Combos · Top

Irelia combos

the Blade Dancer

3 Irelia combos explained key by key: in which order to cast the abilities, when to use them and what each step does. The main combo is E › Q › AA › W. Further down: every ability's cooldown, cost and range, and the skill max order measured over ranked games.

Irelia combos

Written guide · based on the official ability texts

The engage combo

Q AA AA

When: An enemy is within range.

Flawless Duet damages, stuns and marks; Bladesurge on a marked target resets its cooldown: you can chain and stack Ionian Fervor.

The wall ultimate

When: A team fight starts.

Vanguard's Edge damages and marks the champions hit then forms a wall that slows; use the marks to recast Bladesurge.

Physical defense

W AA AA

When: An enemy attacks with physical damage.

Defiant Dance charges an attack and makes you take less physical damage; the longer the charge, the more the damage increases.

Common mistakes

Using Bladesurge with no minion or mark to come back from.
Charging Defiant Dance with no protection against magic damage.
Neglecting your passive's attack speed: it requires hitting with your abilities.

Cooldowns, costs and ranges

A combo only comes back once its abilities are off cooldown: these values (rank 1 to max rank, in seconds) tell how long to wait between two combos. Source: Data Dragon 16.19.1.

Ability	Cooldown (s)	Cost	Range
Q · Bladesurge	10/9/8/7/6	15 Mana	600
W · Defiant Dance	20/18/16/14/12	70/75/80/85/90 Mana	825
E · Flawless Duet	16/14.5/13/11.5/10	50 Mana	850
R · Vanguard's Edge	125/105/85	100 Mana	950

Official ability descriptions

PassiveIonian Fervor

When Irelia strikes enemies with spells she gains stacking bonus Attack Speed. At maximum stacks she also gains bonus damage on hit.

QBladesurge

Irelia dashes forward to strike her target, healing herself. If the target is Marked or dies to Bladesurge, its cooldown refreshes.

WDefiant Dance

Irelia charges a strike that deals more damage as she charges. She takes reduced physical damage during the charge.

EFlawless Duet

Irelia sends out two blades which converge on each other. Enemies caught in between are damaged, stunned and Marked.

RVanguard's Edge

Irelia fires a massive number of blades that explode outward upon hitting an enemy champion. Enemies hit by the blades are damaged and Marked. Afterwards the blades form a wall that will damage and slow enemies that walk through it.

Skill order

Max order: Q > W > E57.4% · 68 games

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Q	●			●	●		●		●
W			●					●		●		●	●
E		●												●	●
R						●					●

The order shows which abilities reach rank 5 first; the grid shows the most-played level-up sequence with that order (measured over 77 games).

Riot's official tips for playing Irelia

Use Bladesurge to cover great distances by targeting low life minions on your way to champion targets.
Defiant Dance is not interrupted by crowd control, try timing it for incoming disables.
Flawless Duet does not have a maximum travel distance, try using it in creative ways.

How to play around Irelia's combos

Pay attention to Ionian Fervor stacks and try to engage Irelia when it is down.
Minion waves greatly enhance Irelia's mobility, beware fighting her inside one.
Beware of wasting your high impact spells on Defiant Dance.

Frequently asked questions

What is Irelia's main combo?

The engage combo: E › Q › AA › W. An enemy is within range. Flawless Duet damages, stuns and marks; Bladesurge on a marked target resets its cooldown: you can chain and stack Ionian Fervor.

Which ability should I max first on Irelia?

The most-played max order is Q > W > E (68 games, 57.4% win rate).

What is the cooldown of Irelia's ultimate?

Vanguard's Edge has a 125/105/85 second cooldown depending on its rank.

Build, runes and counters: full Irelia guide · every champion's combos · tier list