LoL Wild Rift Galio Build & Guide (Patch 5.0) - Runes, Counters, Items, Ability Analysis

S Tier

Class: Tank

Recommended Lane: Mid

Best Galio Wild Rift build guide for Season 11 Patch 5.0 of WR. With our Galio guide you will learn which items to build, runes to select, skill order, who counters Galio, and how to use abilities properly.

Recommended Builds

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Starting Item

Boots

Core Items

Complete Build

Runes

Galio was built as a bulwark against enemy mages until a presence of a powerful magic stirs him to life. Galio savors the thrill of the fight and the honor of defending his countrymen. Although his triumphs are bittersweet, for the magic he destroys is the source of his reanimation and each victory leaves him closer to being dormant once again. Galio is a tank mage who deals a lot of damage and crowd control and can be a dominant presence where ever who choses to be.

Galio Wild Rift Build Recommendation

Here are Item Build Recommendations that works on this champion and which are the best build for Galio Wild Rift in this patch.

The Mage Colossus

Boots of Furor [This item has been removed from WR]

Void Staff [This item has been removed from WR]

Become the very thing you swore to destroy by being an AP carry who can dish out a lot of magic damage and receive as much at the same time! This build works best in the solo lanes, mid or Baron lane. All items in this build also grant HP so you can still act as a secondary front liner while still being capable of dishing out lots of damage.

Rod of Ages – Grants a lot of AP, HP, and Mana which scales as time passes by. This core item is a must-buy for Galio since he fights in the front lines and he can also be mana starved without it.
Boots of Swiftness – Provides the highest amount of movement speed and it reduces the effects of slows. Together with Spirit Walker, the slowing effect of the charging of 2nd, Shield of Durand is mitigated. Upgrade with the Glorious Enchant for the bonus movement speed. Once you activate Glorious Enchant, you’ll be able to run down enemies even while charging 2nd, Shield of Durand, making you an even deadlier initiator. Protobelt Enchant is another great initiation tool. It covers less range but has the surprise factor advantage instead.
Rabadon’s Deathcap – Grants a ton of AP. Once you have this item, your abilities will pack quite a punch and you’ll be able to one-shot squishies with the help of Electrocute.
Infinity Orb – Makes you a deadlier ganker as this item makes your abilities deal critical damage on low HP targets.
Void Staff – Provides % magic penetration so you’ll be able to chunk down the HP of enemies who will build magic resist against you. Build Morellonomicon instead to make your abilities apply Grievous Wounds if faced with enemies with lots of healing or sustain.
Crystalline Reflector – Makes you tankier against AD champions and it will even reflect magic damage back to them. Consider buying this item early if you are struggling against physical damage.

The Support Colossus

This build is for a support Galio which focuses more on utility and tanking. Do not worry, you’ll still deal lots of damage since Galio’s abilities scale of Magic resist.

Relic Shield – Starter item for tanks that grant extra gold when minions are killed
Dead Man’s Plate – Grants HP, Armor, and bonus movement speed on Momentum stacks which translates into Crushing Blows which deals magic damage and slows on attacks with maximum momentum.
Mercury’s Treads – Provides magic resistance and tenacity to help you manage the crowd control you receive as a front-line support. Consider building Plated Steelcaps against AD heavy teams. Build the Redeeming Enchant which you can activate for the damage on enemies and healing on allies while chaining crowd controls on enemy champions.
Force of Nature – Grants increasing magic resist and movement speed bonus each time you are hit by a unique ability making you a more potent tank support the more the fight goes on.
Abyssal Mask – Increases the magic damage enemies receive around you which includes your damage output.
Zeke’s Convergence – This item is lower on the list more than usual compared to the builds of other tank supports because of the long cooldown on Galio’s ultimate, Hero’s Entrance. But it’s still a worth offensive support item buy even this late.
Frozen Heart – Decreases the attack speed of enemies around you so your team can survive against the enemy’s ADC for a little longer than usual and allow your team to more room for a counterattack against them.

Runes for Galio in Wild Rift

The Mage Colossus

Electrocute – AP carry Galio relies on his combo to deal large damage in quick succession so Electrocute’s additional burst damage when executing combos fits his playstyle perfectly.
Brutal – Increases your AP and magic penetration.
Conditioning – Grants increasing AD and AP so Galio can still effectively tank in the late game without tank items.
Hunter – Genius – Galio relies heavily on his abilities so the additional ability haste is a big help for Galio. Especially since his items do not grant ability haste, every little bonus ability haste counts.

The Support Colossus

Aftershock – Helps Galio survive initiations since it grants bonus armor and magic resist after controlling an enemy champion. After a while, you’ll also deal magic damage on the area around you based on your max HP.
Weakness – Enemies you have controlled will take 5% more damage from all sources.
Hunter – Titan – Grants a little bonus HP and additional tenacity for each unique takedown. The additional tenacity works perfectly when you use Mercury’s Treads as your boots.

Spells

In our Galio Wild Rift Guide, here are the best champion spells that you can equip on him.

Ignite allows Galio to be as deadly as he can be when playing as a mid laner as he wants to gank as much as possible when playing that role.

Flash allows Galio a lot of additional offensive and defensive options like flashing to grouped up enemies to pull-off a multiple taunt 2nd, Shield of Durand.

Heal is a flexible defensive option which can also be used to speed up an ally in chases.

Exhaust can slow down an enemy and reduce their damage output which in turn makes them vulnerable to a counterattack.

Skill Order

1st, Winds of War is maxed first as it is Galio’s main source of damage and wave clear. 2nd, Shield of Durand is maxed next to scale Galio’s survivability. For this reason, a support Galio might want to max 3rd, Shield of Durand first as his job is more on the tanking side and less on the dealing damage side. Finally, 3rd, Justice Punch is maxed last as its knock up length does not scale so its not worth to level it up earlier. Get a point in your ultimate, Hero’s Entrance whenever possible.

Abilities

Colossal Smash

Passive

Enhances his next attack to deal 73 magic damage (15 + 100% AD + 50% AP + 60% MR) to nearby enemies.

Winds of War

Active

Fires two windblasts that deal 70 magic damage (70 + 75% AP) and coverge into a tornado.

The tornado deals magic damage equal to 8% (8 + 2% AP) of target’s maximum Health over 1.5 seconds.

Shield of Durand

Passive | Active

Passive: Every 12 seconds, upon taking magic damage, Galio gains a shield that absorbs 49 magic damage (8% HP) for 3.5 seconds.

Hold: Enters a defensive stance, slowing himself by 15% for up to 2 seconds. Takes 25% (25 + 5% AP + 8% MR) reduced magic damage and 12.5% (12.5 + 2.5% AP + 4% MR) reduced physical damage.

Release: Deals 40 magic damage (40 + 60% AP) to nearby enemies and taunts them for 0.5-1.5 seconds, increased with hold time.

Justice Punch

Active

Dashes forward until he hits an enemy champion or terrain, dealing 90 magic damage (90 + 90% AP) to enemies and knocking them up for 0.75 seconds.

Deals 50% damage to minions

Hero's Entrance

Active

Grants Shield of Durand’s passive for 3.5 seconds to all allied champions near the target and designates the position as his landing spot.

After 2.5 seconds Galio arrives at the location, dealing 150 magic damage (150 + 70% AP) to nearby enemies enemies them up for 0.75 seconds.

Abilities Analysis

Innate Passive: Colossal Smash

Colossal Smash empowers Galio’s next attack to deal AoE magic damage. Do not underestimate Colossal Smash as it scales with levels, AD, AP, and Magic Resist.

Colossal Smash is an AoE magic damage ability so it practically extends Galio’s attack range. You can attack a minion in front of the enemy champion and deal damage to them as well.

Colossal Smash has a four second cooldown and you will be notified when its ready by the golden glow that will happen on Galio’s body.

Q | 1st: Winds of War

Winds of War is Galio’s main damaging tool. It releases two windblasts that converges into a tornado. The windblast deals initial damage then the tornado deals % of HP based damage in three ticks over 1.5 seconds. The windblast damage also affects hit by the tornado’s initial convergence.

Winds of War is an excellent wave clearing ability and it is the main reason that makes you an effective ganker as a mid laner. A single cast of Winds of War and a single Colossal Smash is enough to clear the a minion wave starting from level 6. If you don’t want to shove and maintain lane equilibrium or a slow push, only target the ranged minions while trying to hit the enemy champion as well.

Since the tornado deals % of HP damage over 1.5 seconds, it works best with a max charged 2nd, Shield of Durand so that they enemy will receive the full damage of Winds of War. Pay attention to your ally’s crowd controls because this ability is a perfect follow up damage to controlled enemies.

W | 2nd: Shield of Durand

Shield of Durand is what makes Galio extremely effective in team fights. It has a passive which grants a magic damage shield which can be transferred through allies when you cast your ultimate. Hero’s Entrance. Then there’s the two-part active ability. The first part adds huge dual resistance bonus, twice for magic resist, for up to two seconds, allowing you to survive burst damage. Afterwards or when the charge is released, you’ll deal damage and taunt enemies for up to 1.5 seconds depending on the charge time.

When Shield of Durand is charged, Galio is slowed so it’s not wise to walk up to enemies to taunt them as they’ll obviously react by running away or using their mobility tools. So it is best to cast Shield of Durand after hitting the enemy with your 3rd, Justice Punch, after a successful landing of your ultimate, Hero’s Entrance or as a follow up on your ally’s crowd controls. You can also cast under brushes but that is a rare opportunity that becomes scarcer the higher rank you go.

You can fake a gank then hide on a river bush to set up an ambush on your enemy mid laner with a fully charged Shield of Durand.

Another workaround on Shield of Durand’s slow is by using the Spirit Walker rune, Boots of Swiftness, and Glorious Enchant. This way, you’ll have superior movement speed even while charging Shield of Durand which makes it perfect for ganking and initiation.

If you want to get away from a gank, use Shield of Durand first to absorb damage and taunt enemies then activate your 3rd, Justice Punch afterward to dash away.

E | 3rd: Justice Punch

Justice Punch is your main engage tool in short skirmishes. It has a short wind-up where you jump back before dashing forward which continues until you hit a champion or a terrain. All enemies hit are damaged and the champion hit will be knocked up. Only one champion can be damaged and knocked up even if multiple enemy champions are clumped up together.

You can cancel the wind-up animation and slightly make the dash arrive faster by casting Justice Punch while near a wall. This will usually catch enemies off guard because they’ll have less time to react to your dash. But the wind-up is not entirely useless as you can use it to dodge enemy skill shots.

A neat trick to Justice Punch is the Reverse Justice Punch. You can do this by targeting away from the enemy. The jump back will allow you to still hit the enemy. You’ll want to do this for two reasons:

This will make Justice punch hit enemies faster because the dash will immediately hit the enemy after the knock-up.
Reduces the risk of being ganked to zero. If you have enemies with dashes like Zed, Fizz, or Ahri, they will simply dash away and you’ll now be overextended and helpless once you miss the enemy with your Justice Punch. By using the Reverse Justice Punch, if you miss, you’ll simply dash back towards your side of the map, safe from ganks.

This is the maximum range for the Reverse Justice Punch. Any more would make it miss, any less is a sure hit.

Galio immediately attacks after Justice Punch and if you want to pin down the enemy with a follow-up 2nd, Shield of Durand, you have to cancel that auto-attack either by holding the 2nd, Shield of Durand button during Justice Punch’s animation but I find this one ineffective at times and the best way to cancel the auto attack by holding the 2nd, Shield of Durand button right after the knock-up hits. Charge the taunt right until the knock-up ends so you’ll maximize the taunt duration. You don’t have to be this strict against champions without blinks and dashes but practicing it is worth it especially against those pesky high mobility champions.

R | Ultimate: Hero’s Entrance

Hero’s Entrance is a superior follow-up initiation ability. Once Galio targets an allied champion, all friendly champions around the area gain Galio’s magic damage shield from 2nd, Shield of Durand. After a short duration, Galio lands at the position of the allied champion on cast, dealing magic damage and knocking up enemies.

Hero’s Entrance is great for following up on fights even from almost half a map away. But do not expect it to hit enemies if your team has no great AoE crowd control in the first place. If that is the case, use it to shield your allies from magic damage.

Enemies will also see where you will land so using Hero’s Entrance on a ganked ally will discourage enemies from going all-in especially if you are ahead. But if your team is down by a lot, do not save your estranged ally as it will only result in your death as well.

Standard combo: 3rd + 2nd + 1st + AA

Galio Early Game Guide

Galio does pretty well in the lane even as a melee mage since he has great wave clear and he does even better against mages because he has a magic damage shield passive in his 2nd, Shield of Duran.

If you want to do an early gank before you acquire your ultimate, preferably together with your jungler, set up a slow push from the get go. You’ll be able to do this by using your 2nd, Shield of Duran only on the range minions and only hitting the melee minions on its very last HP. Although, you’ll only be able to do this if the enemy laner plays passively or when you are able to bully them.

When the scuttler comes up, clear the lane or leave it (if you are setting a slow push) and help your jungler secure it, because you’ll have an easier time ganking with the vision and bonus movement speed from the scuttler’s zone. The Dragon lane side scuttler is way better to secure. So ping it so that the jungler will know that you will assist them on securing it.

Once you acquire your ultimate, use it when the Dragon lane side is ganked so you can do a potent counter gank but if that does not happen, save it for the first Dragon spawn.

Always shove your lane using your 1st, Winds of War and your passive, Colossal Smash before leaving your lane.

Galio Late Game Guide

In the middle and late game, you’ll become a potent team fighter who can deal damage, control enemies, and peel for your teammates.

Always save your ultimate for follow up initiation or for saving your ADC.

Do not hesitate to use your flash to taunt multiple enemies with your 2nd, Shield of Durand.

Always follow up on your ally’s crowd control with your 1st, Winds of War to deal maximum damage with it and do not forget to auto attack to use your Colossal Smash because it deals a lot of damage once you have enough items.

Synergies

For our Galio Wild Rift Guide, we highly recommend using him with the following champions as they synergize well with him.

Amumu has great synergy with Galio. His passive, Cursed Touch increases Galio’s damage output by converting it to true damage and his ultimate, Curse of the Sad Mummy is one of the best set ups for Galio’s Heroic Entrance becuase of how wide it is.

Shyvana requires her Dragons to get strong and she is generally not a great ganker. Galio helps her in both ways since Galio is a great ganker, he can pick up the ganking void and Galio has great zoning with his ultimate, Heroic Entrance and 2nd, Shield of Durand so he and Shyvana has greater chance of securing their dragons.

Draven needs just three attacks to kill the enemy ADC in the early game and Galio can provide that opportunity with his combo which deals a lot of damage and a lot of crowd control.

All Galio Wild Rift Counter Champions

In this section, we’ll specifically show champions that can easily counter Galio in Wild Rift.

A good Yasuo is a headache to mid Galio since he has good wave clear as well as a lot of mobility. Since Galio’s crowd controls are heavily telegraphed (meaning: has a wind-up or can be predicted easily), Yasuo will be able to dodge them easily using his 3rd, Sweeping Blade. Yasuo will also be able to bully Galio with his 1st, Steel Tempest since he has no natural counter to physical damage.

Janna is the go-to counter to aggressive supports and Galio is no exception. And once again, since Galio’s crowd controls are heavily telegraphed, she’ll be able to set up her 1st, Howling Gale easily to counter Galio’s engages.

Pros & Cons About Galio

Here are some pros and cons if you are playing with Galio in Wild Rift.

Pros

Galio is a tank mage champion who has lots of damage, crowd controls, and defense in his kit. Use him if you want a tank champion who can brawl it out while being a legitimate threat and a stone wall at the same time.
Galio is a tank champion who has above average mobility compared to his peers so enemies might be surprised that a tank champion can move that way and outmaneuver them in short bursts. His ultimate also allows him to have a large presence. You’ll be seen shoving in the mid lane and the next thing the enemy knows, you’re already jumping on them with your ultimate.
He has surprising burst damage. You’ll be popping enemies left and right with the mage build and even with the AP build, you’ll still be able to soak a good amount of damage, especially magic damage.

Cons

Galio’s crowd controls are heavily telegraphed which means that the enemy has a lot of time to react to your abilities. Enemies that respects your abilities will be hard to catch which makes Galio heavily dependent on his teammate’s crowd controls.
His abilities have long cooldowns and Galio is dependent on his combos which means that after unloading his abilities, he has windows where he has nothing to contribute to his team other than maybe being a meat shield.

FAQ's About Galio in Wild Rift

How good is Galio in Wild Rift?

Galio is an (Tier S) champion. He does well in his lane even if he is a melee champion and he has strong team fight presence which happens fairly often because Wild Rift’s map is small so he has a lot to contribute for his team. His damage is also surprisingly good for a tank mage hybrid.

What role / lane should I play with Galio in Wild Rift?

Galio is played in the mid lane as a tank mage AP carry or as a controller tank support in the Dragon lane. He deals a lot of damage and crowd controls while being able so soak damage, especially magic damage.

What abilities do I level up with Galio?

1st, Winds of War is maxed first as it is Galio’s main source of damage and wave clear. 2nd, Shield of Durand is maxed next to scale Galio’s survivability. For this reason, a support Galio might want to max 2nd, Shield of Durand first as his job is more on the tanking side and less on the dealing damage side. Finally, 3rd, Justice Punch is maxed last as its knock up length does not scale so its not worth to level it up earlier.

What items should I build with Galio?

Galio’s core items as a mid laner are Rod of Ages, Infinity Orb, and Liandry’s Torment which are all AP items that also grants good amounts of HP. As a support, his core items are Dead Man’s Plate and Force of Nature which grants a lot of movement speed so he can have an easier time landing his crowd controls.

What Runes should I use when playing as Galio?

Electrocute is used on AP carry Galio as he relies on his combo do deal large damage on quick succession so Electrocute’s additional burst damage when executing combos fits his playstyle perfectly. His other runes are Brutal, Spirit Walker, and Hunter – Genius. As a support, Aftershock helps Galio survive initiations since it grants bonus armor and magic resist after controlling an enemy champion. After a while, you’ll also deal magic damage on the area around you based on your max HP. His other runes as a support are Weakness, Hunter – Titan, and Hunter – Genius.

How can I hit enemies with my Galio's ultimate, Heroic Entrance?

You have to rely on your teammate’s AoE crowd controls to hit enemies with Heroic Entrance. If there is none, use it to save your allies as it grants a shield and enemies will usually be discouraged to chase your teammates once you use your ultimate.