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Irelia Build Guide by

Short Irelia Guide - True Will

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7 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author I am Lord and Master

Irelia Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (7) More Irelia Guides

Spells:

Ignite

Ghost

Items

3 Start Options:

Early options

Mid power

End options

Example

Ability Order

Irelia Passive Ability

More Irelia Counters

Introduction

Hell guys,

this will be a rather quick guide but you will know what you have to :)

has rather fallen out of meta these days after the nerfs on herself, some of her favorite items and finally attack speed itself. Still she is a viable top lane, even more outside competitive play. However I think she's something special and a character that I feel in love with around my 400. win. Lately I found her again and still love her and want to share my insight with you guys.

I'd like to go more in depth and will do so later when I got more time but remember to give me the feedback what you want to see added :)

Let's start right away!

The Will of the Blades

First thing to know about her are the scalings:

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Her passive is a general advantage over the most bruisers and scales basically off everything that enables you to dive in and kill someone.

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Then we get a 100% AD scaling but with the cost of a lower base damage, the same with a 240% of bonus AD .

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scales really good with attack speed and also cool down reduction.

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Worth mentioning is a combined 250 % AP scaling which is pretty surprisingly high. and both scale, but remember 200% of that is physical damage output!

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Cool down reduction scales great with because of her powerful kit itself:
6 seconds gap-closer vs. 3,6 seconds,
true damage and healing with 9 seconds CD break vs. 3 seconds break,
a potential 2 second stun on 8 seconds CD vs. 4,8 and
640 damage with heal on 50 seconds CD vs. 30 seconds CD

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scales off movement speed, tenacity and CC really good because: If she can reach and stick on a target she can basically kill everything. Anything that offers more utility is great on her if it synergies with her kit.

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I have decided to go with an tanky attack speed based build because true damage is a very strong option vs. squishy carries and tanky characters with damage reduction. Also the attack speed items provide us a lot of stats other builds do not cover. I'll go more in depth about that later.

Masteries

Pretty much easy to say. The defense tree is too good early and late to be skipped. The offense tree only grants us useful stats if we go very deep and the utility simply doesn't besides mana:

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: Health is really effective early and we need this for another one later
: Health regen is really nice early for lane sustain

/: At lower amounts every point counts. Choose vs AD / AP opponent

: CC reduction is necessary, helps vs archenemy !
: 30 health is huge early, must have
: One of these little things that can save your life early and negate poke

: s.o, just even stronger
: Excellent, stacks with , passive and
: Scales awesome into late game, especially with

/ : Both one point wonders; 1. better vs crit heavy or hyper carry

: Makes us much more durable in team fights later, scales really well.

The rest? I went for some mana regeneration because that is the only thing that can stop me from winning my lane and some CDR on the summoners. But this isn't mandatory and you may also go for the armor penetration or even less CD on item actives which is really handy too.
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Runes

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Runes

Precision

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

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spaaaace

Both are really good choices. The difference is that damage helps with last hitting while attack speed scales better after you gain some levels.

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Most of the champions we will face top lane deal physical damage. In order to trade properly with them, we need those cheap but very effective runes. They synergy with , increasing their effectiveness by a lot.

Sometimes you will meet AP characters like on top lane or a really magic damage heavy team composition. In this case I'd recommend to lower their overall damage.

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Once you leave your lane and team fights begin you need to have magic resistance. Those scale really well and give you that extra defense while you don't have your magic resistance items yet.
Against an AP lane you may consider flat ones to negate the damage early on.

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Mandatory because of the great utility and the great scaling later. Required for the cheese build anyways.

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Summoner Spells

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Great option because it provides the last damage that you need to finish someone off early and also scales great into the late game, adding even more true damage. Also 5 AD and AP is really useful in lane, as you could see earlier.

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Mobility is all is about. This spell is great for escaping on the long way of top lane and really shows off later in the game. It goes along with the CC reduction that we got to make it really effective. A is always up before , means you win summoner exchanges.

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It rarely happens but if I see a or something else that really cannot overcome, I will pick like a real nerd would do. It really helps early but falls off later in the game, especially when their carries are slippery. The cooldown is much longer.

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There is also and if you really try hard you can pull of exciting lane ganks. However, 's split push ability is not that great and it really depends on your team whether this either is a peanut to have or an awesome ability.

Unique Skills

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is a great passive because it enables you to have a slight advantage in duels and ganks early while it shuts down CC in teamfights really good.

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is our gap closer that deals pretty good damage, procs. on-hit effects and has a huge cool down reduction once you level it. I max it second if I win the lane or my opponent got CC reduction. Use this also to catch last hits or jump to a low minion and harass your enemy.

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has no base damage but gains flat amounts on each levels. This makes your early harder but once you are 6 - 9 the damage kicks in hard. It also gives us minor sustain. Remember to activate it before you dash in, so the effect gets applied. Be careful if it is on CD. Max it first to trade properly in the lane.

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is our only sort of CC but very powerful if you get poked or towerdived. It lasts really long and people underestimate it. Try to hit your enemy with this first because it will stun even if your health is the same. Level this 2. if you are behind and the enemy has no CC reduction.

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is a very useful ultimate because it offers a lot of damage and heals if you hit both champions and minions but it has not such a obvious burst. If you b use this on the next wave, it's cool down is really not long. It has a delay on first use, so don't use it too late. You can also move and fire at the same time.

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Items

Matchups

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All the champions you might meet at the top lane are rated and explained here:

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Akali

7/10

Countered by: Ignite, Hexdrinker, Vision Ward
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Tuff lane, got a lot of sustain and burst damage on 6. Do not let her kill you, she snowballs way too hard. If you are equal on 9 you should be fine. Consider buying a and/or + a lot of health. Always have ready in case she tower dives. Do not let her roam! Push out really hard but remember 's damage vs towers is limited.

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Countered by: Counter sustain, MR, Health
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The problem with this guy is that he really gets out of hand if he is farmed. Your mid is better but his end game is beast. Still harassing him is hard and if he chains CC with his jungler you may die early. is a really good pick up in this lane, also more tanky items. If he goes attack speed consider

8/10

Cho'Gath

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Darius

7/10

Countered by: Early armor, health, CC
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Typical lane for . He will constantly try to harass you and you have to make sure he's not able to stack his passive on you. The dot is brutal early.

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Countered by: Ignite, MR, sustain
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is one of the easier match ups. Dodge the cleavers or hide behind minions. Once he hits 6 his sustain is really high and you should get sustain so you both can farm. It is really hard to bring him down but you should be free farming as well.

3/10

Dr. Mundo

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Elise

9/10

Countered by: MR, sustain, CC
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A really annoying lane because of her immense poke. In an all in you can bring her down but she got several moves to outplay you. Still, unless you got the sustain, farming without fighting her is not that simple. She will go for magic pen early, so grab some yourself and a lot of pots.

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Countered by: Randuin's Omen, Ignite, Ninja Tabi
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has a good advantage early and decent damage. However, it is pretty easy to repel her harass and stay in lane. Once you bought armor, you can all in her because she's pretty squishy. You have to have up though, she heals a lot.

5/10

Fiora

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Gangplank

6/10

Countered by: Randuin's Omen, sustain, minor MR
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His early game is really strong and you should go and 5 x s. Keep the lane frozen and grab some armor. Remember that his ult and passive deals a god amount of magic damage, so also grab pretty soon.

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Countered by: Armor, CC, sustain
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is a real lane bully with a whole lot of sustain. His early combos can really hurt you and you should not try to trade with him. I like to go boots anyway to dodge his E and take more CS. Be superwary on 6 because his ultimate is devastating, especially if you got health.

7/10

Garen

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Jarvan IV

5/10

Countered by: Armor, sustain, Flash
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has a very good poke with his flag combo + passive and CC you cannot reduce (yet) but he runs out of mana really fast if you can sustain yourself. Never take if he's on top or jungling, otherwise you are a free kill! If he hits you with the flag you can stun him right away and make sure he cannot use the knock up.

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Countered by: Randuin's Omen, Wit's End
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has one big advantage which is his E. Auto attack him and outlast his combo, then engage. Your stun lasts as much as his but your follow up is better and his E got a massive cooldown. Around that it is a mana battle whoever has the best sustain wins.

7/10

Jax

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Jayce

8/10

Countered by: Randuin's Omen, Wit's End, sustain
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is another poker that also deals hybrid damage. His mobility is bigger than yours but once you get he's in trouble. If he builds as AD caster you can crush him in an all in. His burst is huge but his DPS after that isn't and he uses a lot of mana, often forcing him to build which lowers his lane presence. can decide the lane.

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Working here :)

Laning

Tank

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Your job is pretty simple: Nuke their carry before he nukes you. The build provides you a lot utility to do so and if you have up it should be no probem. can actually engage if someone overextends but you are not exactly a great tank due to no natural tankyness. If you plan to go manly and not get a you have to play a more assassin style role and try to flank them. Pop right next to their carry right when he's about to stop running and fight you. If you can always save blade surge to deal with es and time them at least on their AD carry.
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Dragon

First thing to do after leaving lane phase is Dragon. If your team is stronger or their jungler is not nearby, get a , clean the dragon pit and start it.

If the enemy team appears, move around and try to loose or give them Dragon aggro. Never fight with less members, wait for all of them.

If one of their carries looses position, engage on him. Make sure to drop out as soon as you take too much damage. Dragon is worth two kills, never more!

If both teams dance around Dragon, best choice is simply walking to the mid turret and take it down. If they stay they are in a terrible position afterwards and loose a tower. If they come you may have enough time to quickly take it while two of you hold them back.

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Turrets

Always remember: The team that killed the most turrets will win the game! If you can choose between taking down turrets and kills, always decide to take the turret. Teamfights are only worth something if you gain an advantage afterwards. To get these opportunities, you have to get turrets down first.

Later you may even group as five and assassinate turrets while you are tanking it.
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Baron Nashor

Same as with Dragon but you need 2 sight wards extra to cover the opposite sides. If you can afford it buy an to destroy the vision completely.

If your team gets caught NEVER FOCUS BARON! Just engage a normal team fight. Again Baron attacks whoever is nearest, so position correctly to give their team aggro and bait their jungler to solo it.

If their team is doing it and you cannot stop them, again push mid for a free inhibitor.

Ranked Play

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There's a few things to say about playing a ranked game:

If you are in the champion selection screen look what role you take. If you expect to be the main tank (which isn't your ideal role) take the build that provides most tankyness. Always check your runes and the summoner spells of your opponent before the game starts!
Remember to take risks only if you know where the enemy jungler is! Be even more wary if you don't have your Ghost or Flash ready. Map attention is crucial to win your lane. Irelia's mid game is strong and the only reason to loose your lane is a counter pick (which you hopefully checked before) or an early gank that sets you behind. However: If he has shown himself or you got your sight ward up, be aggressive and win your lane!
Help your mates! If it is time to do dragon: Be there! Gank mid if possible. If the enemy uses your jungle to gank, ward mid as well! It will keep you and him alive. Help your jungler if he has problems in his part of the jungle or while invading. Don't waste farm but always be present in the game. Your goal is to have more impact on the game than your opponent.
Stay positive! Seeing things negative and **** talk won't ever make you nor others play better. Just imagine you are playing with four, mindless super minions. Take the lead and distribute bread. But don't flame around. 99% of the league players can't handle criticism. At all.. So better stick with phrases around that or leave it completely.

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In short: Enable tryhard mode (checking runes and masteries, going to the toilet before even joining ranked que, not playing ranked when in ****ty mood or internet), be the nicest player on earth, play your best, do everything for your team. Now you should not have any problems playing ranked with!

Conclusion

I can just say that playing is really fun and enjoyable if you stay calm and play your game. She's a very versatile character with some magic in her.

I hope you enjoyed reading and learned something about . Please leave feedback below :)

I'd like to thank Jhoijhoi for her guide "making a guide".

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Short Irelia Guide - True Will

Introduction

The Will of the Blades

Masteries

Runes

Summoner Spells

Unique Skills

Items

Matchups

Laning

Team fighting

Ranked Play

Conclusion

Short Irelia Guide - True Will

Short Irelia Guide - True Will

Recommended Items

Spells:

Ignite

Ghost

Items

Ability Order

Ionian Fervor (PASSIVE)

Bladesurge (Q)

Defiant Dance (W)

Flawless Duet (E)

Vanguard's Edge (R)

Introduction

The Will of the Blades

First thing to know about her are the scalings:

Masteries

Pretty much easy to say. The defense tree is too good early and late to be skipped. The offense tree only grants us useful stats if we go very deep and the utility simply doesn't besides mana:

Runes

Runes

Summoner Spells

Unique Skills

=

<

<

Items

Matchups

All the champions you might meet at the top lane are rated and explained here:

Akali

7/10

Countered by: Ignite, Hexdrinker, Vision Ward sp

Countered by: Counter sustain, MR, Health sp

8/10

Cho'Gath

Darius

7/10

Countered by: Early armor, health, CC sp

Countered by: Ignite, MR, sustain sp

3/10

Dr. Mundo

Elise

9/10

Countered by: MR, sustain, CC sp

Countered by: Randuin's Omen, Ignite, Ninja Tabi sp

5/10

Fiora

Gangplank

6/10

Countered by: Randuin's Omen, sustain, minor MR sp

Countered by: Armor, CC, sustain sp

7/10

Garen

Jarvan IV

5/10

Countered by: Armor, sustain, Flash sp

Countered by: Randuin's Omen, Wit's End sp

7/10

Jax

Jayce

8/10

Countered by: Randuin's Omen, Wit's End, sustain sp

Laning

Team fighting

Let's talk about the most important stage of the game. Lane phase is over, you are farmed and want to do some action. But where to start?

AD Carry

>

AP Carry

>

Offtanks

>

Support

>

Tank

Dragon

Turrets

Baron Nashor

Ranked Play

There's a few things to say about playing a ranked game:

If you are in the champion selection screen look what role you take. If you expect to be the main tank (which isn't your ideal role) take the build that provides most tankyness. Always check your runes and the summoner spells of your opponent before the game starts!

Conclusion

Countered by: Ignite, Hexdrinker, Vision Ward
sp

Countered by: Counter sustain, MR, Health
sp

Countered by: Early armor, health, CC
sp

Countered by: Ignite, MR, sustain
sp

Countered by: MR, sustain, CC
sp

Countered by: Randuin's Omen, Ignite, Ninja Tabi
sp

Countered by: Randuin's Omen, sustain, minor MR
sp

Countered by: Armor, CC, sustain
sp

Countered by: Armor, sustain, Flash
sp

Countered by: Randuin's Omen, Wit's End
sp

Countered by: Randuin's Omen, Wit's End, sustain
sp