How to win lane as Lucian against Illaoi · 57.14% win rate over 7 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Lucian | Your long auto range and the Lightslinger double-shot off your first Q let you bully her before tentacles exist — own Level 1. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Even — she has E (Test of Spirit) up but you still out-DPS her if you respect the tether and keep poking with Q. |
| Level 3 | Illaoi | She hits her spike: E rips your spirit, her slams shred you while you run, and a missed cleanse heals her to full. |
| Levels 4-5 | Illaoi | Her tentacle stacks and W slams out-trade you now; your low base HP can't sit in a forest of slams without sustain. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Even — your R is an all-in threat but her R field answers it; you trade burst for her sustain and AOE, so neither owns it. |
| First item | Illaoi | First item swings to her: tentacle stacks plus sustain out-AOE your single-target damage once she itemizes tanky. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | Even at 2+ items only if you banked an early lead — otherwise her R field and sustain reclaim the duel from a squishy ADC. |
Levels 1-2 are yours: your auto range out-ranges her and the Lightslinger double-tap off your first Q chunks her before a single tentacle is on the map. Poke with Q and back off — do not stand still. The instant she hits Level 3 her E (Test of Spirit) is the whole lane: if it tethers you, your spirit spawns and her tentacles slam you while you run, and missing the cleanse heals her to full. Treat that skillshot like a death sentence and pre-move sideways through it.
The full Lucian vs Illaoi report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Playing the other side? Illaoi vs Lucian guide →
All Lucian top lane matchups →