If you like
vampires then Vladimir may be the champion for you. Vladimir is very
fragile early game but gets very powerful mid-late game. He is a very
durable caster thanks to his passive providing him bonus health and his
ability to heal himself. Vladimir works very well when combined with
other area of effect champions, maximising the effect of his ultimate.
This Vladimir guide aims to be a basic and simple introduction on basic strategy that should be adopted when playing Vladimir, it is recommended for people just starting to use Vladimir.
This Vladimir guide aims to be a basic and simple introduction on basic strategy that should be adopted when playing Vladimir, it is recommended for people just starting to use Vladimir.
Abilities
-
Crimson Pact (Passive) Vladimir's passive makes Vladimir very durable even if you only build Ability Power. -
Transfusion
This skill costs nothing to cast and is Vladimir's bread and butter
ability. It has a very low cooldown at maximum level and is great for
sustaining yourself in lane and poking the enemy. -
Sanguine Pool
This is an amazing escape skill and allows Vladimir to avoid alot of
abilities. It also packs a powerful area of effect slow that is great
for helping your allies escape or catch up. -
Tides of Blood
This skill is a nice addition and synergises well with Vladimir's
abilities. This skill is best used towards the mid-late game period as
it can quickly drain your health. It is a strong farming tool and also
is a powerful area of effect ability in team fights (as well as a nice
addition to your combo in 1v1 situations). It is important to try keep
Tides of Bloods at max stacks when you anticipate you will be engaging
the enemy. -
Hemoplague (Ultimate)
Vladimir's ultimate can completely destroy a team if placed correctly,
it provides a solid damage boost against enemies that are inflicted so
it is vital you hit as many enemies as possible.
Ability Order
You want to max Transfusion first as it is your main source of damage, it also reduces the cooldown by a large amount which is very important in keeping Vladimir alive during the laning phase. Maxing Sanguine Pool 2nd gives you some solid damage and also reduces the cooldown allowing you to have your escape ability up more often. TIdes of Blood is maxed last as its most effective late game when you have the health pool to sustain its use and stacks.
Runes
Yellow (Seals) - Health Per Level // Armor
Blue (Glyphs) - Cooldown Reduction // Ability Power
Purple (Quintessences) - Movement Speed // Health // Ability Power
Magic Penetration is important on Vladimir just like any other caster and so it is taken on Marks. On Seals you have several options but Health per level and Armor are your best choices, Health triggers your passive while Armor helps you survive early game. Cooldown reduction is a strong choice on Glyphs but you can also run Ability Power for a damage boost. Quintessences are completely flexible based on your playstyle and your available runes, Movement Speed is probably best as it allows for easier harassment early game
Summoner Spells
Best Summoner Spells:
-Flash
-Ignite
Flash is a must inclusion in Vladimir's summoner spells, it provides him with a powerful chase and escape ability which is important as he lacks any hard crowd control (stuns, snares etc.) Ignite is also too good to pass up as it synergises so well with Vladimir's ultimate and also adds to his burst potential.
Other Good Summoner Spells:
-Ghost
Depending on your playstyle Ghost may work better for you then Flash. It is important run either Ghost/Flash but there is no reason to take both.
-Flash
-Ignite
Flash is a must inclusion in Vladimir's summoner spells, it provides him with a powerful chase and escape ability which is important as he lacks any hard crowd control (stuns, snares etc.) Ignite is also too good to pass up as it synergises so well with Vladimir's ultimate and also adds to his burst potential.
Other Good Summoner Spells:
-Ghost
Depending on your playstyle Ghost may work better for you then Flash. It is important run either Ghost/Flash but there is no reason to take both.
Masteries
Item Build
Final Item Build:
-Sorcerer's Shoes
-Rylai's Crystal Scepter
-Abyssal Scepter
-Rabadon's Deathcap
-Zhonya's Hourglass
-Will of the Ancients
Steps/Reasoning:
-Vladimir's strongest starting item is Doran's Shield, it provides armor, a nice health boost and some health regneration, helping you to stay in lane.
-First trip back you want to build Sorcerer's Shoes, giving you great magic penetration and an increase in your speed, making you very hard to lane against, also consider picking up a Hextech Revolver against hard lane opponents to give you extra sustainability. This can also become a Will of the Ancients later on (is generally a stronger item if your team has some other AP champions).
-From here your priority is to build a Rylai's Crystal Scepter and a Rabadon's Deathcap, giving you a strong slow, some Health and a massive Ability Power boost.
-At this stage of the game your going to start needing some defenses, consider Abyssal Scepter for magic resistance and a Zhonya's Hourglass if you need some armor.
Alternatives:
-Mejai's Soulstealer (If you are performing well early game, consider picking this up)
-Void Staff (To get passed enemy magic resistance.)
-Guardian Angel (A solid defensive item especially if you have Mejais).
-Spirit Visage (A decent boost to healing and regeneration effects while also boosting your cooldown reduction).
-Moonflair Spellblade (If the enemy has lots of disables)
General Vladimir Tips
- Vladimir is very fragile early game but can completely dominant the mid game, it is very important to understand this and play carefully early.
- Beware about initiating with Sanguine Pool it is important to use it towards the end of the fight to escape or slow your enemies for your allies.
- Always save your ultimate for at least two enemies late game, it is very powerful and can turn a battle in your favour.
- If you get hit by Ignite or a reduced healing skill its important to hang back as your survivability is compromised.
- Always use your ultimate before unleashing your combo (including ignite) as this will increase your overall damage.
Early Game
- Focus on last hitting through auto-attacks and Transfusion, you have very limited harassment at the moment.
- Do not engage in a direct fight with your enemy, Transfusion has a very long cooldown so you will be relying mainly on your weak auto-attacks.
- If the enemy is harassing you heavily focus your Transfusion on them, this may hurt your overall farm but will ensure they back off and play less aggressively.
- Play defensively when Transfusion is on cooldown, making sure you are behind minions and out of range of the enemy champion.
Mid Game
- Begin focusing your harassment on the enemy as your Transfusion is now on an extremely low cooldown.
- Start roaming the map if possible, to push your mid game dominance.
- Keep the farm going use Transfusion, Sanguine Pool & Tides of Blood. You can push lanes very fast with your combo, but be careful about using Sanguine Pool to farm as you lose your escape ability.
- Pick on the enemy carries, you can kill them very quickly and/or stop them from farming and force them to buy an early Banshee's Veil, putting their damage behind.
Late Game
- Start focusing on landing good ultimates, hitting maximum enemies.
- Don't use your ultimate if your team is retreating or out of position, you will not be able to make use of the % damage increase.
- Start keeping Tides of Blood stacked and ready for team fights, it is a great increase to healing and regeneration and has powerful area of effect damage.
- Poke at the enemy with Transfusion, Movement Speed Quintessences are very helpful for your poking. You can also use Sanguine Pool to avoid any crowd control skills that they attempt to trap you with.
