Chillaoi is a fun tanky build with plenty of damage potential. Frostfire slows enemies and triggers Fimbulwinter for shields. Steraks provides more shields. Because you know you're going to facecheck bushes. The last items are situational based on your game.

Also, I say Spirit Grab instead of test of spirit. How can they make her first ability tentacle smash and then give normal names to the rest? She smashes, she slaps, she grabs and she slams.

Read the notes

I put notes at each section explaining the group of items or runes chosen. But I should put something here I guess.

Summoner spells at your discretion. She has no mobility, so those get priority.

Illaoi is a juggernaught, so build and play her like one. Big health, big damage. Just add shields and slows!

Here's the important bits about tentacles.

Each tentacle heals for 5% missing health. Your (P) passive spawns them slowly, your (R) ult spawns them immediately. Your (E) Spirit Grab might create them if you kill the spirit or they run away. Your (W) leap attack causes tentacles to attack if they're in range of your target.

Illaoi doesn't poke, she slams from afar and she wins this measuring contest. It wouldn't be a smash if it didn't do big damage. This will clear waves and punish opponents with its generously girthy hitbox. This is taken first to apply pressure in lane. If you're going to let the lane crash for safe farming you're better off with W first.

Not much else to say about it. You'll blow your mana quickly slamming your target. That's why we take Corrupting Pot. Spam your ability, chug the pots, crash the wave and back early.

This one point wonder is what commands your tentacles to smash. Not much else to be said. Scales on target max health, so maxing before Q is viable if you're against tanks.

If you don't want to start corrupting pot to rush another item, and your opponent is melee, then you can take W first, E second then Q.

This mechanic will make or break you as an Illaoi player. First off, you gotta hit a skill shot. Once that is done your opponent has a choice, stay and fight, or run and break tether.

Here's the important Part

If they stay and fight, fight them and not the stupid spirit. They take 100% damage, but the spirit tether only does a percent. If you can hit em both, even better. But don't get baited away from the spirit. If they post up and don't commit, go back to hitting their spirit.

The ultimate is easy, here just read the instructions.

"For each enemy champion hit, a Tentacle is summoned for 8 seconds (up to a maximum of 6 summons). For the duration, Harsh Lesson's cooldown is halved, all Tentacles awakened by Illaoi are untargetable, will not show their hitboxes, nor go dormant, and will take half the amount of time to make an attack."

Tentacles are spawned, they attack faster and can't be removed and don't show their hitboxes and your (W) leap attack resets faster. So smash that W button on any target nearby.

The important part

Land your (E) Grab before you ult. This creates a spirit, we'll follow up on that in a second. Now Ult the spirit. You do a lot of damage to it, spawn tentacles which then also smash the spirit. Then you W, which causes them to smash again. If the spirit dies, the target becomes a vessel. Here's why that is important.

"Each Tentacle autonomously attacks the closest Vessel or Spirit, prioritizing the latter, once every 5.5 / 4.5 / 3.5 (based on level) seconds."

Now that a bunch of tentacles are spawned, they'll be slapping a slowed opponent.

No Ultimate Combo: E, W, Q, W

And yes there should be Auto Attacks between those abilities where you can.

Ultimate Combo: E, R, WWWWWWWWWW

If you mess up the combo, it's no big deal. If you Ult first, that means you're right on top of someone. Awesome. Just mash buttons. It doesn't matter. The tentacles aim themselves.

Illaoi is good in both top and mid. She is arguably better mid since she has better spawn locations for her tentacles. She can spawn them in a box around mid and cover the entire area.

Top lane has a big gray area in the middle, since tentacles somehow can't spawn in the river. Spawn your tentacles through the bush and by turret. Your best farming will be to freeze the wave closer to the terrain around the turrets.

I did not come up with the original item set. It's buried in other better guides. I made this so there can be a dedicated guide for this build.

Copy the following and import the itemset directly into your client.