Irelia Build Guide by Hanyuyui

Introduction

Welcome to my Guide of Irelia, The Will of the Blades.
This is my first guide on Mobafire, so the it doesnt looks good, but i will try to update it when I learn to use better Mobafire.

Irelia when released, people thinked she was UP, but I finded her fun so I played her alot, then Irelia became FoTM and got nerfed several times, mainly nerfing her ult healing.
I wrote this guide because I like to play Irelia alot and some Irelia guides are outdated now.

I will update this guide so it have images and add more info.

Pros/Cons

Pros:
+Reduced Crowd Control duration
+Hard to keep crowdcontrolled with mercury threads and her passive
+Great damage
+Really fast movespeed
Cons:
-Weak Early Game compared to some dominant top solos
-Needs alot of farm to be useful

Runes

Masteries

I go 9 in defense more for the extra dodge and nimbleness
21 in utility helps you with lower summoner spells cooldown, extra movespeed and less cooldown.
If you dont have dodge seals and you arent going to build Ninja Tabi use this masteries.

change summoner spells points if you are going to use another summoner spell ( dont put points into improved teleport if you arent using it )

Summoner Spells

Starting Items

Doran's Shield I start with this most of the times, makes you tankier and gives you a bit of sustain and armor. Cloth Armor Start with this and 5x Health Potion vs a hard lane like Garen, Renekton, Udyr or Yorick Regrowth Pendant Start with this and 1x Health Potion if you want to buy a philosopher's stone Boots of speed Start with this VS Brand, Urgot, Ezreal or any champion that depends on skillshots to harrass

Doran's Shield
I start with this most of the times, makes you tankier and gives you a bit of sustain and armor.


Cloth Armor
Start with this and 5x Health Potion vs a hard lane like Garen, Renekton, Udyr or Yorick


Regrowth Pendant
Start with this and 1x Health Potion if you want to buy a philosopher's stone


Boots of speed
Start with this VS Brand, Urgot, Ezreal or any champion that depends on skillshots to harrass

Core Items

Trinity Force This item makes Irelia damage skyrocket and makes her really powerful midgame with the Sheen proc. You should try to get Trinity Force around 16-22 minutes ingame. You should start building it most of the time starting with Phage, then Sheen and last Zeal. Phage gives you health so you can deal with burst from people like Akali, Talon and helps you deal more sustained damage. sometimes you can get Sheen first so you can burst some squishies that go top like Nidalee. Ninja Tabi I usually get this item because usually im laning versus an physical damage dealer. I sell this item later in game if the enemy has a lot of Crowd Control, but if not I stay with this because I like negaiting 1/5 of the enemy carry autoattacks. Mercury's Treads I buy this if the enemy has alot of Crowd Control or sometimes when I lane versus enemy that deal only or mostly magical damage with spells like Mordekaiser, Singed or Vladimir. Force of Nature With this, Trinity force, runes, and masteries you will be moving 450+ movespeed, which allow her to dive easily in teamfights the squishies on the back.

Trinity Force
This item makes Irelia damage skyrocket and makes her really powerful midgame with the Sheen proc. You should try to get Trinity Force around 16-22 minutes ingame.
You should start building it most of the time starting with Phage, then Sheen and last Zeal.
Phage gives you health so you can deal with burst from people like Akali, Talon and helps you deal more sustained damage.
sometimes you can get Sheen first so you can burst some squishies that go top like Nidalee.


Ninja Tabi
I usually get this item because usually im laning versus an physical damage dealer.
I sell this item later in game if the enemy has a lot of Crowd Control, but if not I stay with this because I like negaiting 1/5 of the enemy carry autoattacks.


Mercury's Treads
I buy this if the enemy has alot of Crowd Control or sometimes when I lane versus enemy that deal only or mostly magical damage with spells like Mordekaiser, Singed or Vladimir.


Force of Nature
With this, Trinity force, runes, and masteries you will be moving 450+ movespeed, which allow her to dive easily in teamfights the squishies on the back.

Lategame Items

Warmog's Armor
I like to get this item, it makes you very beefy with the health it gives and with Atma's Impaler you will have good damage.
It can be replaced with Frozen Mallet


Atma's Impaler
This with Warmog's Armor or Frozen Mallet will give you enough damage.


Infinity Edge
I like to build Infinity edge because it makes your autoattacks and spells Bladesurge, Transcendent Blades hit harder.
this with Trinity Force, Atma's Impaler will make you have 58% chance to crit, making you dangereous to squishies when you crit them for 600+ damage.

Viable Items

Wriggle's Lantern
Build this if you started with Cloth Armor.


Visage
Get this if laning vs a magic damage dealer Singed, Warwick. You can sell this later in game.

philosopher's stone
Philosopher's Stone
Get this if you started with Regrowth Pendant.


Wit's End
I build this if the enemy is Magic damage heavy.


Quicksilver Sash
Enemy got Warwick, Malzahar, Skarner giving you problems ? get this.


Guardian Angel
Give you a second life so you can keep killing them.


Frozen Heart
Enemy got a really fed AD carry or got alot of enemys that depend on attac speed Jax, Tristana, Kog'Maw.


Sword of the Divine
Get this versus dodge ***** Jax.


Youmuu's Ghostblade
Really good item on Irelia, armor pen increases your autoattacks, Bladesurge, and Transcendent Blades damage, and the active gives you extra movespeed and attack speed for your Hiten Style.


Aegis of the Legion
Good early game option if no one in your team is buying it, makes you tankier and also helps your team. I usually sell this later because it isnt as good lategame.

Irelia Skills

Ionian Fervor
Reduces the duration of stuns, slows, taunts, fears, snares, and immobilizes for each nearby enemy champion.
1 Champion: 10%
2 Champions: 25%
3 Champions: 40%
Radius: 1200 (sight range)

Explanation:

-This is what makes Irelia such a strong champion, this with mercury threads will make Irelia really hard to keep down with crowdcontrol.
-This ability doesnt affects knock ups, blinds and suppress.
-If you cant see the enemy ( brushes, stealth ), the passive wont detect the champion.



Bladesurge
Irelia dashes forward to strike her target, dealing physical damage. This applies on-hit effects. If it kills the target, Bladesurge's cooldown refreshes and refunds 35 mana.
Range: 650
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 mana
Cooldown: 14 / 12 / 10 / 8 / 6 seconds
Physical Damage: 20 / 50 / 80 / 110 / 140 (+1.0 per attack damage)

Explanation:

-Farming and last hitting at turret
-Use it as a gapcloser
-Apply on-hit-effects ( Wits ends, Madred Bloodrazor, Red buff, Hiten Style)
-At max level it has a 6 seconds cooldown and 3.6 cooldown with 40% cooldown reduction, making it easier for you to stick in the squishies
-With trinity force you can kill with one Q a caster minion, so you can use it as a gapcloser to enemies.



Hiten Style
Hiten Style Passive: (Passive): Irelia's autoattacks restore health to her.
Health Restored: 10 / 14 / 18 / 22 / 26

Hiten Style Active: Irelia's autoattacks deal additional true damage for 6 seconds.
True Damage: 15 / 30 / 45 / 60 / 75
Cost: 40 mana
cooldown: 15 seconds

Explanation:

-You max this first because it gives you sustain and damage
-Your Main Harrassing Combo should be W>Autoattack>Bladesurge>Autoattack



Equilibrium Strike
Irelia pierces her target, dealing magic damage and slowing the target by 60% for few seconds. If the target has a higher health % than Irelia, she stuns the target for the duration instead.
Cooldown: 8 seconds
Range: 425
Cost: 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 mana
Magic Damage: 80 / 130 / 180 / 230 / 280 (+0.5 per ability power)
Duration: 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2 second(s)

Explanation:

-This skill can turn losing teamfights into your favor with a nice stun, if you can try to use this before Q.
-This skill is more about the slow/stun than the damage.



Transcendent Blades
Irelia summons 4 spirit blades which she can fire individually in a straight line to deal physical damage to enemies they pass through, and she heals for 25% of that damage vs champions and 10% vs minions.
Cost: 100 mana
Range: 1200
cooldown: 60 / 50 / 40 seconds
Physical Damage Per Blade: 80 / 120 / 160 (+0.5 per ability power) (+0.6 per bonus attack
damage)

Explanation:

-Use it on lane to heal yourself when you get low.
-This skill make you deal good AoE damage in teamfights.
-Makes your burst really high at level 6

Skill Sequence

This should be for most of your games your skill sequence. R>W>Q>E

You can start with E at level 1 if there is going to be a level 1 teamfight, if not take W, you should have at lvl 3 one point in Q, W and E.

Laning Phase

Irelia early game compared to other solo top champs is weak.
you should try to farm until you can buy Phage and Boots of Speed or wriggle´s lantern and Boots of Speed if you started with Cloth Armor.
If you went phage path you should buy vision wards to defend yourself from ganks.
When you get your ultimate Transcendent Blades use it to either keep farming or harrass/kill the opponent.
You should be getting trinity force around the 20 minutes, after that you can keep either farming or force a teamfight at dragon if you are sure you can win it.

Last Hitting at Turret

Irelia from level 1 to 5 will be pushed to her turret, so you should learn to last hit at turret.

Front minions = 2 Turret Hits + 2 Basic Attacks or 1 Attack 1 Bladesurge
Back minions = 1 Turret Hit + 2 Basic Attacks or 1 Attack 1 Bladesurge

Laning Phase Matchups

Start with Boots of Speed + 3x Health Potion, most Akali players start with boots + 3 pots too, so you need to move faster than them so they dont proc the mark of the assasin.
Try to just farm and dont be send back to base.
At level 9 you can fight her back with a Vision Ward so she doesnt become invisible with Twilight Shroud and doesnt bait your Hiten Style.


start with Boots of Speed + 3x Health Potion, you can sustain his damage, and he can sustain your damage, so this lane is more about who farms more. Get jungler ganks so he doesnt get out of your team control.


start with Cloth Armor + 5x Health Potion, his passive Grog Soaked Blade and Parrrley will outdamage you, but you can farm against him, just dont let him stack his passive against you with autoattacks, after you get Wriggle's Lantern you should sustain his damage and outdamage him with Hiten Style


Start with Cloth Armor + 5x Health Potion, his early game is one of the most powerful with his judgement, but his mid-lategame falls, try to get minions without him be able to harrass you, after wriggles you should do fine.


start Cloth Armor + 5x Health Potion, build Ninja Tabi and wriggle´s lantern, most pantheons use mana regen on yellows so he doesnt have the armor, go fight him.


start Cloth Armor + 5x Health Potion, when you get Wriggle's Lantern and Ninja Tabi you will outsustain his damage.
Before you get items, try to dodge his first slice dice, if he uses it again to catch you, fight back, he will lose because he will have to fight you with your minions.


Start Boots of Speed + 5x Health Potion, this guy denies almost every melee with his Flamespitter, you will need your jungler to gank him most of the time until you can get the upper hand on him.
Play passive and last hit at turret.



start Cloth Armor + 5x Health Potion, when you hit level 6 you should be able to outsustain his damage with Wriggle's Lantern and Ninja Tabi.
Dont fight him when he uses Battle Cry, so bait him to use them, if he does use Equilibrium Strike and wait for his Battle Cry to end, then you can fight him back.

Team Fights

When teamfights begin to start, you should be played as an assasin mid game because you dont have your full build, so you arent still tanky. Your main job in the game is to kill the main damage dealer, which can be an AP carry like Annie. Brand, or an AD carry like Vayne, Corki.
You should never go first, but go second or third after the teamfight starts.
You should ask for red buff to your jungler, Hiten Style + red buff will make anyone melt to the truedamage.
The longer the fight is, the better its for Irelia, Irelia will stun/slow enemies multiple times and deal true damage, winning the teamfight.

Tips & Tricks

-Using smartcast on Irelia spells specially her Bladesurge makes it easy to chain multiple bladesurges on low hp minion.
-Learn to aim her ultimate Transcendent Blades, it will make you deal alot more damage or save you from death with the heal.

Last Comment

I will try to update this guide and add more info about Irelia and laning phase match-ups.
If you have any question I will try to answer most of them :D
I will try to add more info in some sections too