Can't find a way to play Galio...

Harrys Nut Shack·7/13/2015, 11:02:28 AM·1 votes·905 views

I tried this champion once and did not perform well even in bots. His dueling potential seems basically null, but he probably has the best teamfighting in the game with his ult and shield.

How do I survive the laning phase when nearly every champion in the game can harass me out of lane or kill me? His melee range makes it so difficult because his early all ins are crap.

Do I just pick him as a counterpick I guess? But I can't even think of any champions he counters. He has no hard CC without his ult so he's not a good support, he can't jungle, and his mid and top are both pretty tough.

10 Comments

Zarxis7/13/2015, 3:24:37 PM5 votes

Galio's strongest when played against an AP laning opponent. He's more of a poke champion than a burst or duelist type. You want to whittle your opponent down with accurate Q poke while sustaining with your W. All-inning your opponent won't work because Galio's E does little damage, and his W does none at all. Survivability and teamfighting are why you play Galio, not because he's an amazing face-smashing, split-pushing toplaner. Once he gets his mana regen under control (when he buys a Chalice of Harmony), he becomes decent at waveclearing and his Q poke can be very harsh for squishier lane opponents, but it's when your team starts grouping and following up on your flash+ult that Galio really shines.

He specifically counters AP DoT champions because he builds MR and DoT will proc his W heal repeatedly. Teemo, Singed, Malzahar, and Swain are prime examples, but he can be used effectively against any AP champion. AD can be more difficult to lane against, but not impossible (AD assassins will find Galio difficult to kill, and you can always waveclear if fighting your lane opponent doesn't work well for you). Many players think that you have to build pure MR for Galio to be effective— this is untrue. You'll always want a Chalice-derived item for CDR, mana regen, and damage (from your passive), but Galio's base damages are high enough to be threatening even with a full armor/health tank build, not to mention the fact that his ultimate's CC doesn't care what sort of damage the enemy team does.

PraetorAmalthus7/13/2015, 1:07:45 PM1 votes

I Play him completely different O_O i Play him jgl with runeglaive,with ludens and rylais and the rest on tank because..well... q aa on the adc and he cant really fight you,and ganking with lvl 6 is fine too, Charge up with e slow with q and ult. very nice on botlane ganks because most of the time you get both of them. It is a really interesting pick and his w enables him the jgling else he would be tard. Just try him jgl, ist cool.They never expect the galio jgl.They never expect TONS OF DAMAGE

KirynDawn7/13/2015, 3:11:12 PM1 votes

You pick him when the other team is entirely AP. Just like when you pick Rammus when the other team is entirely AD

SmarmyGryphon7/13/2015, 6:20:29 PM1 votes

I have a friend who mains AP galio mid. Almost always wins lane

Duke Anax7/13/2015, 7:23:09 PM1 votes

Galio is very unusual Champ, a melee Tank with a lot of Poke.

His abbilites are really strong but expensive, so at first you can focus entirely on mana and cdr. item 3070 item 3028 item 3158 then get item 3174 item 3001 item 3065 item 3111

He is best known for his MR Tank build thanks to his passive. However his on-hit heal and ult also make him really good against AA. item 3075 item 3047 Lategame even Towershots will heal you.

PraetorAmalthus7/13/2015, 8:47:33 PM1 votes

i thought it too at first ( jk i never think at lol XD i just do it) well his q is known to hit like a truck vs champs, and Monsters dont like it too ^^ just try it, ist fun

Jeanne fan club7/13/2015, 11:14:57 AM1 votes

My first game with him I went 17-3. He is extremely strong against AP because of his build path. Your first 2 items should always be athenes then abyssal because of your passive, also because abyssal is probably the most gold efficient ap item in the game. His Q burns through mana but does insane amounts of damage. Your goal should be to force the enemy wave to push, but keep the enemy on the defensive with your Q. It sounds really awkward but if you can imagine the creep wave on your side, but the enemy laner is too scared to last hit minons, that's what I mean. it gives you easier farm and prevents them from getting cs. You just need to survive till the teamfights. Galio is defiantly an awkward champion to play, but he Is probably the best "midlane support" in the game and can single handedly win teamfights

junglerboy167/14/2015, 1:26:30 AM1 votes

If you're trying to all in lane opponents, you're doing it wrong. Galio is a poke champ who excels at wave clearing early on and harassing opponents while soaking damage with his high MR. You should take scaling MR glyphs instead of scaling AP, because he gets free AP from the MR anyway while being much tankier for it. Rush Chalice into Abyssal scepter almost every game, and then build whatever AP/MR items suits you and the current match, usually focusing on MR and getting void staff and Rabadon's for max damage. For your armor item, I'd actually skip Zhonya's (now that it has been nerfed, it isn't a must buy on mages) and get a Thornmail. Thorn mail makes your ult hurt a ton (since everyone is AAing you anyway) while keeping you safer during the channel by reducing the damage you take on top of your shield's armor.

I'd recommend a build that looks like this: item 3001 item 3174 item 3111 / item 3020 item 3135 item 3089 item 3075 (merc treads and Sorc shoes are a toss up depending on how much CC and MR the enemy team has. Low CC? buy sorc shoes. High CC? buy Merc treads and still do a lot of damage)

also, remember to shield up before casting your full combo, since your shield gives up to 45 free AP just for being on you.

Galio is definitely a counter pick champion, and does really well against AP champs (obviously), but also quite well against teams that are low in AA damage (although thornmail does patch up that weakness).