What's good guys! I'm Savage_XZ. I've been playing League since season 2 across a variety of roles. I started playing Illaoi a few seasons ago and used her to climb to Master rank in Season 9. I have brought a couple of my accounts within the top 5 Illaoi players on NA rankings. Here's a guide to everything I know and love about Illaoi. If you have questions about Illaoi or the game in general, feel free to stop by my stream at www.twitch.tv/savage_xz.

Once I played Illaoi, I immediately loved her concept. There are few champions in the game that the phrase "1v9" applies to so literally. Illaoi has very high autonomy and independence which makes her especially good for the uncoordinated and toxic nature of solo queue. When played well, she can fight an entire team alone or synergize with teammates for great AOE (area of effect) team wipes.

PROS (+) + Easy farming + Strong teamfighting + High AOE damage + Good laning + Great split pushing

CONS (–) - Low mobility - No CC - Weak early game - Poor chasing ability - Easily kited

Illaoi's kit is designed for AOE damage, sustained fighting, and zoning.

TEST OF SPIRIT (PASSIVE) :

"Illaoi and the Vessels she creates spawn Tentacles on nearby impassible terrain. Tentacles swing at spirits, vessels, and victims of Illaoi's Harsh lesson. Tentacles deal physical damage to enemies hit, and will heal Illaoi if they damage a champion."

Illaoi's passive is pretty straightforward. Periodically, a tentacle will spawn on a wall closest to her. The main thing to consider is to not spawn a tentacle in an awkward position in laning phase which will then prevent you from spawning one in a more desired spot next to it. There is a fixed distance allowed between tentacles so pay attention to the passive countdown for precise placement throughout the laning phase.

TENTACLE SMASH :

"Increases the damage dealt by Tentacles. When activated, Illaoi smashes down a Tentacle that deals physical damage."


is particularly good for farming or poking at a safe distance. The skill also passively amplifies damage done by tentacles which is why we max this skill second. If you pull an enemy soul using , try to line up to hit both the soul and host target to maximize damage.

HARSH LESSON :

"Illaoi leaps to her target, dealing physical damage and causing nearby Tentacles to also swing at the target."

This skill is Illaoi's ctrl button. Now that you've spawned and set up tentacles, use to command them to attack waves of minions or champions.

Here's a few tips & tricks when using Illaoi W:

•This skill can animation cancel your auto attack. In close exchanges, basic attack first followed immediately by W.
•The leap distance allows you to jump over small walls. Use this creatively in fights to escape or close gaps.
•Without Illaoi's , tentacles swing relatively slow. If you're fighting a melee target, kite them into the swing area after you use to ensure the slap damage hits.
•When is active, the cooldown on Illaoi's W becomes 2 seconds which is why we max this skill last since cooldown reduction is not that relevant.

TEST OF SPIRIT :

"Illaoi rips the spirit from a foe's body, forcing it to stand before her. Spirits echo a percentage of the damage they take to the original target. If killed, or if the target gets too far from the spirit, the target will become a Vessel and begin spawning Tentacles."

This skill is your bread and butter. It's one of the strongest poke abilities in the game and also the most important in your kit. If your team is grouped together and slowly contesting an objective, try for a few pulls on enemy champions and ping your team to attack the spirit.

At max level, damage transmission from the soul to the host target is 45% (+ 8% per 100 AD). This is an INSANE amount of damage that can be dealt to an immovable idle target prior to the fight even starting and explains why you max this ability first. This can help your team zone the enemy away from the objective or completely win you the fight against low health opponents.




As strong as Illaoi's is, its hit box is relatively small and its cooldown is long. Here are a few ways to help you land E's:

•Use to land hidden pulls from bushes.
•Use to close the gap between you and target; then E.
•If you've built , use the active to close the gap and slow the target followed by E.
•If your team has targeted CC like or , wait for your team to land them to guarantee you land

If you miss, try to avoid fighting until the cooldown resets. Landing this skill before the fight breaks out can be the deciding factor between winning or losing a fight. While Illaoi can still summon and control tentacles with and , turning any enemy champion into a vessel will cause them to also summon and signal nearby tentacles to strike which GREATLY increases your overall damage and healing in a fight.

LEAP OF FAITH :

"Illaoi smashes her idol into the ground, dealing physical damage to nearby enemies. A Tentacle spawns for each enemy champion hit."

Illaoi's ultimate is an area of effect slam. Your objective when using it should be to get as many champions [spirits/clones included] in the smash area to summon as many tentacles as possible. If your is up, use and INSTANTLY flash after to reposition the land on top of enemy champions. Do not flash first and then R as this is inefficient and gives enemy champions time to react.

also reduces the cooldown on to 2 seconds, allowing you to signal tentacles to slap down several times throughout a fight. Use your W as often as you can during the duration of the ultimate to maximize damage.

Illaoi's early laning is passive compared to other top lane bruisers. While playing Illaoi, you want to last hit and allow the wave to push into you where you can freeze it close to tower and farm in a safe position. Unless you're fighting pure tanks like or , you want to avoid taking trades as Illaoi's early fighting is easily outmatched by other champs. If you are being zoned by a ranged champion like or aggressive bruiser like , use to last hit minions until the wave reaches you. It's important to be precise when using this skill so you don't hit too many minions and push the wave towards your opponent's tower.

TRADING: The most effective way to wear down your opponent is to land your around a set of tentacles that have overlapping play areas. This will optimize the damage output from your W as well and allow you to heal back any lost HP.

Keep in mind that marking your opponent as a vessel with E limits your ability to control the wave as tentacles will start attacking the champion automatically as well as any nearby minions. For more precise wave management, use Q to poke until levels 5-6 when you're more comfortable pushing.

Outside of laning phase, you will have the choice to either split push or group with your team for fights around core objectives. There are a few variables to consider to help you decide which route to take as you approach mid/late game:

MATCHUP: You should consider the impact your top lane match-up has in teamfights. If you're matchup is a fed or , you would likely defer to splitting. While Illaoi's teamfighting is strong, champions like Kennen and Malphite have a quick and explosive impact on teamfights. You can help your team's chances of winning by drawing an opponent like this to a sideline.

TEAM COMPOSITION: If your team has no reliable front-line and your opponent has engage champs like , , , , you want to group. Illaoi not only serves as a great front line for a squishy team but thrives against dive compositions with champs like those listed.

If you decide to split push, you're in good hands. Illaoi's wave-clear and sustain in fights makes her a monster split push champion. However, what differentiates good and bad Illaoi players is the ability to effectively time split push pressure so as to force the enemy team to decide between dealing with you or contesting objectives.

If Baron or Dragon are almost up and you have ready, you want to split push on the side lane opposite the objective. Split top lane if the priority is Dragon. Split bot lane if the priority is Baron.

This will force the enemy team to either collapse on you which gives your team full objective control or they will commit to the objective and lose structures in the lane you are pressuring.

If they send a couple members to you, use your discretion on whether you should TP to your team and secure the objective with a numbers advantage or take the 1v2 or 1v3 fight as Illaoi in the mid/late game can win these.

Positioning and vision are key here. It's important to ward generously around the side of the map that you're split pushing to have knowledge of when/if the enemy team is rotating to you. If they are not, you should push more aggressively until you notice a response from them.

Split pushing with Illaoi requires constant active thinking and awareness to your opponent's movement around the map. Teams in solo queue will easily fall into disarray as to what the "best" option is. Do they defend against your split push and give up objectives? Do they collapse on you? How many do they send to you? These are all decisions a good Illaoi player will force opponents to make. As you distract them on the map, you will allow your team to safely secure objectives, win fights and close out the game.