Illaoi is a zone control juggernaut — the longer enemies stay near her and her tentacles, the more damage they take. Her power grows exponentially as more enemies group around her. Never fight Illaoi inside her tentacle zone.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Prophet of an Elder God
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.
Q
Tentacle Smash
Tentacle Smash — Slams a tentacle dealing AoE damage and healing Illaoi
Increases the damage dealt by Tentacles. When activated, Illaoi smashes down a Tentacle that deals physical damage.
CD: 10/9/8/7/6 · Cost: 40/45/50/55/60
Q near tentacles to heal — the heal is significant if multiple tentacles are nearby.
W
Harsh Lesson
Harsh Lesson — Dashes through the target and spawns a tentacle on their location
Illaoi leaps to her target, dealing physical damage and causing nearby Tentacles to also swing at the target.
CD: 4 · Cost: 30
W spawns a new tentacle at the target location — spread tentacles across the lane with repeated W.
E
Test of Spirit
Test of Spirit — Pulls out the enemy's spirit — tentacles attack the 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.
CD: 16/15/14/13/12 · Cost: 35/40/45/50/55
Land E on an enemy to pull their spirit out — tentacles attack the spirit for massive sustained damage.
R
Leap of Faith
Leap of Faith — Summons tentacles for each nearby enemy, spawns one per champion
Illaoi smashes her idol into the ground, dealing physical damage to nearby enemies. A Tentacle spawns for each enemy champion hit.
CD: 120/95/70 · Cost: 100
Use R in the middle of a group of enemies — each champion nearby spawns a tentacle for exponential damage.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q for maximum tentacle damage and healing. Then W for tentacle spread and damage, last E.
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Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter
Doran's Shield
HP sustain for early laning before tentacles are set up.
450g
Core
Sunfire Aegis
Burns nearby enemies — enemies who cluster near tentacles also take Sunfire burn damage.
2700g
Titanic Hydra
HP scaling and AoE cleave amplifies all tentacle damage. Q heal scales with HP.
3300g
Sterak's Gage
Shield when burst during R — prevents enemies from bursting Illaoi before tentacles deal their damage.
3100g
Situational
Thornmail
Grievous Wounds vs healing comps. Reflect damage while tanking in tentacle zones.
2700g
Warmog's Armor
Enormous HP pool amplifies Q heal significantly and Titanic Hydra AoE cleave.
3000g
Spirit Visage
MR and healing amp vs AP comps — amplifies Q healing through tentacles.
2900g
Titanic Hydra is your most important item — the HP scaling amplifies Q heal and all tentacle damage simultaneously.
Runes
Resolve Primary
Grasp of the Undying
Free HP stacking every 4 seconds — W dash counts as melee attack for Grasp proc.
Demolish
Tower damage with HP scaling. Setup tentacles near tower then Demolish for fast plates.
Conditioning
Free armor/MR at 12 minutes — amplifies Illaoi's sustained tank durability in tentacle zones.
Overgrowth
Permanent HP scaling from minions — Q heal scales with HP, making Overgrowth directly amplify healing.
Precision Secondary
Triumph
Kill heals during R multi-champion tentacle scenarios — sustain through multi-kill fights.
Legend: Tenacity
CC breaks Illaoi's tentacle zone advantage — tenacity keeps her mobile inside the zone.
Shards
Health · Armor · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Illaoi
01
Early Game
Early Phase
- Spread tentacles with W during the laning phase.
- E the enemy to pull their spirit — tentacles then attack the spirit for massive sustained damage.
- Q for healing when near tentacles.
- At 6, R when the enemy comes near your tentacle zone for a guaranteed kill.
02
Mid Game
Mid Phase
- Set up tentacles in key choke points — dragon pit, baron area, lane bushes.
- Your E spirit pull is your kill threat — land E and the enemy must kill the spirit or take full damage.
- Splitpush effectively with W tentacle spread.
03
Late Game
Late Phase
- In teamfights, R when 3+ enemies are nearby for maximum tentacle spawns.
- Each nearby enemy spawns a separate tentacle — 4 enemies = 4 extra tentacles attacking simultaneously.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Illaoi
Illaoi's teamfight is about R timing and tentacle zone control. R in the middle of grouped enemies for exponential tentacle damage. The more enemies near her, the more tentacles attack them all.
1
Setup — E Spirit Pull
Fight opener
01
Land E on the priority carry — pull their spirit out before the main fight starts.
02
Tentacles attack the spirit immediately — carry takes damage or must attack spirit to reclaim it.
03
W dash toward the main fight to set up additional tentacles as enemies approach.
Never fight Illaoi away from her tentacles — tentacle zone is her entire damage source. Always fight on top of tentacles.
2
Engage — R in the Cluster
Tentacle explosion
01
R when 3+ enemies are nearby — each champion spawns one tentacle for massive AoE.
02
Q near the tentacle cluster for maximum healing while dealing damage to everything nearby.
03
W dash through enemies to spawn additional tentacles mid-fight.
3
Cleanup — Unkillable Zone
Extended fight
01
Q heal sustains through all incoming damage while tentacles continue attacking.
02
Sunfire + Titanic procs amplify AoE damage to anyone remaining in tentacle range.
03
E any fleeing enemy to pull their spirit and summon more tentacles around their location.
Pre-place tentacles in the area before a teamfight starts. Tentacles on the edges of dragon or baron pit deal damage to anyone who walks near them.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Illaoi.
Basic
Place tentacles with W before fights
spread them across the area where you expect to fight.
Intermediate
E spirit pull is your kill setup
land E on a carry and they must kill the spirit or take full damage.
Intermediate
R when enemies group near you
each nearby champion spawns one tentacle for exponential scaling.
Advanced
Q near tentacles for healing
fighting inside your tentacle zone makes you nearly unkillable.
Basic
Tentacles last 40 seconds
spread them early in laning and they'll cover your entire lane.
Intermediate
Don't fight on isolated patches away from tentacles
your entire kit is territory-dependent.
Advanced
Enemies who fight near 3+ tentacles take more dama
Enemies who fight near 3+ tentacles take more damage per second than many champion kits deal.
Advanced
Teleport into a tentacle-covered area for surprise flanks
place tentacles then TP back later.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Illaoi is countered by mobile ranged champions who can poke her from outside tentacle range and champions who can disengage from her R zone.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Quinn's range keeps her outside all of Illaoi's abilities. Her Vault knocks Illaoi back when she closes the gap. Free poke.
Place tentacles where Quinn must walk and Q when she steps into range. Call for jungle ganks — you can't fight her alone.
Jayce's cannon form poke harasses Illaoi before she can set up tentacles. His knockback prevents E spirit pull setups.
Tentacle-spread the lane bush early. When Jayce switches to melee, R immediately for tentacle zone advantage.
Vayne's Condemn pushes Illaoi away from her tentacle zone. True damage ignores Illaoi's HP scaling.
Position away from walls — Vayne's Condemn only stuns against terrain. Stay in open areas for R zone fights.
Wins Against
Illaoi's E spirit pull negates Darius's need to stack Hemorrhage — tentacles deal damage without him fighting back. R in melee range is devastating.
E Darius immediately in lane. His immobility means he takes full tentacle damage from E spirit. R when he all-ins.
Nasus can't stack against Illaoi's E spirit pull and tentacle spread. His Wither doesn't stop tentacles from attacking.
E Nasus every time he walks up. He cannot stack safely against tentacle zone control.
Sett's W Grit fills from tentacle damage — but Illaoi's Q healing sustains through his W release. R when he W's for maximum tentacle AoE.
Trade aggressively — tentacle damage fills Sett's Grit but your Q healing sustains through his W punch.