Champion Guide

Vladimir Guide

By LoLSuggest

Mid

Vladimir is a selfish scaling mage: weak early, he farms safely, uses his ultimate to win mid-game fights, and becomes an unstoppable 'raid boss' late that can one-shot squishies. Focus on lane management, item choices and key combos to make the most of his scaling.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Vladimir build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

The main page is Stormraider's Surge with Nimbus Cloak, Transcendence and Gathering Storm, plus Legend: Haste and Cut Down; Deathfire Touch, Conqueror, Summon Aery and Electrocute pages are alternatives. Take Flash with Ghost, or Flash with Ignite. Start Doran's Ring with two potions and buy boots and Dark Seal on your first recall. The main build is Stormsurge, Sorcerer's Shoes, Liandry's Torment and Rabadon's Deathcap, then Shadowflame, Void Staff, Cryptbloom, Riftmaker or Mejai's Soulstealer. Other builds open Hextech Rocketbelt with Ionian Boots of Lucidity and Riftmaker, or Horizon Focus. Sorcerer's Shoes are the best boots, combining with Stormsurge's penetration; ability-haste boots suit the Rocketbelt build, and Boots of Swiftness are for slow-heavy enemy teams.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Huge late-game scaling — he can one-shot squishy targets.
Sanguine Pool dodges crowd control and damage.
Strong side-laner that most champions can't contest alone once scaled.

Weaknesses

Weak early game that relies on minion gold.
Immobile and very dependent on his summoner spells.
Hard lanes into Malzahar, Anivia, Viktor or Syndra, and Caitlyn or Karma in bot lane.

Laning Phase

Keep the wave near your tower so you can farm safely — leave the caster minions alive and tank them just outside turret range. Minions are your main source of income; kills come from enemy mistakes, not forced plays. Use empowered Transfusion on your opponent when you can, and heal up on Raptors or Wolves rather than minions. Ward a lot, try to escape ganks without using Sanguine Pool, and ping loudly if your opponent roams.

Mid & Late Game

Once scaled, go to a side lane where most champions can't contest you alone. Look for teamfights where your ultimate hits many enemies, but keep farming and avoid dying, especially with Mejai's Soulstealer stacks. Late game, stay focused rather than playing on autopilot — you're your team's main damage source.

Key Tips

Charge E, Flash, R, release E, then empowered Q one-shots squishies.
Charge E, then use W and release E to dive into fights without taking damage.
Cancel Q's animation with W to poke under tower or dodge an incoming ability.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.