Greeting Summoners!

My name is Michael Lawlor and you can find me in game called "Lawloria" and "420BLaZeYoLoSWaG"

My main champ is Vi and ever since i started picking her up at the beginning of season 3, she has been carrying me ever since. With this simple and in-depth guide, It will help you climb easily out of you division and into the next!

You can tune into my stream at Twitch.tv/Lawloria as I am there to help you guys out with any questions you have and help you with tips and tricks that I picked up from playing her

As far as getting to know me more here are what my stats look like during season 4 from both my accounts. Currently Lawloria and 420BLaZeYoLoSWaG are Diamond 5

Feel free to comment and rate as this is my first guide! Doing my best to help you guys!

Do also to remember to hover over the posted notes as it does explain more on it!

Vi's Pros and Cons

Pros

+ Strong early Ganks
+ Great jungle clear
+ Very strong CC in teamfights
+ Very tanky and high damage
+ Good counter jungler
+ Easy to pick of squishy targets
+ Can peel extraordinary with Ult+Q combo
+ Best initiation
+ Possibility of Carrying a weak team
+ Very Mobile

Cons

+ No escape after you go in
+ Q can be interrupted (Soraka silence OP)
+ Ulting to early can be suicide
+ Can get kited easily if Combo does not follow

MARKS



Greater Mark of Attack Damage This is pretty standard in Junglers who are AD. This really helps you give that extra damage you need to clear out camps as fast as you can. Running this or Pen is great way to be successful with Vi.

Greater mark of armor penetration

Greater Mark of Armor Penetration This is more so a situational decision. When the enemy team is pretty tanky, running 9 of these is not a bad idea, as it is great for scaling later in the game.

SEALS


Greater Seal of Scaling Armor is pretty standard once again in most Junglers who are AD. there is situations where you can run Health Seals, but this is all a preference and I have seen more success running armor.



Greater Seal of Armor is still great to use if you cant afford or dont have room to use the scaling armor seals. This will help you early on in the game with staying alive against the jungle creeps. Post-6, scaling runes will overpower the regular runes.

GLYPHS


Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist The reason why I prefer the scaling over the standard MR glyphs is that it really helps Vi going into the late game, there isn't really great itemization for going MR but these glyphs really help out later into the game.

QUINTESSENCES


Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage Is another standard for AD junglers. There are times that I've tried out Movement Speed, but this is a preference of mine. This really helps you with your early dominance in damage.

This is what I call my standard AD Jungler page, this page is very useful to many junglers who are more based on Auto Attacking the jungle creeps, appose to using many abilities. 21 in Offense really helps you give that early damage every Vi needs and 9 in Defense is what you'll fill out the rest of your points.

KEY OFFENSE MASTERIES

Double-Edged Sword is really good with Vi in helping you dish out more damage, although you'll be taking more, it's a good trade-off since Vi's passive gives her the chance to get extra damage taken safely.

Butcher is great with Vi as it deals additional damage to the jungle creeps and restores your Health and mana. this works well with the Elder Lizards passive.

Spell Weaving + Blade Weaving are what boosts Vi's burst nicely. Following through with a proper combo on a enemy really helps put these masteries to use.


KEY DEFENSE MASTERIES

Tough Skin is a great pick up since all you will be doing early on in the game is taking damage from jungle creeps. Reducing damage is always good!

Veteran Scars + Juggernaut are both a must to fill out your defense page. As they give you bonus health, it is the perfect combo with your Runes and Masteries.

What to take on Vi


With a new jungle, there usually comes new items, and the ranger's trailblazer seems to be Vi's prime item. The new jungle has brought alot of new junglers into this season, but not much has change for Vi, still being a top tier jungler. The trailblazer is what really replaces the season 4 elder lizard. The ranger trailblazer brings everything you'll need for Vi which is CD, DMG, and armor pen. Not only does it give Vi all the tools of success, it also allows you to stun jungle creeps and do AoE dmg to them while clearing! This item seems to be the goto item for Vi for season 5.



This item is another good pick for Vi. The cool thing about the Skirmisher's sabre is that you can use your smite on enemies, dealing a small amount of true damage to them over time. Another cool tip about this item is that you can smite the enemy while you are chanelling your ULT. This item though has its downsides compared to the Ranger's. The CD on smite is 60 seconds so clears will be slower, and will be taking more damage in the jungle. None the less, still a great item to get on Vi.

What NOT to take on Vi



This item is just a no in my books. Yes the slow is helpful, it is just like exhausting an enemy without the damage debuff. BUT you DO NOT NEED this item since Vi has 2 abilities for gap closing. If you can do your combo correctly when ganking, There is no need for this item to be in your build.



Just like Stalker blade, you will not need this item in your build. I do not see the benefit of the item currently being great enough to trade it for true damage or power farming. This item grants you small bonus gold and 175% movespeed when stealing the enemies jungle creeps. Vi at most times will not be power farming or invading the enemy jungler. It is best to stick to Skirmishers or Ranger at this time.

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QUESTION THAT KEEPS BEING BROUGHT UP

Why build The Brutalizer again even though we built it in Ranger's Trailblazer - Warrior ?!?!!?

The unique passive does not stack when you turn the The Brutalizer into Ranger's Trailblazer - Warrior. when you build your first jungle item, you will have 10 armor pen and 10% Cooldown reduction. After completing your jungle item, getting The Brutalizer again will give you 20 armor pen in total and 20% Cooldown reduction. In total, you should have 25% Cooldown reduction (35 if you got blue) and 20 armor pen (32 if running Armor Pen' marks.)

THIS IS INCLUDING YOUR RUNES AND MASTERIES.

FINAL BUILD PATHS + DESCRIPTION

This is what your typical final build will look like if you are facing a balanced team with AD and AP. This build allows you to be very tanky while being able to do a lot of damage to the enemy carries. This build will give you a chance to get into the back line and do tremendous amount of damage. Remember to save The Brutalizer until you have all your other items to upgrade it to Black Cleaver for most proficiency.


Going this build path has some risks to it, but with a good early lead that you can snowball into late game, this build is very strong. Generally if I were to get an early double kill or even triple and to be able to stay alive in early team fights, I would recommend this build. A must to remember though going what I like calling the shotgun Vi build, Only build this if you can go in and kill carries and get out alive, meaning that the enemy team is not focusing you, nor CC'ing you. This build is also great when your TOP laner and SUPPORT are very tanky, which your team will need some damage. Remember to start Sheen when you start building the Trinity Force. Remember to save The Brutalizer until you have all your other items to upgrade it to Black Cleaver for most proficiency.


This is what one of my builds would look like if I am facing an ALL AD TEAM. It's not so often that teams make the mistake of picking all the same damage composition. When they do though, this build is prime in being tanky and being able to do tons of damage. Going with Randuin's Omen is great for the Huge bonus in health and armor, giving you an active slow as well. Thornmail being great for the huge flat amount of armor it gives. Not only the bonus defense stat, it will return damage to the enemy attacking you! Remember to save The Brutalizer until you have all your other items to upgrade it to Black Cleaver for most proficiency.

This is what one of my builds would look like if I am facing a HEAVY AP TEAM. Just like facing a all AD team, it's not so often you will face a heavy AP team, meaning that the enemy team consists of a AP TOP laner, AP MID laner and AP JUNGLER. When you do face this type of team though, this build is strong in being able to tank out the damage/burst they have while being able to dish out the deeps. the passive the Maw of Malmortius gives you is great when you are very low being bursted. The maw will give you an extra defense stat in shielding incoming AP damage. Remember to save Hexdrinker until you have all your other items to upgrade it to Maw of Malmortius for most proficiency.

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ITEM DESCRIPTION



Ranger's Trailblazer - Warrior This is pretty much the better of the jungle items for Vi. Helps her clear time by a lot and keeps you alive longer in the jungle to let you gank more often. The smite buff this item gives you stuns all creeps in the area, not only that but the cooldown of smite is lowered to 45 seconds. Great early item for Vi.



Mercury's Treads Just like the Skirmisher's Sabre, mercury treads are bought in 97-99% of my matches. The only time I wont pick these up is if I am facing an all AD team or that they have no CC and a heavy Auto Attack team. Nonetheless, buying these bad boys are great to help you out with the Tenacity and give you some MR. These are usually finished after I get brutalizer.



Black Cleaver This item really helps you in every aspect. Gives you good CDR, some health to help you out in being the bruiser Vi is and the armor-pen that brings joy to your heart. Normally I never finish black cleaver as a 3rd item. in the case that I'm far ahead and not getting caught, I buy black cleaver. If not, Usually save it for last item as the brutalizer is a great item all around to start with.



Randuin's Omen This is what helps Vi extraordinarily after she is in the middle of the enemy team. I really wanna emphasize on how much better this item is than Sunfire Aegis, Not only does Randuin's give you more health and armor, but it also gives you and active that will slow your enemy down, helping you stay real close to their carries. Never buy Sunfire Aegis on Vi, always stick to Randuin's because at around this time in the game, you will be starting to have team fights and it is important to be able to successfully kill their carries as soon as you can.



Banshee's Veil This item will save your life in certain situations while diving into your enemy team. The Banshee is a great MR item to get after your Randuin's as it will once again help you more in situational team fights. The active on this item is absolutely a necessary to have on any Vi build. It will allow you to have the chance to walk through enemy CC and destroy the carries on the enemy team. usually I finish this right after Randuin's in my normal build, If it is a heavy AP team, I get it after Locket.



Maw of Malmortius This is a situational item in my builds. When facing a heavy AP team, this item is key for being able to stay alive against all incoming damage. The passive on this item is one of the best, As you gain a shield for any incoming AP damage when your health is low. Adding this item into your build will not only help you stay alive longer in the team fights, but will also help you do more damage. Just like having The Brutalizer in your build, save the final build of this item for your 6th item, as Hexdrinker provides you with great stats for its price early on.



Trinity Force This again is a situational item I really enjoy building on Vi. As the puns flow, This item brings tons of damage for sure. Speeds up your clear times, gives you burst and helps your movement speed. Only when I am ahead and the team does not have a Tanky comp, I enjoy building trinity force on Vi. But be careful, building this item takes time as it will set you to farm more. This is why this item is situational to how far ahead you are in the game. Only build this if you are certain you can keep your lead. A must remember also is to start with Sheen as this item really helps you Burst when you combo it with your E:Excessive Force.



Warmog's Armor This item is usually built after getting a Banshee's and a Randuin's. This really kicks you tankiness to another level. Around this time you should be sitting pretty to having plus 3k health with enough Armor and Magic Resist. The warmog is the perfect touch as it helps you with Health Regen and overall health. This is a must buy for late game in my standard build.



Thornmail Just like the Locket, the Thornmail is a situational item based on the team you are facing. I usually get this after Randuin's if the team that I'm facing is all AD. This item really underrated in many builds. Not only does is vastly steps up your armor, it also redirects 30% of the damage you are taking to the enemy as magic damage. This item is definitely great for when you are facing heavy AD comps and heavy Auto Attack teams.

What to take on Vi



Flash is a must for me when I play Vi, as this can create opportunities to outplay your enemy. Combos such as charging up your Q and flashing while dashing are OP for early game. Most of the time I burn my flash to get a successful gank off.



Smite is a must with all junglers, as this spell can secure Objectives such as Buffs, Dragon and Baron Nashor

What NOT to take on Vi



Ghost is something I really prefer to not take on Vi. I understand that it will help your Movespeed while charging your Q or even to just chase an enemy down. The thing is Vi already has 2 gap closers so using ghost is not needed. The different between Flash compared to Ghost is that Flash can open up opportunities to create plays that would not be there with Ghost. The only time I can understand a Vi taking Ghost is that if they are not level 10 to be able to unlock flash.

Blast Shield (Passive) This passive gives Vi a shield based on her max health each time she hits an enemy with an active ability. This is what helps Vi become a monster in the early game with her ganks, duels and team fights. This passive gives you the chance to be able to be aggressive against your opponents and be forgiven when in trouble. If the situation arises where you are low in a team fight, ignited, creeps may kill you after a fight, do your best to use an ability on a minion or champ to activate the passive, possibly giving you the chance to survive long enough.


Vault Breaker (Q) This is what makes Vi so strong. This ability lets you charge forward a short distance and doing damage both based on how long you charged it. It is important to remember that while charging your Vault Breaker, you are being slowed. Maxing this first is Mandatory in order to be successful with Vi. As it lowers the CD on it and increases the damage, since this is your primary source of damage. Vault Breaker is great for engaging, since if you land it on a champion, it will CC them for a short period of time, also knock them up for potentially a combo with Yasuo or such. This ability is not only great for engaging but Disengaging and dodging skill shots. Its important to always be wary of how much poke they have to be able to position yourself correctly to have a great engage/Disengage.

Denting Blows (W) This ability lets Vi's third auto attack or spell deal a % of her targets maximum health as bonus damage, reduces their armor by 20%, and increases her attack speed. This is what I start off with when i'm level 1 in the jungle as it helps for first buff. Keep in mind that this does percent of targets health, so focusing the tank that is in your back line, peeling for your ADC or MID is not a bad idea.


Relentless Force (E) This Spell gives the ability to let Vi hit targets further away, also behind what she is targeting. Using this ability is best in between auto attacks. It is also a good idea to use this when you first start stacking denting blows on a creep wave or jungle creeps, as it will speed up your clear time. This ability works very well with sheen if you are to build the damage route of Vi. Always make sure to grab Sheen first of the Trinity Force build if you plan on going shotgun Vi.


Cease and Desist (R) Vi's ultimate is definitely my favorite in the game, which is why I love playing her so much. This ability brings you to them for a slam dunk. This is why Vi is eligible for the dunk squad :). Anyways, This is a great ability to use for engaging and peeling. If used correctly this can dismantle the placement of the enemy's team which can cause a lot of chaos for them. Whenever I am ahead, I love using this ability to bring me straight to the back line for a 1 shot on their ADC or MID. But be cautious, this ability can get you into a lot of trouble as well. Since this ability will follow them after they flashed, you can end up underneath their turret, which can give them a free kill potentially. When in doubt, If ahead use to initiate, when behind, use to peel.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

Vi's power is all about the early game. If you can have a successful early game, the late game that follows will be cake!

It's important to always know where the enemy laner wards. This can be tough if your team does not help you, as you will need to be very keen on what every laner is doing at all times.

What makes it more tough is knowing where the enemy jungler wards. This is why having a good early game will only set you up for success, by success I mean being able to have vision on what the enemy team is trying to do at all times.

Constantly warding the enemy jungle camps with Stealth Ward will help your team tremendously with vision on the enemy jungler. Knowing where the enemy jungler is half the battle!

With deep stealth wards in the enemy jungle, it's good to follow that with Vision Ward in the river. This will help know when and how the enemy jungler will gank your team lanes. As I want to stress of the importance of wards, It will always mean a matter of life and death with knowing where your enemy is.

On this map, Green bubbles indicate where you should place Stealth Ward on the map.

The Pink bubbles indicate where good places you can place Vision Ward on the map.

Note that certain pink bubbles do share blue side and purple side. These are both prime places for both teams to ward.

The letter inside the bubble represent the side you are playing.

If you are playing on the blue side, the green bubbles with the B indicate where you should ward on the map.

The same goes for the Purple side with the letter P in them, indicating where you should ward on the map.

A good Rule of thumb to follow by is every time you go back to base. Pick up a Stealth Ward and a couple of Health Potion.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE PART 2

A good thing to know is what type of jungler you are playing. With all the champs that can do well in the jungle, I have broken it down into 4 Sub-catagories of junglers.

High-Sustain Junglers

i.e ( Lee Sin, Elise)

Surprisingly, Vi falls into this category. Her passive is what keeps her from her first clear alive and well enough to gank successfully. These junglers are able to take little damage and clear fast enough to be optimal in ganking and power farming.

Average Junglers

i.e ( Jarvan IV, Kha'Zix)

These type of junglers are the ones who have a harder time clearing the jungler compared to farmers and high-sustain champions. This is your basic jungler, who can averagely clear fast enough and stay healthy enough to gank early on.

Tank Junglers

i.e ( Rammus, Zac, Nautilus)

Tank junglers, just like average junglers don't have the fastest clear or have high health after first clear, but funny enough, these champs are able to clear well enough slowly and stay with good enough health to gank due to there tanky nature.

Farming Junglers

i.e ( Udyr, Master Yi, Warwick)

These junglers are the ones who who want to clear everything in their jungle, and possibly yours to. The main focus is to get as much xp and gold fast enough to out level and out damage you later on in the game. This does come with the trade off of not pressuring early on, something that high-sustain and average junglers excel at.

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Each of these type of junglers have their own path they follow to get the most optimal time for clearing while getting the most XP/Gold they can. That being said, we are going to focus on Vi in this guide.

This is what a typical High-Sustain junglers route will look like early in the game, this will let you be able to have double buffs, gank either lane (Mid/Top) and then go back to one of your camps (if you have enough health) to reach level 4 and grab your machete upgrade into your Skirmisher's Sabre.

This is not some SET IN STONE JUNGLE ROUTE, You can start the opposite buff from your bot lane, then proceed to get a early gank off bot. If you decide to run that route, make sure you goto Buff, wolves, then buff. The Wraith camps currently early game does to much damage to you to be able to sustain enough health to get a good gank off. Follow this route will lead you to success.

Following this route, starting with bot side helping you leash will give you the most favorable advantage in being able to sustain long enough and well enough to get successful ganks off.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE PART 3

While i play, i always leave a notepad open on my desktop to remind me of simple tips to follow while playing help me become more successful.

Here are some key tips to follow during Season 5!

- Smite enemy wolves for free vision

- Early Dragon is a MUST for champs that are HYBRID on your team
(Jax,Akali,etc)

- With Skirmisher's, Smite while ULT is channeling

- Go for early Dragon with champs like Nunu/Urdyr

- Smite Wraiths before you go for ganks for free sweeper (if warded)

- Get Skirmishers if they have invisible laners (Talon,Akali,Rengar,Vayne)

- DO NOT do early Dragon with non-sustain junglers

- DO NOT buy stalker with carry/farmer junglers (Rengar,Jarvan IV, Kha'Zix, Master Yi)

- Buying Rangers is FINE if you do not know what Jungle item to go with

- Poachers Knife currently is BAD so DO NOT BUY EVER.

- Remember to buy a ward and 2 pots every back to base!!!!!.

Following these simple tips always keep me on my game, if they can help me climb the ladder, they can help you guys too!

League of legends is a team-based game. In order to win, you must work as a team.
There are many champs that Vi works well with in being able to do the infamous "Wombo Combo." That being said, Here are some champions that I really enjoy synchronizing with on the fields of Justice!



Yasuo is pretty self-explanatory for this duo. His ULT Last Breath works off both your Q and your ULT. Most Yasuo's play mid lane so coming from the side lane with a ULT Cease and Desist initiation will be only followed up with a good Yasuo ULT. You do not want to Vault Breaker in first as it is important to keep the thrill of the hunt continued (wrong champ lol.) after the duo of ULT's and the enemy lane flashes away, this is where your Vault Breaker comes in for the chase. Always save your Q for the enemy escape.



Thresh can easy send Vi on the "Thresh Express." A good thresh player will send his lantern Dark Passage back for you while his Death Sentence is on the enemy, sending you right at their feet. Vi can easily send the enemy into a chain of CC that the enemy should find only death from.



Orianna Is the definition of what we call the "Wombo." There is nothing more glorious seeing your ULT Cease and Desist channeling whilst Orianna's ball is on you. Knowing that only a good Command: Shockwave combo is to come.



Braum Is your typical support that fits well with almost any team comp. With his OP passive Concussive Blows, you can easy get early successful ganks off. Braum's ULT Glacial Fissure works very well with Vi's ULT Cease and Desist as not only does it knock them up but will apply a stack of his passive. This will help further stunning your enemy as you can get 2 AA's off on time before they can move.



Kayle Is a great champion to go along with Vi. Her ULT Intervention will allow Vi to be unharmed going in after Vi's ULT Cease and Desist has finished. Giving Vi the freedom to harass the enemy back-line freely. Not only kayle's ULT do all that, she also has Divine Blessing which heals you and give you movement speed aswell, Aiding you in the pursuit of Dunking them to death.



Lulu Is a champ that I personally really enjoy playing with. Lulu has all the steroids you need to be and unstoppable force. Her ULT Wild Growth will give you extra Defense to keep you alive longer in the back-line. It also gives the enemy a knock-up, CC'ing them more. Her W Whimsy will speed you up and her E Help, Pix! will shield you based on her AP. What else is there to ask for from a champion?



Maokai Can be your best friend if played correctly. His ULT Vengeful Maelstrom is a mobile passive that will give you bonus defense in diving into the enemy back-line. Chaining your CC together will put them into over 5 seconds of hard CC. Not only do Maokai's usually build straight Tank, but they also have their own healing which will keep them in the enemy back line for longer, which means you'll get more bonus defensive stats off of them.



Zilean just like Lulu, has all the steroids you need to be able to venture into the enemy back-line with ease. His ULT Chronoshift is what makes Zilean so strong. An Active Guardian Angel on his cast that will grant you health bases on his Ability Power. Not only can you be revived in the mists of a team fight, but he can also slow the enemy down OR speed you up with Time Warp to aid you in dunking the enemy to death.

VIDEO COMING SOON

Vi is a very fun champ to play in the jungle and I advise everyone to try these builds out! She is very easy to play and has a lot of potential to be played at a high skill-cap. As Vi carried me into higher Elo, she can carry you as well. Best of luck on the fields of Justice!

Don't forget to comment and rate this guide!