Hi
my name is Snowboard161 ( i saw my snowboard in my room in search for a summoner name and i picked that one ), and i made this guide to show you how I play Vi, not to demand you how YOU should play Vi. Use this as a guide to more success and most of all: Have fun playing Vi :-)

It gives you an idea of my thought process behind the decisions i made to build these items, thus it is not super detailed. I will not explain all sorts of items/mastries/summoners for why to pick them or why not to. Info about warding or jungle routes can be found elsewhere, becouse those are as good as equal for all champs.

I myself am currently at Silver, Division 1 (and I'm first of my league, so gold: here i come !)
This is a guide for people in the same category as mine. I have no idea if this build works on platinum or higher rankings, but it does work at mine.

Snowboard161

5th of Feb 2013 - build started and published, adjustments will be made when necessairy

How i feel playing Vi:
Dives through the whole team, just to take down their AD or AP carry in just a few hits.
This is your job, you dont tank, you dont protect, you dont support, you only go for their carries.
Just a simple combo can make you completely assassinate you target...
Have fun!

Pros Incredible burst Double Gap closer Instakills most squishies Can escape ganks (jumps over walls or a high distance!) Passive shield that can be procd on demand Fun to play!

Cons Q has a huge CD on lvl 1, use it wisely! Q dash length can be interrupted Poking with E leads to pushing Mistakes get punished Ult can make you end up in a place where you dont want to be Needs slow from phage/triforce to stick onto a target

I prefer the 9/21, because it gives you some sustain and tankyness you need in lane/jungle.
21/9 leaves you too vurnable..
I did not take Relentless becouse i think the points are spent better on other mastries.
The points taken speak for themselves: sustain/defence/tenacity.

Greater mark of armor penetration

Greater mark of armor penetration
Using the formula for damage reduction (100/(armor+100)) you shall see that decreasing the little armor people have at level 1 even more comes with a huge effect.
Also, it reduces the jungle's creeps' defence to 0 for true damage.

Greater Seal of Armor
Runes are at its best at the early game, this armor makes you survive lots of poke.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist
Same as the yellows, most champs deal mixed damage, or have some abilities that give extra magic damage, which will be lowered by these.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage
Increases you damage output by quite a bit :-)

Passive: Blast Shield
As jungler: very useful becouse it always activates whenever you need it
In lane: when you poke you opponent with E from a distance, it will activate too, mostly not useful, but after a while not using skills it will come in handy when goin in for a duel.


Q: Vault Breaker
As jungler: Strong ganking tool, to close the distance or giving a short CC knockup. Also increases the speed of moving through the jungle by using it to jump over walls. Very useful too to get a baronsteal.
In lane: use it agressive or defensive. A very fast Q can give you the small distance advantage you need to dodge a skill. It can make you escape and jump over walls. In a 1v1 closerange fight you can used it too for a short CC knockup and an extra stack of denting blows.


W: Denting Blows
As jungler: increases the clearing speed by alot, and kills drake/baron very fast.
In lane: use Q, E and your AA's to add stacks. Try to get that first 3rd hit you land on the guy you duel with as fast as you can, so your next 3 AA's will be extremely lots faster.


E: Relentless Force
This is your signature skill!
Always use an AA first, than instantly press E to get the AA reset (eg.: just like wukong's Q )
As jungler: target the main creep with it, and the AOE will kill the smaller creeps after 2 or 3 hits.
In lane: you only tool to poke from a distance, but this can push your lane, so be careful!
In teamfight: gives you assists, and in some very lucky and uncommon situations, when you are positioned well, the chance to kill a near-dead enemy by using somebody in between you two.

With lots of cooldown reduction: press E before you start fighting, let the cooldown of the next charge tick in. Timed well, this skill can be used 3 times in a row. (=tons more dmg)


R: Cease and Desist
As jungler: Goldlike ganking tool! Dont initiate with it, but wait till they try to run. Keep in mind to not use it too close to their turret, if they flash, you travel along with the target!
In lane: high damage, gap closer, cc,.. if they run, press R and finish the kill :p
In teamfights: target the ADc or APc, and win!

Max Relentless Force first, du'h, the skill rox.
2nd i prefer Denting Blows for a more damage in a 1v1, with the higher attackspeed/armor reduction/healthbaseddamage.
I take Vault Breaker last, because i do not use it that often, and I rarely use the full charge for max damage (since it deals more damage the longer charged). the few times I do use its whole charge is for a further dash to escape, or just a further dash to get in range, purely for closing the distance, not as a damage tool. The only use of maxing this one 2nd is for the cooldown reduction.

There is no real standard way which skill to use first but...

3 ways to start:
Press R to close the gap
or
press Q to close the gap
or
get closer by walking

A stupid carry will flash away when you have your ult locked on him. (or ez will blink out, cait will E away, graves will dash away, etc, etc..)
But for a smart carry: it can be good to save your ult or Q to get closer again.

If they have burned their escape tools, than this is the fastest way of assassinating:
(think of being an auto attack (for more scematic display :D )

-> -> -> -> ->

Now, if they still have their flash/blink, you still follow the same combo, but use the Vault Breaker as a gap closer, or Cease and Desist for the same purpose.

Ninja Tabi
Since you mainly dive onto the ADc, this one is a favorite.

Bloodthirster
Sustain, damage, ownage. What else?

Black Cleaver
CDR, damage, health, armor reduction. Everything this item has suits Vi perfectly!

Trinity Force
health: lovely
damage: perfect, want sum more!
sheen proc: works godlike on E
slow proc: makes you stick even better
attackspeed: better for W
movespeed: better sticking or escaping
I prefer Trinity Force over Iceborn Gauntlet or Frozen Mallet because it gives better stats for Vi. But all 3 are viable

Guardian Angel
once again, becouse you dive through every enemy to reach the carries, there will be low chance somebody will be helping you, and the chance gets even high that they will start focusing you. Now dieing isnt a problem anymore, and your dives will be such fun :-)

Zephyr
tenacity, attackspeed, AD, all things Vi needs. Her lategame attackspeed together with this item and a 3rd hit from Denting Blows is huge!

Making a guide takes time !
I made what i had in mind, a simple, easy overlooking build that shows what i think of Vi in just a short reading.
I did not want to make a huge build like some ppl have, making a page of over a mile long, taking 2 mins to scroll down to the bottom at max speed. But now i know that they have really put lots and lots of time in it to describe their beloved champion.

I hope you like what i wrote,
I hope you can use the info i wrote.

Thanks for reading!

Snowboard161


PS: thanks jhoijhoi for the guide to make a guide :p