Vladimir Build Guide by fakeyu

Introduction

Hi, I'm fakeyu and not to recently ago I picked up Vladimir, at first I mostly built him on resistances but then I realised that I can be way more effective with kiting and running away(A LOT).
So, this guide consists of two builds, which are MOSTLY used in their specific lanes, however they can be switched( mid build to top build and vice versa) if dealing with your opponent requires so.

AOE- area of effect
MS - move speed

Pros / Cons

+
Very strong late game
Easy farming if u get the hang of it
Can outrun, therefore kite, almost every opponent
Can dunk most of opponents by the 12th level( requires +- equal farm)
Easy escaping from ganks with Ghost + W combo

-
Weak early on
Is kinda dead if caught with Sanguine Pool down
Squishy early on
Very item dependant

Runes

I picked these runes because I found out that by level 9 if you farm equaly you can outharass and outustain almost every opponent(requires some skill).
Basically at the first few levels you can ranged harass your enemies or juke their abilities while not missing your own since they are target or ranged AOE. If the AD's will come to you over your minions pre level 4 they will receive more damage and lose the trade. REMEMBER - EARLY ON ALWAYS TRY TO HIDE BEHIND YOUR WAVES AND FARM WITHOUT RISK. There are opponents that can be harassed out of their lanes early on too , like Poppy .

Masteries

Since the goal of this build is to be capable of running away I chose Initiator which is controversial mastery. I allows me to get a move speed of 409 with boots and I can outrun almost any lane opponent, thus making my kiting possibilities very potent.

Items

I chose my items to counter my enemy, mostly. For instance, I use Spirit Visage versus an AP opponent and that gives me a huge advantage.

Utility and why - Rylai's Crystal Scepter vs Zhonya's Hourglass.

Buy or not to and Abyssal Scepter vs Void Staff.

Void Staff

Abyssal Scepter

Defense - Warmog's Armor and Randuin's Omen

>>Farming and laning << IMPORTANT

Try and last hit pre 6 , after that you start to have some advantage over your opponent.
I find that a lack of even 10-15 CS relative to your opponent is not that big of a deal post level 9 due to Vladimir's sustain and harass potential.

You must learn how to last hit with your basic attacks. The enemy will be open for damage when he tries to go for CS and if you have your cooldowns up you deal free damage.

Its nice to have your lane pushed pre level 6 so you can farm safely there , however if it's not so then there are still no worries.

By level 7-9 you can start to push your lane. Due to the huge advantage of move speed over your opponent, you should be able to evade any damage from your enemy if you can anticipate it a little. If your opponent is not much stronger than you at those levels or you aren't capable of running away from the fast enough(which is very unlikely), you can push your lane to their turret and harass them , if they try to attack you - you will either just run away making them miss their CS or fight a little and run away also making them lose their CS, but even if they win the trade you are Vladimir that means that you can just get your health back fast and continue your harassing, just don't forget to farm.

Summoner Spells

Due to the super weak early game of Vladimir those summoners provide all the escape and utility you need to be capable of escaping ganks and surving strong bursts early on in the game.

Team Work

In teamfights you need to be there to us your Hemoplague on as many opponents as you can in the heat of the battle so your team can dish out more damage while Hemoplague is up.


Sanguine Pool is a great ability that can save your life but due to its long cooldown it has to be used only when you have no other way of escaping. It is so because all the other spells provide you a lot of damage and sustain , so basically you can just run around there and do many damages. It means that using Sanguine Pool to soon will not only decrease its effectiveness but also take away a lot of possible damage to your opponent.

Prioritize on dealing as much damage as you can, and surviving a the teamfight. Ideally, you could straight on attack the carry, but don't do that if that would result in your death and not theirs. Help your team with your utility and ult.

Summary aka TL;DR

Beat you lane with ranged harass, kiting and sustain.
You can outrun almost everyone early on.
Ult as many people as you can in teamfights, try to live as long as you can and dish out as much damage as you can.
I like to keep things short, because, lets be honest, - who really read THE WHOLE big pile of texts that are out there?