---

---

---

Vel'Koz, the artillery mage of the void. The tritopus that holds significant burst, constant damage, long range and fun gameplay. I've disintegrated all the items, runes, abilities, combos, pros, cons, summoner spells, gameplay and more, I am here to present my findings. I hope I can bring the knowledge I've developed to you so you can disintegrate just like me. I've done the damage calculations, practising and the research, now let's get into the guide...

What is it like to play Vel'Koz?

Personal champion preference is something that always varies. You’ll find a one-trick for any champion in the game. However, there are some specific aspects to Vel’Koz that make him especially stimulating. The most notorious element of Vel’Koz (barring tentacle “fan art”) is the geometry games that Plasma Fission creates. In a way, using Plasma Fission effectively is like a mini-game – adapting to the movements of the enemy in the moment and over time to be rewarded with a nice chunk of damage and a potent slow. Even Vel’Koz cannot escape the plague that is the 3-hit-passive. Despite its cliché nature there’s no doubt that proccing Organic Deconstruction is stimulating. Regardless of the psychological details, if a player enjoys the likes of Brand, Lux, Xerath, Ziggs and so on there’s a chance Vel’Koz may tickle their fancy.

---

---

I started my League of Legends journey in late Season 4 (November 2014). I began as a support main, playing Soraka until about level 13. At this point I managed to save enough of my Influence Points to purchase Vel'Koz. I haven't stopped playing Vel'Koz since. I began in the support position but slowly evolved into a mid lane main. In Season 5 I tilted my way to Silver V. In Season 6 I utilised my experience with Vel'Koz and climbed to Platinum V. In Season 7, my climb ended early, but again I reached Platinum V. Vel'Koz truly has helped me grow as a player, and now nothing makes me more passionate in League of Legends than educating and discussing The Eye of the Void.

My Account: VelKunt Region: Oceania LoLKing OP.GG

Feel free to add me and ask to join my Vel'Koz club Master of Vel'Koz with the tag 3.141 or Pi/2 Radian Geometry with the tag 69°. Add me if you have any queries or alike! However, note that I will likely not be able to play games with you.

Contact Me:

• League of Legends: VelKunt
• YouTube: AMP2010
• Reddit: /u/AMP2010
• Email: ampig2010@hotmail.com

---

This chapter analyses how Vel'Koz is effected by recent Patch Updates - directly or indirectly

---

---

Vel'Koz has a range of clear pros & cons. Consider whether your playstyle is optimal for his strengths and can deal with his weaknesses...

Pros High Damage Overall High Levels of True Damage Strong Kill Pressure in Lane Long Range Low Cooldown Poke Large Lined AOE (Area of Effect) Strong Slow Can kite effectively Falling slightly behind doesn't render you useless Satisfying and Fun to Play

Cons Immobile Squishy Full Skillshot Kit Minimal CC to peel for self outside of a small suspension (similar to knock-up) Ultimate takes 2.5 seconds to complete it's channel which can put you in danger Several abilities require CC to hit reliably Even more immobile when using ultimate Has a suspension ability, not a knock-up. Can be reduced/nullified by tenacity or cleanses Long Cooldown on suspension ability (similar to knock-up)

Vel’Koz harbours very accentuated strengths and weaknesses. Each can be exploited by the Vel’Koz player and Vel’Koz’s opponents. Damage output is easily one of his most valuable and noticeable strengths. His kit brings a hybrid of high base damages, reasonable ability power scalings and ability to poke effectively. On top of this approximately 23% of his damage output comes in the form of true damage.

Vel'Koz's main other strength is range. His Plasma Fission can reach 1521 units away. To put that into perspective, Lux’s Light Binding (Q) reaches only 1175 units. At this range, he can catch enemies with slows and high damage skills. On many occasions Vel’Koz can take someone from full health with ease up to 1521 units away. However, to manipulate such a range takes some practice.

A Vel’Koz player can be their own enemy. Every ability he possesses is a skillshot, leaving a lot of success up to player skill. If all or some key abilities are used without fruition, then Vel’Koz has nothing to save him from opponents barring summoner spells. Often only practised Vel’Koz players can execute the patience and precision that is necessary to ensure missing skillshots is not a crippling aspect to their gameplay. This unreliability is an inherent weakness of Vel’Koz – however on the bright-side it is the reason he can be balanced with so much damage output at his disposal. To unleash so much power though takes great positioning.

Positioning is a key element of Vel’Koz that is integral to surviving all phases of the game. With low defences statistics-wise and ability-wise, bad positioning can put the Eye of the Void to death in an instant. Although Tectonic Disruption’s knock-away aspect can be potent for self-peeling it’s a skillshot that can be dodged with ease. Beyond this ability there isn’t any hard crowd-control to protect Vel’Koz nor is there any mobility spells that can get him out of a sticky situation. Vel’Koz’s best teamfighting tool, Life Form Disintegration Ray also causes Vel’Koz to root himself. This requires impeccable positioning to cast effectively since he cannot reposition easily and it’s a cancellable channel. Thankfully, due to his long range he can often reside in the backline’s safety. To further protect him his kiting ability is also very potent with high slows, potential knock-backs combined with AoE. Don’t get complacent though, plenty of assassins and alike can bypass your self-peeling tools at hand with their extreme mobility.

---

Organic Deconstruction

• A stack is applied to an enemy everytime they are damaged by an ability.
• Stacks can be applied on multiple targets at once.
• Stacks do expire after a small time, but can be extended by using basic attacks upon the target.
• Upon reaching 3 stacks on a target they are hit with a chunk of true damage.
• With a full combo, 7 stacks can be applied (9 if Void Rift is cast twice on the target).
• Scales with level and ability power (33-169 + 50% AP).
• Helps pierce through both tanks and squishies.
• Considered to be a single target ability (for spellvamp).

Plasma Fission

• Splits at 90 degrees in each direction upon maximum range or collision with enemies.
• Can be reactivated to split early.
• The ability must have travelled at least ~500 units before it can be reactivated.
• Secondary bolts have a slightly further travelling distance (1100 units)
• Angling at 46.33 degrees allows the ability to reach maximum range (increases range from 1050 to 1520.69 units) [See Calculations in Chapter Below].
• Can be used to kill three minions at once, a great farming tool.
• Gives you 50% mana cost reduction per minion kill. With the maximum being three, it can return 50% of the mana cost.
• The slow it gives is very strong, this is to be used to slow down opponents before following up with harder abilities like Tectonic Disruption.
• Can be animation cancelled with Flash (See Ability Combos Chapter Below for more Information).
• Slow is much more potent than the 20% slow provided by your ultimate, try to hit them with this first to ensure the full beam hits them.
• Slow decays.
• The primary bolt is considered to be single target damage.
• The secondary splitting bolts are considered to be AOE (Area of Effect) damage.
• Can be angled around Wind Wall effectively.
• 60% AP Scaling.

Void Rift

• Has two charges.
• There is a 2 second cooldown between Void Rift casts if there are two charges avaliable.
• Has two bursts of damage.
• The second burst is stronger.
• Has no cast time.
• Can be cast at the same time as other basic abilities. However, not during basic attacks.
• Blocked by Wind Wall and Unbreakable.
• Both bursts apply a stack of Organic Deconstruction.
• Useful to the break spellshields of Sivir, Malzahar, Banshee's Veil, etc. as it is high range, has no CC and has low damage.
• 15% AP Scaling on the first burst.
• 25% AP Scaling on the second burst.

Tectonic Disruption

• Knocks enemies away from the position Vel'Koz was at during cast if enemies are close.
• Is a suspension not a knock-up.
• Can be reduced/nullified by tenacity and cleanses (eg. Cleanse and Quicksilver Sash).
• Suspends for 0.75 seconds at all ranks.
• Blocked by Wind Wall.
• Gives vision in fog of war.
• By far your weakest ability in terms of total damage.
• 30% AP Scaling.
• Can be animation cancelled with Flash (See Ability Combos Chapter Below for more Information).

Lifeform Disintegration Ray

• All enemies who have been hit with 3 stacks of Organic Deconstruction recently are marked as researched. Your ultimate applies full true damage to these targets. The researched debuff can be extended by ability or basic attack contact with the target.
• Applies a stack of Organic Deconstruction every 0.7 seconds.
• Therefore an enemy must be hit by the beam at 0.7 seconds, 1.4 seconds and then 2.1 seconds into the channel to apply 3 Organic Deconstruction stacks.
• Reaching 3 stacks of Organic Deconstruction and procing your passive during the ultimate instantly changes the beam's damage output to true damage.
• Applies damage in ticks.
• Applies a 20% slow for 1 second (refreshed on each tick of damage).
• Care that enemies can flash behind you and nullify your ultimate completely.
• It is a channel, meaning it can be interrupted by many abilities like Arcane Storm or Null Sphere.
• Vel'Koz cannot rotate instantly.
• Vel'Koz rotates slowly during channel.
• Not blocked by Wind Wall.
• Some summoner spells used during the channel cancel it early (eg. Ignite or Exhaust. Others like Barrier or Heal will not.)
• Has a high base damage, with a 125% AP scaling.
• Can be animation cancelled with Flash (See Ability Combos Chapter Below for more Information).

---

---

• Tectonic Disruption + Void Rift:
  Use Tectonic Disruption suspension to keep the enemy in both of Void Rift's portions of damage. Simultaneously cast as Void Rift has no cast time to maximise combo efficiency.
  Play Video
  
  
• Plasma Fission + Void Rift:
  Use Plasma Fission slow to keep the enemy in both of Void Rift's portions of damage. Use this as an alternative to Tectonic Disruption + Void Rift for longer range and saving your Tectonic Disruption cooldown. Simultaneously cast as Void Rift has no cast time to maximise combo efficiency.
  Play Video
  
  
• Plasma Fission > Tectonic Disruption + Void Rift > Life Form Disintegration Ray (optional):
  Utilise the slow from a well-aimed Plasma Fission to land Tectonic Disruption and so on...
  Play Video
  
  
• Tectonic Disruption + Void Rift > Plasma Fission > Life Form Disintegration Ray (optional):
  If you're confident you are going to hit your Tectonic Disruption + Void Rift (from fog of war perhaps) then use this combo. Sneaking in a Plasma Fission just before Life Form Disintegration Ray means that your Plasma Fission slow will ensure that they stay in your Life Form Disintegration Ray.
  Play Video
  
  
• Plasma Fission + Void Rift > Life Form Disintegration Ray:
  Sometimes you need to save your Tectonic Disruption cooldown, shoot from high range and/or combo as quick as possible for a kill. This is the best combo for a lot of these scenarios. Do not try this early game unless it is guaranteed to connect because at this point of the game you will not have many points in Plasma Fission, therefore giving a less effective slow and making the combo much less reliable.
  Play Video
  
  
• Plasma Fission > Life Form Disintegration Ray (version 1):
  Once you reach mid-game, you may be strong enough to kill a squishy with this combo. Angle a long-range Plasma Fission and follow up with Life Form Disintegration Ray. Simple.
  Play Video
  
  
• Plasma Fission > Life Form Disintegration Ray (version 2):
  A harder version is casting Plasma Fission and Life Form Disintegration Ray in quick succession. You cannot reactivate Plasma Fission during your ultimate’s channel so it must be aimed in a way that it predicts the enemy’s movement to connect.
  Play Video
  
  

  Animation Cancels

• Plasma Fission > Flash:
  An animation cancel on your Plasma Fission. By casting Plasma Fission and then Flash in quick succession the animation is made quicker and you are repositioned. It fires from your end Flash location. It can be very useful for close duels where timing is key, trying to hit a target behind an obstacle and/or reducing your opponent's reaction time window.
  Play Video
  
  
• Life Form Disintegration Ray > Flash:
  Pretty much the same as Plasma Fission > Flash, except it isn't as commonly used. Useful for long range snipes.
  Play Video
  
  
• Tectonic Disruption > Flash:
  Not much of a combo honestly but you can just flash out as your Tectonic Disruption animation goes through to ensure there isn't time where you're stood still casting the spell. It is sometimes useful for close escapes.
  Play Video
  
  
• Plasma Fission > Life Form Disintegration Ray > Flash:
  This is a combination of Plasma Fission > Flash and Life Form Disintegration Ray > Flash combos. Cast Plasma Fission into Life Form Disintegration Ray into Flash very quickly. This will cut out the animations of Plasma Fission and Life Form Disintegration Ray, Flash you forward and shoot your Plasma Fission and Life Form Disintegration Ray from there.
  Play Video

---

In-Game Highlights

• In this clip I demonstrate the Plasma Fission > Life Form Disintegration Ray, Plasma Fission > Flash, Tectonic Disruption + Void Rift and Plasma Fission + Void Rift combos. With some perfect angles and good timing, I pick off Kog'Maw and kill the ambushing Riven.
  Play Video
  
  
• In this clip I demonstrate how the Tectonic Disruption > Flash combo can be used to save precious moments of time to turn being caught into a double kill.
  Play Video

---

---

Sorcery is unmatched for Vel'Koz in terms of keystone, regular runes and stat bonuses. It should be your primary tree the vast majority of games.


RECOMMENDED: Arcane Comet is significantly superior to any other keystone available. Vel'Koz has no problem hitting the comet - potent slows available via Plasma Fission can near-guarantee it. It is also worth noting that due to the cooldown reduction per spell-hit that Arcane Comet has, means that it can be fired multiple times in a single combo/fight.


Summon Aery is trumped by Arcane Comet most of the time, but it has its place. In the graph above, winrates of the top 3 Vel'Koz keystones are mapped across game time. Early game, it is clear that Summon Aery is the most impactful rune. At a ~69% winrate, its closest competitor at 15 minutes is Arcane Comet at ~58% winrate. This is most likely due to its much lower cooldown and ability to be procced via basic attacks. As the game duration extends, the winrate plummets. Just after 20 minutes, Arcane Comet reigns supreme all of mid-game, and the vast majority of late-game (where at 55 minutes there is a ~10% winrate differential). This suggests that Summon Aery can be the best option, but that's only likely if you can exert extreme lane pressure and snowball before the low ability power ratio shows itself, preferably with an early-game-centric team composition.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Phase Rush is lacking in power and provides little for Vel'Koz's playstyle. If Vel'Koz manages to hit enough spells to proc Phase Rush, it's likely he can just kill the opponent rather than run away. Also, such a movement speed boost can easily be wasted when channeling Life Form Disintegration Ray.


RECOMMENDED: The Ultimate Hat is great for Vel'Koz as a mage dependent on his ultimate. With this rune fully stacked, a regular cooldown reduction-high build, and at least a couple ranks in Life Form Disintegration Ray, Vel'Koz's ultimate cooldown can be reduced to just over 40 seconds.

Nullifying Orb is more of a situational option. If Vel'Koz has been picked into a particularly threatening ability power match-up like Fizz or LeBlanc, this rune could save you from death a number of times. However, as an artillery mage who isn't looking for up close duels, outside of these match-ups, it isn't very useful.

Manaflow Band is useful, but isn't exactly necessary for Vel'Koz every game. Vel'Koz's most spammed ability, Plasma Fission only ranges from a 40 to 60 mana cost. In some match-ups that require constant early game waveclear (like Xerath), however, it is an acceptable choice.


RECOMMENDED: Transcendence is the key to maximising DPS and pick potential. The choice between excellence runes often changes between each player, but I'd recommend this rune as the most versatile of the three. Celerity's adaptive bonus is often negligible, and the movement speed bonus is often so outside of certain scenarios. Absolute Focus only becomes useful after a certain amount of time, and at which you must stay at high health for the adaptive bonus. Transcendence provides cooldown reduction that often pushes you to the cap. The adaptive bonus beyond this cap from this rune is also decent.

Celerity provides movement speed which is, amongst other things, one of the top stats for Vel'Koz to have. Feel free to pick this rune up as many Vel'Koz players do. Just be aware that the adaptive and movement speed bonuses are very small and it will be difficult to judge their true impact.

Absolute Focus is useful for those who like to stay safe in the backline and wait till late game. The bonus can become decent as you reach mid-game and beyond. Although not recommended, this rune can suit a certain playstyle well. It is worth noting that it also allows Vel'Koz to clear the minion backline at level one with two Void Rift's and one basic attack on each caster minion.


RECOMMENDED: Scorch is no doubt, the top rune for Vel'Koz in the power rune category. As an artillery mage who pokes throughout the game, Scorch can make a significant difference. Not only in terms of pressuring in lane, but also for picking up early and mid-game kills that would have otherwise just been out of reach. However, as it is flat damage, its effectiveness drops off later into the game where Gathering Storm is king.

Gathering Storm, like Absolute Focus is for those opting to reach late-game. If you're a generally passive player, or are a part of a late-game team composition, you can consider this rune as can amplify your damage to extremes as time goes on.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Waterwalking is never to be considered as a contender to the two prior mentioned runes. While the bonuses it can provide are useful, very rarely will they be utilised to their full extent. It isn't even guaranteed it will have any impact on the game. It's not terrible, it's just not as good or consistent as your other options.

---

Domination provides some useful runes for Vel'Koz, but is no match for Sorcery as a primary tree. However, since its keystone runes aren't really a factor worth considering, and its regular runes and stat bonuses are, it is great as a secondary tree.


NOT RECOMMENDED: Electrocute is the third most popular keystone rune amongst Vel'Koz players at a 3% playrate. This playrate is low for a reason. Often this keystone rune is hard to proc and is limited to ability combos (and does not impact poke - a significant portion of Vel'Koz's playstyle). The early game cooldown is very extensive and therefore limits laning-phase damage output. Overall, alternatives supply damage magnitudes higher throughout each game.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Predator has minimal positives for Vel'Koz. Do not use this keystone rune.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Dark Harvest has minimal positives for Vel'Koz. Do not use this keystone rune.


RECOMMENDED: Cheap Shot synergises very well with Plasma Fission as it impairs movement, has a low cooldown (like Cheap Shot), and is fundamentally excellent for poke. This rune just makes Vel'Koz's poke that bit more potent.

Taste of Blood is outclassed by Cheap Shot, but can be good for overall sustain. Into a high poke match-ups/team compositions (like Xerath).

NOT RECOMMENDED: Sudden Impact can only be activated very rarely. In addition, the magic penetration is somewhat wasted on Vel'Koz's high quantities of true damage. Do not use this malice rune.


Zombie Ward can be very effective at establishing vision control. However, other runes in this tree are likely slightly more impactful. If you like to use this rune, you can. Note that support Vel'Koz is recommended to use this rune, as its vision control aspect is significantly higher when paired with supportive vision items.

Ghost Poro is probably more suited to mid lane Vel'Koz, where a trail of vision can be left behind during roams. If you like to use this rune, you can.

Eyeball Collection doesn't have any particular outstanding flaws or positives for Vel'Koz. If you like to use this rune, you can. However it isn't your best available option.


RECOMMENDED: Relentless Hunter can be a great source of movement speed for Vel'Koz - an incredibly valuable stat for him. As a plentiful source of area-of-effect damage, Vel'Koz can rack up kills and assists quickly for Relentless Hunter stacks.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Ravenous Hunter's healing limited for area-of-effect damage, and unfortunately, Vel'Koz is all that. Do not use this hunter rune.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Ingenious Hunter won't be doing much outside of reducing the cooldown of Zhonya's Hourglass for Vel'Koz. That itself is not often very impactful. Do not use this hunter rune.

---

Inspiration features a few specific tools that can be rather useful for any champion - of course Vel'Koz is included. Rarely will this trait be used as either a primary or secondary tree. To obtain access to Unsealed Spellbook it can be used as your primary. To gain access to purely Stopwatch and other niche runes, use inspiration as your secondary tree.


Unsealed Spellbook can be useful if you know how to use it. Certain playstyles, match-ups, team compositions, etc. can make this rune impactful enough to choose over Arcane Comet.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Kleptomancy has minimal positives for Vel'Koz. Do not use this keystone rune.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Glacial Augment has minimal positives for Vel'Koz. Do not use this keystone rune.


Perfect Timing can be the lifesaver for you in certain match-ups. Instead of using early game gold on defensive items, you can purchase offensive items with the safety of a Stopwatch available. This is great for certain match-ups. However, be aware that the commencing time can leave you vulnerable to a couple engages from assassins early on.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Magical Footwear could be an option for some players. The extra movement speed is neat, but the 10 minute delay to obtain them can be awkward early on in the game. It can be gold efficient, but if you suffer due to slow early game movement, it might not be worth it at all.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Hextech Flashtraption has minimal positives for Vel'Koz. Do not use this keystone rune.


Future's Market can be the deciding factor in your laning phase... or not. Having that extra gold to spend could get you that early Lost Chapter, Seeker's Armguard, etc. and win you the lane. Or it may never come into significant use. The decision between Future's Market and Biscuit Delivery is often down to personal preference.

Biscuit Delivery is an option for optimising sustain. The decision between Future's Market and Biscuit Delivery is often down to personal preference.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Minion Dematerializer has minimal positives for Vel'Koz since he already has great waveclear. Do not use this keystone rune.


Cosmic Insight provides cooldown reduction for a number of things, which is always great for a spammy and vulnerable mage like Vel'Koz.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Approach Velocity has minimal positives for Vel'Koz. Do not use this keystone rune.

NOT RECOMMENDED: Time Warp Tonic has minimal positives for Vel'Koz. Do not use this keystone rune unless in need of extreme sustain.

---

Precision has minimal positives for Vel'Koz. Do not use this tree as either a primary or secondary tree.

---

Resolve has minimal positives for Vel'Koz. Do not use this tree as either a primary or secondary tree.

---

S Tier

• Flash - An essential. Excellent gapcloser, escape and much more.

---

A Tier

Defensive versatile spells are the best secondary summoner spells. As an artillery mage, as long as Vel'Koz is safe he's pumping out large amounts of damage - these spells ensure this happens. Note that these spells are self-cast too and as a result do not interfere with Vel'Koz's large range.

• Barrier - Generally safest option. Shields for a lot. Take specifically into Ignite and sometimes Morellonomicon users since the Grievious Wounds reduce the effectiveness of heals.
• Heal - Great for helping out teammates with the heal like your jungler. Take into match-ups where the movement speed buff can assist you (like into Viktor, where the movement speed can make escaping from his zones of control ( Gravity Field & Arcane Storm) easier). However, take Barrier unless looking for these advantages since its cooldown is drastically higher.

---

B Tier

These spells are more situational rather than useful in all situations.

• Ghost - This spell can be used in both defensive and offensive scenarios. The movement speed allows for effective kiting, chasing, escaping and teamfighting. This is the best of the B Tier spells, I'd consider it B+ status. If it weren't for its inability to be applied as many scenarios as the A Tier spells it would be ranked higher.
• Exhaust - Useful for dangerous assassin match-ups during their burst combo. However, due to its low range relative to Vel'Koz's other spells it isn't entirely optimal except for Support. Note that Life Form Disintegration Ray is also cancelled by casting this spell.
• Cleanse - A situational spell for lane match-ups that contain dangerous crowd control that can easily mean death (like Cassiopeia's Petrifying Gaze). Encouraged to be taken especially if there is more dangerous crowd control in other lanes too (like Ashe's Enchanted Crystal Arrow). Try not to take this spell into a match-up that can be easily outplayed (don't take into Lux for her Light Binding).

---

C Tier

• Teleport - Optimal if global pressure is optimal and you are lane where neither you or the enemy have kill pressure in.

---

D Tier

No reason to pick from this category.

• Ignite - Pitiful range, too offensive and completely outclassed. Never take this spell (even for the Grievious Wounds, Morellonomicon will provide this). Note that Life Form Disintegration Ray is also cancelled by casting this spell.

---

Statistics to Itemise for (Ordered Highest Value to Lowest):

• Ability Power: Provides more damage
• Mana/Mana-Regeneration: Allows for constant ability usage
• Cooldown Reduction: Increases poke, DPS and opportunities to fight
• Magic Penetration: Provides more damage
• Movement Speed: Ensures that despite Vel'Koz's immobility he can still kite enemies and roam effectively

---

Starting Items

• Doran's Ring

  is simply the best all-round starting item. The significant stat that makes it more superior than other items is the mana regeneration and passive. This will allow for consistent poke throughout the laning phase. The health stat also allows you to duel better.

Mana-Source Options

• Luden's Tempest should be the most commonly picked out of all mana-source options for Vel'Koz. It delivers an early powerspike where it provides significant damage, a decent mana resource, cooldown reduction, and furthermore augments poke via its passive. In general circumstances, purchase this item.
• Archangel's Staff is just as effective, just in different ways. It too provides significant damage, a better mana resource, and cooldown reduction, but is more angled at scaling. When fully stacked into Seraph's Embrace, this item rewards you with access to a huge active shield - making this item a great option to protect yourself. If the game is likely to stall out (due to team compositions or circumstances alike) and/or there are a lot of diving threats relevant in the mid to late-game, feel free to pick this item up instead of Luden's Tempest. Also, if you are forced to execute your first recall on <1100g (necessary for Lost Chapter), you could opt into this item instead via the cheaper Tear of the Goddess.

Boots

• Sorcerer's Shoes

  is just a decent damage upgrade. The magic penetration may seem wasted on a true damage dealing champion, however a majority of Vel'Koz's output is magic damage and puts the boots' penetration to use.

• Ionian Boots of Lucidity

  is the safer alternative. The cooldown reduction can be synergised well with Transcendence but the real attractiveness for this item is the summoner spell cooldown reduction. If you need to be avoiding lots of engages often via summoner spells, feel free to pick these boots up.

Offensive Options

• Spellbinder

  has great offensive potential which is extremely attrative for Vel'Koz. At 100 extra ability power, with a further potential 100 from the Spellburst active, its purchase becomes one of Vel'Koz's best powerspikes in the game. In a traditional full combo, Vel'Koz unleashes a total ability power scaling of 355% (which can be extended furthermore to 445% with a second cast of Void Rift). This item passively provides 355 extra damage (225 of which is true damage) in traditional combo. Add to that a fully stacked Spellburst active, and it adds 710 extra damage (510 of which is true damage)! The pure ability power is enticing alone, but the movement speed bonuses this item provides passively and actively cements it as a top choice for Vel'Koz. It is stressed however, that this item should only be chose if there is no need for other more versatile items.

• Rabadon's Deathcap

  is an absolute essential at some point in your build. As mentioned previously, Vel'Koz can unleash combos with immense ratios. Any item that provides a boost to your ability power with ratios like that provides a huge powerspike. Furthermore, much of that is converted to true damage. As such, Rabadon's Deathcap is a must.

• Twin Shadows

  is a shift further from pure offence into utility. Since Vel'Koz has decent base damages, he can opt into lower ability power items like this one if it provides another use. While the 60 ability power it provides is respectable, the true purpose behind purchasing this item is to make effective engages and sometimes disengages. As a full-skillshot champion, starting your combo can often be difficult without assistance. The Twin Shadows active can make this incredibly easy when engaging. If need be, the active can be used to slow down pursuers also. In addition, it provides movement speed and cooldown reduction, both of which are great to obtain and cement it as a synergistic item.

• Morellonomicon

  is your option for squishies and healers. Those with low magic resist will be slaughtered by the magic penetration. Versus high quantities of healing is also a great opportunity for this item, as its Grievious Wounds can make a huge impact. However, since magic penetration and health aren't entirely efficient to itemise for with Vel'Koz, try only purchase this item where it is highly appropriate - multiple squishies, low tank presence, other items are not necessary, and optimally if there is healing to counter. It is also worth noting that a lot of strong healers like Vladimir commonly purchase magic resist items. If so, pair Morellonomicon with an anti-tank option as soon as possible.

Defensive Options

• Zhonya's Hourglass

  is a superb item to give you extra cooldown reduction and survivability versus assassins and general dive.

• Stopwatch

  is a cheap component of Zhonya's Hourglass that can be picked up very early to prevent early deaths against bursty champions like Zed and Fizz. It is recommended that if in draft pick, and similar match-ups are prevalent, opt into the Perfect Timing rune.

• Banshee's Veil

  has a reasonable portion of ability power, magic resist, cooldown reduction and a spell-shield. This item is a great choice against multiple forms of ability power and engage. Feel free to pick this up against some mages and ability power assassins.

Anti-Tank Options

• Void Staff

  may seem to be a waste since Vel'Koz pumps so much true damage but in a teamfight often opponents aren't always hit with all of the true damage and therefore the item becomes very useful. If there isn't magic resist being itemised on the enemy team avoid purchasing this.

• Liandry's Torment

  is an anti-tank option, but a situational one. While Void Staff excels in shredding magic resist, Liandry's Torment is optimised for shredding health. Magic resist is still going to reduce your damage significantly with this item. Try to purchase this item into copious quantities of health (like mages who purchase multiple of the following: Rod of Ages, Liandry's Torment, Morellonomicon, etc.). This item is best when fights are very long, take that into consideration also.

---

Do Not Purchase

• Dark Seal (as a starting item)

  This provides flat mana, not mana regeneration (nor the Doran's Ring passive). This means that Vel'Koz, as an aggressive poke champion, would be very limited throughout laning. Its increase on potion healing is also somewhat wasted, as Vel'Koz isn't going to be dueling early. NOTE: this item can be purchased outside of being a starting item. It has the ability to be very efficient when paired with Refillable Potion for sustain and snowballing.

• Cloth Armor (as a starting item)

  There is no mana or mana regeneration, reducing the poking sustain for lane. Even in match-ups like Zed or Talon it is a waste. Vel'Koz should look to recall and pick up a Seeker's Armguard before level 6 instead. No matter how afraid you are of a match-up, you should be able to play safe enough to recall for defensive itemisation before your lane opponents level six powerspike.

• Rod of Ages

  Very similar to Seraph's Embrace except it also has a health stat. This health stat is really just wasted gold as Vel'Koz should be playing in the backline as an artillery mage where he isn't taking damage. The ramping up stacking mechanic also delays a lot of Vel'Koz early powerspikes. The worst part of this item is the absence of cooldown reduction.

• Athene's Unholy Grail

  Purchasing this item is just ignorant and/or idiotic. Poor AP stat, unnecessary magic resist and of course a passive that cannot be used.

• Everfrost

  Can be useful for engages and disengages, but the fact of the matter is that its mana-source alternatives are better for Vel'Koz, the active has too low a range for Vel'Koz, and it is outclassed by Twin Shadows for Vel'Koz.

• Hextech Rocketbelt

  The active is limited by Vel'Koz's artillery playstyle since it can easily put him in danger and using it as an escape is very inefficient gold-wise. The stats are also not great with health and a low AP value.

• Rylai's Crystal Scepter

  This is a notorious item in the Vel'Koz community. It's a lot worse than you'd expect. The only significance it brings is a minor slow on Void Rift (considering that all other abilities have crowd control that outclasses this item's effect). The health stat is also wasted gold value since as an artillery mage it shouldn't be purchased.

• Mejai's Soulstealer

  Can help you snowball heavily. However, it is risky and can generally be outclassed. Pretty much just a fun item for stomp games.

---

There's a lot of debate regarding Vel'Koz's ideal ability skill sequence. The community is often split on whether to max Plasma Fission or Void Rift. Turns out it isn't as black & white as this...


TL;DR: A very generalised breakdown is to max Plasma Fission for combat, and to max Void Rift for waveclear.

WaveclearCombat

---

Ability Rundown

Plasma Fission is the more offensive of the two spells. It's your primary long range harass and pick tool. Rank 5 provides a decaying slow of 70% over 2.6 seconds as opposed to 1 second and at rank 1. This is a large factor in the value of Plasma Fission maxing since it often is the set-up for the rest of your combo. Some of the value is lost since this spell has a static cooldown of 7 seconds over all ranks (Note: Cooldown Reduction is a stat for this reason).

Void Rift is the defensive yet controlling option. This is your bread & butter for waveclear. Void Rift's recharge time does in fact decrease per each rank, however rank 5 still only gets it to 15 seconds from 20. It isn't as bad as it sounds however with two charges usually readily available.

Waveclear/Map Pressure

The most prominent factor in this debate is waveclear ability. Void Rift is no doubt the best waveclear option. However maxed Plasma Fission has underestimated waveclear. When used in conjunction with Tectonic Disruption, minion waves can be cleared in the same, if not, similar timings as maxed Void Rift. An easy thing to forget when it comes to waveclearing with Vel'Koz is that Organic Deconstruction does a lot of the damage. Due to Organic Deconstruction maxing Plasma Fission is still viable when it comes to waveclearing. In summary, Void Rift investment provides great waveclear. However, Plasma Fission max only has a little less waveclearing ability.

Damage per Second (DPS)

In terms of offensive use, Void Rift and Plasma Fission do about the same damage across all respective ranks. At rank 5, Void Rift's total base damage only exceeds Plasma Fission's Rank 5 damage by 35. Yet Plasma Fission does have an ability power scaling 20% higher. With ability power factored it, each spell outputs similar total damage. The DPS of each can be calculated by analysing the cooldowns of each ability. The figure above demonstrates that despite their similar individual damage output, over time their cooldowns become rather impactful. For the most part, the damage output over time for Plasma Fission and Void Rift is almost equal (indicated by the figure’s green shading). However, in the first few seconds Void Rift is significantly more damaging due to the ability to cast two charges within 1.5 seconds of each other. Beyond the 16 second mark, Plasma Fission then takes the throne. Its cooldown is significantly lower than its counterpart’s recharge cooldown, and so over time it pumps out more DPS. In extended fights or poking scenarios, despite Void Rift’s charge system, Plasma Fission should deliver higher DPS due to its lower cooldown. In much shorter encounters, Void Rift’s charge mechanism should cement it as the better alternative in terms of damage. Keep in mind that if 2 charges of Void Rift are not available, Plasma Fission would do significantly more DPS.

Ability Advantage Summary

Overall, Plasma Fission can be maxed for good waveclear, effective utility and best DPS. Void Rift can be maxed for great waveclear and reasonable DPS. I have come to the conclusion that whether you max Plasma Fission or Void Rift first comes down to game circumstances, personal playstyle and level of play.

When to Max What

Now that you know the advantages and disadvantages of maxing each spell, here is when and where to max either one. It comes down to a multitude of factors.

Game Circumstances

Playstyle

Some players are about lane dominance. Others are about supporting the entire map. Some are in between. Each playstyle alters one's preference out of maxing Plasma Fission or Void Rift. Lane dominators can opt more for the combat of Plasma Fission maxing. Roamers are recommended to max Void Rift for the ability to shove and move elsewhere on the map. People who harbour a mix of these playstyles can mix and match ability skill sequences how they wish or what's most appropriate according to the game circumstances (discussed earlier).

Level of Play

The higher your level of play, the more the macro game is exploited/controlled. Waveclear and the ability to apply pressure by controlling minion waves is crucial in higher ranks. For this reason Void Rift maxing becomes more and more valuable the higher one's rank. At about Platinum and higher is where this starts to come into effect. Lower elos likely won’t utilise minion wave pressure effectively with maxed Void Rift. For this reason, Plasma Fission is good to max at these elos because it sacrifices some control for combat.

Level One Start

What you start level one is generally dependent on your lane opponent.

Plasma Fission can be taken into level one aggressors and weak level one champions. The projectile is much more reliable to hit than Void Rift to trade effectively with champions like Viktor who like to bully from square-one. It is also good at getting in a few cheap shots on vulnerable opponents early on.

Void Rift can be taken reliably into other match-ups. It can get an early shove on to punish champions who struggle to clear. It's also very effective into melees who can be stroked through the minions as they last-hit.

For most invades take Plasma Fission for the slow.

---

Now that you know the technical details of Vel'Koz, you can learn about how a general Vel'Koz game plays out.

Every game is different, dependant on team compositions, players and their playstyles, etc. Take this into consideration as you read the following...

Early Game

Vel'Koz's early game can be extremely potent if you know how use him. Too many Vel'Koz players do not take advantage of this, play passive, and therefore give the enemy a free lane to farm in. Vel'Koz has a lot of risky and poor match-ups, but if early game play is perfected even the worst match-ups can be won (eg. Zed, LeBlanc, Fizz, Yasuo.). In early game try to poke with Plasma Fission, if you can afford the mana cost use the slow it provides to follow up with the Tectonic Disruption + Void Rift combo discussed earlier. Depending on the match-up, you can shove the enemy under tower if necessary with Void Rift and Plasma Fission too.

Upon reaching level six and gaining access to Life Form Disintegration Ray your kill potential on the enemy reaches its peak. When you have poked your enemy low enough (Generally 60% health is a good starting point. However this depends on the enemy champion, their items and runes) you can look to apply a 1-2 stacks of Organic Deconstruction and follow up with Life Form Disintegration Ray which will apply extra stacks periodically to proc your passive and then your ultimate's true damage. You can do either this or research your target first and then ultimate for full damage potential (This is harder to execute but much more threatening). In some match-ups, or depending on enemy jungle pressure, at this point you wont want to fight your laner, instead push them under tower and look to roam. This is best versus high kill pressure opponents who have CC to interrupt Life Form Disintegration Ray like Fizz, or if the enemy is being camped by their jungler.

Mid Game

If you have a lead or go even in lane, you can look to continue killing your lane opponent or roaming to other lanes. Bot lane is often an opportune destination as your AOE can be useful against two laners. When ganking try to lead with Plasma Fission to get the slow to set up the rest of your combo. Firing Plasma Fission into a wall and angling it to hit the enemy can be done to make the projectile even harder to dodge. If the enemy sees your roam early, they may retreat whilst hugging the bot side wall. In this case, hold Plasma Fission until they are pressed against the wall and fire it perpendicular at it. This will split and send the secondary bolts into the enemy effectively.

If roaming isn't ideal you can continue farming constantly with your waveclear and use Control Wards and/or Sweeping Lens to set up picks from the fog of war on the enemy laner, jungler or roamer. It is recommended that you learn how to perform fake roams in which you trick your laner into thinking you are roaming, wait for them to follow and ambush them in the jungle. This is a great technique to cheese the enemy and gain a great lead over them.

Sieging/Late Game Picks

Plasma Fission can be very obnoxious for sieges, spam it at a variety of angles to poke enemies or catch them out for your team with a slow. At this point into the game, you have enough items to pick off enemies from incredible range. If you angle a Plasma Fission correctly and connect with a squishy enemy carry, you can follow with Life Form Disintegration Ray and likely kill them or take their summoner spells. Beware however, that during the 2.5 second channel time of your ultimate, the enemy team could simply engage on you can kill you.

Teamfighting

In teamfights, stay as far back as possible as your range allows you to do so. Save Tectonic Disruption to peel assassins, bruisers and tanks off yourself or other carries unless enemies are stacked upon each other ready to be wombo combo'ed by it. Unleash Void Rift's on enemies that are CC'ed and/or grouped and if you're safe feel free to channel Life Form Disintegration Ray (this can be used to snipe the backline through their front line effectively). One of the biggest skills that you must master for teamfighting with Vel'Koz is kiting, ensuring that you are not caught yet still pumping out huge damage, this is a skill that simply comes with practise.

Vel'Koz can have access to absurd amount of true damage. As a result you have an important role on any team. Just because you might be able to kill enemy carries in a matter of moments, not every game needs you to do so to win. Depending on team compositions you will have to focus frontliners with your true damage some games, and backliners on others. It may seem to be a waste to blow Life Form Disintegration Ray on a tank, but sometimes it is necessary as you are the only one able to shred them. Or there are other times where you are simply forced to do so as the enemy backline is too passive for you to reach them and you must kill the frontliners running at you and allies.

---

---

Plasma Fission Lengths

Length A: 1050 units (Primary Bolt)
Length B: 1100 units (Secondary Bolt)
Length x: ??? units (Total Linear Range)

Maximum range possible

c^2 = a^2 + b^2
x^2 = A^2 + B^2
x^2 = 1050^2 + 1100^2
x^2= 1102500 + 1210000
x= √(1102500 + 1210000)
x= √(1102500 + 1210000)

x= 1520.69 units at maximum ⁡range.

Angle at which to obtain this maximum range

tan⁡θ=opposite/adjacent
tan⁡θ=1100/1050
θ=tan^-1(1100/1050)

θ=46.33° is the angle at which Plasma Fission is fired at to reach maximum range.

Thank you for reading my guide, eye'll see you on the rift!