Vayne Build Guide by Akiyamakun

Story

The world is not always as civilized as people might think. There are still those who would follow the blackest paths of magic and become corrupted by the darker powers that flow through Runeterra. Shauna Vayne knows this fact well. As a young privileged girl in the heart of Demacia's elite, her father tried to convince her of the constabulary's ever-vigilant eye. Young and naive, she truly believed that her world was one of perfect safety, until one night, when a twisted witch took interest in her father. The malevolent woman overcame her father's conciliar guard, then tortured her family before murdering them. The young Shauna escaped only by hiding herself and then fleeing once the hag had departed, plagued by the screams of her loved ones as she ran. A burning hatred was born in her that day, one that could never be denied.

Vayne was able to take care of herself using her father's money, and she began to train as soon as an instructor would have her as a student. By the time she was a fully grown woman, she had become a grim warrior. However, the fields of battle were not to be her home. Demacia needed a protector, one who hunted those lost to the darkness. Shauna used her family's contacts to become the first Night Hunter, and now her prowess is the stuff of legends. It is said that those who practice the black arts quake when they hear that the Night Hunter is on the prowl. Despite her crusade, Shauna has looked at the League of Legends in horror. There are champions who have clearly lost themselves to the blackest of magics, and who have been embraced within the League even though they should be put down for the safety of all. The time has come for the Night Hunter to execute her secret mission - to purge the League of Legends.

Not all shadows are to be feared. At least, if Vayne has her way.

Introduction

Let me start off with this simple fact: Vayne is not the easiest carry. She has the potential to do ridiculous damage, but she is not as easy to learn as, say, Ashe. This is somewhat due to her low movespeed, no true escape methods ( Tumble has an extremely short range and Condemn has a channel time, and doesn't stun the target), and extremely low survivability. You will see how I add some survivability in these builds, generally through some extra health and resistances through runes and masteries, and a lot of movespeed. Without further ado, I present my Vayne guide.

Pros / Cons

Pros

• Extreme amounts of damage in both early and late game.
• High mobility, stealth, and good ganking.
• She makes the other team rage.
• With my Attack Speed build (2nd build) she is an incredible anti-tank.
• She can solo top. Can, not should.

Cons

• One of the lowest health bars in the game.
• AP carries generally destroy her.
• Very weak to CC, but who isn't?
• Better at killing tanky dps than other carries.
• She's not quite as hot on her classic and vindicator skins. But Dragonslayer is nice.

Runes

I generally take very offensive runes on Vayne. Greater Mark of Desolation and Greater Quintessence of Desolation are very strong choices. However, if you find yourself too fragile, I suggest Greater Quintessence of Health. For the second built Greater Mark of Attack Speed is a good choice. Generally, I find myself taking Greater Seal of Armor for stronger laning, and Greater Glyph of Magic Resist for the same reason. Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction is also good, but generally not necessary. Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration is also a viable choice if you spam skills ( Condemn especially).

Masteries

I use standard 21-0-9 masteries, with neutral buff duration and reduced death duration in utility. I also take Sorcery over Offensive Mastery on the first build. I understand that 9-0-21 is also good on Vayne, but I like Lethality and Sunder too much to let them go. However, as Attack speed Vayne doesn't use basic attacks for damage, I take 9-0-21 on her for extra movespeed, mana regen, and CDR. You might wonder why I take magic penetration in offense. This is because madred's bloodrazor deals magic damage, and therefore the extra 15% can really help.

Like so:

For the first build:

For the second build:

Summoner Spells

The Good

• Flash The general rule is that everyone must take flash, and it is definitely very important on Vayne. Between Flash, Tumble, and Condemn, few enemies will ever catch up.
• Exhaust Because Vayne is made for 1v1, she obviously must take the best spell for 1v1. Make sure to take a point in Cripple if you get this spell.
• Ghost I generally take this on Attack Speed Vayne, since you want to stick to your target like . Always take a point in Haste when you take this spell.
• Ignite Vayne has great burst, so I might take this, but it falls off late game and isn't as good as Exhaust or Ghost

The O.K.

• Teleport Always a nice spell to get around the map, especially in 5v5. However, it's better to leave it to a pusher/backdoorer like Master Yi, or a tank. Take Spatial Accuracy in utility if you do get it.
• Clairvoyance Night Hunter only activates if you can see you're enemy, why not use clairvoyance and find them for that movespeed? Still, it is better on a support. And take 9-0-21 masteries for Mystical Vision .
• Heal Never underestimate this spell. It can be the difference between being and getting first blood. Still, it falls off late game and is generally bad.
• Cleanse This spell is great against heavy cc teams, but I'd rather build Quicksilver Sash

The Bad

• Clarity Despite Vayne having a very small mana pool, this spell isn't at all necessary for her.
• Rally The Attack Damage boost is tiny, it gets destroyed in 2 seconds, and its a waste of a spell slot. Need I say more?
• Revive While you can pull off neat tricks with this, it's not a good idea because you shouldn't be dying anyway. I might take this if there was a 3rd summoner spell slot, but even then other spells would be better.
• Fortify It's mainly for tanks, Vayne has no reason to take this.
• Smite I wish Vayne was a viable jungler. Unfortunately, she isn't (though she can jungle somewhat), and this spell isn't as good as Exhaust, Ghost, or Flash.

Skill Explanation

Q-Tumble
Vayne tumbles, maneuvering to carefully place her next shot. She rolls toward the cursor and her next attack deals 40/45/50/55/60% bonus damage.
This skill is extremely versatile. It practically defines Vayne. While Tumble can't go over walls, it can:

• Dodge Skillshots.
• Reset your attack timer.
• Escape.
• Chase.
• Stealth when used with Final Hour.
• Give Vayne her huge burst.
• It makes you ROLL. What's not to love?

W-Silver Bolts
Vayne tips her bolts with a rare metal, toxic to evil things. The third consecutive attack or ability against the same target will deal 20/30/40/50/60 additional damage plus 4/5/6/7/8% of the target's maximum health as bonus true damage. (Max damage vs. monsters is capped at 200)
This ability is what made people call Vayne OP on release. It really is extremely strong. This ability can:

• Let Vayne jungle earlier than most carries.
• Make Vayne an incredible anti-tank.
• One shot Vladimir.
• Give an awesome particle effect.
• Give Vayne even MORE burst.

E-Condemn
Vayne draws a heavy crossbow from her back, and fires a huge bolt at her target, dealing 45/80/115/150/185(+0.5 per bonus attack damage) physical damage and knocking them back. If they collide with terrain, they are impaled, dealing 45/80/115/150/185(+0.5 per bonus attack damage) bonus damage and stunning them for 1.5 seconds.
This is the only CC Vayne has, and it is a strong one. A knockback and a stun? Think of it as Heroic Charge at range. Use Tumble to get in the right place. This is probably the reason Vayne is difficult to learn. This ability can:

• Interrupt channeling (goodbye, Death Lotus).
• Escape a pursuer.
• Knock someone into your team.
• Impale people.
• Give Vayne.... that's right, EVEN MORE BURST.

R-Final Hour
Readying herself for an epic confrontation, Vayne gains 25/40/55 increased attack damage, 1.5 second stealth during Tumble, and triple the bonus movement speed from Night Hunter lasting 8/10/12 seconds.
Wow. This is just an incredible ultimate. A stealth, a huge AD steroid, and a ton of movespeed. It also lasts a fairly good amount of time. This ability can:

• Let you escape or confuse your enemies with the stealth on Tumble.
• Give you the extra AD to kill an enemy.
• Even more speed.
• You get huge bolts.
• "The die is cast!"

Innate Passive-Night Hunter
Vayne ruthlessly hunts evil-doers. She gains 40 Movement Speed when moving towards an enemy champion.
This is a nice passive for Vayne. Gives you lots of speed early against enemies not buying boots first. Lets you always get off your combo (Attack, Tumble, attack, attack to trigger Silver Bolts). But, it doesn't work when running away, so don't count on it too much.

Skill Sequence

Always take a point in Tumble first. It's great for last hitting and harassing. The general sequence for my AD (first) build is >>>. The sequence for my second build is >>>. I never really deviate from these two orders, but I can see someone leveling Tumble and Condemn or Silver Bolts together.

Items

Always start with a Doran's Blade. Vayne has great early laning so a Doran's Blade really gives you an edge. Boots of Speed are also a viable choice. After that, another Doran's Blade or a Vampiric Scepter are good. I then take a B. F. Sword for the AD build and a Zeal for the second, as well as Berserker's Greaves. The core for each build is as follows:

Build 1:

Build 2:
Final Item build:

AD Build: , , , , , and finally OR . I take black cleaver if my enemies have less than 120 armor, and if there are no armor stacking tanks ( Rammus, Malphite). Otherwise, Last Whisper is a better choice.

AS Build:
, , , , ,


Frozen Mallet
This item is great if you are facing a bunch of high mobility champions ( Pantheon, Katarina, Nidalee, Master Yi if Highlander is down). The extra health is also nice, and it gives a little bit of damage. I'd probably take it in place of Last Whisper or The Black Cleaver.
Quicksilver Sash
A heavily underestimated item. Gives great magic resist and is great against a Malzahar Mordekaiser Vladimir Warwick Skarner team (5 magic damage team ftw).
The Almighty Trinity Force
Trinity Force is very good on Vayne. The extra health and mana are nice, the movespeed, damage, and attack speed are good, and the 2 on-hit effects of Sheen and Phage are quite helpful. However, the AP is useless. This item honestly needs a pros and cons list for it.
Pros

• Gives survivability, damage, and 2 on-hit effects.
• A good item for unfinished builds because it has a bit of everything.
• Phreak recommends it.
• Sheen proc + Tumble proc forms a TON OF DAMAGE.

Cons

• Gives a little of everything, but I mean a LITTLE. The health is not on par with, say, Banshee's Veil, and the offensive stats are very low.
• Sheen procs off BASE DAMAGE, not TOTAL DAMAGE. This means that late game it barely tickles your enemies.
• Trinity Force is EXTREMELY expensive.
• It isn't as good as Infinity Edge, Madred's Bloodrazor, or other items of its gold cost.

Teamfights

During a teamfight, Vayne should generally focus the highest damage dealer and take them down. Try to stay as far at the back as possible. Vayne is crushed by heavy nukes with cc
( Annie with Pyromania, Nether Grasp, Infinite Duress, things like that). If you can drop their carry and mage without dying, you have succeeded. Support and M-dps come next, and if you have stayed alive, kill their tank with your true damage on Silver Bolts

Summary

Vayne is a difficult carry, but can destroy when played the right way. She is extremely fun to play, so happy hunting, guys.