Vayne Build Guide by jhoijhoi

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League of Legends Build Guide Author jhoijhoi

Vindictive Vayne

jhoijhoi Last updated on April 14, 2013
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ADC Vayne (Cheat Sheet)

Champion Build: Vayne

Health 2353
Health Regen 14.4
Mana 803
Mana Regen 13.5
Armor 153.19
Magic Resist 42.06
Dodge 0
Tenacity 0
Movement Speed 400
Gold Bonus 0
Attack Damage 250.25
Attack Speed 111.005
Crit Chance 30%S
Crit Damage 0%
Ability Power 0
Life Steal 27%
Spell Vamp 0
Armor Penetration 46.52
Magic Penetration 0
Cooldown Reduction 0%


Recommended Runes + Notes



Ability Sequence + Notes

1
4
5
7
9
Ability Key Q
3
8
10
12
13
Ability Key W
2
14
15
17
18
Ability Key E
6
11
16
Ability Key R

Masteries + Notes

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1/
Executioner
 
 

Offense: 21

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Honor Guard
 
 

Defense: 0

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pickpocket
Intelligence
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nimble
 
 

Utility: 9

Guide Top

Idealistic Introduction


My Other Guides









About the Author
Hey guys, I'm Jai (or jhoijhoi) and this is my second champion guide here on MobaFire. My highest elo in Season Three so far is 1560 (Gold). In addition to my Gold status, I've played Vayne since release, and she replaced my previous main Ranged AD carry, Ashe. I love Ashe to bits, but I feel as if Ashe is not as *strong* as Vayne.

Why play Vayne?
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.

What will this guide cover?
In this guide, along with detailing summoner spells, mastery points, runes and skilling order, I will also cover generic gameplay and the builds 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:
- 21/01/2013

So thus begins my guide, hopefully it'll help you win some games.



SPOILER: CLICK TO VIEW SOME AWESOME SPOILER STUFF!!!


Guide Top

Powerful Pros / Critical Cons



As all champions, 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.

Powerful Pros


Vayne is a short-ranged ADC, meaning her last hitting can be difficult against an ADC with longer range. This concern is allievated 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


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.
-


Guide Top

Masteries, Runes and Summoner Spells


Masteries
4/4
4/4
3/3
1/1
2/2
2/2
1/1
3/3
1/1
1/1
3/3
1/1
3/3
1/1
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.


R
E
A
S
O
N
A
B
L
E
sp R
U
N
E
S

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage: These provide a significant boost to your damage output and scale well into late game, in addition to giving you a helping hand last hitting in lane, grabbing jungle minions early on and harassing enemy champions. You need to be last hitting really well to afford an early Bloodthirster.

Greater Mark of Armor Penetration: Due to the S3 reshuffle of starting items, you make up from the lost AD of AD Marks with a Long Sword. As such, it is a great boost to your damage grabbing these marks to supplement your AD. Remember that the enemy ADC most likely has armour runes; these marks will ensure your attacks pierce some of that defense.

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 against early game magic damage from ADCs such as Kog'Maw and supports, such as Sona. Scaling MR is also an option if you know you won't be up against any early game magic damage; just keep in mind that you will probably be ganked by mid lane sooner or later, so it's not entirely wise to skip MR glyphs. Alternatively you could run Attack Speed Glyphs if you are confident about landing those [[silver bolts] procs.


S
U
M
M
O
N
E
R
sp S
P
E
L
L
S
While Summoner Spells all come down to personal preference, I've found these Summoner Spells suit Vayne greatly. 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. To accompany Flash, Ignite, Exhaust, Cleanse OR Heal can be taken, depending on your lane match-up.




Guide Top

Vayne's Skill Set + Generic Gameplay Tips


Ability Sequence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

> OR >

SKILLING ORDER EXPLANATION


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. A great tip to check if someone is in brush is to walk towards it; if your movement speed increases, that means there is an enemy waiting for you; run away! 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

SHOULD I MAX SILVER BOLTS FIRST?

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

PENTAKILL FED TO VAYNE

GENUINE VAYNE PENTAKILL


Guide Top

Choosing Your Items as ADC

ON SPAWN





STANDARD START
Starting Long Sword + 2x Health Potions is a common approach by many ADCs in Season Three. The Long Sword is either rushed into a Vampiric Scepter, The Brutalizer if you're an ADC that benefits from CDR or Avarice Blade for the gold gen.


ALTERNATIVE START
Alternatively, starting Boots of Speed + 3x Health Potions is effective towards sustaining your health and allowing you to trade damage early game. However, the movement speed isn't as necessary early game anymore, the way it was before S3.


BALLSY START
Lastly, starting with this item is surprisingly effective. It gives you a stable boost in health and a little health regen per hit via the life gain. Be wary starting this, however, as laning without potions can lead to being forced off the lane.


FIRST BACK




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.

SITUATIONAL SUSTAIN
I find this item a really useful choice for players trying to adjust for mana issues. Never buy potions after your initial spawn - instead save a little money to buy this. You will rarely use all three charges in lane, but just in case, ensure you recall back to base every now and then to recharge it. The restoration of mana and health is just great, allows you to use your abilities a little more. It is especially useful to grab this item if your support doesn't have an in-built heal to keep you on good health.


BOOTS




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.

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.


ATTACK SPEED CHOICES




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.

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. Grabbing Shiv is all about an early Avarice Blade and the gold gen from it, in addition to pushing. 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.


LIFE STEAL




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.

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.


ARMOUR PENETRATION




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 The Black Cleaver. Simple.

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, their armour is reduced for everyone on your team.


LAST DAMAGE ITEM




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. Traditionally (Season One - Season Two), this item was bought first, but with the introduction and rework of BotRK, we're seeing many ADCs delay this item for last purchase, or not buy it at all.


JACK OF ALL TRADES
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. However... is there a better choice for getting this proc?

SLOW + DAMAGE PROC
If you want to be tankier, but still deal damage AND slow down fleeing enemies to catch up with Night Hunter, Gauntlet does all the above for less cost than Trinity. It works well as a first defensive AND offensive item if you find yourself in a game where the enemy team doesn't focus you. With Gauntlet, we get the proc and the slow we want from Trinity + more survivability.


IDEAL/POPULAR SURVIVABILITY




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).

HUGE HEALTH BOOST
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.

ALTERNATIVE SURVIVABILITY




REBIRTH ON DEATH
Ideally the best survivability item for an ADC, especially against a heavy AD team. 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.

SPELL SHIELD
Banshee's is an optimal survivability item for players who are pre30, or playing at low elo (below 1100). It gives a great boost to health, mana and magic resist, in addition to granting the user a spell shield that takes 45 seconds to regenerated after being popped. Alternatively, it is also a fantastic item for high elo, well coordinated teams; Azubu Blaze recently ran BVs against a heavy AP team and the negated spell every minute helped them smash the opposition.


BOOT ENCHANTMENTS




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.

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.


REPLACING YOUR BOOTS




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.

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.


BROKEN DOWN CHOICES - QUICK REFERENCE



Armour

Magic Resist

Health

Damage

Attack Speed


Guide Top

Generic ADC 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.

GRABBING JUNGLE MINIONS BEFORE LANING
Depending on whether you are on Purple or Blue side, you can grab Double Golems before you head to lane; killing Double Golems (if you are team Blue) gives you an increase in experience and gold, meaning you will hit level two faster. As leashing has changed for S3, practise this in a custom game with a friend before trying it yourself in a normal, to gauge the amount of damage your support can take.

Later on in the game, ensure you always grab jungle minions in order to increase your CS and gold generation.




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.

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.

... Keeping your eyes open doesn't just refer to in the lane. Ensure you know where your enemies are, or aren't, otherwise you'll wind up in a bind, as demonstrated below.




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.

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.

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, Zeal, possibly The Black Cleaver if you've been doing well.

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!


Guide Top

Succinct Summary


My Other Guides









The End
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!

Sincerely, Jai.

NOTE
Please don't hesitate with comments and/or suggestions regarding anything I have outlined above. I will happily respond to any queries. What follows beyond this chapter is for "further reading" and is not necessary to read unless one is curious. Read at your own risk.

Last edited:
- 03/03/2013


About the Author

jhoijhoi
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