She is the first LoL Champion who got a proper gameplay trailer for the upcoming game.
Riot continues working on the LoL fighting game 2XKO. The developers show more information on various mechanics and confirm League of Legends Champions who will be in the fighting roster. 2XKO Illaoi has got a detailed trailer, so we can take a look at what it may feel like to play her.
Illaoi: 2XKO Gameplay
In 2XKO, Illaoi looks bigger than her opponents, and this nicely reflects her fighting style. Illaoi is a heavy-hitting juggernaut. Her damage is significant, and her attacks are massive. We sure can expect this power to come at the cost of slow movement and long start-ups.
Illaoi summons huge tentacles to attack opponents. It seems to be an effective pressure tool to crack defense and to craft destructive 2XKO combos.
Caroline Montano, a 2XKO game designer, specifically emphasizes that these tentacles do not make Illaoi a puppet character (like Nier in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising). Still, the vibes around this summoning ability reminds us of Zato-1 from Guilty Gear Strive — and he is not the easiest character to play.
“While tentacles are an important part of Illaoi’s kit, she is not a puppet character. We didn’t want you to feel like the tentacles are doing all the fighting for her”
A Super Move of 2XKO Illaoi reveals her grappler nature, as she grabs and slams opponents. Still, it doesn’t look like a command grab, so the character does not compete with Zangief from Street Fighter 6. Another Super is summoning even bigger tentacles to establish her almost full-screen pressure.
Illaoi’s Ultimate sends the victim’s spirit to the depths to face the Great Kraken, Nagakabouros. In a way, this style resembles cinematic finishing moves in Mortal Kombat and Injustice, but without bloody violence. It’s a quick move, invincible on start-up.
2XKO is a tag-team game, so Illaoi’s Assists are an important part of her gameplan. In the trailer, they look mighty and far-reaching, helping an active character to continue their pressure at a mid-range distance.
“Illaoi is pretty capable on her own, but her powerful Assists make her an equally formidable tag partner.”
Caroline Montano says that an ideal partner for Illaoi would be a quick character with strong neutrals. This sounds logical, as a player needs to compensate for Illaoi’s size and strength. Ahri is a partner example in the trailer.
In League of Legends, Illaoi is a Fighter/Tank Champion, and her archetype and playing style is quite similar to the fighting game. She is most often played on the Top lane, but she is not on our list of the best LoL Champions for beginners because of the increased difficulty of using those spirit tentacles.
2XKO Illaoi is one of the playable characters at Evo Japan 2024. The others present in this demo are Ekko, Ahri, Darius, and Yasuo. For those who can not attend the event, the developers promise a 2XKO home-play test later this year. Stay tuned to esports.gg for all the important info about this and other fighting games!