2XKO ‘Illaoi, the Kraken Priestess’ gameplay trailer

“Hey, everyone. I’m Caroline [Montano], game designer on 2XKO, here to give you an update on the latest addition to our roster—a champion who will be available to play for the very first time at this year’s EVO Japan.

“Illaoi, the Kraken Preistess. As the prophet of Nagakabouros, the Great Kraken, Illaoi’s faith demands that she take control of her own destiny by always moving forward. She wields a golden totem to test the will of her opponents and summon tentacles to fight by her side.

“In 2XKO, Illaoi is a heavy-hitting juggernaut who overwhelms enemies with pressure as unyielding as her faith. She’s all about landing big hits and dealing big damage. Then, using tentacles to lock her opponent down and combo out of control.

“Her kit revolves around summoning and activating spirit tentacles. First, she can use any of her S2 Specials to spawn a tentacle. Then, she can use any of her S1 Specials to trigger a tentacle follow-up attack, as long as her opponent is within that tentacle’s “splash zone.” Even if her opponent isn’t in range, Illaoi can use certain moves to teleport the nearest tentacle to them. She can also use Prayer of Motion or Prayer in Stagnation to activate tentacles from a distance.

“While tentacles are an important part of Illaoi’s kit, she’s not a puppet character. We didn’t want it to feel like her tentacles were doing all the fighting for her. Instead, they’re like rewards that Illaoi can earn by playing well. It means always staying in motion and taking smart risks to take control of the game. Illaoi can also lose tentacles if her opponent hits them. In which case, Illaoi can still do big damage, but she does lose access to some of her strongest neutral options. This means she’ll have to take more risks, or use an assist to engage her opponent—which isn’t ideal.

“In development, there was a lot of debate around how tentacles should work. Should they be a true extension of Illaoi? Should they be completely independent of her? Both of these options felt very “sink or swim.” So we opted for a more balanced route, where Illaoi can activate tentacles without making direct contact with an opponent, but that opponent still has counterplay against them.

“Beyond her tentacles, we wanted Illaoi’s kit to capture her incredible size, strength, and momentum—and her Supers are no exception. With her S1 Super, Crashing Waves, Illaoi picks up her opponent, swings them overhead, and slams them into the ground twice. If she already has a tentacle up, holding S1 will reposition it so that she can stay on the offense after her Super ends. Her S2 Super, Wrath of Nagakabouros, summons giant tentacles that smack the ground around them. It also turns any tentacles that were already active into giant tentacles and leaves one behind after it ends. It can be an extremely oppressive move; but if Illaoi or her duo is hit at any point during the Super, her tentacles will disappear. So it’s safest to use against an opponent who’s knocked down.

“Finally, Illaoi’s Ultimate—Test of Spirit—sends her opponent’s soul to the depths, where they’ll come face to face with Nagakabouros. We love the idea of Illaoi smacking the spirit out of her opponent and beating it up as an homage to her kit in League. Test of Spirit is a mid-range move with super fast start-up, which makes it great for ending combos, as a whiff punish, or for hitting an assist that’s far away. It’s also invincible on startup, making it a powerful reversal. Illaoi’s pretty capable on her own, but her powerful assists make her an equally formidable tag partner. Her Back Assist is a long-range tentacle strike, same as her S1 Special. If there’s already a tentacle in range of her opponent, it’ll perform its usual follow up attack.

“Illaoi’s forward assist is the same as her S2 Special. On it’s own, the assist is great for controlling mid-range, but using handshake tag immediately afterwards lets Illaoi swap in and use the tentacle she just created to keep the pressure on. When she’s not on screen, Illaoi’s tentacles stick around to offer her teammate some extra offensive support. Even when she’s KO’ed, Illaoi can use Last Stand to activate Wrath of Nagakabouros and send the opponent to tentacle city.

“When choosing a tag partner for Illaoi, remember she wants to back opponents into a corner, but getting them there might be risky. Illaoi’s ideal tag partner is someone with strong neutral and high mobility, who can make space for Illaoi to engage. Ahri is a prime example. Her speed and long range allow her to catch opponents that Illaoi can’t always pin down. Her assists also help Illaoi extend combos or convert a defensive tag into big damage.

“Again, Illaoi will be available to play at this year’s EVO Japan along with Ekko, Ahri, Darius, and Yasuo. If you’re attending, try her out with or against your friends and let us know what you think. Otherwise, you can still sign up for at home playtests happening later this year and follow us on social for all future Illaoi updates. Thanks for watching and see you next time.”