Galio, the giant stone guardian from Demacia, is getting a large-scale rework, and we finally know what his new abilities will be.
You’ve got to admit, these spells look killer. It certainly is an upgrade for the outdated Galio, and this fireworks display of an ability arsenal should make any player want to give him a try. Judging from his dramatic, in-your-face playstyle complete with diving and taunting, he’s going to work well as a tank. Let’s get into these shiny new abilities.
Passive – Colossal Smash
Galio’s passive is fairly simple. He deals area-of-effect (AoE) damage in a circle when he uses basic attacks. He doesn’t exactly use his basic attacks in teamfights, so this won’t get much use outside of laning phase. When he’s in lane though, it will be a very powerful pushing mechanic. Jungle camps like Raptors, Wolves, and Krugs that require a bit of AoE would be easier for him to take as well.
Q – Winds of War
Galio’s Q is fairly unique. He blows gusts of wind forward with each of his wings before the gusts meet and create a zone of perpetual damage for a short duration. This will be very useful while laning as a tool for harassing his lane opponent, or for a jungler to use to clear monster camps faster.
W – Shield of Durand
It seems Riot took a page out of the Warwick rework book for Galio’s W. For this, Galio activates the ability, and after holding down the key taunts anyone near him and gains a shield. It’s very similar to Warwick’s fear, except it replaces the damage reduction with a shield and the fear with a taunt. This will be considerably useful for Galio’s teamfighting strength, and even for ganking if jungling.
E – Justice Punch
Galio uses his E to dash in a direction, knocking up the first enemy champion he encounters. This will have obvious uses for ganking and locking down carries in teamfights. This ability is fairly unique in the League universe, but it could be described as a very small-scale Malphite ultimate.
R – Hero’s Entrance
This is arguably the coolest skill in Galio’s new kit. Galio’s ultimate lets him leap high into the air before rapidly dive-bombing an area on the ground. It’s clearly very long-range, but we’re not sure yet if it has a global range or not. This will be an awesome tool for any team to have for a grouped fight as an initiation. Enemies take damage and are knocked up, and enemies in the center of the zone are knocked up higher.
