This is my second guide I do on mobafire. Once did a in depth season 4 teemo guide. The meta shifted heavily towards assasins in season 5, so I had to enlarge my champion pool for toplane. I ended with picking Vladimir as my new main and with his recent rework it feels even more comfortable playing him.

So I'm not a pro in doing things like this. I just hope it can contribute in helping you guys play him.

Pros
+ No mana problems
+ Vladimir has one of the best possible sustains in-game due to his Transfusion
+ Excellent escape tool in Sanguine Pool
+ Nice waveclear with Tides of Blood
+ His passive Crimson Pact enables him to build very aggresive without losing out on being able to survive in teamfights and soak up damage
+ Late game beast

Cons
- Very weak early game
- The cooldown on Sanguine Pool is extremely long, making Vladimir very vulnerable to ganks when its down.
- Abilities and effects that affect his healing abilities can really shut him down like grievous wounds

Flash
Since Vladimir lacks a gapcloser this spell is kind of a must-have. It provides additional offensive and defensive capabilities. Instead of Flash you can run Ghost on vlad, but I highly recommend you go for flash..

A nice trick is to charge up Tides of Blood,and just before it reaches its max charge up, flash over a minion wave to hit the enemy toplaner for maximum potential and slow him for a brief moment.

Teleport
The main reason I pick this over Ignite is because Teleport provides great utilty especially during the late game when u can splitpush without missing out on teamfights. Teleport right now is also a metapick right now (patch 6.11)

Ignite
Instead of running Teleport you can choose to pick Ignite for some extra kill potential. Ignite also benefits from the debuff on Hemoplague. I personally feel Vladimir doesn't really need it, but when facing toplaners that rely heavily on health regen. like Garen and Dr. Mundoit can make a real difference

Ghost
Like I mentioned before, Ghost can work on vladimir.. Although I don't really recommend it. When facing champions with extreme mobility like Nidalee or Riven, ghost can be the better pick..

Greater marks of magic penetration
These marks give you the almost 8.00 magic penetration needed for late game teamfights. I can't see any other marks that can be chosen better than these. If you use auto's a lot, maybe hybrid penetration can be an option


Greater seal of scaling health
I prefer these seals over flat ones because they are more efficiënt after lvl. 7 If you really have a hard time laning pre-7 pick flat ones until you feel comfortable switching. The final option may be Greater Seal of Armor when facing champions like Riven or Aatrox (although u won't be seeing them frequently)


Greater glyph of ability power
Since we already get the cooldown from our items, I pick these flat Ability Power glyphs to compensate a bit for his weak early game. The additional 11 AP might not seem much, but since it benefits from Crimson Pact I really feel more comfortable laning early game


Greater quintessence of ability power
Same story as the glyphs, the additional 15 AP both increases your offensive and defensive capabilities early game. A second option is Greater Quintessence of Spell Vamp which makes your heals a bit stronger. Try them out for yourself and see which fits u best

Crimson Pact (passive)
Vladimir gains bonus ability power equal to 4% of his bonus health, and bonus health equal to 100% of his ability power. (These bonuses do not stack with themselves)
Vlad's passive makes him a tanky carry, or damage dealing tank. Depends on how you look at it. Important note: its way more efficiënt to stack AP converting it into HP than the otherway arround. So if you planned on stacking warmog's, im sorry to disappoint you..

Transfusion
ACTIVE: Vladimir drains the lifeforce of the target enemy, dealing magic damage 80 / 100 / 120 / 140 / 160 (+ 45% AP) and healing himself.

Each cast of Transfusion generates a stack of Bloodthirst over its cooldown, which is displayed in his secondary resource bar. At 2 stacks, Vladimir gains Crimson Rush for 2.5 seconds and 10% bonus movement speed for 0.5 seconds

CRIMSON RUSH: Transfusion deals double damage and heals for an additional 40 - 240 (based on level) (+ 5% (+ 4% per 100 AP) of his missing health) (halved versus minions).
The main source of vladimir's damage output and his signature ability. This ability is a point-click ability making it pretty easy to land. A part of the damage done is transfered back as health to vladimir.

With the rework during mid season 6 it now has an additional mechanic called crimson rush. After landing 2 Q's, the moment is comes of cooldown, vladimir is briefly hasted and the next Q will deal double the damage. Enemy champion's can monitor how many times it has stacked and will try to anticipate it use. If possible, try to poke when crimson rush is active and use the normal Q's for sustain and last hitting.

Sanguine Pool
ACTIVE: Vladimir sinks into a pool of blood, gaining 37.5% bonus movement speed which decays exponentially for 1 second and becoming untargetable for 2 seconds. Enemies who stand upon the pool are Slow icon slowed by 40% and dealt magic damage 20 / 33.75 / 47.5 / 61.25 / 75 (+ 2.5% bonus health) every half second, while Vladimir heals himself for 15% of the damage done.
Vladimir's escape tool is a really awesome skill that can be used to dodge skill shots like Trueshot Barrage or Blitz his Rocket Grab.

It also can be used in a aggresive way to dive enemy's under the tower and when the kill is secured his Sanguine Pool to lose tower aggro..

The major downside on this skill is its cooldown: 26 / 23 / 20 / 17 / 14 second


Tides of Blood
FIRST CAST: Vladimir begins charging, increasing Tides of Blood's damage while rapidly consuming 10% of his maximum health over the next 1 second. Vladimir is slowed by 20% after the initial 1 second if he continues to charge. After 1.5 seconds or if interrupted, Vladimir will automatically use the second cast.

SECOND CAST: Vladimir unleashes the stored blood in a nova of bolts, each dealing magic damage 30 / 45 / 60 / 75 / 90 (+ 2.5% maximum health)(+ 35% AP) to the first enemy they strike. Enemies can intercept multiple bolts but can only be damaged once. Minions cannot block more than 5 bolts and if the bolts strike a minion, the bolt will do area of effect damage that only affects other nearby minions.

If charged for at least 1 second, enemies hit are also Slow icon slowed 40 / 45 / 50 / 55 / 60% for 0.5 seconds.
His E has received a rework during the mid season patch.. While I still miss the old E that made farming something my grandma aged 78 could do, his reworked E is just as usefull.

During the charge vlad is rather vulnerable, but once it releases a full stacked E it can really chunk a good portion of health out of an enemy champion and apply a slow on it on the same time..

hemoplague
ACTIVE: Vladimir infects all enemies in the target area with a virulent plague that increases the damage they take from all sources by 10% for 4 seconds.After these 4 seconds, infected enemies take 150 / 250 / 350 (+ 70% AP) magic damage.

Vladimir is healed 75 / 125 / 175 (+ 35% AP) per champion damaged by the detonation.
vladimir's ultimate also received a small rework and is even stronger now, healing vladimir when the hemoplague detonates. The 12% increase in damage output might not seem that much, but when targeted at 4 or maybe even 5 enemy champs can really be a game changer..

The most optimal skill sequence for vladimir is:

1. R Hemoplague
2. Q Transfusion
3. E Tides of Blood
4. W Sanguine Pool

Maxing out your ult is pretty normal since it is the most affecting ability. Max Q second cause it wil reduce its cooldown a lot and grand you a power spike at lvl. 9

A single point in your W is sufficient for your early game unless you are being camped by the enemy jungler. Picking W over E might be recommendable in that case.

Starting Items

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Offensive Start

This is in my opinion the best start. The amplifying tome can be build in almost every single item for vladimir and provides the extra AP you need early game to be able to trade with the enemy toplaner. Pick this is if you feel comfortable winning the lane and against heavy tanks.

Defensive Start

Although not as good as the amplifying tome the doran shield passive can make it a worthwile start when facing champs that have a really strong early game or ar squishy enough that you don't need the extra AP. This item is also a great pick against champions that rely on auto attacks like Jax, Teemo and Kayle

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First Back

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Winning the lane

If you are already winning your lane, because the enemy laner is really bad,your jungler had a succesfull gank or the match up is in your favor, dont be afraid to start with a NLL. Grab boots for extra mobility and if possible get a Vision Ward for extra safety.

The Lane is even

If the lane is a farming lane, and neither you nor your opponent has a clear advantagen. Go and start with a blasting wand and some boots for extra mobility. If possible grab a Vision Ward for extra safety.

When knowing that you are going the lose the mid-game or your team lacks a tank. Switch Blasting Wand for a Giant's Belt

Losing the lane

If you are losing the lane, because the enemy jungler had a succesfull gank, or you have a hard matchup. Play safe and start with a ruby crystal.

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Core Build

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Shoes

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Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Since we don't have cdr in our runes & masteries this is the normal choice. The 10% cooldown can really help out and makes your Q's even follow up faster..

or

Sorcerer's Shoes
This is the only other viable option. Pick these when facing the uber tanks like Garen, Dr. Mundo, Shen and Singed

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Core Item

Rylai's Crystal Scepter
With the removal of Will of the Ancients, this is the new core item on Vladimir. He can profit from all stats the item provides and the passive syns really well with his kit.

While the passive procs from all your spells, the most efficient way is to use your Q, since this is a single target spell and slows for 40% for 1.5 second.

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Mid Game Choices

Depending on how well the lane is going, what kind of champion your laning against, and who is fed on the enemy team u choose the next item. Eventually I recommend getting all 3, but depending on how the game goes you can prioritize what to get first:

Abyssal Mask
Great allround item for vladimir, especially now that it contains Cooldown Reduction. Get this item first if you struggle against an enemy AP laner like Rumble or Lissandra or if the enemy midlane champion is AP and getting fed..

Zhonya's Hourglass
The decent are pretty nice, but the passive makes it really worth your while getting this item. Together with Sanguine Pool its possible to stay untargetable for almost 5 seconds long. If played right, you can even get another pool out of the sequence. The 45 armor also helps against enemy AD laners like Riven and Fiora that can be a real hard match up. Also get this item first if the enemy AD Carry on botlane is going out of control.

Rabadon's Deathcap
If you had a really great laning face or if your jungler is playing really great and helping getting you fed, this is the to go for item. This item not only makes your AP go through the roof, but because of your Crimson Pact passive you aren't neclecting your defensive capabilities..

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Last Item

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Depending on what your team needs and the amount of Magic Resist the enemy team has been building most of the time the choice is between 2 items:

Spirit Visage
Since the previous items in the build are all offensive, this item can help you increase your survivabilty drasticly. The bonus healt on it also provides a small amount of AP (not worth the mention to be fair) and the extra cooldown reduction makes you reach the cap of 40%

Void Staff
If things went really well, the enemy should have gathered large amount of Magic Resist to decrease your damage output. If that is the case, get this item to get your damage output to where it should and suck those f*ckers dry

Well thats it guys, don't be to hard on me..

If you have any tips or suggestions. Feel free to comment