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Galio: Why is he melee?

Dryditch·8/1/2016, 6:00:12 PM·10 votes·1,438 views

I know Galio's getting a rework eventually, and that he's actually in a pretty decent spot for now in terms of win-rate, but I just have problems with the way his kit is structured. He's a melee caster whose spells are closer to most ranged champions' range. Galio has two abilities that function according to this melee playstyle--a W that reduces the free damage he takes while running towards enemies, and an ultimate that does a decent sized taunt.

I DO NOT want to be read as meaning his ult or his W are necessarily "bad" abilities, but they're the ones that make sense for an AP melee champion.

Q serves as a slow, if you can count the tiny slow on a champion it provides (in this age of mobility) as a valid CC tool to get in range. It mostly gets used as a damage nuke if he's building AP.

E serves as a speedboost for the team, but it's miniscule in width, and only works in one direction. It's literally a champion ability version of Elixir of Iron's movespeed buff that does some decent damage.

Thematically and playstyle-wise, Galio's ranged poke feels at odds with his melee autos. Why not throw gusts of wind with his wings instead of just punching things?

Could someone shed light on this idiosyncrasy?

39 Comments

Ravenous Howls8/1/2016, 6:16:52 PM7 votes

Personally I would like to see him made as an AP Melee Battle Mage. But it's hard to do b/c his Q is laughably predictable, and his E is easy to dodge and doesn't do much damage without a ton of AP. Thematically he looks like he would be well suited to punch or clobber anyone but his ranged damage/ harass make this hard to tie in without probably making him op. He's definitely one of those champions who's theme doesn't really fit his kit.

Votable Jester8/1/2016, 6:03:02 PM5 votes

I'm pretty sure it's just because he's old and was designed that way. At this point, it would be a waste of resources to design new animations for a ranged attack when he's underplayed and bound for a rework anyways.

TheSingularity8/1/2016, 11:32:26 PM3 votes

I'm making a mega thread which will contain a galio rework concept: sneak peak as follows. Please offer feedback if it's binary, OP/UP, broken ect

P: galio gain ap =to 50% (same as before) of his MR, surrounding minions (NOT CHAMPIONS) gain half of this bonus as MR Why? Emphasizes his strength vs mages as they will have a tougher time clearing waves to force him under tower or break early shoves. Also gives him some oomph in sieges.

Q: no longer slows W: Mana cost increased at all levels, CD nerfed at early levels. Can be cast on towers and minions for the same affect. But when self or tower cast, applies 25% of the shield to all minions affected by his passive Galio will heal when he, his minions (25% of heal) or tower are hit now. Why? Futher emphasis on MR and being an anti ap lane bully. Basically there to discourage wave clear spam. As with passive, its been toned down (they gain 25% of the spell, so galio heals for 25% of 25% when his minions are hit)

E: resembles renektons slice and dice but with about half the range and no second dash. Dashes forward while rotating dealing a lil damage. Upon landing he gains 2 empowered auto attacks thay apply a brief slow and extend an enemy champions cooldowns by 0.5 seconds (mby 0.25) Why not a silence? This allows you to delay ults. Why? Just to give him a more reliable gap closer for his ult and a bit more face bashing. Due to it's low range, is designed as a tool against champs likr yas/zed for some survivability in blind picking

R: it gets ugly here. IS NOW A SPELL TAUNT. enemy champions affected will use their q w and e in that order on galio. Galio will will deal dmg just like before (increases based on damage taken) Still makes them aa. But, if galio dies their cooldowns are refreshed and the damage he deals cut in half Why? Emphasis on a bruiser lane bully. Not a mage, not a support. An anti mage who is designed as a bruiser/lane bully

Remember, he is still a niche pick who will struggle against ad/hybrid mid laners. There is allot there, maybe to much idn. Any feedback welcome

Kyrrion8/2/2016, 7:27:11 AM3 votes

Because Galio is the original Sejuani - a tank without the proper tools to actually be a tank.

QweraRandolphz8/2/2016, 7:25:52 AM2 votes

They could actually give him a decent ranged auto animation as well if they made his hands bigger. Idk though hes kind of an ap bruiser which is why being melee somewhat suits him

http://www.pvpdatabase.com/?p=1253

Ravenous Howls8/1/2016, 7:26:12 PM2 votes

He's not really a tank though... He has fantastic scaling with AP and MR, from his passive, making him more of an anti- mage AP Bruiser Mage. All of his abilities except one are for damage purposes and he only has one hard CC in his ult that can be interrupted and he can not use Zhony's to guarantee it goes for the whole duration. He is supposed to be tanky and do damage but not carry amounts of damage. He's like the Quasimodo half brother of Juggernauts on the AP side which means he doesn't quite fit in anywhere..

Crett8/1/2016, 7:33:19 PM1 votes

because support galio would be a nightmare to lane against

if his aa range scaled up somehow i could see it working

CerealBoxOfDoom8/1/2016, 6:20:03 PM1 votes

most tanks are melee

he doesn't need range anyways

LostFr0st8/2/2016, 1:15:45 AM1 votes

Galio is from a time before mobility (but you already know that :P) so yeah his kit is hella outdated. I'm guessing back then Q and E were far more useful than they appear to be now. E is still nice now if you need minions to push with; also good to make sure the next wave is denied before backing.

darkestkhan8/2/2016, 6:33:53 AM1 votes

I see no problems with Galio... only with how people build him - why you don't get luden's on him? That is quite a bit of dmg from it. But no, you just go ham into mr for him... I know his passive, but there is no reason to go full mr [though spriti visage is really nice on him]

Sogreth8/2/2016, 6:29:46 PM1 votes

He is a walking ultimate. Is all he is right now. He doesn't even do a good job of countering Mages like he is supposed to. Especially with the change to Unholy Grail.

He can still pull off some good "wombo combos" with the right team comp. But right now, he is in a sad state.

Zedex8/2/2016, 5:22:02 PM1 votes

"Eventually"

Don't hold your breath.

And as far as I understand it, due to the fact that he's a tank he's restricted to melee. His Q and E offer some good poke early game in lane, and adding ranged autos onto that would be a nightmare. Teamfights wouldn't make much of a difference, but the way Galio gets there would be changed tremendously and probably for the worse.

That, plus Grasp of the Undying would be extremely strong on him in lane, with ranged autos and all.

AwesomeChad8/1/2016, 7:25:28 PM1 votes

In my opinion, I think he was poorly designed in the first place because it seems that he doesn't have a clear identity as champion. But the good news is that riot could go multiple routes with him in the rework: He could be this highly mobile ap bruiser with more dmg attached to his autoattacks or they could give him a "lissandra" kit which has high sustained dmg from short cld spells , some type of gap closer/mobility enhancement, and his ult (i personally don't think turning him into a full-on mage fits with his gargoyle complex).

Sire Hippington8/1/2016, 7:32:31 PM1 votes

i'd rather ask why he has no reason to go melee other than his ult or 'because he can'. Beeing melee fits his character perfectly well. He's a guardian, he can soak up lots of damage and force an entire army to attack him with futile efforts. Haveing ranged AAs would imo be very wrong for him. What he needs is more pay of for useing his AAs, so useing his Q+E combo as 'soft-gapclsoer' is actually worth it and him beeing in the frontlines soaking up damage feels more naturally.