The recent 5.22 League of Legends patch brought many changes for the 2016 season, including the surprise addition of a new champion: Illaoi, the Kraken Priestess.
Illaoi is a sturdy warrior with a Polynesian style who brings the god Nagakabouros to the Summoner’s Rift. She uses its influence to weaken her enemies in the game.
Illaoi belongs to a group of champions called juggernauts. This group consists of immobile warrior champions who become incredibly powerful when close enough to deal damage.
Illaoi’s abilities revolve around using the tentacles of Nagakabouros. Her passive ability, Prophet of an Elder God, occasionally spawns a tentacle at a nearby wall that she can use to attack her enemies. The tentacles remain on the map until destroyed or remaining inactive for a minute, making Illaoi increasingly threatening as the game progresses.
Her Q ability, Tentacle Smash, grants passive healing every time a tentacle attacks. It also allows her to drop a tentacle in a line to damage enemies. Her W ability, Harsh Lesson, empowers her basic attack to charge at an enemy and deal bonus damage, while commanding every nearby tentacle to attack the same target.
Her E ability, Test of Spirit, shoots out a shadowy tentacle that pulls the spirit of an enemy to her. Illaoi and her teammates, including nearby tentacles, can crush the spirit, damaging the champion and causing them to spawn attacking tentacles. This ability can be challenging to use effectively, but it provides opportunities to harass ranged enemies who are usually safe from her immobile kit.
Illaoi’s ultimate ability, Leap of Faith, allows her to jump into the air, damaging nearby enemies and causing tentacles to spawn. This ability grants cooldown reduction on her W, enabling her to dash between foes and attack with an army of tentacles.
Landing a perfect ultimate can be difficult but devastating. Imagine spawning tentacles around the entire enemy team, making them attack each target. This ability has the potential for massive area of effect damage.
Illaoi’s unique abilities offer interesting interactions on the Summoner’s Rift. Her Test of Spirit ability makes laning difficult for enemies, as tentacles spawn to harass and slow them down.
Illaoi is most likely to be played as a top-lane juggernaut. However, some players are already experimenting with her in the jungle, as seen in this jungle clear from the Public Beta Environment:
Illaoi’s true power will only be realized when we see her in action. It’s difficult to predict how effective she will be on the Summoner’s Rift, as she requires significant setup. Nevertheless, she is an interesting addition to the game.
Image via Riot Games