Champion Guide

Galio Guide

By LoLSuggest

Mid

Galio is a tanky mid-lane mage built for crowd control and teamfights. Colossal Smash makes his next attack hit an area, and hitting enemies with his abilities shortens its cooldown. Winds of War deals percent-health damage from range, Shield of Durand reduces magic damage and taunts everyone around him, Justice Punch knocks enemies up, and Hero's Entrance flies him to an ally across the map to knock up the enemies around them. He is at his best against magic damage and helps his team no matter how far behind he is.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Galio build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Start Doran's Ring and a Health Potion. Against AP-heavy teams build Abyssal Mask, Mercury's Treads, Imperial Mandate and Zhonya's Hourglass, then Riftmaker and Jak'Sho, The Protean; against AD swap to Sunfire Aegis and Plated Steelcaps. Rod of Ages with Riftmaker and Bloodletter's Curse is a damage-bruiser option, and a full AP assassin line uses Imperial Mandate, Stormsurge, Shadowflame, Rabadon's Deathcap and Void Staff. Run Aftershock with Shield Bash, Second Wind and Overgrowth, plus Nimbus Cloak and Transcendence; Stormraider's Surge suits the assassin build. Take Flash with Teleport, or Ghost, which the author prefers for chasing and escaping. Max Q, then E, then W.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Some of the best crowd control in the game: a full combo can keep a target stunned for up to three seconds.
Hero's Entrance lets him join fights and roams anywhere on the map.
Very strong against AP champions thanks to Shield of Durand.

Weaknesses

Low base armour makes AD champions much harder to play against.
As a melee champion he gets poked by ranged mages and marksmen.
He needs good timing and his passive reset to deal full damage.

Laning Phase

Max Winds of War in solo lanes: it has the lowest cooldown for resetting Colossal Smash, deals percent-health damage from range and pushes waves quickly. Use that push to roam and help your jungler or side lanes, and look to engage from brushes with Justice Punch. Weave Colossal Smash between abilities, because hitting enemies with abilities shortens its cooldown; slowing your combo down slightly for the extra smash adds a lot of damage. Against ranged AD laners, play around their cooldowns rather than walking into constant poke.

Mid & Late Game

Galio shines in teamfights, roams and invades. Use Hero's Entrance to join a fight or save an ally, ideally landing on enemies to knock them up, then follow with Shield of Durand to taunt several targets at once. Your full combo of Justice Punch, Winds of War and Shield of Durand with smashes in between locks enemies down for your team. Prioritize fighting where the enemy has magic damage, because that is where you are hardest to kill.

Key Tips

Hitting enemies with your abilities shortens Colossal Smash's cooldown, so weave attacks between spells.
Shield of Durand can taunt every enemy around you if you charge it fully.
Land Hero's Entrance on top of the enemies near your ally to knock them up.
Engage from a brush with Justice Punch so enemies cannot react.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.