Hey guys, starting to learn the ropes on Irelia and I'd like some insight. When I first started playing her I'd get merc treads and then rush triforce, going sheen>phage>zeal order, and then finish up with a wit's end and then tanky items. But I felt like I was honestly taking a long time to be a viable thread(this could just be poor play on my part).

So then I tried going for the same build, but going sheen>recurve bow>zeal>finish triforce>finish wits end, tanky items. This did more damage but died too quickly.

Last night I had to bot vs nunu and went boots>phage>wits end>sanguine blade>frozen mallet>spirit visage and found I had much more success than any of my previous builds, although this was probably just because I was 1v1ing nunu.

Any help?

The most success I had with Irelia, had me building her boots>pros>phage>sheen>merc's>zeal>raduin's>wit's end.

Typically the game ends as I start building wit's end, or will end just after. Rushing trinity is good and gives you a lot of damage through sheen procs and hiten style true damage. You typically have enough damage at that point that you can build a raduin's and still remain threatning. This also helps you survive in teamfights and duel other tanky derps. Wit's end is a great item, but I find that getting it immediately after a triforce leaves you too vulnerable (unless the enemy team has a ton of casters).

I typically go Boots/Chain and Cloth -> Phage -> Merc -> Warden's -> Triforce -> Wit's End if MR needed, Kitae's if HP stacking, Black Cleaver if none of the above -> Randuin's -> FH -> Finish with WE if not used before or counter any last whisper/void staff on the map with a perspective mitigation stat.

Play is usually more important for me than items. Hiten Style hurts, but against targets with a lot of HP it's going to take too long to chunk them. Go right for the squishy targets like an assassin (which is really how your kit is setup) and make sure to prioritize smart engagements. Always have an escape plan if your HP is falling faster than their's is, wait for W/E to go back up, and reengage. Playing Irelia is basically a battle of attrition for engagements since so much of her damage is DPS based. You need the mitigation to survive that initial volley of burst, at which point you can E and quickly start to wear down the enemy target. Her kit is incredibly adaptable to the situation; if you're getting fed faster, rush right into more damage. If your team needs a brick wall in the front, stick to TF-Wit's and build up tankiness. You still have high kit damage even as a tank and lasting longer in a fight just means more hiten style strikes.

you can generally just build trinity as your damage item and then build to counter the other team with strong tank items like wits end, fon, randuins, frozen.

I do boots>Philo stone>Avarice blade>merc treads>phage>zeal>trinity force>Wits end>gua>ghostblade>shurelias>Maybe something with lifesteal if you really want it.

you dont have to
nerf irelia

Trinity Force rush (phage first, then sheen) with Mercs or Tabi
Then 1 defensive items depending on who's the problem
Then either another defensive item or Wit's End (kinda defensive, but gives sooooo much damage on Irelia lol)
Then other tank items