last a bit and then u can run away

EDIT: Mercury's Treads only gets irelia down to 60% CC reduction, still worth getting imo, but just be aware its not 75% :(


Zeke's Harbinger i like this because of its life steal, atk speed, and aura. it generally helps the team a lot and irelia is a pretty good carrier, being fast, durable, and deadly


also get a survivability item, my choice being Guardian Angel because of its revive and armor (which u somewhat lack)
Banshee's Veil isnt a bad choice either but imo irelia's hp regen scales better with GA



SITUATIONAL ITEMS
If Im going offensive i swap something out and get Last Whisper/ Madred's Bloodrazor or any of the BF sowrd items


however if Im being focused i tend to get defensive items. Thornmail, Quicksilver Sash, Randuin's Omen are good choices


remember, always adapt items to your/enemy team composition!

edit: changed starting item to regrowth pendant

start with Regrowth Pendant and Health Potion or Mana Potion
this gives you so much laning presence that rarely do u need to go back
also ur ult can clear whole minion waves and heal u back up to full from half


825 GOLD if u can, once you have enough for philosopher's stone and regular boots, go back. around 600 gold, u should start auto attacking and q-ing the last hits. this will push the lane up a bit so that ur tower wont take dmg

keep farming until Mercury's Treads/ Sheen 2150 gold
if ur doing bad or need to get tankier, get Phage first

then get Phage, or if u can lane longer, finish up Trinity Force


after you get Trinity Force you should be pretty well off. getting Trinity Force usually signals the beginning of mid game

remember, dont be afraid to use ur ult to push the lane when u go b. in fact, try to use all ur mana b4 b-ing

I think Irelia is pretty good at both laning and soloing

she pwns face 1v1 and synchronizes very well with support or stun/burst carry

soloing top/mid will allow you to farm easier

laning will maybe get an early kill because she does do tons of burst damage early

if you are good then i suggest you solo

soloing will let u farm, outlvl, and not be harassed as much by 2 ppl
in fact, with this build, irelia has so much lane staying power from philosopher's stone, Hiten Style, Transcendent Blades and easy farm from Trinity Force

early game use q to last hit ONLY if you cannot last hit with normal attack
be extremely cautious because if you miss a q then itll have 12s cd

i get hiten early to get some lifesteal

i mainly max out e first because of its CC and massive damage.

ur ult can be used for various tasks
you can use it to heal, harass, push, or last hit the running champs (its range is extremely long)

Sheen proc applies on q, so this can be abused to farm, harass, w/e

to harass with Sheen, q them, try to wait 2 seconds to e or w, and then do the other u did not. for reeeeelllly big bursts last game use w then q to do insane dmg - 200 basic atk + 200 sheen + 75 true dmg = 450 burst

In team fights, Irelia's main objective is to snipe the enemy carry.
To do this, various things must be considered

dont start a team fight. Although Irelia isnt that squishy compared to other carries, she cannot take sustained damage from 3-5 enemy champs. even her passive cannot save her from a worst case scenario
wait until the team fight is initiated, then use q to reach the squishies, activate w, and use e based on ur judgement. activate Youmuu's Ghostblade to kill them even faster. by the time they flash, ur q should already be up, and u have youmuu's active to keep up with them

if the enemies are bunched up together use ur ult
if u do get focused, try to use ult to heal

due to her passive, shes pretty unstoppable if not every single enemy champion is attacking her.

Shurelya's Battlesong is a powerful team item. its like a mini ghost for the whole team
both active items only have 60 sec cd, so remember to use it often.

this guide focuses on max damage from ad and ap while having enough defense to survive and utility to spam skills

remember, EVERYTHING IS SITUATIONAL, ADAPT AS SEEN FIT