Irelia FAQ

She is a strong early skirmisher who becomes a late-game raid boss if she survives the initial burst. Mayhem's faster gold and experience gain helps her hit key item spikes sooner than on Summoner's Rift. The tradeoff is that the enemy team has more crowd control and damage, so one bad engage ends your spree.

Start with a damage item component rather than a tank item to maximize your early all-in potential. You need the attack damage to last-hit minions with your Q and stack your passive quickly. If you start too defensive, you lack the damage to threaten kills before their first buy.

Use Snowball to mark a squishy target, then wait for them to use their escape or peel ability before dashing in. You can also use it to gap-close, then immediately Q to a different target to confuse the enemy's focus. Do not Snowball into five people without your E or R ready, because you will get burst down instantly.

Land your E stun first, then Q to the target while they are stunned to guarantee the damage. Follow up with auto-attacks and your R to apply the armor shred and slow. If you engage without landing E, the enemy can simply sidestep your R and kite you to death.

Q through the minion wave to stack your passive before you engage on the enemy champion. A full stack gives you significant attack speed and on-hit damage, which is crucial for winning trades. If you fight with zero stacks, you will lose almost every extended skirmish.

Use R early in a fight to shred armor and create a slowing field that helps you stick to targets. The initial hit damage is high, so do not save it for execution damage only. However, if you are about to get burst down, you may need to hold it for the defensive stats or to disengage with the slow.

Rush a lifesteal or attack damage item to sustain through the constant poke in ARAM. You need attack speed and on-hit effects to maximize your passive damage. Avoid building pure tank, because your damage falls off hard without offensive items, and you offer little utility beyond a single stun.

Use your Q to dash through minions and dodge linear skillshots while closing the distance. You can also Q to a minion behind you to escape if you take too much damage. If you walk forward without dashing, you become an easy target for abilities that go through minions.

Wait for the enemy to burn their major cooldowns before you commit to a full engage. You can use Snowball to bait out abilities and then back off without going in. If you dive in while their crowd control is up, you will get locked down and deleted before you can lifesteal.

Kite them with your Q and focus on shredding their armor with your R and on-hit items. You cannot burst a tank early, so look for extended trades where your lifesteal and attack speed give you the edge. If you try to all-in a full-health tank, you will likely lose the trade.

Pick augments that increase your damage, attack speed, or survivability in team fights. Lifesteal or healing augments are particularly strong because they scale with your high attack speed. Avoid augments that only boost ability power or cooldown reduction, since your kit relies on auto-attacks and on-hit effects.

Play for resets and look for Q executes on low-health minions to reset your cooldown and escape. Focus on farming gold from the wave until you complete your first major item. If you keep forcing bad fights, you will stay behind and become useless for the rest of the game.

Dive the backline if you can reach their carries without getting peeled instantly. Your damage is high enough to kill most squishies in a few seconds if you land your combo. If their peel is too strong, switch targets and hit whoever is closest to keep your passive stacks and lifesteal active.

Place one blade behind the enemy and one in front of them, then reactivate to stun. You can also use E to check bushes or zone enemies away from objectives. Do not use E purely for damage, because the cooldown is long and you lose your main setup tool if you miss.