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Vayne Build Guide by jhoijhoi

AD Carry Vindictive Vayne

AD Carry Vindictive Vayne

Updated on June 19, 2014
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League of Legends Build Guide Author jhoijhoi Build Guide By jhoijhoi 1977 156 13,554,697 Views 1,021 Comments
1977 156 13,554,697 Views 1,021 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author jhoijhoi Vayne Build Guide By jhoijhoi Updated on June 19, 2014
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1) You're probably wondering who I am

Introduction
>> ToC <<

- My other guides -




- Patch 4.10 -
Hi guys! I'm currently updating the guide to reflect the changes in my cheat sheet brought about due to the latest patch. Stay tuned!

- About the author -
Hey guys, I'm Jai (or jhoijhoi). My highest elo in Season Three so far is Gold IV. In addition to my Gold status, I've played Vayne since release, and she replaced my previous main Ranged AD carry, Ashe, who I also have written a guide for.

- Content disclaimer -
This guide is 100% my experience with this champion and a reflection of my own style of playing, not anyone else's. Everything here has been tried and tested by yours truly, jhoijhoi. Take everything I say at face value; I am just like you, an avid League of Legends fan. What does this mean for you? It means that this guide may not be "optimal" to the "pro" standard. If that's a problem for you, go read another guide ^^

- What's in this guide? -
In this guide, along with detailing summoner spells, mastery points, runes and skilling order, I will also cover generic gameplay and the items I find most successful on her. If reading isn't your thing, there are plenty of gameplay videos in addition to infographics for those of you who are visual learners.

- Last edited -
- 01/12/2013

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2) And now you want to know about Vayne

Pros / Cons
>> ToC <<


Vayne's role in League of legends is known as a Marksman . A marksman is a ranged attacker that sacrifices defensive power and utility to focus on dealing strong, continuous damage to individual targets. Typically focused on using their basic attacks more than their abilities, marksmen have the capability to scale and deal out devastating levels of damage in the late phase of any game. And as all champions, regardless of role, Vayne has her flaws/weaknesses and her strengths. If your team is in need of a DPS (damage per second) champion, Vayne is a fantastic choice due to the fact that her damage is virtually unbeatable late game due to Silver Bolts.

+
Passable
Pros
+
+ Auto-attack reset
+ Momentary invisibility
+ Assassin-like gameplay
+ Hard-hitting
+ Knock-back
+ Scary movement speed
Vayne is a short-ranged ADC, meaning her last hitting can be difficult against an ADC with longer range. This concern is alleviated by being able to last hit easily with Tumble. Vayne is the only ADC with hard CC not allocated to her ultimate. Condemn can stun a target if they collide with a solid object, or at the very least, knock them back and away from harassing you. She has extreme damage with and without physical damage items as Silver Bolts procs true damage depending on her attack speed (hence some Vayne's buying Phantom Dancer first item). She has high initial damage early, middle and late game. In addition to all of this, her passive, Night Hunter allows her to chase easily and Final Hour grants invisibility upon Tumble'ing. Vayne is a very fun and rewarding champion to play.

-
Critical
Cons
-
- Requires sustained attacking
- Needs procs of Silver Bolts
- Short range
- Needs to position well
- Mechanically difficult
- No ranged poke
Vayne's drawbacks are few, but still exist. As aforementioned, she has relatively short range, in addition to low initial attack speed, meaning she is easily zoned and can often lose early game trades to other ADCs if she doesn't proc Silver Bolts. Her positioning is extremely important, which makes her hard to master as a poorly executed Condemn can literally save an enemy. Probably the worst thing about playing Vayne is the extremely high expectations of your teammates; Vayne is hyped up to be a fantastic ADC, and she is. But she can be hard to master; teammates ridiculing you for screwing up a Condemn or Tumbling before activating Final Hour in order to escape a gank can severely impact your gameplay in a negative manner.
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3) Let me introduce her allies and her foes

Counters / Synergies
>> ToC <<


Vayne, like all other champions, synergises well with some and is countered by others; before you choose her in Champion Select, think of whether your team composition can result in a victory. The below is a rough and short guide of which champions would be most ideal in your team composition, which champions have absolutely no synergy and the many champions who simply counter Vayne on the Fields of Justice.

+
Synergy
+
+ Orianna
+ Jarvan IV
+ Renekton
+ Blitzcrank
As the marks(wo)man of the team, Vayne's role is to do sustained damage in a teamfight. Due to her amazing ability to reposition herself on the playing field, Vayne capitalises on out of position enemies. Allies who can create an instance of chaos allow Vayne to stealth with Final Hour and Tumble to wreak havoc on the enemy team. She needs a tanky frontline to protect her before the fight starts, or a support who can isolate an enemy for her to go to town on. As she has a shorter range than most ADCs, she needs to stick closer to her team for protection.


-
Counters
-
- Zed
- Nasus
- Lee Sin
- Leona
A lot of champions can counter Vayne in many different ways. Any sort of CC or multiple CC that disrupts Vayne OR her allies that are supposed to be protecting her is a good counter. Junglers and top laners who can bypass Vayne's line of protection spell trouble, such as Irelia, Jax, Nasus, Singed, Shen; they can get to Vayne and then displace her, or damage her, or force her out of the fight so it's 4v4. Once Vayne is eliminated, they can turn their focus on the other threats in the team, such as the AP carry. Enemy bot lane compositions of Attack Damage Carry + Support that pretty much pwn Vayne in lane are those that can deal a lot of damage in a short amount of time. Combos like Graves + Taric, Corki + Leona, Caitlyn + Blitzcrank. Any support that has a reliable CC to ensure their ADC can go to town on Vayne will do well.
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4) Here are some abilities to help her

Summoner Spells
>> ToC <<

Flash is a must have on all squishy champions with no escape mechanism. While Vayne has Tumble and Condemn to escape and push back, Flash is a fail safe, as well as being a strong offensive tool. Replace this with Ghost if you are not yet level 12.

Cleanse is useful if you can use it during the duration of that 1-2 second stun/taunt/etc, in addition to removing debuffs like Exhaust. If you cannot manage your micro seconds, don't even think about taking this Summoner Spell.

Ignite, coupled with Silver Bolts proc and support utility/damage can net you a kill early game; in addition, grabbing Ignite allows you reduce an enemy ADC's healing whilst they fight you. I would not recommend picking up Ignite over Cleanse/Barrier.

Barrier is arguably one of the best summoner spells in the game for non-specific survivability. Flash and Barrier will save you a lot early game. Barrier often catches people by surprise, and can be the summoner spell to turn the tide in your favour when dueling the enemy ADC.

<12 If you are a low level and have not unlocked Barrier or Flash, I recommend taking Ghost and Heal.



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5) A few magical runes to enhance her

Runes
>> ToC <<

R
E
A
S
O
N
A
B
L
E
sp R
U
N
E
S
Greater Quintessence of Life Steal: Due to Vayne's short range, it is easy to be harassed in lane by the enemy ADC and support. Life Steal, however minute, allows you to actively regain health, either by last hitting, or auto-attacking if desperate. If you start with a Doran's Blade, your life steal health regeneration is increased, meaning you have more sustain in lane. Lastly, life steal can only be obtained in a limited amount of ways; masteries, runes and two viable ADC items. As Life Steal is absolutely necessary on an ADC, it's definitely worth it to spec for it.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage/ Greater Mark of Attack Damage: As Quints of Life Steal have replaced Quints of Attack Damage, and AD is such a potent stat to acquire early game, AD Marks can be taken for the early game potential. With AD marks and one AD quint, you are given enough damage to farm correctly under the tower.

Greater Seal of Armor: Your primary opponent bottom lane will be the enemy ADC; armour is the best counter. The runes will also allow you to trade damage more, as they will absorb some incoming attacks.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: These runes protect Vayne somewhat against early game magic damage from ADCs such as Kog'Maw and supports, such as Sona. However, Scaling MR is most useful late game against heavy-hitting AP carries and AP assassin junglers, like Diana. It's not entirely wise to skip MR glyphs; just keep in mind that you will probably be ganked by mid lane sooner or later, and it's highly unlikely you'll come across an all AD team (even AD-focused champions can have some sort of magic damage!).
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6) Increase Vayne's mastery of specificity

Masteries
>> ToC <<

21 OFFENSE 9 into Defense or Utility
M
E
M
O
R
A
B
L
E
sp M
A
S
T
E
R
I
E
S
// You will want to grab this page if you know you can position yourself well enough not to get caught. As there isn't much defense allocated here, and I recommend a heavy offense rune page to compliment it, there really is no room for error.

The page recommended is a standard ADC page, grabbing AD-related boosts. The main things to note are picking up the armour penetration masteries, in addition to Executioner . These AD-focused masteries will ensure you have a good damage output throughout the game.

Q: Is this the best set-up for Vayne?
// Well, to be honest, Vayne is very versatile. I seriously wasn't aiming for alliteration just then :P Basically I like going 6+ into defense for the survivability. The utility tree is pretty good for AD champions now too. One could go full offense, or more survivability, or a whole lot of utility, it's up to you.
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7) And learn the ways in which she does battle

Abilities
>> ToC <<


> > >
Maxing Silver Bolts means this sequence benefits greatly from a lot of attack speed, which we achieve with BotRK and Phantom Dancer. In a normal game, I skill Tumble first, after nothing goes wrong for our jungler (otherwise I grab Condemn to launch invaders away), then Silver Bolts or Condemn, depending on whether my lane is uber aggressive.

> > >
Maxing Condemn is something I'd recommend only if you're familiar with playing Vayne. Lowering the cooldown on this ability gives you more security in lane, and basically ensures your Condemn is up for repeat use during a skirmish.

S Night Hunter: A great passive for an ADC; you move faster when facing an enemy champion. This allows you to chase/catch up to fleeing enemies, run to help/save allies and gives you more of a chance to steal that kill from your jungler. S


S Tumble (Q): Tumble is a great spell. Use it to last hit, use it to harrass. Use it to close gaps, to get to lanes faster after recalling, to escape an enemy. Use it to dodge skill shots, use it to get into a better position to Condemn. You're going to want to max out Tumble first. Alternatively, if you are an aggressive player, and paired with an aggressive support, you could max Silver Bolts first. S



TUMBLE TIPS & TRICKS

S Silver Bolts (W): This ability is very interesting, and what makes Vayne such a beast in team fights/sustained fights. Every third hit does true percentage damage based on the target's health. The BEST thing about Silver Bolts is that it is not affected by Magic Resist. S

SILVER BOLTS TIPS & TRICKS

S Condemn (E): This spell is absolutely fantastic. Those familiar with Poppy will find the spell a bit awkward to use, whereas those familiar with Alistar will get the hang of Condemn immediately. It takes a bit of practice to get the best result with Condemn every fight, but you'll get used to it. You should be levelling this out before Silver Bolts if you believe you can land the stuns, otherwise max it out after Silver Bolts. S


CONDEMN TIPS & TRICKS

SHOULD I MAX CONDEMN FIRST?

S Final Hour (R): Vayne's Steroid of Awesome. Gives attack damage, triple movement speed from Night Hunter and invisibility when you Tumble. Those familiar with Singed may draw a comparison between the two ults. S



FINAL HOUR TIPS & TRICKS

ABILITY USAGE
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8) Equip her with only the best of accessories

Itemisation
>> ToC <<



OR

Berserker's Greaves > ATTACK SPEED
This is the cheapest attack speed item in the game. In Season Two, it was custom to buy this item on first recall, or as soon as possible. In Season Three, upgraded boots are not as necessary, so it is acceptable to delay this purchase.

Mercury's Treads > TENACITY
There are games when you are being caught out by CC and you haven't taken Cleanse for whatever reason, or if you're getting destroyed by ability power damage. Grab these boots instead of Berserker's Greaves for the Tenacity and magic resist.

Vampiric Scepter > Life Steal
It is imperative that you pick up some early life steal, whether it be via a Doran's Blade, or a Vampiric Scepter. Why? You need enhanced active sustain. The lifesteal will help you in lane and in teamfights when they start. If you also grab Life Steal Quints, your active sustain in lane will be such that you will constantly be at full health, even if you get harassed in lane. To utilise such a life-steal heavy set-up, you will have to be consciously auto-attacking to regain health.



OR

The Bloodthirster > LIFE STEAL + STACKING DAMAGE
Bloodthirster is rushed mostly by caster ADCs, especially those with shorter range and thus prone to more skirmishes and trades, in addition to the fact that it is easier to rush BT due to an early Vamp Scepter. Building BT is all about dealing a lot of early game damage and out-sustaining the enemy AD. When tossing up between the decision to buy BT or BotRK, size up the enemy team and decide whether you will need straight lifesteal, or health shred.

Blade of the Ruined King > LIFE STEAL + SLOW + HEALTH SHREDDING
This item has been popularised by it's rework and due to the current meta of entire teams buying Warmog's Armor. BotRK deals percentage health damage, and returns half that damage to you via life steal; this makes it a viable choice to replace or supplement the Bloodthirster. Equally important is the active ability to slow an opponent which is infinitely powerful on ADCs with no/little CC, or short range, such as Vayne.



OR



OR

Phantom Dancer > PHASE THROUGH MINIONS + CRITICAL STRIKE CHANCE
Infinity Edge + Phantom Dancer is a common combination; either item by itself does not do much, but together they shine. Together with Infinity Edge, it gives Vayne a 55% chance to critical strike on every attack, in addition to giving her an incredible attack and movement speed boost. Phantom Dancer gives Vayne the ability to phase through minions, allies and enemy champions, making the item invaluable, especially when coupled with the additional movement speed from Night Hunter and Final Hour.

Statikk Shiv > AOE DAMAGE, EARLY GOLD GENERATION
An interesting item that deals AoE damage after gathering charges. Great for crowd control, split pushing and clearing minions if your base is being sieged. Vayne can use Statikk quite effectively due to her constant movement in teamfights via her spell rotation, and the AoE can help deal damage from her otherwise short range. It is interesting to think of the damage Silver Bolts + Shiv proc will do to an enemy.

Trinity Force > SLOW + PROC + SPEED
Trinity means a little survivability and slow chance from Phage; it means some critical chance strike and attack speed from Zeal and finally, it means a proc of damage from Sheen. Now, the mentality behind buying Trinity Force is that if you Tumble, it will proc the 150% increase of your base damage with that shot. As discussed earlier, I only get this item 1/10 games. If you are top lane, this is an ideal weapon for the survivability aspect. When bottom lane, it can very much be considered a waste of money.



OR

Last Whisper > PERSONAL PERCENTAGE ARMOUR PENETRATION
An age-old debate that has sparked arguments since Season One and amplified due to Black Cleaver buffs. The tl;dr version is: If the enemy team has a lot of armour, buy Last Whisper. If they don't, grab Black Cleaver. Simple.

The Black Cleaver > TEAM ORIENTATED ARMOUR PENETRATION
Unlike Last Whisper, Black Cleaver applies an armour penetration debuff that your team can capitalise on. This means that if you manage to attack anyone, or hit anyone with Volley, their armour is reduced for everyone on your team.

Infinity Edge > CRITICAL STRIKE DAMAGE + CRITICAL STRIKE CHANCE
This is easily the most common item to buy when building for typical ADCs. There are many reasons for it, but put quite simply, it works. The critical strike chance, coupled with the significant damage boost of AD and critical strike damage means that your ADC will be dealing huge amounts of damage, especially as the masteries we choose enhance critical strike damage and the items we buy (Phantom/Shiv) round it all up.



OR


OR

Mercurial Scimitar > CLEANSE AS AN ITEM
This is the upgrade of Quicksilver Sash and should be upgraded end game after your other items. The unique active is like Cleanse, and is very useful if you are finding yourself continuously targeted by CC that would be best mitigatable (Malzahar's ult, for example).

Guardian Angel > REBIRTH ON DEATH
Ideally the best survivability item for an ADC, especially if you need a lot of armour early game ( Chain Vest). Grants the owner a nice boost in armour and magic resist, in addition to the ability to revive upon death. The cooldown for this unique passive is quite high, however, and uncoordinated teams may waste the item's potential. Always ask yourself whether a QSS will help you escape the problem of dying in the first place.

Banshee's Veil > SPELL SHIELD
Banshee's is an optimal survivability item for players who are against heavy magic damage. It gives a great boost to health, mana and magic resist, in addition to granting the user a spell shield that takes 25 seconds to regenerate after being popped.



OR

Warmog's Armor > HUGE HEALTH BOOST + HEALTH REGEN
Simply put, 1000HP is 1000HP. You add 1% for each point of magic resist and armour you have. So for example, at the end of the game you have Warmog's + 75MR + 75AR. Your base health will be around 2700HP. With resistances, your effective health becomes around 4700HP.

Randuin's Omen > ARMOUR + CHANCE TO SLOW ATTACKERS
Randuin's gives a great mix of armour and health. If you find that the enemy tanky dps are sticking to you, the active and passive component of this item could save your life.





OR

Enchantment: Furor > MOVEMENT SPEED BOOST ON ATTACK
You can hold off buying this enchantment until end game if you feel the need to conserve cash. However, realise that by attacking anything, you get a movement speed boost - this is great for chasing, and even fleeing if you know how to kite.

Enchantment: Homeguard > INSTANT HEALTH + MANA RESTORATION ON SPAWN PLATFORM
This enchantment is best bought if/when your base is being sieged by the enemy team. It allows you to recall and instantly regain your health and mana, in addition to give you a huge movement speed boost to help you get back into the fight.



OR

Zephyr > TENACITY
A great item to replace Mercury's Treads/ Berserker's Greaves late game if you need Tenacity. Remember, Tenacity doesn't stack, so you can't have Merc's and Zephyr, else you'll be wasting a lot of gold and an item slot worth. The cooldown reduction is useful for helping you late game with Vayne's ultimate to great effect.

Maw of Malmortius > SURVIVE BEING BURSTED DOWN
This is the upgrade of Hexdrinker and should be upgraded end game after your other items. The unique passive is like Blitzcrank's passive Mana Barrier, and is very useful if you are finding yourself continuously destroyed by the enemy team. The passive means that you can't be burst down by one spell or attack.
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9) But be wary of the competition she faces

Competition Bot Lane
>> ToC <<


So you're up against Ashe. Be wary of her first hit guaranteed critical strike when coming to lane; that coupled with a Volley to the face can easily half health you. Ensure you are not caught out of position, as Frost Shot will cripple your chances of escape. Remember that she can scout brushes from a distance with Hawkshot, foiling ganks. Lastly, try and use your Flash after she has used ECA; ECA is her only form of hard CC, so escaping it can often mean escape if you Flash out of range of her autos.


Caitlyn is a high ranged ADC with a sort of steroid via Headshot. My most unfortunate experience with her was laning against her, hanging around on 150ish health during the early levels, pre6; she just killed me straight away with a Headshot-infused auto. Her Yordle Snap Traps can be deadly, snaring you in place for her to follow up with 90 Caliber Net + Piltover Peacemaker. After this combo, if you're low enough, she'll net the kill with Ace in the Hole. Remember her Q has a windup time, so there is no excuse to get hit by it if you're constantly watching.


Corki will generally try to farm for the first few minutes; he's not about getting a level one kill. Keep in mind that Hextech Shrapnel Shells mean that his auto attacks deal a little true damage. Mainly keep an eye out for his Valkyrie + Gatling Gun combo which is a sure-fire sign that there's a gank incoming. Lastly, try not to stand still when facing a Corki; he can snipe you with Missile Barrage.


Draven, basically he's pretty simple. Play safe you outscale, however it's completely safe to poke him most of the time, Draven's normally position themselves mid creepwave so you just have to poke him out of the creepwave and away to start zoning him. He can only really kill you if he has an aggressive support or your support isn't strong enough to save you from his stand aside. - Thanks to yehosera!


Ezreal is a high mobility, high poke champion. He relies on hitting you, your ally, or a minion with Mystic Shot in order to proc his passive Rising Spell Force and give him increased attack speed. Try to stand behind your minions so it is difficult to land Mystic Shot. Try and use Condemn when you can follow up completely, as he can always escape with Arcane Shift + Flash.


Graves is a heavy burst damage carry. His combo of Quickdraw, Buckshot and Collateral Damage coupled with any sort of support CC/damage increase often results in a kill. He is also innately tanky due to True Grit, so it is hard to lower his health. Lastly, Smoke Screen is often used to confuse those trying to gank, or to hinder anyone who tries to flee - don't run through this, back out and go around, or through the side, the lack of vision completely screws up any initiation or follow up.


The "Protect the Kog" strategy was/is popular in high elo play, wherein the team composition would be built around keeping Kog'Maw alive. This is because Kog'Maw is a hyper carry and deals tremendous damage mid and late game. His early game is very weak and he is easy to gank and shut down, despite Void Ooze, which is a very weak utility ability. However, if given the chance and with a Phantom Dancer under his belt, he will be destroying health bars due to Caustic Spittle and Bio-Arcane Barrage. Do not recall on low health once Kog has Living Artillery as he will snipe you from afar; if you are hit by this ability, sight is granted to the enemy team, meaning he can keep landing them on you if his prediction skills are good enough.


Miss Fortune is a commonly picked ADC due to her early game damage and late game utility with Bullet Time as it can apply team debuffs such as those given by Black Cleaver. She has high mobility due to Strut and can often escape chases, or catch up to fleeing enemies with Make it Rain. Activating Impure Shots gives MF's auto attacks healing reduction, in addition to an attack speed buff. When facing a Miss Fortune, use Condemn to cancel her ultimate. Don't run *backwards* through her ult, but to the side to get out of the AoE effect.


Tristana is the highest range ADC due to her passive Draw a Bead, thus making her end game positioning an absolute horror in teamfights with supreme mobility via Rocket Jump, which resets on kills or assists. Unless she is coupled with an aggressive support, she will be content to farm all game until she can deal incredible amounts of damage from afar later on in the game. She tends to push the lane with Explosive Shot; don't use a health potion straight after being hit with an Explosive Shot auto, as it reduces healing. Her ultimate, Buster Shot can be used offensively (to push enemies closer to her team) or defensively (to push an enemy into their team).


Dodge the thing that tags you. His E Noxian Corrosive Charge? Either way dodge that thing and you can just poke at him all day. If he hits you with it, just run don't even try to fight him he will keel you. - Thanks to yehosera!


Varus is rarely seen compared to the other ADCs. His ultimate, Chain of Corruption is a fantastic initiation, similar to Ashe's Enchanted Crystal Arrow. If you or your ally is hit by it, ensure you don't stick together, move in separate directions. Hail of Arrows is similar to Kog's slime trail, or MF's round of bullets - they're more often used for utility, as in slowing an enemy champion from fleeing or chasing, rather than for damage. Watch out for Piercing Arrow, like Cait's Piltover Peacemaker, you have fair warning when Varus will attempt to snipe you with this, as he will often try to increase its range and damage by drawing it out.


Like Kog'Maw, Vayne is a hyper carry, a champion who can deal heaps of damage throughout the game, but especially late game. She shreds health bars due to her true damage Silver Bolts, is the only ADC with a form of non-ult CC via Condemn. When versus a Vayne, do not stand near any walls, as she will Final Hour, Tumble into position and then pin you down with Condemn, getting off a Silver Bolts proc; this, followed with Ignite will often result in an early kill. If you see her activate Final Hour and Tumble towards you for the invisibility, RUN. It is an obvious sign a gank is incoming, or that their support has the ability catch you out of position for a kill.
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10) Reward your champion with a Victory screen

ADC Gameplay
>> ToC <<

STOP! HAVE YOU READ EVERY CHAPTER BEFORE THIS??
Make sure you've read the ABILITIES section of this guide - I do repeat some useful tips and tricks from there within this GAMEPLAY section, but most of Vayne's nuances are highlighted in that section! Additionally the COUNTERS/SYNERGIES and COMPETITION BOT LANE sections are also full of knowledge to help you out regarding Vayne gameplay :)

SUPPORTIVE LANING PARTNER
Head bottom lane with your support. You will want an ally that can keep you safe and allow you to free farm for the first 20 or so minutes. Alternatively, farm champions. If you plan to be aggressive, you are going to need an aggressive support, someone who can initiate skirmishes, soak up incoming damage and deal some themselves. Whilst Vayne can do a fair amount of damage on her own due to Silver Bolts, you will need a competent ally to aid your early game aggression. Ensure you do not over-extend.

EARLY GAME HARASS
Vayne's full kit of mechanics are deadly, as explained in the ability section. Once Vayne has hit level 3 and has the potential to Tumble into position to land a good Condemn, she and her support can secure a kill, especially if the support has a displacement (like Blitzcrank) or a stun (like Taric). Pre-3, auto-attacking an enemy champion and then immediately follow up with a Tumble shot to chunk some of their health. Do this enough times and they'll get too low to stay in lane.

LAST HITTING
The ability to last hit is a fundamental skill of an experienced and conscientious player. Landing the killing blow on an enemy minion or neutral monster not only awards you Experience and Gold, vital towards buying items and levelling up, but also allows you to farm safely without pushing your lane. Creep Score (commonly referred to as CS) is often used as a measure of how successful one is whilst laning. Last hitting as the ADC is incredibly important. Until you get the hang of last hitting, try using Tumble to add some extra damage to nab those minion kills.

SCRATCH DAMAGE
If you're last hitting, it stands to reason that the enemy will be last hitting too. If you watch both sets of minions, you will see that a pattern emerges: regardless of the danger in doing so, an ADC will always move towards a low health minion to get the last hit. You can abuse this mechanic by waiting for the enemy ADC to go in to last hit, and hit them with an auto-attack. When the enemy ADC fires a projectile, they will not be able to fire another one until the last hit is complete, meaning this is the safest time for you to get in some scratch damage. If you're lucky, the enemy ADC will panic and become scared, backing away from you and the minions, missing CS. If you keep this scratch damage up, the enemy ADC will get lower and lower in health, and you'll establish lane dominance. If the enemy ADC catches on to what you're doing and attempts to auto you when you're last hitting, as they walk towards you, Tumble backwards but try to attack them at the same time; this trick allows an Tumble-infused auto-attack to land on the enemy, at the same time as increasing the distance between you. Hopefully they will give up the attempt to harass when they realise you've Tumble'd out of range.

ORB WALKING
This term originated from DotA; it refers to using an orb effect (like Drow Ranger's Frost Arrow), and then moving as soon as the projectile is "fired". In League of Legends, Orb Walking and Animation Cancelling are very important aspects of gameplay. It requires a lot of practise, but it helps mainly with two things: 1) Last hitting and 2) Chasing. If you fire a projectile to last hit, and then move, you are less likely to start auto-attacking in lane, which can make it harder for you to last hit, AND push the lane when you don't want to. By moving straight after firing a projectile, you are not "static" chasing someone, simply by right-clicking them, you're moving ahead of them, allowing you to catch up. If you played Warcraft, you'll know that right-clicking an ally will allow you to "follow" them. It's the same sort of mechanics for LoL and DotA, but for enemies - you will never surpass their trajectory if you only right click them; you need to orb walk (hit them, and move yourself forwards), if you want to chase effectively.

KITING
Kiting refers to attacking an enemy with ranged attacks or abilities while maintaining a safe distance. This term originated from the analogy of flying a kite, where the attacking champion (the person) holds the target (the kite) at a safe distance (the string). This feat is often performed by ranged champions against enemy melee champions. While kiting, the ranged champion makes use of their superior range, mobility and/or CC to damage the enemy champion without taking damage themselves. Vayne kiting is most commonly known as orb-walking, which is alternating between right clicking away from an enemy and then shift/A clicking where the enemy is in order to hit. Doing this makes you walk away but still attack backwards. It takes tonnes of practice to master.

ZONING
Your zone is the area you are able to control with your champion. Zoning is the act of controlling your enemy's positioning and/or making them afraid of entering your zone. Zoning occurs when you push enemies back from minions by making them fear your zone. This is beneficial because they will have a much harder time funding items mid- and late-game due to not being able to last-hit minions for gold. Additionally, by pushing enemy champions far back enough, you can even deny them experience from dying minions. Both of these things together can be extremely advantageous throughout the game, as your opponents can be both undergeared and underleveled. Your support will zone automatically by taking control of the brush; you can zone by standing behind the enemy minions (closer to their tower). This can be dangerous if they have good engage, so only zone when it's "safe" to do so.

KEEP ON KEEPING ON
Keep your eyes open. Being aggressive in lane often means you are pushed to the enemy tower, leaving you susceptible to ganks. If you are ganked and start losing your lane, don't despair. Ask for help. There's nothing worse than being too proud to ask for assistance. Often your jungler can camp your lane and put some pressure on the enemies, or your mid lane can come and gank a few times. If worst comes to worst, let the tower fall and try and recover under your Tier Two Turret.

MAP AWARENESS
... Keeping your eyes open doesn't just refer to in the lane. This is something that takes a long time to grasp; knowing where each enemy player is located on the map, IN ADDITION to the locations of your allies can make or break games. Your support should be warding for you, but make sure to use your Stealth Ward when you can: place the totem in the river brush, or in the lane brush. Vision is very important, and not just keeping an eye bot lane. Just knowing that the jungler was just mid and was heading towards top can mean two things: 1) he's jungling, getting a buff or 2) he's looking to gank top.

Avoid:
> Jungling camps without vision.
> Chasing an enemy into an area with no vision.
> Getting split from your group in an area with no vision.

Practice:
> Watching the mini-map and counting 5 enemy champions.
> Noticing when your allies' ults are up (little green circle on their portrait).
> Warding with your Stealth Ward to help increase allied vision.

By watching the minimap and keeping your awareness levels high, you'll rarely encounter fights like the one below.




GRABBING JUNGLE MINIONS DURING & AFTER LANING
Ensure you always grab jungle minions in order to increase your CS and gold generation. This can mean quickly getting Wolves /Wight or Double Golems, depending on which side of the map you are on. Your support can assist you here early game, but after you've got you're Vamp Scepter, taking on jungle minions should be a breeze.




PUSHING A LANE / OVER-EXTENDING
Often you'll read or hear statements such as, "Don't over-extend or push the lane, you could get ganked", but the author never really explains what that means. The river SHOULD be warded for your duration bot lane, but there are other places that a gank can come from. The idea of "not pushing a lane" ensures that you are near your tower, thus far less vulnerable from ganks. However, there does come a time when you will WANT to push the lane. For instance, if you just killed bot lane, it is ideal to push your creep wave to the enemy tower, so that the tower kills the creeps, denying enemy bot lane that experience and gold. Pushing the wave to the enemy tower also gives you a safer opportunity to attempt dragon.

TEAM OBJECTIVES
Around about now you should be taking/have taken Dragon as a team. First push the wave to the enemy tower to ensure they're preoccupied with minion farming. Ensure the ramp to Dragon is warded, or any other entry/exit points that are of concern. Only attempt Dragon if your Jungler has Smite, elsewise risk it being stolen by the enemy team.

SPLIT-PUSHING
Once you've acquired Statikk Shiv, Phantom Dancer or Trinity Force, your split-pushing ability is potentially high. Due to the extra movement speed you gain from the built-up Zeal, you are able to get to lanes quicker, AND return safely to allied territory faster from danger zones. Split pushing is especially useful if your team is falling behind; you can push the lanes bit by bit to victory. Head to a lane that is not pushing in your favour and push it as far out as you dare before retreating and heading mid. Why head mid lane? One you've pushed another lane so that it becomes a problem, you need to immediately capitalise on that and pressure another lane; commonly mid, as it's the shortest path to the nexus. If you're now mid lane with allies, and another lane is pushed, the enemy team has to decide whether to defend mid lane against you, or go clear the minions at a side lane tower. This can result in a split enemy team, giving your team a numbers advantage OR, the enemy team losing a side-lane tower to allied minions.

POSITIONING/TARGETING
Where you stand and who you attack during a teamfight can make or break a game. You are an ADC, thus you are squishy and susceptible to being targeted. As such, the enemies that are going to be closest to you are those that are tanky enough to get close. These champions include junglers such as Maokai, top laners like Irelia and possibly tanky mids like Swain or Pantheon. Realistically, you ain't getting anywhere close to their AD/AP carries, so just fire away! Try to remain behind your team, behind their defenses, but shoot anything that's close to you. There's no such thing as a "wrong target"; unless you have the opportunity to target someone squishy, you're going to need to take down their front line first.




MID GAME
By mid game you should gotten a few kills bot lane. Don't worry if you haven't, Vayne shines late game too. Vayne really has no weak game times, for example, Ashe is weak early game, then strong late game. Vayne is just awesome all game. By the 30 minute mark you should have that Blade of the Ruined King and Zeal at the very least.

Vayne is a great initiator if an enemy champion lets themselves become out of position. In this video, Sona steps a bit too close, and I nail her with a Tumble. A teamfight ensures, and Katarina jumps in with her ultimate. I wait for her to use it, and then Condemn her, so that her ult is wasted.


TEAMFIGHTS
Below is another teamfight. I am cautious to approach because I can't see the enemies, and don't know who could be hiding in the brush near Blue Buff. However, once I approach the fight, I am immediately Exhausted by an enemy, and my damage boots from my ult is unfortunately shut down. As soon as Katarina ults, I Condemn her. By the end of that game, Kat must have hated me :P


OTHER TIPS AND TRICKS?
Well, that's all I've got ;) Everything else is up to you. The best way to learn a champion is by playing games, or watching someone play. Go watch some streams of Vayne, rewatch the videos I've created for the guide, practice in AI games, by yourself, or with a friend opposing you in middle lane. Learn the amount of damage she can take, and the amount of damage she can dish out.

HOW TO THROW A 4v5!
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11) And wish farewell until the next summoning

Conclusion
>> ToC <<

- My other guides -




- Quick recap -
Vayne is a hyper carry and can absolutely wreck the enemy team in fights due to her true damage procs of Silver Bolts. Her ult and passive make her assassin-like, which allows her to dart in and out to kill and maim. Vayne is perfect for those who have mastered an easier Ranged AD Carry, like Miss Fortune or Ashe. However, Vayne requires superior positioning with Tumble to land great Condemns.

- That's all folks! -
My guide is reasonably long, so I'll end on a few short words. Vayne is an extremely fun hero to play. She's expensive for a reason (OP, much?), but she is definitely worth the RP/IP. I hope this guide helped you with your endeavours to pwn vermin verily with Vindictive Vayne. Here ends Vindictive Vayne. Thank you for reading!

- Last edited -
- 01/12/2013
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12) Lastly, know that I am here to help

Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: jhoi, I was wondering whether... // Feel free to ask as many question as you can think of. I'll be sure to answer as soon as I can, and post my answer up here for all to see.


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