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Vi Build Guide by

Viable Vi - A Jungle Guide

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33 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Whale

Vi Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (33) More Vi Guides

Spells:

Smite

Flash

Items

Start

First Back

Threat

Mid-Core

Finish

Finished Build

Situational Items

Full build

Ability Order

Vi Passive Ability

More Vi Counters

Change-Log

1/7/2014 UPDATE: I've redone the items section, and taken the outdated runes, masteries, and route sections down for renovations. Hoping to re-release them soon!

3/7/2014 UPDATE: I've switched out Randuin's for a Sunfire, as this is a rather expensive build overall. I'm hoping that this will help balance out the costs of the build.

3/22/2014 UPDATE: Charts depicting runes & masteries have been added. Explanations for runes have been added, but not for masteries yet.

10/7/2014 UPDATE: To be honest with you all, I don't play Vi that much anymore. As of now, I'm not sure that I like Vi's play-style in the current meta. I will be experimenting more in the future, most likely after season 4. Until then, I will update some of the tactics that are used on her so that newer players can have a better understanding of her. Let me know in the comments if there's anything you want to see!

10/14/2014 UPDATE: I'll be able to look at my guides and add in revisions every Tuesday, as my classes have a 2-hour lull in them. For this week's changes, the map setting was changed, as well as a few grammatical/wordy sentences. Additionally, the red trinket has been updated so it actually shows up.

12/9/2014 UPDATE: Oh lord, this new jungle. There's much updating to be done, but for now, have a build. I'm actually beginning to like Vi a lot more now - so we'll see how she does as time goes on.

8/28/2015 UPDATE: Lots of things have changed since my last update. I am going to keep this build as a not-so-meta Vi build. It has potential, but probably not in high ELO.I have fun with it, hopefully you will too! As for the actual update: I took the second, out-dated build out. I also changed a few of the items around in the explanation section. Overall a general update to the guide, with no huge changes.

Introduction

Hi there everyone! I'm Whale, or Papa Cale on League, and welcome to my second guide here on MOBAFire: Viable Vi! Before you delve deeper in to this guide, there's a few things I'd like to say before you act on voting:

This guide is not an in-depth guide, nor is it comprehensive.
This guide is to be looked at as a basic outline of a solid build.
This is not written in stone. You need to change it according to the enemy team-comp.
I will constantly update things based on new findings.
I am not JhoiJhoi. I am not a coding god. I will try to make it look as good as good as my abilities allow.

Keep all those in mind while reading my guide, and please don't down-vote without a legitimate reason! Constructive criticism is always welcome! That all being said, welcome to my guide: Viable Vi!

Pros / Cons

Pros:

+Great Initiator.
+Can be very tanky while dealing some sweet damage.
+Passive Shield.
+Passive Armor-Breaker.
+Passive AS Boost.
+Good escape ability.

Cons:

-High escape cooldown.
-E can draw accidental turret-aggro.
-Very "all-in."
-Lacks a reliable dis-engage.
-Would be a very abusive girlfriend.

Your Role as the Offtank-Jungler

As the offtank-jungler, you have four main goals to incorporate in your playstyle:

1. Initiate team-fights.
2. Focus fire away from your AD/AP carries.
3. Provide the ganks necessary to help your team win their lanes.
4. Use your cc to help displace enemies that can be killed easily.

To accomplish these goals, you must do your best through in-game communication. Make sure your team knows when you plan to initiate a gank or team-fight, because always remember: Communication is key!

Summoner Spells

is a must. The damage varies depending on your level, so be aware! Smiting early is something I think we've all done, and in turn had our buffs accidentally stolen. Don't let it happen to you!

is the most viable of all the other summoner spells. You shouldn't need ; if a gank is done correctly, the result will be a kill. All the others are useless, except...

is another great choice, as it allows for quick movement out of a situation. With this, you can use to act as a sort of flash to cross walls.

Abilities (Order)

On , I now recommend to max your (Q) first. This allows for more damage to be done while ganking lanes. The high burst of damage early on will hopefully result in a kill in lane. If not, it will be on a lower cool-down, enabling you to chase if need be.

Abilities (Usage)

's skillset offers her a unique setup of a great method along with a borderline OP initiator. Here I will discuss the potential uses of each ability, and how/when they should be used.

: Vi's passive shield is what really gives her great sustain and surprising survive-ability. Be sure to time your abilities out: don't always blow both your E's right away. Sometimes patience is key to getting the most out of your passive, and if you time it correctly, the shield may be the deciding factor during a 1v1 or team-fight.
Another thing to remember is the fact that using an ability on minions or jungle creeps also triggers the shield. This is a must to remember when fleeing with low health -- use an ability on a monster to get the shield. More often than not, it will save you a death by eating a skillshot.

-

(Team-fights): Although this can be used as an initiator, the hardest thing to learn to use it as is as an escape. This ability gives you the option to dash through anything, given the range of the wall you plan on dashing through. Above is a good picture showing the result of a successful "wall-dash."
Although it is tempting to get into range/initiate using this ability, try not to. Save the initiating for your ult. This is better used in an escape situation, when a team-fight does not go your way. If this situation comes up, immediately run for the jungle. Then, use your best judgement to determine what wall to dash through, based on where your opponents are positioned. A well executed wall-dash will save your life.
NOTE: When dashing, minions/monsters will not stop you, but an enemy champion will. You can not dash backwards through an enemy champion. Go around them.

(Ganking): This is when you use this dash to initiate. This can be done in 2 ways:
1. Cast from a bush for an immediate gap closer, relying on the laner to apply a form of CC. This is not recommended in general, but is an option if you're arriving a bit late to a lane-fight.
2. Cast from behind the enemy after running behind them. This is the best way to gank. Hitting an enemy with your dash knocks them backwards. This allows your laner to get into position for the kill. This also applies a stack of .

: Pretty self-explanatory. At 3 hits you get a buff, they get a debuff. Very useful in all situations, and gives you great potential for an early dragon.

: Your burst ability. This applies a stack of Denting Blows, so I recommend using this after the first basic attack but before the second. Since it resets your attack timer, you can get three attacks off and trigger the passive of Denting Blows extremely fast. Additionally, I recommend not using both punches twice, as the second one should be timed out to activate your passive shield a second time. It is up to you to time it.
Also, this can be used on minions in a lane to reach a low-health enemy champion that is close to getting a way. Since it damages all units behind it, make sure your target is in that line of fire. The ability to do this is what separates the good Vi players from the great ones, and the extra kills you'll get from developing this skill are immense.

: This is your main team-fight initiator. It should be used on either the AP carry or the ADC, depending on which one is further back. You want to do this because you will damage everyone in your path, as well as knocking them aside. This will disrupt the enemy team, and allow your team to come in for an easier fight.

Items

: This enables you to smite enemies while stealing some of their movement speed for a short duration. I find this to be helpful in early ganks, and will often force a flash.

: As an offtank, you want to be in the fight as much as possible. The first step to being in the fight is getting there! Therefore, Mobi-boots provide the speed needed to get to the fight or gank the lane.

: Did someone say Madred's Bloodrazor? Props if you remember that item. This is the perfect DPS item in general, and on Vi it's absolutely deadly. The AS boost gives you your W's DPS, its own passive gives you massive damage, the life-steal gives you tons of sustain on top of what you have already, and the active will often save you when you it comes down to the wire. I believe this item to be an absolute must, and once you get this, it's game-over.

: I know, I know. "WHY NO BLACK CLEAVER!?!?!?!?" Well, to directly answer that: Because I can. As I stated before, this isn't a super meta build. I enjoy the damage and passives of tri-force. Black cleaver is a definite substitute if you want.

: Riot loves to make some power-items in the game. Currently, has that spot, but Randuin's is right there with it. If you want to have some crazy durability, this is the item for you. Definitely worth getting if your bot-lane is getting destroyed.

: Great MR and power. You can substitute this for a Banshee's or a Spirit Visage if you would like.

Situational Items

: Many prefer to build this early instead of Randuin's because of the fractional cost.

: Also a good choice. I'm on the fence of putting this as a main-item, but a lot of the time supports and even tops build this, so for now it'll stay situational. You're obligated to build this if your top/support doesn't plan on incorporating this in their build.

Runes

Precision

Press the Attack

Electrocute

Lethal Tempo

Predator

x5: These give a nice boost to clear times & damage when ganking. Having 9 of these isn't 100% necessary because of Vi's W passive, however; you can take 9 if you want.
x4: I like these because I find the attack speed boost get you to your W faster, meaning faster clear times and better dueling potential later in game. However, these are optional, as some people prefer to take the straight damage route.
x9: Pretty standard, no explanation needed.
x9: Again, standard.
x2: Straight up, I was the founder of this idea. Alright, well, maybe not, but I was the first one (hipster ftw) that I've seen run them on Vi. These give you a great sustain, and you should definitely try them before writing them off.
x1: Gives you a bit more chasing potential & mobility.

Masteries

Mastery Explanations:

Offensive Tree (9):

[*] : AS will help you proc your W faster, dealing more damage and resulting in faster clear times.
[*] : Faster clear times. Makes a difference early.
[*] : Faster clear times, more effective ganks, and better scaling.
[*] : Good damage boost right off the top, better early clear.

Defensive Tree (21):

[*] : Protects you from damage when ganking.
[*] : Sustain in jungle.
[*] : Great for late-game when you initiate.
[*] : Health is always good, especially early.
[*] : Helps with damage reduction in jungle, and also will allow you to have some defense when ganking.
[*] : Good for ganking mid.
[*] : Helps a little with early sustain, and scales very well in to late game.
[*] : Great for team-fight initiation, and also will help a bit with ganking early on.
[*] : Tenacity OP.

Jungle Route

The jungle is a very fluid place, now. Starts can go in a number of different ways. Because I'm a creature of habit, I always prefer to start at blue. It's up to you, though. The pictures below will give you a good representation of what you should be looking for.

Purple Side Start:

Blue Side Start:

Summary

is one of the best offtanks in game. When played correctly, she can take on most champions and displace the rest. I hope this guide gave you ideas for items to use, masteries to set, and runes to buy. Leave feedback if you want, and please rate it up if you liked it! Thanks,

Whale - MOBAFire
Papa Cale - League