Final Verdict? Galio Ruined (all aboard the Riot ruined my Main bandwagon)
So I made an early discussion that never really took off after Galio's rework was leaked.see link below. And I also watched a number of videos during beta and thought "hey, they make it look decent." Well, a handful of games later and I learned two things
- Youtubers that make money by advertising Riot games probably won't bite the hand that feeds, and cannot be trusted T_T
- Galio's new kit is "new," and totally ruins whatever anyone liked about old Galio.
So let's break this down. His new passive is an AoE smash. It scales off of AD, AP and MR, which I assume they want you to build things like Max of the Mountain and Scepter on him. Ok, that's fine, if someone wants to go bruiser. But aside from that, his bonus MR buffs are pitiful. And they've gutted his damage.
His new Q is nice. And it's the only thing that's nice. Deals damage in a line and continuous damage in a small AoE. He needed something like this, so credit given where credit is due.
His new W is useless. The taunt doesn't last long enough if you click right away, you can't attack while using your W either. So you can't protect your carries with it, and it's no good in duels. His magic shield passive is basically a weaker version of Morgana's that will only come up once in a battle since it requires you not to take damage for 12 whole seconds. In Moba time, that's a lifetime. And because Galio isn't taunting while channeling the ability, and he can't attack, it totally ruins any synergy. Enemies can just run by you, and if you release early, the taunt is less than a second. No Riot. Just no. Compared to his old W that would work as either a double buff/sustain when used on Galio himself, or a nice protection buff for carries, they've nerfed his utility.
His E is ....clunky. To put it generously. It's nice when it lands. But nothing in his kit seems to really mesh with it except his passive. His W doesn't last long enough to justify an engage in fights.
And his ult. This pisses me off the most. It seemed like such a cool concept. The problem is that you can't use it on carries. At all. A) because if you're using it odds are your carry will die before you get there, since the enemy team is obviously being smart to focus the carry, B) can't use it on assassins because they'll in and out, and unless you're premade and have great coordination, you'll miss the ult outright, C) you have to use it on tanks. It makes for a nice knockup if you do, but it's the last person galio should have to protect (tanks that is).
So, overall, his Q doesn't mesh well with his engage. His taunt is a nerfed verion of Warwick's new W, since Galio can't attack while using it, the DR is minimal and the taunt is hardly noticeable. Before I could ult, save the carry, get a kill under tower by making them attack me, etc. That's all out the window. Galio no longer has sustain either, making him just as useless against damage over time users like brand, teemo, etc. Galio could even use Talon's or Darius' bleed to heal himself with W.
Overall, I'd say this rework, early impression wise, is a bust. They ruined what Galio's mains like myself liked about him, reduced his counter AP kit with a nerfed MR shield that's one and done in a longer team fight, took out his sustain, and gave him a clunky kit that has no synergy at all. One final note. Galio's passive goes off MR, AP and AD. His magic shield goes off of HP. His abilities are AP, and his damage reduction goes by MR. Those are way too many different stats spread out, and I think that's why it contributes to his kit's issue of synergy. All other champs have something main to scale off of in damage or buffs. If it's not straight AD or AP, it's something like Ryze with mana, Malphite with armor, etc etc. Things that blend well. Galio has too much and too little going for his new kit.
What do other players and my fellow old Galio mains think?
1/4/1 (Loss)
Goes 2/7/6 (Loss)