Galio is a bulky statue champion in League of Legends. His entire look radiates tank energy so apparently that it would be pretty impossible not to guess that his role in the game is something akin to a tank.
This is what you should know about Galio as a champion in League of Legends.
Galio is primarily a Magic damage dealing tank in League of Legends. He can build a mix of AP and tank items and excels especially in tanking magic damage, which is ironic considering that is the damage he deals himself. He has multiple AP ratios across his abilities as well as natural tankiness built into his kit.
Galio is most often played into midlane mages and assassins since he is the perfect counter to them. His tankiness and Magic resist go up naturally by level and by the items he builds, and he has enough base damage to compensate for the tank items he invests into.
Galio is one of the lesser-played champions in the game. He is not fun per se, but he does have his own charms and some people do tend to find that appealing as Galio has a following of his own.
Additionally, after Mundo’s Rework, Galio is basically the only real anti-magic damage tank in the game, (Kassadin is one too I suppose but he is not a tank so I won’t consider him here.)
This is also why Galio is not really played as much as he used to be. Before the runes reforged update several years ago, Galio used to be one of the most overpowered champions in the midlane due to the damage on his Q. Since that is no longer the case, many people have dropped him over the years.
That being said, this should now discourage you from trying your luck with him. Who knows, you might end up liking him!
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What Are Galio’s Abilities in LoL?
P- Colossal Smash
Ocassionally, Galio’s subsequent AA is empowered to have an uncancellable windup and deal 15 − 200 (based on level) (+ 50% AP) (+ 60% bonus magic resistance) magic damage to the target and all enemies close to them.
Q- Winds Of War
Galio summons two windblasts 250 units on either side of him, and they deal magic damage to all foes they pass through as they arc outward before landing on the target area.
When the blasts collide, the gusts create a tornado that lasts for two seconds, moves slowly, and does magic damage to nearby opponents every 0.5 seconds. Against monsters, the damage dependent on the target’s health ratio is capped at 150.
W- Shield Of Durand
Galio obtains Anti-Magic Bulwark as a passive ability, and after 12 seconds without taking damage, it is restored.
Gain an anti-magic shield with the anti-magic bulwark ability.
Galio can charge for up to three seconds while slowing down by 15%, acquiring magic damage reduction, and receiving half of that amount as physical damage reduction. Charging also enhances the radius, damage, and taunt duration of Shield of Durand for the first two seconds of the channel.
Upon recasting, Galio restores damage mitigation for 2 seconds, deals magic damage to surrounding enemy champions that is raised by 0% to 200% (depending on channel time), taunts them for 0.5 to 1.5 seconds (based on channel time), and slows their movement speed to a constant 60 for the same period.
E- Justice Punch
Galio moves backward in the opposite direction during the casting time. He then sprints toward the target area until he collides with an opponent champion or hostile terrain.
Galio also knocks enemies up for 0.75 seconds when he flies into them and reveals them for the same amount of time. Magic damage dealt to enemies is reduced by 50% against non-champions.
R- Hero’s Entrance
Galio prepares to make his entrance, channelling for 2.75 seconds and designating the location of the target allied champion at the time of cast as his landing site. He also resets Shield of Durand’s passive shield and grants it to all allied champions in the vicinity for 5 seconds.
After 1.25 seconds of channelling, he receives crowd control immunity for the remainder of the time, becomes untargetable, and leaps into the air for 0.85 seconds before sprinting to his destination in 0.25 seconds. Following that, he lands and becomes targetable once more, inflicting magic damage to all adjacent opponents on impact, knocking them back 100 units over 0.75 seconds, and remaining in place for 0.4 seconds.
Is AP Tank Galio Worth It In LoL?
As mentioned before, Galio is excellent at serving as an anti-carry mage/tank who can often out-damage champions simply due to his base stats. This alone would make him worth at least trying out.
If how a champion feels isn’t a defining factor for you to want to play them, Galio rests on a comfortable 51.57% winrate in plat+ with a 2.2% pick rate. Hopefully, this is enough of an indication of his skill level as well as his strength in perspective to other champions in the midlane.
How Do You Play AP Tank Galio In LoL?
If you are looking for a build for Galio that is both tanky and deals damage, you have come to the right place!
Best Runes For AP Tank Galio:
- Aftershock- For 2.5 seconds, immobilising an enemy champion awards a static 35 (+ 80% bonus armor) extra armor and 35 (+ 80% bonus magic resistance) bonus magic resistance. The additional resistances are limited to 80-150. (based on level).
After the duration, you unleash a shockwave that delivers 25-120 (depending on level) magic damage to adjacent enemy champions and monsters (+ 8% of your bonus health).
- Shield Bash- Gain 1 -10 (depending on level) extra armour and magic resistance while protected.
When you acquire a shield, your next basic attack against an opponent champion deals 5 -30 (depending on level) + 1.5% additional health + 8.5% shield amount. Damage. After the shield expires, the empowered attack lasts for up to 2 seconds.
- Second Wind- After taking damage from an enemy champion, regenerate 3 (+ 4% of your missing health) health over 10 seconds.
- Unflinching- Gain 5% − 25% (based on missing health) slow resist and tenacity.
- Nimbus Cloak- Casting a summoner spell grants ghosting and 5% − 25% (based on summoner spell cooldown) bonus movement speed for 2 seconds.
- Transcendence- Gain bonuses upon reaching the following levels:
Level 5: + 5 ability haste.
Level 8: + 5 ability haste.
Level 11: getting a takedown against an enemy champion reduces the remaining cooldowns of your basic abilities by 20%.
For Bonuses, Take double AP and Magic resist/ Armor depending on the matchup
Best Item Build For AP Tank Galio:
- Everfrost- This is especially useful in landing a full combo with 2 passive strikes, one full Q, one maxed out W in addition to one E. It also gives you much-needed health for laning.
- Sorcerer’s Shoes- You can never go wrong with Sorceror’s Shoes on a magic damage dealing champion since magic penetration is one of the best stats to have in the game.
- Zhonya’s Hourglass- Good source of armor and the stasis can be the difference between life and death against assassins and mages alike.
- Demonic Embrace- Additional health alongside max health damage on every spell and more AP based on your health stacking.
- Abyssal Mask- Lowers the magic resist of every person near you and gives you additional magic resist depending on how much you reduced.
- Force of Nature / Gargoyle Stoneplate- The best Magic Resist item in the game / Good for when the enemy team has a lot of burst damage and/or different damage types on the same team.
Other than these items though, Galio can go various others such as Sunfire Aegis, Frostfire Gauntlet, Hextech Rocketbelt, Rabadon’s Deathcap, Thornmail, Randiun’s Omen, Anathema’s Chains, and Morellonomicon to name a few.
What Lane Is Galio Played In?
Galio has always been better in the midlane than in any other role he can be played. However, that never stopped people from picking him support. Support Galio works due to the CC on his W and works the best if the enemy botlaner is a mage instead of a traditional AD carry.
Since mage botlane meta has not been a significant thing since season 10 (thank god), Galio is almost exclusively played mid and sees success in the lane. The build that has been discussed in this article focuses on his midlane build and that is where I would recommend you to play him.
Final Thoughts
Galio is one of the champions that is often overlooked due to people assuming he is just another boring tank. Many people who pick him up change their minds about him even if they don’t continue to play him, so I do think you should give Galio a chance and try him out.
The best part is, he is one of the easier champions in the game. The only mechanic you need to learn is how to properly use your E (sometimes it is required to be used backward to knock up the person in front of you).
That being said, I hope this article has shined a light on one of the lesser played champions in the midlane, and in doing so enticed some people to give him a chance. If so, I would love to hear about it alongside any other suggestion or comment you might have so kindly leave them down in the comments section. Thanks!
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