Galio and the Colossal Rework
A look at the reworked Galio along with some thoughts into what you should expect from him.
After much anticipation, the Galio rework has finally been revealed by Riot and released. As the rework was a big one, it’s important to go through his abilities for players to know what to expect once he hits the main servers. So through this article, Galio’s new abilities will analysed in order to get a general idea of where he’ll stand in the meta.
Colossal Smash (Passive)
Every 8 seconds, Galio's next basic attack deals [10-160] (+100% total AD)(+40/50/60% MR) magic damage in an area.
Colossal Smash's cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds when Galio's spells hit a champion.
Bonus Damage = 10/16/22/28/34/40/48/56/64/72/80/88/100/112/124/136/148/160
Thoughts: Galio’s new passive is interesting, it’s a huge change from his current MR to AP passive that’s shows the reworked Galio’s playstyle immediately. Instead of the awkward balance of ranged poke and all in initiation, Galio will now be rewarded for being in the middle of a teamfight getting in tons of damage with his passive. Something important that is worth noting is that his passive has a total AD bonus as well, this can lead to some interesting item choices, for example, Galio can feasibly build Maw of Malmortius even as an AP bruiser for the nice shield, boost to his passive, and a 10% cooldown reduction. Additionally, it opens up the possibility of playing AD bruiser Galio as well. Overall, Galio’s new passive is a nice upgrade from the boring passive he currently has and gives him a set identity as a champion.
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Winds of War (Q)
70/75/80/85/90 Mana
10/9/8/7/6 sec Cooldown
Galio fires two windblasts that deal 60/95/130/165/200 (+60% AP) magic damage.
When the windblasts meet, they combine into a giant tornado that deals 30/45/60/75/90 (+40% AP) plus 9% of enemies' maximum Health (max 300 vs. monsters) as magic damage over 1.5 seconds.
Thoughts: The main takeaway from Galio’s new Q is that along with his passive, he’ll be able to jungle as well now. This is thanks to a consistent source of damage as opposed to his current Q which is a small burst AoE skill. If you decide to take Galio into top lane instead, his Q can be used for some decent harass. During teamfights, Galio’s new Q will act as a zoning tool as the damage can easily rack up if the giant tornado stays on a team for an extended period of time. Overall, Galio’s new Q feels like a decent upgrade compared with his current Q and provides some mind games potential which is always fun.
Image courtesy of surrenderat20
Shield of Durand (W)
50 Mana
18/16.5/15/13.5/12 sec Cooldown
Passive: After not taking damage for 12 seconds Galio gains a shield that absorbs 8/11/14/17/20/23% total HP] magic damage.
First Cast: Galio starts to charge, gaining [20/25/30/35/40% + ( 4% per 100 bonus Armor) (8% per 100 bonus MR )] Damage Reduction but slowing himself by 30%.
Second Cast: Galio taunts nearby enemy champions for 0.5 to 1.5 seconds and refreshes the Damage Reduction for 4 seconds.
Taunt duration and radius increase with charge time.
Shield of Durand's charge cannot be interrupted by crowd control.
Thoughts: Galio’s new W is absolutely insane. It provides the damage reduction his current E has and adds on the AoE taunt provided by his current ult. Additionally it also passively provide Galio with a huge shield. In general, this ability is a huge upgrade to Galio and, along with the rest of his new kit, should make him a force to be reckoned with in teamfights as he’ll be a tanky frontline that can still be a damage threat. While the damage reduction is nice, the taunt is the true game changer as a well-placed taunt will be able to completely change the result of any teamfight.
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Justice Punch (E)
30/35/40/45/50 Mana
14/13/12/11/10 sec Cooldown
Galio lunges forward with a mighty blow, dealing 100/140/180/220/260 (+70% AP) magic damage to enemies and knocking them into the air for 0.75 seconds. Galio will stop upon hitting a champion or terrain.
Thoughts: Galio’s new E is another reason as to why Galio may see some play in the jungle out of the gate. A gap closer mixed in with a hard CC is any jungler's dream, along with a decent base damage. Galio’s new E is a great tool for ganking. However, in teamfights it may be harder to hit you target due to the dash being able to be body blocked. Overall, Galio’s new E is quite simple but is the perfect ability to wrap up Galio’s core kit and allows him to have a central playstyle as opposed to his current version on live servers.
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Hero's Entrance (R)
100 Mana
160/140/120 sec Cooldown
Galio designates an allied champion's current position as his landing spot and grants [20/30/40% + (4% per 100 bonus Armor) (8% per 100 bonus MR)] damage reduction to that ally until he lands.
When Galio lands, enemies in the area take 150/250/350 (+70% AP) magic damage and are knocked into the air for 0.75 seconds (1.25 seconds in the center).
Thoughts: Galio’s new ultimate is a whole new ability as compared to his current ultimate. It’s now an ultimate similar to Pantheon’s. It provides a nice damage reduction buff to a selected ally as he travels to that ally’s spot, which then leads to a decent burst of damage in an area along with more CC. It allows Galio to jump into the centre of a teamfight if the team has an additional tank, otherwise it can be used to assist an ally in his/her escape from a fight. The general utility provided by this new ultimate allows Galio to be a constant threat around the map during the early to mid game.
Image courtesy of surrenderat20
Conclusion
The new Galio is essentially a completely different champion, but it’s for the best. The old Galio in terms of playstyle is a weird mix of ranged mage and close range tank that can change the results of a teamfight with a great ult. However, the new Galio will now have a clear playstyle of being a frontline tank that provides a lot of CC. This will allow for better overall gameplay as player won’t be forced into an awkward balancing act between ranged mage and melee tank. All in all, this rework was long awaited and now that we have it, it’s clear that Riot addressed all our problems with the champion and has now provided us with a champion that will be satisfying and rewarding to play.
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