League of Legends - Vladimir Champion Strategy and Item Build Guide

Vladimir

Basic Information

Champion Stats

Lore

Skills

Icon	Description
	Crimson Pact INNATE: Every 25 points of bonus Health gives Vladimir 1 Ability Power and every 1 point of Ability Power gives Vladimir 1 bonus Health (does not stack with itself).
	Transfusion (Target Range: 600, Cooldown: 9/8/7/6/5, Magic Damage: 80/100/120/140/160 [+60% AP], Heal: 20/25/30/35/40 [+35% AP], Empowered Damage: 148/185/222/259/296)ACTIVE: Vladimir drains the lifeforce of his target, dealing 75/90/105/120/135 (+55% Ability Power)magic damage and healing himself for 20/25/30/35/40 (+35% Ability Power) health. After casting Transfusion twice, Vladimir gains Crimson Rush the next time it becomes available to cast.CRIMSON RUSH: Vladimir is briefly hasted and for the next 2.5 seconds Transfusion deals 100% increased damage and heals for an additional 0 plus 5% (+[0]%) of his missing health (empowered heal has 35% effectiveness against minions).
	Sanguine Pool (Effect Radius: 150, Cost: 20% Current Health, Cooldown: 28/25/22/19/16, Magic Damage Per Half-Second: 20/33.75/47.5/61.25/75 [+2.5% bonus health])ACTIVE: Vladimir sinks into a pool of blood for 2 seconds, gaining a brief haste and becoming untargetable while slowing enemies above him by 40%.Vladimir deals 80/135/190/245/300 (+15% of bonus Health) magic damage over the duration and heals himself for 15% of that amount.Sanguine Pool can be cast while charging Tides of Blood.
	Tides of Blood (Effect Radius: 600, Cost: 8% Maximum Health, Cooldown: 13/11/9/7/5, Maximum Magic Damage: 30/45/60/75/90 [+2.5% maximum health] [+35% AP], Slow: 40/45/50/55/60%)FIRST CAST: Vladimir charges up a reservoir of blood, spending up to 8% of his max Health (0)to increase this spell’s damage. While at full charge, Vladimir is slowed.SECOND CAST: Vladimir unleashes a nova of blood at surrounding enemies which deals between 30/45/60/75/90 (+0) (+35% Ability Power) and 60/90/120/150/180 (+0)(+100% Ability Power) magic damage and, at full charge, briefly slows by 40/45/50/55/60%. Targets hit block a portion of the nova.Tides of Blood will release automatically if held for more than 1.5 seconds.
	Hemoplague (Target Range: 700, Effect Radius: 175, Cooldown: 150/135/120, Magic Damage: 150/250/350 [+70% AP], Minimum Heal: 150/250/350 [+70%AP])ACTIVE: Vladimir infects enemies in a target area with a virulent plague, causing them to take 10% increased damage from all sources for 4 seconds.After 4 seconds, Vladimir deals 150/250/350 (+70% Ability Power) magic damage to all infected targets. If Hemoplague damages an enemy Champion, Vladimir heals himself for 0 (+0), plus 50% for each Champion beyond the first.

Strategy

• During the laning phase, harass the enemy laner with (Q) Transfusion and keep your opposition’s health below half.
• (W) Sanguine Pool gives you a great evasive skill in the laning phase. Time your usage of this skill, especially when the enemy laner will try to hit you with their skills.
• Use (E) Tides of Blood to slow down your enemy laner. This is crucial especially when your jungler ganks your lane.
• (R) Hemoplague is a great clashing ultimate. During team fights, cast it on a location where you’ll hit as many enemy champions as possible so that the damage they incur after you hit them with (R) Hemoplague will ramp up exponentially.
• Remember that your skills have health costs – as much as possible, when casting your skills, always try to hit your intended target.

Runes & Masteries

COMING SOON

Summoner Spells

Top Lane		Mid Lane
Teleport	Flash	Ignite	Flash

 Item Builds

Top Lane / Mid Lane

Starter Items
Doran’s Shield	Health Potion	Warding Totem

Core Items
Hextech Protobelt-01	Liandry’s Torment	Void Staff

Hextech Protobelt-01 – This item gives you a gap-closer and an escape mechanism, especially when (W) Sanguine Pool is on cooldown. Stats-wise, Hextech Protobelt gives good Ability Power, health and cooldown reduction, allowing you to cast your skills quicker and provide lane harass. A typical Vladimir pro build includes this item because as Vladimir, you want to be in the thick of a fight so that you can hit your enemies will the full extent of your skills. This item

A typical Vladimir pro build includes this item because as Vladimir, you want to be in the thick of a fight so that you can hit your enemies will the full extent of your skills. Hextech Protobelt-01 assists you in this regard immensely, which is why this is a core item.

Liandry’s Torment – Another staple item, Liandry’s Torment gives you more magic penetration and Ability Power, enabling you to deal more magic damage on opponents. Moreover, Liandry’s Torment synergizes well with (E) Tides of Blood, as this item’s passive inflicts additional magic damage to enemies who have been slowed.

Void Staff – Void Staff gives you additional magic penetration which complements all your skills. Furthermore, as an item, Void Staff provides good bonus Ability Power that further empowers your damaging skills.

Full Item Build
Hextech Protobelt-01	Mercury’s Treads	Liandry’s Torment
Spirit Visage	Zhonya’s Hourglass	Void Staff

Mercury’s Treads – A standard defensive boots upgrade, Mercury’s Treads gives you good magic resistance and movement speed. Furthermore, getting Mercury’s Treads decreases the duration of crowd control you incur which is crucial, since oftentimes you in the middle of team fights.

Spirit Visage – Since you gain health back as long as you hit enemies with your skills, getting Spirit Visage is a great defensive item for you. Not only does it give you good magic resistance, health and cooldown reduction, but it also grants you bonus health regeneration from allied heals and your skills.

Zhonya’s Hourglass – Another defensive item, Zhonya’s Hourglass gives you good Ability Power and armor bonuses. Furthermore, it provides you with an active skill that puts you in stasis, rendering you immune to crowd control. This is especially useful since you want to be in the thick of the fight often, but also, you want to survive clashes.

Situational Items
Banshee’s Veil

Banshee’s Veil – Alternatively, getting Banshee’s Veil is another good defensive item for Vladimir. This item gives you good Ability Power and magic resistance. Moreover, Banshee’s Veil grants you a protective shield that blocks one enemy skill whenever it is not on cooldown.

Playing Against

• Be careful during team fights while you’re afflicted by (R) Hemoplague.
• Try to bait Vladimir to use (W) Sanguine Pool immediately as it is his only skill that allows gap-closing and escaping. Without this, he’s vulnerable.
• Items like Liandry’s Torment or Blade of the Ruined King is especially effective against Vladimir since he usually stacks health items.
• Do not focus on Vladimir during team fights as he’s deceptively tanky and can replenish his health so long as he hits you with his skills.
• However, one way to counteract Vladimir during team fights is to cast Ignite on him. This Summoner Spell significantly mitigates his healing for a short duration, which leaves him vulnerable.

Hard Counters

• Swain – Swain provides lane pressure and can throw down against Vladimir in the top lane. For instance, he can cast Decrepify and Torment to deal good harass and keep Vladimir’s health low.
• Jarvan IV – Jarvan IV is a strong top laner who can trap Vladimir with Cataclysm, leaving him vulnerable to massive damage from Jarvan IV’s Dragonslayer + Demacian Standard combo, as well as Jarvan’s team.
• Malzahar – Finally, Malzahar is exceptionally potent at locking down single targets, thanks to his Nether Grasp. Furthermore, during the laning phase, Malzahar can silence him with Call of the Void, leaving him open to ganks and outplays.

Strategy Video

COMING SOON

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