Hello, I'm General Stoor (clever, I know) and This is a guide for Vayne. After I grabbed her and played a few games, I noticed that Vayne does not fit into any of the pre-existing genres of champions previous to her release. She is a ranged dps, but she has attributes of an assassin/physical burst champion as well. Because of this versatility Vayne in her current state is the most powerful "ranged dps" in the game right now. Is there a Corki over there? Not anymore, you stunned him with condemn. Sorry Corki, no Valkyrie for you. Oh look, his Ashe friend is coming to avenge him. Tumble -> Triforce Proc -> dead Ashe. Unfortunately Ashe can't hit a tumbling Vayne with her ult, and Vayne can tumble past her slow. If complete domination is your thing, then read through this guide and I can guarantee an improvement in your gameplay immediately.

One important thing before you continue: I DO NOT EXPECT YOU TO FINISH EVERY ITEM IN THIS BUILD. The items listed above are items that I found to be effective on Vayne, not a formulated list of items that must be built in such and such order. Items are situational, and this guide deals with them as such. If you want an easy button, it does not exist for any champion. The best LoL players change their items according to the team that they are playing against.

Runes are pretty self-explanatory. Run armor pen so you can get that important penetration and attack speed so you can penetrate the enemy even faster (ewww). The Mres is included in my runes so that they can't penetrate me back, but cooldown reduction runes are also acceptable. However, Vayne's tumble is on a 2-3 second cooldown and her silver bolts are passive so I don't see the point of CDR that only affects 2 skills.

I run offensive masteries on Vayne because Vayne is an offensive champion. Summoner spells are not as important to Vayne as she already has a built-in movement speed steroid (albeit a strictly offensive one) as well as somewhat of a flash mechanic. If you run utility masteries I won't shoot you like I would if you were to run defensive masteries, but I would make fun of you and tousle you rudely. So don't do it.

Vayne is a ranged dps/burst/assassin. The most important thing that all three of those roles share is squishiness. mobility is one way to counteract that squishiness, which is why I roll with Flash/Ghost. However, if CC is the bane of your existence then Cleanse is an acceptable alternative. Exhaust is the fourth best option for summoner spells on Vayne, but is entirely unnecessary because Vayne has such incredible chasing power. Ignite is mediocre for the same reason as exhaust unless the enemy has picked Mundo/Vlad etc.

I open with a Doran's Blade. This is because with my runes and masteries Vayne is a total squish. Doran's gives her the hp she needs as well as some damage and lifesteal that will give her a small amount of sustainability in lane. On our first trip back, we most likely will have gotten first blood (see Gameplay section) and can afford to buy our Sheen and Boots. If this is not the case, try to get sheen if you can afford it. After this, finish your boots with either Berserker's Greaves or Mercury's Treads depending on how much Crowd Control the enemy team is throwing at you. After this comes the most important part of the build: completing your Trinity Force.

I created this guide for two reasons, and one was to discuss the importance of the Triforce on Vayne. Imagine Link without his Triforce; he's just another nerd with a sword (who is similar to anyone that is reading this guide). Build it every game, no exceptions. Seriously. It has a 35% chance to slow and increased movement speed which improves Vayne's already amazing chasing capabilities. It also boasts attack speed, damage, health, mana, and a proc effect to improve your dps as well as your burst. After grabbing this bad boy Vayne can do it all: chase, kite, burst, and dps. Of course, the occasional nonobservant player points out that there is a boost in AP that does not benefit Vayne. To this nonobservant player (and in case you didn't catch this, by nonobservant I mean stupid) I say that 435 gold was spent to get that 30 AP. If I can waste 435 gold to gain a 150% increased attack damage proc every 2 or 3 seconds, then it doesn't sound like much of a waste. This is why you and everyone else should be buying a Trinity Force every game.

On with the rest of the build. After Trinity Force you have free reign to build as you please. If the enemy team is stacking up on armor, build a Madred's Bloodrazor or Black Cleaver. If you like critz then build an Infinity Edge and show that Ashe how it's done. Defensively, you could build a Banshee's Veil if you need to block CC or are in need of some Mres. You could also build a Madred's if you need the armor. It is also a killer item for farming. No matter how you build here, you will be doing a decent to absurd amount of damage for the rest of the game. The following section will tell you how to best use this damage.

I have never been a huge fan of snowball items such as Sword of the Occult because if you have the means to get stacks then you are already melting faces anyway. However, I am not entirely against the item because it provides a cheap way to fill a gap in my build by providing damage that most item routes in this guide are missing.

The skill sequence for Vayne is pretty self-explanatory. Final Hour is maxed out first because it's her ult. Tumble is maxed next to maximize the number of procs from Sheen and the bonus damage that tumble adds. Silver Bolts adds a lot to Vayne's autoattack and does not have a high cooldown like Condemn so it is maxed out next. Finally, condemn is Vayne's only CC ability, and should only be used as one. The damage is not as high as her other skills, so it is maxed out last.

Vayne is the best mid champion. Don't argue with me, she is. Start off with your Doran's Blade and head on down to mid lane. If your team tries to send someone else mid, respectfully tell them that you are better than them and that you will blow the entire game without the farm from mid. If they insinuate that you will feed, then by all means support this claim and see if you get your way. If you do not, then the "2 mid" option is always available. Not that I'm telling you to troll your team... Wait, yes I am.

So, you're headed down mid and you're all excited to sink your Ironman wrist launcher into the other team's carry. All of a sudden a wild Udyr appears from the tall grass! Go pokeball! Now that you've captured a wild Udyr, we'll move on to the gameplay guide.

FIRST AND FOREMOST: THIS IS YOUR MAIN COMBO. DO NOT EVER NEGLECT TO USE YOUR MAIN COMBO. MY PASSIVE IS NOOB SLAYER: I DO 200% DAMAGE TO NOOBS AND I WILL USE IT ON ANYONE THAT DOESN'T USE THIS COMBO. It's an OP passive to have, I know. I do 200% Damage to everyone. Anyway, your main combo is this:

AUTOATTACK -> TUMBLE/PROC SHEEN -> AUTOATTACK/PROC SILVER BOLTS

This will shred anyone who messes with you. Or anyone who even comes within tumble range of you.

Your main goal as your team's ranged burst/dps/assassin is to farm. If you know how to last hit, then this isn't difficult at all with Vayne because you don't have to worry about harassment. Whenever an enemy steps just a little too close, tumble at them and kapow them with your crossbow thingy. this will make them cry and run away. Continue to either autoattack them if they don't cry and run away, or farm up. Once the enemy gets below half health, just stand in between your minions and theirs, and tumble to the side and shoot them. Do NOT tumble behind enemy minions because at low levels minions are capable of killing you. If the enemy gets too close to a wall trying to get xp without being in tumble range, then tumble -> flash -> Condemn them into a wall and enjoy your first blood. If the enemy is not getting xp, then your job is done. Do not push the minions, only last hit them and you will soon outlevel them. Once you hit 6, you have a guaranteed kill.

If the enemy is below half health when you hit 6(as they should be with a Vayne in their lane) then it is time to merc 'em. Make sure that you are close enough to the enemy to use tumble + flash and end up BEHIND them. Use your ult and tumble towards them and flash while you are cloaked. Then condemn them towards your tower from behind and proc your silver bolts. Continue to spam abilities and if they are at half health you should have a banner stating "You have slain an enemy" in under 3 seconds.

The biggest thing about Vayne that people overlook is her ability to gank. She is not only a strong mid champion because of her harass, but also because of her ability to provide incredible damage to either lane that needs it. Move to whichever lane provides you with the opportunity for a kill, and sit in the bush. If you have your ult, pop it and tumble out of the bush. Move around the enemy and attempt to staple them to a wall or push them towards your team's tower. Proceed to autoattack -> tumble/proc sheen -> autoattack/proc silver bolts until the enemy is slain. Then continue to push the tower or head back to your lane. Continue doing this until the enemy inevitably surrenders at 20 min.

Alright, so the enemy didn't surrender at 20 because they also have a Vayne that read this guide or you just suck at following directions (if it's the latter, then get outta here). You got yourself some early kills, and you're like "Hey, I want more kills." This is how you obtain said kills.

Do not EVER initiate a fight. So many people make this mistake on so many squishy champions. Don't let yourself be one of those people. Late game, f you see even one enemy when their team is mia just run away. Late game you are a "skirmishing" character, which means you hit and run in teamfights and refuse to participate in drawn-out battles until all CC and nuking have been thrown around already. If you can find any stragglers skirting the teamfight in an attempt to be useful, pick them out and strike them down. At this point you should be able to take down a squishy in less than 4 seconds regardless of the build path that you followed (excluding the Banshee's Veil as your second item, that gimps your damage significantly for a significant increase in survivability). Once most of the enemy's CC has been used (3-5 seconds after initiation) It is safe to begin destroying the enemy team.

Vayne is NOT the strongest in teamfights. She provides more than most ranged DPS but she does not have the range of Ashe's Enchanted Crystal Arrow so you must be careful when picking your fights. Remember: You are the largest source of damage on your team and should treat yourself this way. Without you, your team has no killing power and cannot win teamfights.

The most important thing to remember throughout the ENTIRE game is to tumble. Tumble to the east, tumble to the west, tumble to the woman that you love the best. Tumble out of Kat ults, Nunu ults, and Fiddle ults. I even expect you to tumble when a Karthus ult is coming just for the hell of it. A well timed tumble can dodge a skillshot, and the invisibility provided by your ult can even produce a Shaco effect. Tumble, tumble, tumble.

In her natural state, Vayne is an incredibly weak farmer. Because if this, my personal preference is to rely on kills for the majority of my cash. Because Vayne is such a great ganker and has an amazing skillset for harassment and finishing off wounded enemies, I have never had a problem with this strategy. However, if you do find yourself in a position where you have failed a few ganks and are slightly underleveled and underfarmed I suggest buying Madred's Razors. This item makes up for your poor farming and will allow you to quickly catch up to everyone else in level and farm.

Vayne is not a hard champion to play if you have good positioning and general knowledge of League of Legends (I.E. Nunu ult= bad). From my experience, it is nearly impossible to do poorly with Vayne, but it is equally as hard to excel. The champion has the potential to dodge nearly every skillshot, nuke a squishy from full health to none, and provide enough percent damage to destroy a tank in a matter of seconds. Vayne's strength lies in her versatility, and utilizing this is the only way to truly succeed with Vayne instead of simply aiming to not fail. Pick from the several item branches wisely, adapt this guide to your playstyle, and most importantly: Don't forget to have fun with it! Oh, and Autoattack -> tumble/sheen proc -> autoattack/silver bolts proc.