Math section [x]. Almost finished with the item sequence and assassin build section. Also started on a match up section at the request of a few people.

4/30/2012
Started on the revision of the Item Sequence Section, the addition of math calculation, and Assassin build. All 3 of which will be published soon.

4/29/2012
Item Sequence is still not finished. Also I plan to add my assassin build soon after everything else is finished.

4/28/2012 Will soon change the Item Sequence when I get motivated again.

4/27/2012 4/26/2012

Irelia... where do I start with her? Other people keep on nagging she's OP and needs an endless amount of nerfs. Few people think she is balanced and want her to be the same. Whose right? Whose wrong? Its all up to you but one thing I assure you is she's FUN AS HELL!!!


Irelia is a fairly versatile champion who can, with the right items, dish out a carry's damage while having the sturdiness of a tank. However, she is not by any means unkillable nor is she a 1 hit 1 kill champ. What I put on this guide is the result of research, theorycrafting, debates, in-game testing, and of course my own experience.

I have had success with this champion (200+ games with her alone) and I'd like to share my knowledge of her with you people. Though I'm not saying I am the best with this champ, I'm just implying that I have had my own share of matches.

I'll be honest, I'm really lazy. This guide is not actually finished and I'll be adding more slowly. Comments and Suggestions are highly appreciated so I can improve the guide as I work. Criticism is also appreciated but please be constructive :D

Also please take some time to read the guide. Its split into sections to help you find what you need. Just glancing on the builds above without reading about them misses a lot of useful information that may give injustice to the guide.

The Ionians have developed some of the most breathtaking and deadly martial arts on all of Runeterra – just one manifestation of their pursuit of enlightenment. The most remarkable blade style to emerge, however, was the unusual byproduct of foreign intervention. Master Lito was a swordsman whose teachings were sought by ruling classes from nearly every city-state. His art was a highly-guarded secret, but it was said that swords would breathe in his grasp. He withered unexpectedly from a mysterious disease which baffled the brightest of Runeterran physicians. When he died, he left behind Zelos and Irelia, his son and daughter, and a truly unique weapon. Zelos became a Sergeant in the Ionian military and left to seek assistance from Demacia immediately prior to Noxus' invasion of Ionia. Irelia, charged with the protection of their home until Zelos returned, was alone when Noxian forces struck. The Ionians fought admirably, but soon Ionian blood stained the land beneath the prints of foreign boots. At the Great Stand of the Placidium, Ionians prepared for surrender, but were inspired to maintain their resistance when the young Irelia hoisted her father’s enormous blade and pledged to hold until her brother returned. In the chaos of the ensuing fight, Irelia was cursed with dark Noxian necromancy. As her life ebbed, Soraka, the Starchild, made a final attempt to anchor Irelia’s fading soul. Unwilling to relinquish her home, Irelia rose at the brink of death, and her father’s sword lifted in the air alongside her. Irelia rushed back to the fore, unfazed by the blade's sudden animation. The weapon danced

around her effortlessly, cutting down Noxians as they gaped in horror. The decimated invaders were forced to retreat from the Placidium. Irelia was appointed Ionia's Captain of the Guard, and when the defense of her homeland moved to the Fields of Justice, so did she.


"The sword flourishes, as though painting with blood."
-Taken from a Noxian Field Report

Imagine a team fight breaks in mid. Your tank initiates and your whole team follows. Suddenly, this Master Yi from the other team with 300 Damage and 100% Critical Strike appears. Ready to cut through your team. Whatcha gonna do about it?

Obviously if you and your team had any intelligence whatsoever you'd focus him and whip his tiny little ***. However, all 5 of you can't attack him at the same time or else the other team'll kill you. As much as possible only 1 champ should take the damn carry on while the other 4 continue fighting.

This is where Offtank Irelia excels. You take on the carry, kill him, and help your team with the remaining four. Your job is to SHUTDOWN THE CARRY AT ALL COSTS, no matter how intimidating that Morgana with 100 HP looks. Your supposed to be bent on killing the carry and make the damn summoner wish he'd chosen another champ.

PROS + Good Sustain + Decent Damage + Hard to kill + Sturdy Solo Top Champion + Can kill a carry in the middle of his team and walk away with a good chunk of life left + Hard to counter. Boasts 3 sources of punishment. True Damage, AD, and Magic Damage + Good duelist, can 1 on 1 any carry + GP/5 items ( Heart of Gold and philosopher's stone) contribute to your gold income in a major way

CONS - VERY item dependent - Vulnerable Early Game - Anything that affects Attack Speed (ex. Randuin's Omen, Frozen Heart, Glacial Storm) cripples your damage output - May take some time to kill a decent carry - Must farm well - Equilibrium Strike has an unreliable mechanic - Transcendent Blades is more of a farming/harassing tool rather than a killing spell

Runes are actually the same through out the 3 builds. Personally, I think these are good takes on Irelia. Nice survivability, while giving a boost in Damage output.

greater mark of desolation Greater Mark of Desolation Helps your auto attacks from early game to late game. Also synergizes with Bladesurge since it deals physical damage. USELESS WRITING **** Greater Glyph of Warding Makes you tankier early game and helps with survivability later on. Can be switch with Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction for the cooldown reduction. USELESS WRITING **** Greater Seal of Resilience Makes you tankier early game and helps with survivability later on. Can be switched with greater seal of replenishment for the early game mana issues.

Greater Quintessence of Alacrity Gives you a nice boost to your damage output. Synergizes well with Hiten Style and items with on-hit effects such as Wit's End. Can be switched for Greater Quintessence of Health for the added health or greater quintessence of desolation if you want more AD damage.

I'll be quick with this part. I go 9/21/0 masteries since the defensive tree serves Irelia the best. You'll be harder to kill and more resistant to crowd control.

Offensive Tree

Summoner's Wrath because I take Ignite
Brute Force for the extra AD, that's always good
Alacrity to increase over-all damage
Weapon Expertise to help late game when flat penetration isn't enough


Defensive Tree

Resistance and Hardiness for the Armor and Magic Resist
Durability since more health is always good
Veteran's Scars to increase early game survivability
Indomitable since it reduces some damage
Evasion because it really helps in mitigating aoe spells
Siege Commander because it is very helpful for you and your team
Honor Guard to reduce even more damage
Juggernaut for the increase in health and the reduced CC duration


The important thing here is to make sure Irelia can reach Juggernaut which means you can choose where to place the points as you go further up the defensive tree. The 9 points in Offense is purely my preference. You can put them in the Utility Tree if it better fits your playstyle.

You can also go choose to invest in Offensive Tree or the Utility Tree if you'd prefer. They're both still viable.

Good Summoner Spells

An all-around spell. Can be used for offense, escaping, or positioning. The only downside of this spell is its EXTREMELY long cooldown. It's also very prone to mistakes so you have to think twice about using it in a situation.

An awesome chasing/escaping spell. Also has a much lower cooldown than flash. Downside is being unable to hop over walls or terrain. Ghost or Flash are both good spells. Depends really on your preference.

Securing a kill is always good. It synergizes well with Transcendent Blades. Popping this on your opponent plus your ulti will secure you a kill 90% of the time. The reduced healing is also very helpful. Especially since you kill carries and usually carries depend on their lifesteal to survive.

Viable Summoner Spells

A standard choice for solo tops. Its good I won't deny that but I rarely use it since I find other summoner spells to be better for my playstyle.

A really good choice for shutting down carries. You can switch Ignite for this if you'd like. Depends on your preference.

Bad Summoner Spells

This spell is only useful early game. After that its useless. Its not gonna save you from ganks mid game to late game. Choose Flash or Ghost instead

You already have your passive Ionian Fervor, the effect from Juggernaut , and the tenacity from Mercury's Treads. You don't need this, its just a slot waster.

Early game mana issues are not a big deal for you. Clarity is better used for mana consuming champs such as Ziggs and Karthus.

Now there are two ways of setting her abilities during early game. The first way is maxing out Bladesurge. This enables you to have better early game bursts and farming potential. The second way is maxing out Hiten Style first. This allows you to increase your damage output earlier and better scale you into late game.

Bladesurge path

Why even think about maxing out Bladesurge first? Its because the key to success during early game is burst damage and mobility. Not trading hits with another champion. It allows you to farm EXTREMELY well. You will usually be a solo top champ and in some cases you'll have to face the top lane 2 to 1. Last hitting will be a breeze for you even with your turret attacking the minions and even better, you WILL be in a much safer stand against those 2 champs.

Hiten Style path

The way most Irelia players go with. The advantage of this is giving you better sustain and auto attack damage. That's pretty much it. The only time I'd use this path is if I know I'll be taking top with a teammate AND against only 1 opponent or soloing top against a champ I can easily handle (ex. Vayne, Miss Fortune, Master Yi). Obviously this rarely happens so I take the first path most of the time. This path just isn't as reassuring as the first path. There are a lot of other champs that can take you on early game and mess with your farming. That just won't do.

Bladesurge and Hiten Hybrid

This kind of set up was something I've been kindling for a time now. Basically its a full out offense build. Low cooldown Bladesurge and higher damage Hiten Style allow you to execute an amazing amount of damage. A crucial downside is the slower stun on your Equilibrium Strike. It is manageable however, just keep in mind of your shorter stun and you'll be okay. Really helps with pesky top champions that just refuse to stop attacking. Strong in both burst damage and sustained damage, suited for offensive playstyles

Wit's End Offtank Build

This build focuses on being tankier and durable earlier on in the game. The main damage source here is the on-hit portion of Wit's End and the true damage of Hiten Style. It's a safe build and doesn't impose too many risks. A nice option if you're not confident against your opponents or if you just want a more reliable path. The damage is not too high but its enough to allow you to do your job as an offtank well.


Trinity Force Build

A build that gives you a lot of damage mid game and late game. Very risky since it lacks the survivability you need during the early parts of mid game. The components in this build are very expensive so you MUST be fed in order to impose any threat to the enemy team. Not advisable against teams with high burst AP champions such as Veigar, Ryze, and Ahri since the magic resist isn't too good early on. However, if you reach late game with the set. You'll be as durable as a tank while dealing a high amount of damage.


Fratma's Build

This build is more AD oriented. Makes chasing a breeze and sticking on carries much easier. The sustain is also quite good and the damage is incredible. It is expensive however, you probably wont finish both Frozen Mallet and Atma's Impaler until late mid game unless you're fed. This makes you quite vulnerable until you buy resistance items which isn't until late game. This means it'll be more challenging to kill the carry during a teamfight since until you get a good chunk of resistances, you are actually more of a tanky dps. I recommend using this build if you are fed or if you have a good CC support and tank such as Amumu, Morgana, Leona, Sona etc.


Atmog's Build

Very similar with the Fratma's Build since the only difference technically is Warmog's Armor. Its tankier than its counterpart but less dangerous to carries. The Fratma's Build gives you a stronger presence due to its amazing slow while Atmog's gives better survivability and more AD when Warmog's Armor is fully stacked. I use this build during those times where we need a sub-tank (but still the offtank) to mitigate some of the damage if the tank can't take all of it or if the opponent team is strong in terms of damage which forces me to be tankier.

Core Items

Wit's End Build

OR , ,

Trinity Force Build

OR , ,

Fratma's Build

OR , , ,

Atmog's Build

OR , , ,


for CC and AP teams and Ninja Tabi for AD and Auto Attack teams.

because it gives Magic Resistance upfront and increases for each auto attack, this is a must have for AP carries. Especially since the on-hit portion makes up for your total damage output as well, this item is not to be underestimated.

this was a heavily debated and researched item. What it does is give you armor, health, an active aura which slows movement and attack speed and a chance of slowing enemy champions that attack you. Now if you look at these factors, you will see that they are the perfect counters for any AD carry. Specifically it gives 75 armor, 250 health, 20% chance on being hit to slow BOTH the attack speed and movement speed of a champion and an aura that decreases the attack speed and movement speed by 35% for 2 seconds and 0.5 for every combined 100 armor and magic resist from all champions affected. This item CRIPPLES any AD carry that takes you 1 on 1 and DEVASTATING to an enemy team.

It gives you a little bit of everything: Health, Mana, Critical Chance, Attack Speed, Movement Speed, AD, AP, A chance to slow a target upon attacking, and an additional 150% of your base damage after a spell proc. Its also bought by component to satisfy your needs during a game.

Gives you a good load of health, some AD, and an amazing slow every time you hit a champion. Makes chasing and sticking very easy. Combined with Atma's Impaler, it gives an incredible amount of AD.

Gives the highest amount of health on a single item. Also some health regen. Killing minions and champions give you additional health up to a cap. Combined with Atma's Impaler it gives and incredible amount of damage, and with Force of Nature an extremely high health regen.

Gives a good amount of armor and some nice crit chance. Gives AD based on a percentage of your health. Best taken when your base health pool is large.

Last Pick Offensive items

, , ,

Atma's Impaler if you didn't use Fratma's or Atmog's. It increases your AD by a percentage of your health which should be high and increases your critical strike. It also gives you more armor as an added bonus.

Madred's Bloodrazor, if you can afford it, can make you pretty much unbeatable. The damage you unleash is just DEMONIC. 40 Attack Damage, 40% Attack Speed, and 4% of your target's max health as magic damage. Also even more armor! You can never get enough of that.

Hextech Gunblade is a viable pick. It gives you more AD, AP, Spell Vamp, Lifesteal, and a nice active. Synergizes extremely well with Bladesurge, Hiten Style, Transcendent Blades. The damage increase is quite noticeable and so is the massive sustain it gives you.

Trinity Force if didn't use the Trinity Build. Its not the best pick at this point of the game but still good. Boosts your damage in a surprising way and also you overall stats. Though its price makes it unlikely to finish during late game.

Last Pick Defensive items

, , ,

Guardian Angel is a decent choice. Its not too expensive, gives nice stats and a very useful active. You won't be dying much anyway but just in case something unwanted happens, you get a safety net which will give you a chance to do what you need to do.

Warmog's Armor if you didn't pick the Atmog's Build. You'd already have high resistances so more health would not be so bad. Makes you even harder to kill, Madred's Bloodrazor would have little effect thanks to your resistances.

Sunfire Aegis if you need more armor and health. The passive part is pretty meh but its still damage. Not the best item to get if you ask me unless the game actually calls for it.

Frozen Heart if you want more armor, mana, cdr, AND if you have an obsession with decreasing attack speed even further. The active of Randuin's Omen is better imo but if you really want to cripple their damage even further then be my guest.

Thornmail this is an interesting item. I NEVER use this and its for a good reason too. The only reason I put this item in this section is for people to see why there are better items to be bought. Its true that it gives you the highest armor upfront and the magic damage return looks good but in reality its not. It doesn't protect you as much as others would think and the magic damage return can easily be blocked by resistances. Seriously, don't get this.

Build 1

Starting items

- against skillshot reliant champions
- against champion where you need to outlast

Early Game

philosopher's stone

Build philosopher's stone first and Heart of Gold second. These 2 items will give you nice sustain in-lane allowing you a safer farm. Once you reach 1200 gold, recall and buy Mercury's Treads. Just keep on farming, early game is where Irelia is weakest so you have to gather as much gold as you can.

I made this section after a certain person suggested it. Here, I'll show you the Physical Damage reduction, Magic Damage reduction, and effective health of all 4 offtank builds.

Note each variable:

x - Armor y - Magic Resist z - Health a - Physcial Damage Reduction b - Magic Damage Reduction c - Effective Physical Health d - Effective Magical Health

Note each formula: ƒ(a)= 1 - (100 / (x+100)) ƒ(b)= 1 - (100 / (y+100)) ƒ(c)= ((x/100)*z) + z ƒ(d)= ((y/100)*z) + z

Wit's End Build
Total Armor: 170
Total Magic Resist: 174 (194 w/ Wit's End buff)
Total Health: 3126
Total AA Damage: 229.7

Physical Damage Reduction: 62.96%
Effective Physical Health: 8440.2
Magic Damage Reduction: 63.50% - 65.98%
Effective Magical Health: 8565.24 - 9190.44

Cost: 13,045

Trinity Force Build
Total Armor: 170
Total Magic Resist: 165
Total Health: 3480
Total AA Damage: 217 (330.4 w/ proc)

Physical Damage Reduction: 62.96%
Effective Physical Health: 9396
Magic Damage Reduction: 62.26%
Effective Magical Health: 9222

Cost: 14,860

Fratma's Build
Total Armor: 165
Total Magic Resist: 186.8 (206.8 w/ Wit's End buff)
Total Health: 3035
Total AA Damage: 358.22 and 4% of target's max health

Physical Damage Reduction: 62.26%
Effective Physical Health: 8042.75
Magic Damage Reduction: 65.13% - 67.40%
Effective Magical Health: 8704.38 - 9311.38

Cost: 17,245

Atmog's Build
Total Armor: 165
Total Magic Resist: 186.8 (206.8 w/ Wit's End buff)
Total Health: 3255 (3605 w/ fully stack Warmog's Armor)
Total AA Damage: 346.77(w/ full stacks) and 4% of target's max health

Physical Damage Reduction: 62.26%
Effective Physical Health: 9553.25 (w/ full stacks)
Magic Damage Reduction: 65.13% - 67.40%
Effective Magical Health: 10339.14 - 11060.14

Cost: 16,995

*The values for auto-attack damage were calculated from scratch. They include all on-hit effects, Hiten Style, items etc.

I didn't include this in the builds above because this guide is supposed to be an Offtanking guide. However, for the sake of educational purposes I might as well add this part. I use this as well if we already have an Offtank and I feel like using a Tanky DPS. Which btw are 2 different things.

Anyway let's get started. First of all, what is a Tanky DPS? How is it different from an Offtank? Simple. A Tanky DPS is a champion that focuses on dealing damage, same as a carry, but actually having health and resistances thus making them a bit harder to kill. An Offtank is a champion who almost has as much resistances and health as a tank but also enough damage to kill the opponent carry.

Irelia is a champion that can fill that role quite nicely. She's naturally tanky, great passive no matter what you do, has built in sustain and true damage, and has abilities that scale off AD.

Offensive Tree Summoner's Wrath to enhance Exhaust Brute Force for the AD Alacrity for attack speed Deadliness for the AD/lvl Weapon Expertise helps late game when they stack armor

Lethality increases crit damage by a reasonable amount Vampirism gives you more sustain Sunder helps early game damage a lot Executioner because its damage is simply amazing to low health targets USe

Defensive Tree
Hardiness for armor
Resistance for magic resistance
Tough Skin helps when freezing your lane
Bladed Armor helps during the laning phase


Masteries are always up to the player no matter what. We all have different playstyles. You can put your points in another tree but keep in mind that as a TANKY DPS you should deal a lot of damage without dying easily.



Use either the Hiten Style path or the Bladesurge and Hiten Hybrid. The reason for that is because you should be able to deal serious damage from early game to late game. It doesn't mean you shouldn't farm though, farm as much as you can. You're going to need it if you want to be a useful Tanky DPS.

Hiten Style path



Bladesurge and Hiten Hybrid





This is how it basically goes. Remember to take resistances after Atma's Impaler so you won't be squishy, health isn't enough to save you. Also farm as much as you can, the components are pretty expensive.

I'll add more info after I finish with everything in the Offtank portion. Also, I plan to add my assassin build soon.

Farming with Irelia is pretty straight forward. Just last hit the minions when they get to low health. If you're pushed to your tower for whatever reason. Just last hit the minions while you tower shoots at them. Bladesurge if you must. This will happen to you quite frequently so best you practice this.

Whenever someone tries to damage you while at your tower. Stun them and get back to farming. They're going to get a shot or two from your turret if they try. Just tower hug if things get really bad. Call a gank from your jungler if you must.

Irelia's combo for harassing is simple. Hiten Style -> Bladesurge -> Equilibrium Strike and walk away or hit him a couple more times. Save your third skill for a stun or slow when your jungler comes to gank. Use Transcendent Blades and Ignite if they try to run away.

I added this section because timing your skills and items when soloing a champion will determine between life and death.

Pre-level 6 you should be very cautious and just farm. Harass a few times but focus on farming. Irelia is pretty weak during this time, if you screw this up then expect the rest of the game to be bad. Start being a bit more aggressive after hitting level 6 but still judge if you can afford to. If not, then continue farming.

When you actually go in for a kill during laning phase, make sure you are well off the range of his minions. Activate Hiten Style then Bladesurge. Save Equilibrium Strike if there's a better time for it. Use your summoner spells to weaken the opponent. Exhaust him if you have it or Ignite him if he depends on lifesteal. When your health is low, activate your Transcendent Blades. If you can, stun him first before activating your ultimate since it has a 1 second casting time. Try to fling the blades across him and his minions to heal back your life. If all goes well and you made sure you could actually take on the champion then there really isn't a reason for you to lose.

When you and your opponent finally have some decent items then it gets trickier and harder. Assuming you already completed your Randuin's Omen, your resistances should be able to protect you and keep you alive. Use the standard combo, Hiten Style -> Bladesurge. Save your third skill for a stun if it comes to that. Pop your Randuin's Omen when both of you actually begin to trade hits. After the slow effect is finished, pop your Exhaust or Ignite to leave him at a disadvantage. If you have Trinity Force, use your ultimate to proc the bonus damage. Remember activating the ultimate also considers as a proc. Use Bladesurge whenever it is off cooldown since it works as an enhanced auto attack. If nothing wrong happens such as a gank or something then you will likely win.

During a team fight, your eyes are supposed to be focused on the carry. Let the tank initiate then when the fighting starts, dash in and kill the carry. Pop your Randuin's Omen at the start to give your team an upperhand and also to prolong the effect of the slow. Hit as many targets as you can with Transcendent Blades to help the team but still use it to proc Trinity Force if you have it. If the enemy team uses their CC on you then it'll be for your team's benefit since your passive should be fully stacked by then. After killing the carry, get out immediately since its likely that the team focused you and you'd be left with low health. If not then dive back in and kill the most important target left.

Thanks for reading my Irelia guide. As stated I will slowly add more if I have the time (or the energy :D). PLEASE leave a comment and give suggestions on how I can improve the guide. May it be visually or functionally. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM is highly appreciated.

jhoijhoi

DuffTime

Bluetapeboy