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Playing Against Illaoi

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Patch 16.2.1

What They Do

Setup-heavy juggernaut who punishes aggression. She uses to clone you and to smash everyone nearby. She is a 'zone control' fighter—if you stay in her range, you die; if you walk away, she's useless.

Abilities (What to Watch For)

Ability	What You'll See	What It Means For You
	Purple tentacles on terrain	These are her primary damage source. They slam when she uses or . Kill them to depower her.
	Large linear ground slam	Basic poke and waveclear. It heals her if it hits you. Dodge it sideways to deny her sustain.
	Leaps to a target	Commands all nearby tentacles to slam the target. Even if she misses other spells, this makes her point-and-click dangerous near walls.
	Pulls a ghost of you	The most important spell. If hit, she deals damage to the ghost which transfers to you. Leave the circle or stay and fight to end it early.
	Smashes the ground and glows	Spawns a tentacle for every champion hit and makes a 2s cooldown. If she ults, just leave the area immediately.

Respect

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landing→It forces you to either take 30-50% free damage or leave the wave and become a Vessel, which spawns more tentacles.
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Multiple tentacles→Even without her ult, two tentacles slamming you simultaneously via will out-trade almost any top laner.
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counter-engage→She wants you to dive her. The more people that jump on her, the more tentacles she spawns and the more she heals.
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Level 6 power spike→She can turn a 1v2 gank into a double kill instantly if she hits both of you with .

Punish

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is on cooldown (16-12s)→She has a massive window where she cannot effectively trade. Go for an all-in or heavy poke immediately.
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She is level 1-2→She is very weak before she has her full combo. Bully her early to prevent her from setting up a tentacle nest.
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She misses on the wave→This is her main healing tool. If it's down, her sustain is capped and her waveclear is significantly slower.
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She has no mana→Illaoi's spells are expensive. If she's below 20% mana, she cannot cast her full and combo.

Laning Tips

•Stay behind your minions at all times to block the skillshot.
•Kill her tentacles whenever she isn't in range to punish you; removing her setup is the easiest way to win.
•If hit by , look at your HP. If you're stronger, hit her to reduce the spirit duration. If not, run out of the zone immediately.
•Dodge tentacle slams by walking perpendicularly to them—never walk straight back.
•Rush Executioner's Calling or Bramble Vest as your first component to cut her healing.
•If you become a Vessel, stay near the first tentacle that spawns. Dodge its slam but don't kill it immediately to prevent others from spawning nearby.

Teamfight Warning

⚠Never clump together when engaging her; one good can heal her to full and ace your team.
⚠If she uses , ping your team to DISENGAGE. Walk away, wait 8 seconds, then go back in once it expires.
⚠The spirit from counts as a target for her —don't stand near your own ghost.
⚠Illaoi is extremely immobile. Use displacements or slows to keep her away from the middle of your team.
⚠Check for tentacles before fighting in the jungle. A pre-set nest is much deadlier than a random encounter.

AI-generated counterplay guide • Patch 16.2.1 • Cached