Illaoi beginner guide:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6zlo9YkjyM

Illaoi advanced guide:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs6yzx-zKgE

In-depth Match up guides:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgpmPfDHejd9dAXGMUtz5NUgjDZqBCpM4

Hey guys my name is Ishiivel and this is my Illaoi guide. I am a mid-diamond lvl player and I have been playing league since s2. Since Illaoi came out I knew i wanted to main her, so I started looking into her more in-depth. There are a few very useful think i found. I recommend you to check you my video linked above. If u prefer to read however there is a full guide down below.

Pros


+ Strong lane presence
+ High dmg output throughout the game
+ Good Sustain
+ Good Zoning

She is the definition of a powerhouse. Good sustain, insane dmg and fairly tanky.
U can easily 2v1 or even 3v1 after lvl6. Very good split pusher. Potentially a very good team figher.


- no CC
- Cast animation is very long
- Weak vs Mobile Champions
- Very Slow and Immobile

No mobility means u will get camped early game. No chase or kite potential. Her ult is easily outplayed.

Not gonna mention what each ability does, but I will say a few things u have to keep in mind doe.
Her q has long cast animation, and since you cc yourself for the duration its best used when u are about to get cc d. The 5% missing hp heal will also bait the enemies in thinking u are a free kill when u are not.

Her w jump animation can be interrupted by any displacement resulting in the cancellation of the spell. Your tentacles also wont swing at anyone if this happens.

Your e animation can be interrupted the same way as your w, any displacement during the cast animation will cancel the ability and will put it on cd.

Your ult makes you "unstoppable" meaning u cannot be disabled during the jump up animation time. During the slamming the ground part u can be cc d so with perfect timing of your ult u can dodge any cc s.

If u take her to the rift bring flash and tp. If u hate playing with tp exhaust is your second best bet. U want to stay alive for longer in the middle of your ultimate, especially if u build dmg.

With Season 8 runes, a lot of possibilities have been introduced to each and every one of the champions and Illaoi is no different. Technically she could use 14 out of the 15 runes that are in the game, however some are much stronger on her than others. Without wasting too much of your time I want to say that in my opinion Glacial Augment is currently the best keystone for Illaoi, followed by Grasp of the Undying, Kleptomancy, Unsealed Spellbook, Dark Harvest and finally Phase Rush.

As mentioned above Glacial Augment is very useful to help set up ganks, makes it easier to land your e, scales well into the mid and lategame, and its overall a great keystone to have vs any kind of foe, and its helping Illaoi in one of her major weakness, Mobility.
So now that we have decided that we are going down in the inspiration tree for the primary runes lets check which of the 9 minor runes should we take. In the first row biscuit delivery is by far the strongest, as in the laning phase it provides Illaoi with more sustain and it also increases her maximum mana. The rest are non-comparable.
In the second row we can consider magical footwear and futures market. magical footwear gives us a free improved boots, again increason Illaoi`s mobility, one of her biggest weakness, while futures market can swing a teamfight in your teams favour just cause you will have your powerspikes earlier in the game.
In the last row approach velocity is by far the best since it synergises perfectly with glacial agument.
In 90% of the cases domination secondary runes will be the better, namely suddent impact/ ghost poro and ravenous hunter. Ravenous hunter is so busted on Illaoi its insane. Only in special occasion should you rid yourself of the domination runes.


If someone does not like the inspiration tree grap of the undying provides a great way to scale into the lategame. If you are able to continuously proc it you can get up to 500-1000 extra hp by the end of the game, which is very serious. That however requires constant splitpushing against an enemy where you can use your w every 4 second to proc grasp, preferably vs a tank.
With this you want to take unflinching, as its superior to all the other minor runes in the first row. Demolition can be really good but i feel like Illaoi already has a lot of turret taking pressure, especially if you build triforce. In the second row your matchup will dictate what you want to take, vs aggressive lanes you want the first two, depending on if they are ap or ad, and if the matchup is easy you want conditioning.
For the 3rd row overgrowth gives a considerable amount of hp, but second wind can be real good if you are in a though matchup.
For your secondary runes choose domination as before.


If you dont like the resolve tree either try phase rush or dark harvest, tho i have to warn you that they are much less useful and much less effective on Illaoi than the above mentioned.

Building black cleaver is definitely your best bet, since now it is really cost efficient.
Death's dance will help u sustain even more, and Sterak's Gage will keep u alive long enough to do so.

This is the core, u can really go anything after this depending on the enemy team and the stage of the game.

Start with q. Make sure before the laning starts u have your tentacles set up, to best suit your needs. Play passive try to farm / poke with q . At lvl 2 take e, and try to pull the enemy spirit in-between your tentacles. Take w at lvl3, at this time u can be more aggressive.
Still play the lane relatively safe since u have no mobility u are very easily ganked. After 6 u can just push and 2v1 the enemy laner and the jngler whenever u get ganked.

Depending on the role you are taking in the game u can either be a split pusher, applying a lot of pressure, u can be a teamfight / objective control monster. If u split, make sure u always have at least 2 tentacles around you. If u want to take objectives, take your time to set them up.

Lategame u want to continue your role as a splitpusher, or a zone control bruiser.
If u dont have tp group with your team, if u have try to apply some pressure on the sidewaves.
In teamfights try to let the enemy team engage into you tentacle zone. Aim to land a multiman ultimate. U can re position yourself with flash mid-ultimate animation to help u do that. Also try to play to your team's strength. If you have good dive in your team, go for the backline, if u have better poke/kite, kite with your team.

All things considered she is a really fun champ if u like dealing massive amounts of dmg, applying tons of pressure and sustaining like a beast.

Landing a multiman ultimate and wiping the enemy team is really satis