Irelia is one of the most mechanically demanding League of Legends characters. She is a high mobility champion who excels at solo carrying the games. To make our task of mastering Irelia easier, we are gonna start with a solid base. The base will be the greatest Irelia build, the one used by the highest-ranked Challenger players.
Best Irelia Items
Blade of the Ruined (BOTRK)
One of the most known Irelia features is her early game power spike. The power spike is reached as soon as we build our first BOTRK component, the Vampiric Scepter. After building it, we will be able to easily plow through the enemies, and win 1v1 trades.
Building the full BOTRK will feel much like building a Vampiric Scepter. It will be our second spike in the game, where we will be able to cut down even the tankiest opponents. This is the stage of the game where we will want to make as much lead as possible, to help us snowball the game.
Wits End
After its recent changes, Wits End has become a really powerful item due to its tenacity properties. The tenacity is really powerful on Irelia, as it is critical for reducing CC, the greatest poison for Irelia.
Kraken Slayer
Kraken Slayer is a super powerful item for damage, especially against squishies. It will greatly improve the damage of every third attack you land. The item also does really well to synergize with the other items we have been building so far.
Guardian Angel
If you are anything like me, you will pilot this champion like an absolute madman. For that reason, I would suggest building a Guardian Angel. This item truly lives up to its name, and it will do a really great job of saving you in dire situations.
Sterak’s Gage
The first three items we have bought will do more than a good job of keeping our damage levels in check. They also allow us to expand our strengths, and build some other stats, such as HP. For that reason, the next item we will be building is Sterak’s Gage.
Sterak’s Gage is perfect for giving us additional HP sustain, and the shield it gives when we drop below 30% is incredibly powerful. Just like Guardian Angel, this item will serve us when we most need it.
Boots
When it comes to boot choices on Irelia, we can choose between Plated Steelcaps and Mercury’s Treads. Plated Steelcaps are amazing against auto-attacking champions, and Mercury Treads are best at counter CC. I find Mercury Treads more powerful in 80% of the games.
Runes for Irelia
- Conqueror
- Triumph
- Legend: Alacrity
- Last Stand
- Biscuit Delivery
- Cosmic Insight
The way things are currently, Conqueror stands as the best rune for Irelia, but you should keep an eye out for the upcoming Lethal Tempo return. The second rune we will take is Triumph, which will allow us to recover some health after our fights.
The third rune we should pick is Legend: Alacrity, the best rune for its branch (gives attack speed). Our fourth pick will be Last Stand, which enhances our damage when we are low HP. Finally, we should take Biscuit Delivery for the early game sustain, and Cosmic Insight for its cooldown reduction utility.
In Conclusion
Irelia is a really hard champion to master, however, the benefits of doing so are immense. To begin our journey correctly, we will set our foundations in a great build. The build should be composed of a few core on-hit items, as well as a couple of defensive options.