Hello Summoners!

I am s LessThanThree. I was the 16th best Viktor player in the world Season 4 and have experience playing in the semi-pro competitive scene.

I am now a Cassiopeia and Zed main due to the state of the meta, Viktor is still among my favorite champions however.

I know the limits and abilities of Viktor, and have tried many different strategies and builds, and discovered some of the most efficient ones. We all know Viktor is all about maximum efficiency!

Other champions I love are Zed Cassiopeia Azir Lucian Mordekaiser Yasuo

I am available on League for advice, duo, chat, and mentorship if anyone is interested

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Viktor, despite being not high tier at the moment, still retains some of the highest burst damage on any champion in the game - rivaled only by Kassadin and Brand.

He is an all around powerful champion with a few exploitable weaknesses but also many devastating benefits when mastered and played by a skilled Summoner.

Viktor is also a very unique champion, which is what makes him unappealing to many players. His high skillcap, high skill floor, and strange gameplay may be a barrier but also make him a very fun champion to play.


This guide will concisely cover the most important concepts you will need to know to start down the path of discovering true power, and eradicating all fleshy meat bags!

Pros:

+ Snowballs hard
+ High skillcap
+ Massive AoE
+ Easy farming
+ One of the highest damage outputs in the game
+ Can shred carries and tanks alike
+ Excellent teamfighter and duelist
+ Decent kiter
+ Excellent scaling

Cons:

- Very item reliant and early game reliant
- Difficult to play
- Many ways to build him wrong (trap items)
- Unique playstyle
- Highly punished for positioning mistakes
- Low mobility
- Needs peel from divers e.x. Vi, Maokai, Zed
- Mana problems

Spell #1:
Flash - Necessary no matter what

Spell #2:
Ignite - best spell on Viktor, it gives him the slight extra boost to 100-0 enemies
Exhaust - rare but works against assassins like Zed, if you are used to using exhaust against them
Ghost - Can be useful, Viktor is an excellent kiter, and with ghost, and Q augment, his movement speed will be insane

Start:

- along with 2 health potions, the optimal start I always take

Core:

- Hex Core Mk-1 and Evolve E should be your top priority, getting this item will grant you a huge power spike and you should buy if you have enough gold. Getting this on your first back is IMPERATIVE. If you back without 1150 gold for this item, you will either be set behind by not spending gold, OR you will delay your scaling significantly by not getting this item early.

ITEM #1 OPTIONS:

LICH BANE or LUDENS ECHO
Both gives CDR and Mana which is what you will need early game. Viktor full damage build is the ideal build for him, so one of the two items is going to be your next once hexcore is done

ITEM #2 OPTIONS:

GET SORC BOOTS, MAX YOUR HEX CORE TO LEVEL 3 THEN CHOOSE ONE

- This is a rational item to get, it will increase your power spike considerably

- Very good synergy with your Q, give cooldown reduction, and gives movement speed for more kiting and chasing. Overall a very good item for Viktor.

ITEM #3 OPTIONS:

- As we get closer to lategame and the enemy has start getting a lot of MR to counter your strong scaling, Void Staff is a necessary item to get

- get rabadons 3rd if you got lich bane for item 2

FINAL ITEM:

GET HEX CORE MARK 3 THEN SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING

icon=zhonya's hourglass size=50 - This item is excellent defensively while also giving tons of good AP. 120 AP, 50 armor, and invincibility all speak to you. If you are getting focused, this is a great item.

Defensive:

Icon=banshee's veil size=50 - Please don't 1 shot me Veigar.

Viktor can switch between very aggressive laner to completely passive farmer if necessary.

Level 1 - You are going to need to poke your enemy with Q. Be sure to try and prevent minion aggro from your auto-attack. You have the advantage over most laners at this point.

Level 2 - You have the supreme advantage over most laners except Cassiopeia. Use your Q and E, but don't miss.

Level 3 - Your E is stronger now, which gives you the potential to zone out your enemy as well as wave clear. Watch out, as some champions will be stronger at this point and could fire back (Zed, Syndra)

Level 4 - You don't get a power spike. Don't be too aggressive and focus on farm instead. Try to save mana for when you hit 5.

Level 5 - You have a big power spike, use your E and poke the enemy out of lane or push waves into their tower. At this point it is quite possible to get a kill on your enemy if you flash and Q-Ignite after hitting E on a low opponent, but not advisable if the enemy jungler is MIA.

Level 6 - Make use of this if you hit 6 before the enemy. You can score a kill on anyone below 60% hp. Watch their level though, some laners like Annie and Zed could use their spike to kill you instead, so choose depending on the enemy laner. You can use your pushing abilities to time your level 6 spike, but this is not always necessary. Simply outfarming the enemy laner will make you stronger, as you scale harder than them.

It is best to back around this time, and have around 1400 gold to buy Mk.1 Hexcore Augment E, and a Dorans Ring

Level 7 - You level up E again, now you can kill your opponent. Poke then burst them down.

Post 8 - Basically the same as 7. What you do depends on the opponent. Some like LeBlanc or Xerath will force you to farm it out. Some like Twisted Fate will require you to be very aggressive and keep pressure up.

Basic Laning Tips:

Last hit a minion then Q another to kill it. You can then use the empowered autoattack to finish off another.

Farming under tower: ranged minions can take one auto and one basic Q first proc to die after being hit by tower, so use that to your advantage. E.x. two ranged minions walk into your tower, tower hits one of them, you auto then Q cast on that minion before the 2nd tower shot, then use the Q proc on the second minion after the tower hits it, giving you both minions.

You don't want the lane to be pushed into you, because then you'll be vulnerable to getting poked, if you have no minions and you cant push the wave down with your E and Q yet, you can use your W in front of the wave to stun all of them. This will let your cooldowns and own minion wave some time to get there.

When clearing waves, your E is not enough to kill an entire wave early game. Auto attack the ranged minions 2-3 times before casting E. This allows you to clear all 3 ranged minions at the same time. The melee ones will require Q and auto attack last hitting skills. After Augment E and more items, your E should be able to clear waves instantly.

You will need to start farming Raptors camp and maybe wolves once you are strong enough to do it quickly. CS is big on Viktor. So get it up!

Don't spam spells, you are very mana dependent. Only use a spell when necessary or you know it will hit the enemy.

Once laning is over, you will likely want to rotate bot and secure a dragon. If you cannot get dragon, you will want to push mid tower while the enemy gets dragon, so your team gets an objective out of it. Your waveclear should be instant by now, so keep using your E to clear your mid lane, then roam to help your teammates.

Viktor is a master of teamfighting. If you are able to line up your laser and ultimate to hit 3 or more enemy players, you have basically singlehandedly won the team fight.

Splitting is rarely recommended, as most splitpushing champions can outduel you (Vayne, Tryndamere, Zed)

Viktor takes time and effort to master. He has some kinks that make him significantly more difficult to play than many mid laners, but once learned, Viktor is a great asset.

Do not give up if you do not succeed initially for the only true failures are those who give up.

Never underestimate the Machine Herald.

I will update this guide as time goes by and if demand appears.

To learn more that will help you improve - do research into Midlane minion wave management, roaming, and general game knowledge. There are many good sources for this generalized information such as skill-capped or proguides.

My stream:
https://www.twitch.tv/xlessthanthree