[14.17] Hexeria's detailed Masters Guide to Galio (2024)

Here I will just post some changes done to this Guide because of Item, Champions or Rune changes in future patches.

August 28th, 2024 - Patch 14.17

Patch 14.17 didnt change that much that could be important to Galio. Some champs got nerfed and buffed again, but nothing that should be worth to mention in regards of Galios Matchups.

One thing they did change tho, is how channeled abilites work when your are stunned.

Basically this means, if you are stunned by any ability, you can just hold W during the stun, to instantly begin charging W as soon as the stun is over. The awesome thing about this is, that this also counts for holding W while youre still channeling your R or E.

I made a small video to showcase this here. Pay attention how I can just hold my W while other abilites are still coming out.

This will make plays and comboing with Galio easier and more reliable to hit.

- Also added Vladimir Into the [Threats] section.

August 14th, 2024 - Patch 14.16

Patch 14.16 didnt change all too much, that could be regarding Galio, but I will mention some minor things.

- Blade of the Ruined King had a slight change. Basically it stats got nerfed, but its passive damage was increased by 1% per attack for melee champs. This should be better for Galio to play against pesky ADCs like Lucian, Akshan or Tristana.

- Speaking of, some champions you face had some slight changes like Corki, Lucian, Syndra, Sylas, Qiyana, Katarina, Azir and Orianna. But to be honest, there shouldnt be something to look out for specifically. Just some minor buffs and nerfs, so no real changes on how to face them.

- Biggest change for 14.16 is probably the Death Timers. Basically you have to wait a few seconds longer before respawning on level 1 to 9, but on the other side you also have a longer movement speed buff after dying, so you can reach your lane quicker. This was made to indirectly nerf Snowballing and Teleport, which makes sense in my eyes. Shouldnt change all too much for Galio himself, but keep these changes in mind against your enemies. [If someone would to read more detailed into this, I got the link to the patch here: https://www.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/news/game-updates/patch-14-16-notes/]

- After some more testing and looking into the build variety, I came to the conclusion to make a few changes to thesection. In short I wanted only Builds listed I actually use in my games and have knowledge about, so I changed 2 Item builds.

- Removed the [Bruiser Build #3 (Grasp of the Undying)]. It was too situational
and its build path was horrible. The other 2 Bruiser Options are basically
everything you need. With Option #1 being more tanky and Option #2 focusing
more on damage.

- Changed the [AP build #3 (catch enemies) (Phase Rush)] to [AP build #3
(ranged/poke) (Arcane Comet)]. Since I mainly use Ghost + Flash with
Nimbus Cloak, I dont really had that much use for Shurelya's Battlesong.
The entire build got changed to a Poke Build using [[Luden's
Tempest]] which works well against squishy champs that have quite the range or
are hard to reach like Hwei or Syndra. Mid to Late game, after getting
a few more items, you can almost one shot enemies with a well placed Winds of War.

Overall, that should already be it. Again, if anything changes, I let you guys now here in this section. Until then, I wish you all the best in your League games. Keep on Smashing!

July 31th, 2024 - Patch 14.15

Patch 14.15 gave us some changes, so lets get right into them.

- First of all, finally added Aurora in the [THREATS AND SYNERGIES] section. Shouldnt be all too hard to play against her. Only thing thats annoying is her pre level 6 in combination with Electrocute.

- Champions like Akali, Aurelion Sol, Cassiopeia, Sylas, Yasuo, Yone and Zed had some changes. Only thing worth mentioning here might be Sylas who is becoming more of a Bruiser, so playing with a bit more HP and using some Anti Heal like Morellonomicon will definetly help his increased tankiness and sustain. Cassiopeia also seems a bit more annoying in the early game where she can use her Abilites even more now, due to the mana changes. Her late game got a bit adjusted tho, so just playing a bit more defensively in the early, might already do the trick.

- ADC Items like Kraken Slayer and Lord Dominik's Regards had some nerfs, so suck on this ADCs! Will definetly playing against champions that use these items like Tristana and Akshan be a lot easier now.

- Stormsurge buffs is pretty redunant in my eyes. A bit more Movement Speed is meh. Overall its not a bad Item per se, but something like a Shadowflame just offers way more to a Galio AP build. So it will be unchanged in the Tier List.

- Null-Magic Mantle had an adjustment where it costs 50 gold less, but also gives 5 Magic Resist less, which again is pretty redundant in terms of gold value.

- Then we got all the Shoes nerfs. Mercury's Treads will lose 5 Magic Resist and cost 100 Gold more. While this affects Galio who likes his Mercury's against AP champions, this also effects Galio's enemies, so its a lose on both sides. Which is fine, I guess...

ADCs also lost some value with 5% less Attack Speed on Berserker's Greaves so thats again nice for us, which makes laning and facing ADCs easier.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity cost 100 gold more and give 2 less Ability Haste, which is a slight nerf.

Sorcerer's Shoes give 3 less Magic Penetration.

Plated Steelcaps cost 200 gold more, but also give 2% basic attack reduction back, like we had pre nerf, so its back to where it was.

- Then finally, we got some Item Changes that Galio will like.

Cosmic Drive gives 100 HP more and also gives more Movement Speed from its passive. Since we lose Cosmic Drive a lot in our builds, this is just a straight up buff and will probably feel quite nice.

Hextech Rocketbelt also gives 100 HP more, but I am still not a big fan of this item, but thats just me personally. It gives good stats for Galio, but I dont really feel the Active Dash and cant make it work into a Build.

Void Staff gives 5 AP more which is pretty nice, but overall, I recommend sticking with Cryptbloom on a Full AP Galio Build, since it offers better stats and a nice passive heal which comes in handy in a big Teamfight. It stays in B tier.

Last but not least we have a Abyssal Mask buff. Man I love this Item. It also costs 200 Gold more now, but the % Magic Resist Shred got increased from 20% to 30% and its Radius where its applied also got increased by 100 Units. Galio is perhaps THE best champion to make use of this Item, due to how his Colossal Smash and Shield of Durand works. Im not kidding when I say that his is now the best Magic Resist Item you can buy. Definetly a strong item option for Galio right now.

- Therefore I removed the Force of Nature in Tank Build #3 (against heavy AP) (GRASP OF THE UNDYING) and replaced it with Abyssal Mask for when the enemy team has basically only AP damage.

So yea, 14.15 looks pretty big for Galio. A lot of Build Options, ADCs got nerfed, and some counter matchups should be easier now. Keep in mind that the Boot nerfs affect everyone, not just Galio himself, so overall a solid Patch for our Big Stone Boy.

July 17th, 2024 - Patch 14.14

Honestly, not much to mention here, some counters like Tristana and Corki had slight nerfs, but that wont really affect them at all in the [Threat] Section.

Items didnt got touched at all, so nothing to mention there aswell.

Therefore, there are no changes to this guide for this patch at all.

June 26th, 2024 - Patch 14.13

Patch 14.13 also didnt changed a lot for Galio directly. Brand got a slight nerf, which will makes laning against him a bit easier, but on the other side, Orianna and Lissandra got a buff, which will likely result in them being played a bit more often.

Something noteworthy is the Electrocute changes. Its base damage at level 1 got increased by 20, while its base damage at level 18 got reduced by 30. This will make Electrocute a good option for early game snowballs against champions you can win fight against easier, like Katarina, Akali and Fizz.

Dark Harvest also good some changes, where it deals more damage with more stacks you got, but overall, I would suggest staying with Eletrocute, since its just better fitting for Galio, aswell as being easier to Proc, since you dont need a certain HP threshold.

What I did do tho, after some more testing is changing the [BRUISER BUILD #2 (GRASP OF THE UNDYING)] into a complete new build. This is now basically like the [AP BUILD #2 (RANGED/POKE) (ARCANE COMET)] just the Bruiser version of it. I think Blackfire Torch and Liandry's Torment are pretty underrated on Galio, since his Colossal Smash can also proc the burn, while also having 4 AOE abilites which lets you burn every enemy caught with your Abilites. Like mentioned, I just added Jak'Sho, The Protean and also Warmog's Armor for some sustain and tankiness into this build.

- Also changed Warmog's Armor from C to A tier. I just realized that this item now also gives movement speed, while the Passive Regen is up. (Thanks to u/tchanqua also named "Warmogger" (hehe...) on Reddit for bringing this to my attention) This make it easier to catch enemies of guard with your Shield of Durand, but you only got 1 chance, since as soon as you enter combat, that buff is gone. But overall, its a better choice now after its recent changes. In my eyes Heartsteel is still the better option in most cases.

June 12th, 2024 - Patch 14.12

Patch 14.12 didnt added much in regards to Galio as a Champion or his laning phase.

They only changed Void Staff AP from 80 to 90, which is pretty nice. But overall I see Cryptbloom still the better option with the additional 15 Ability Haste and the healing AOE, so I wont change its place in the tier list.

Because there isnt much to talk about this patch, enjoy this Meme I made about the Buffs/Nerfs of our Laning Opponents:

Also just a quick shoutout to a buddy of mine, Porjn. He is a good friend of mine and played a lot of Galio Jungle. He recently made a Guide here about Galio Jungle. As I told you guys here before, Im the wrong person to ask anything Galio Jungle related to, so I wanted to share his Guide with you guys. (https://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/gungle-galio-jungle-off-meta-609674)

May 30th, 2024 - Patch 14.11

The Current Season with Patch 14.11 is still pretty "clunky". Some ADCs and Items were nerfed, but overall it is still a pretty unbalanced state of the game (in my eyes). I did some minor changes, that are listed below because overall I think the Runes and Items listed here are still your best shot to be succesfull with Galio. That said, I added Riftmaker to the Tank Item Builds, because you really need some damage to kill those pesky Carries before they shred you down.

- Added Hwei into the "Threats" section. (I forgot to add him since he came out, and for that I apologize.)

- Added Teleport back into "Summoner Spell Options". With the current meta where you play against Hwei, Akshan, Ahri, Tristana and Taliyah, surviving the Laning Phase is pretty important, thats why I added Teleport back into these lanes as viable option.

- Changed the 4th Item in "TANK BUILD #2 (AGAINST HEAVY AD) (GRASP OF THE UNDYING)" from Sunfire Aegis to Riftmaker. Like mentioned above, we get atleast 150 AP just from Riftmaker alone (depending on HP), which we will need to get some Damage in and kill enemy carries.

- Changed the 4th Item in "TANK BUILD #3 (AGAINST HEAVY AP) (GRASP OF THE UNDYING)" from Kaenic Rookern to Riftmaker. Same as above. We get atleast 150 AP just from Riftmaker alone (depending on HP), which we will need to get some Damage in and kill enemy carries.

- Added Luden's Companion as first Item in "AP BUILD #1 (PURE DAMAGE) (ELETROCUTE)", while removing Stormsurge out of that Build. With Ludens we get around the same damage as Stormsurge but we also get 20 Ability Haste, 600 Mana and even more AP.

- Removed the "SUPPORT (DAMAGE AMPLIFIY)" Rune Page. Unfortunately, with the changes to Press the Attack, the Damage increase works only for yourself and not your teammates anymore, so I changed the Rune Page for this build back to Aftershock. With Aftershock you should still deal some insane damage, while also not dying instantly.

May 18th, 2024

I just quickly edited the "Discord" Link down at "Introduction" to the Offical Galio Mains Discord Server, of which I am now proudly the owner of. Thanks again for the old admins and their work and I cant wait to make the Server a better place for everyone involved. We also have a extra "Build" Forum on our Server where I created my Guide listed here as a extra post. So if you would like to discuss or talk with us about that or want to join the Galio Mains in general, fell free to click the link come join us!

- Changed the Boots from Ionian Boots of Lucidity to Sorcerer's Shoes in AP BUILD #2 (RANGED/POKE) (ARCANE COMET). With the new Blackfire Torch and our Transcendence, we have more than enough Ability Haste so we can swap to some Magic Penetration.

May 15th, 2024 - Patch 14.10

Patch 14.10 gave us no direct buffs or nerfs, but It changed some Items in our Builds for the overall good!

- Anathema's Chains got removed. Reduced to atoms.

- Shurelya's Battlesong got some minor stat nerfs, but that wont make it less valuable then it is, so just a slight nerf here. It will stay in S tier.

- Warmog's Armor gives whopping 1000 HP now, but I still see Heartsteel as the better Item overall. Maybe some builds can work, but I cant make it fit into one of my builds. So it stays down in C Tier.

- Fimbulwinter just gives straight up more HP. Makes our builds that use Tear of the Goddess just straight up better.

- Bami's Cinder gives a bit less HP now, but we get Ability Haste with it now, which is also something Galio likes. This means that Sunfire Aegis and Hollow Radiance are still 2 very strong items and they will stay in their Tiers.

- Randuin's Omen got its [Rock Solid] passive removed which is quite big. The Slow got increased and it still reduces Crit Damage while also giving 20 more Armor now, but overall Frozen Heart still feels like the superior version, so it will stay in B tier.

- Unending Despairs heal triggers every 5 seconds now, and not every 7 seconds anymore which is actually quite big. It makes the Item way more reliable and working even better in big teamfights. Because of that it got up from B tier into A tier.

- Abyssal Mask got some minor changes. It costs 100 gold less, but also gives 10 less Magic Resist. On the other side, its passive Radius got increased and the MR Reduction is 20% now and not (up to) 25 MR flat. This reduces the MR of enemies with almost no Magic Resist not that much, but for Bruisers and Tanks that build some MR items even more than before. So overall still a very strong item and therefore it will stay in S tier.

- Knight's Vow got some slight changes with 100% more HP regen which is really nice and also its damage redirection is 12% flat now. Still a very strong item to keep your Carry alive and its Tier wont be changed by it.

- Zeke's Convergence got its mana removed and its ability haste got recuded by 10, but for that it now also gives 25 Magic Resist and 100 HP more. This makes it a good overall Support Item and helps you engage the entire enemy team even better. Therefore its staying in A Tier.

- We got a new Item added that also works on Galio. Blackfire Torch got added and it will replace Luden's Companion in [AP BUILD #2 (RANGED/POKE) (ARCANE COMET)]. Its basically just a better Ludens and It makes us able to go a full Burn build with Liandry's Torment. Really nice to keep those Winds of War coming to keep the burn and anti-heal debuff on annoying enemies.

- Because of our new Blackfire Torch there is no real Reason to go Luden's Companion anymore. Blackfire Torch is just straight up better and the cooldown from Ludens got nerfed to 12 seconds anyway. Therefore it got moved down to B Tier.

- Ghost got a nerf which is kinda sad, but understandable to be honest. It now only lasts for 10 seconds and its cooldown got increased by 30 seconds. Im still gonna use Ghost anyway, because the Value of catching enemies together with Nimbus Cloak is still there and something I want to keep. If you would like to change to Teleport you are free to do that.

- On that note, Exhaust got a slight change too. Its Slow got increased by 10% but its Cooldown also is 30 seconds longer now. Makes it a bit easier to catch enemies paired with Nimbus Cloak again.

- Press the Attack also got changed a bit. It now remains the entire fight and not just 6 seconds, which makes our [DAMAGE AMPLIFIY FULL BUILD (PRESS THE ATTACK)] even better. On that note, Legend: Tenacity got removed but Legend: Haste got added, which gives us more Ability Haste when going this build, which is also nice.

- Font of Life got changed too. It now straight up heals us and our Teammate when hitting someone with Shield of Durand, Justice Punch or Hero's Entrance. This works great with our Solstice Sleigh and Revitalize. This makes our [PEEL FULL BUILD (GUARDIAN)] slighty better, I would say, because your Ally doesnt have to attack the stunned target and just gets healed straight up.

Overall all these changes, paired with the entire ADC Item changes should keep Galio in a good spot, no matter if building Tank, AP or Bruiser. Just keep in mind, that this can all still change. I have already played some games to list these changes here, but I too cant predict everything. Im gonna continue playing Galio, test new absurd builds just for fun, Grinding SoloQ and FlexQ again, and as always, I will let you guys know if something is changing.

Until then, I wish you all good luck with your next season and may you be protected from Taliyah, Ahri and Tristana picks.

May 1st, 2024 - Patch 14.9

Patch 14.9 gave us some minor nerfs to some hard counters like Ahri, Taliyah and Akshan, so Yippie!

I wanted to change the overall look of this guide, thats why I removed all the [First Back] Item rows. They were just redunant and made the Guide look to full and scared off People when they first looked at it. You could get lost pretty easily, thats why I just got rid of them.

I also changed some Builds and Item orders a bit after some testing with different Items and Builds. Changes listed here:

- Moved the [AP FULL BUILD #3 (FIGHTER/SKIRMISHER)] build into the Bruiser category with [Bruiser Build #3]. It was more Bruiser anyway, and I wanted space to add [AP build #3 (Catch Enemies)].

- Added the [AP BUILD #3 (CATCH ENEMIES)] Item Build. Thanks to some Players who really wanted to see me suffer, by picking Ezreal and Lucian into my Galio Mid Pick, I decided to add an (Catch Enemies) Build to reach those Mobile Champions. You basically just activate Shurelya's Battlesong and maybe Ghost aswell, and catch those 'Rats'.

- Changed the [DAMAGE AMPLIFIY FULL BUILD] 5th item from Sunfire Aegis to Dead Man's Plate. Helps you to catch the enemies better and also adds even more damage to your already massive burst.

- Removed the [ENGAGE FULL BUILD] 6th item Abyssal Mask. As its Place added the Trailblazer as 4th Item. Honestly I dont know why I didnt added the Item that literally made you AND your teammates faster to an ENGAGE Build. Yea, so sorry about me using 2 braincells when making that build. But now it should work better. Please dont shoot me...

- Changed the [PEEL FULL BUILD] 6th item from Jak'Sho, The Protean to Trailblazer. Trailblazer is the last item that can help you to peel your Teammate a bit more with the Movement speed they get behind you and the Slow you add when smacking someone, thats why I replaced it.

- Added a new Rune Page for the [DAMAGE AMPLIFIY FULL BUILD] for Support. The new Rune that boosts our amplification even more is Press the Attack. Yes I know it sounds cursed at first, but Galio's Colossal Smash actually counts as 2 attacks from the 3 required to trigger the Effect of Press the Attack. So an Engage could look like this: Justice Punch into Shield of Durand into Colossal Smash into Winds of War into another Auto Attack or Colossal Smash and you got your Press the Attack active and your Teammates can do the rest. Also again works super good with Bloodsong, Imperial Mandate and that satisfying Heartsteel bonk.

Also added the recommened Rune Pages to the Build Description.

April 17th, 2024 - Patch 14.8

With Patch 14.8 we just get some minor buffs to make laning phase and mobility a bit better for us. We get 5 more Movement Speed and 1 sec lower Winds of War cooldown on the first level.

I just changed the Bruiser builds a little bit, because there was some Mana missing, and I really began to like Liandry's Torment as an Item, thats why im adding this there.

Changed the [Bruiser Full Build #1] 3rd item from Cosmic Drive to Liandry's Torment. Not much to say here, Liandry's helps us fight longer and also deal some more DPS while we rotate our Abilities.

Changed the [Bruiser Full Build #2] 3rd item from Jak'Sho, The Protean to Fimbulwinter. Just to remove the Mana problems and also get a bit more bit more Ability Haste and Shield.

Changed the [Bruiser Full Build #3] 3rd item from Cosmic Drive to Fimbulwinter. Just to remove the Mana problems and also get a bit more tanky with the passive Shield.

April 3th, 2024 - Patch 14.7

Changed the [Peel Support] Build from Thornmail and Abyssal Mask as last item, into Redemption and Jak'Sho, The Protean as last item. The Reason is to fully commit for the protect ascpet of the build, since you should have enough defense stat from the first 3 items anyway.

Changed the 5th Item from the [AP FULL BUILD #1] Build from Void Staff to Stormsurge . Void Staff gives you just pure damage, which isnt bad per se, but Stormsurge, despite its nerf, still gives movement speed which makes it easier to catch enemies, and its passive Lightning Proc, still deals some good damage if you already have high AP Damage.

Changed the last 3 Items from the [AP FULL BUILD #2] Build from Rabadon's Deathcap -> Liandry's Torment -> Shadowflame into Liandry's Torment -> Rabadon's Deathcap -> Morellonomicon. This Build works pretty well against Bruisers and Tank like Illaoi or Ornn. For that Reason, I changed the Items to better play against these kind of champions. We build Oblivion Orb early into the game to reduce the healing these champs mostly have (for example: Darius, Illaoi, Volibear,etc.) and finish into Morellonomicon as last item. Against these Champs Liandry's Torment works pretty well, due to their high HP, but we need some Ability Haste first, to proc the passive consistently.

Changed the 4th Item from the [Bruiser #1] Build from Liandry's Torment to Cosmic Drive . With the new 14.7 changes Cosmic Drives works better into our Shield of Durand and honestly, its pretty much one of my most favourite items at this point. We get more Movement speed, HP, AP, and Ability Haste.

Changed the 3th Item from the [Full Tank #3] Build from Abyssal Mask to Jak'Sho, The Protean . Jaksho gives us some Armor for atleast 1 AD champion, Basic Attacks that everyone uses anyway, and reduce some Turret Damage along with it. It also increases Magic Resist anyway, so I see it more fitting into the Heavy AP enemies we build against.

Added the [AP ASSASSIN / FULL DAMAGE] Runepage to those who want to fully commit for pure damage. Im still not a fan of the Domination tree, but with the 14.7 Changes we get some pretty heavy damage increase on our Justice Punch and Colossal Smash so if you just care about pure damage and nothing else, you can pick this page.

Added the [FIGHTER / UTILITY] Runepage to the Build. This is my new go-to Build for almost any Game I build AP/HP into. Rod of Ages, Cosmic Drive and Phase Rush just feels so awesome to play with. This is basically a movement speed build, but it offers Utility into every scenario, from catching enemies to escaping certain death.

March 20, 2024 - Updated the whole Guide to 14.6 for the new Galio Changes.