Build Guide by Crazy Smurf

Introduction ~Heyo Everyone.

For the few words of introduction. At the beggining I'd like to show you some basic things, of course, our today's subject: Vladimir

Furthermore, we will visit the Dark Lands, scorched battlefields etc. I was trying to make it look more epic.

What you will find:

- Vladimir Item, Runes, Spells, Masteries Builds
- In-depth thoughts on how to and how not to play Vladimir
- Some nice ideas for your own use
- Badass Banner (Look up)
- More Badass Custom Skin (Love it)

If you liked this guide, be sure to check my Twisted Fate one and please, subscribe us top, comment below and I don't remember what Phreak actually said.

Pros / Cons ~What's so cool about Vladimir?

Pros:
- Amazing AP/HP/CD outcome thanks to Blood Pact
- He is able to perfrom a role of MageOffSelfTankCarryingSquishesInTwoHits
- Self-Healing, improved greatly with Will of the Ancients
- Sanguine Pool allows you to stay safe in most of the cases
- Transfusion is the best last hitting skill in the game due to no time travel
- Hemoplague gives you a beast advantage in team fights if used properly
- His Basic and Custom Skins are all badass
- You can call him Vlad, simply cool, isn't it?
- He lanes as much as he wants to, usually...

Cons:
- Poor Movement Speed (380 with Sorc. Shoes)
- It's harder until level 9 comes in
- His skill are not scalling with AP THAT great
- Usually targeted first due to enormous AoE damage output

Overview ~Let's take a look, shall We?

The Two Ways - AP versus HP:

So, when HP Vladimir has really, really tons of health his damage output is to say... fair. With about 250-300 AP you can do something. Now for AP Vladimir, you get 250% of HP Vlad's Ability Power and almost the same (+/- 100-300 HP) ammount of HP.

I guess you see the outcome.

Skills ~Waiter! One Bloody Mary, please!

Summoner Spells ~To take... or not to take.

Skills you should take:

Explaination:
- Ghost is by far the best skill on Vlad, as he lacks speed sometimes.
- Flash if you have someone like Janna, Sivir or Nunu in your team.
- Ignite ...just take it, for obvious reasons.

Skills you can(eh...) take:

Explaination:
- You should stay in lane for a long time so take Teleport, if you know you can't.
- Feeling unsafe against CC? Cleanse is your friend, Condoriano.
- You really want it? Then swap Ghost for Exhaust

Skills you must never ever take:

- Heal... You have self-healing skills, right?
- Revive Just don't take it, please.
- Clarity If you still see that blue bar, stop playing for a week.
- Fortify Just no, let the tank take it.
- Rally Look Up.
- Smite Later your Skills will hit for that ammount each 3-5 seconds...

Not Mentioned:

Reason: If you're that desperate on Arranged Games and your team don't have one... feel free to lose a spell slot.

Masteries ~Mastering the Mastery of Masteries.

9/21/0:

Offense:
- Stanard for each Caster.

Defense:
- Take +6 to Armor and MR, just for earlier survability
- 2 points in Dodge to get that 1%
- Less damage from minions is GREAT on Vlad as you will encounter lots of them and you want your heals to be most effective
- Physical damage block
- Veteran Scars are obvious
- Ardor... Screw the 4% in AS, 4% stacked with your 30% Rabadon is a true win for Vladimir, trust me.
- 4% reduced damage. Minions do ****, non-totally-offensie Champions shall bow before you as soon as you get Rabadon.

Runes ~Muahahah, I'm a Rune Master!

x9
Greater Seal of Vitalityx9
x9
x3

12300in total.

Explaining:
Magic Penetration (Marks, Quints): Total for 14 MP at the beginning.
HP per Level (Seals): 180 HP in the end, still nice.
Flat Magic Resist (Glypsh): You get an additional 19,5(~20) Magic Resist at the beggining meaning you are just hard to kill^^

Items ~We all like them

Now. Why? Why there is no Rylai here?
Okay, from the beggining:
- Sorcerer's Shoes, when combined with runes give you a total of 34 MPen, considering that most of the non-tank champions get about 30-45 Magic Resist, everyone between these values will have a really hard time with you.
- Will of the Ancients, there are many reasons why I love this item. It provides extra healing with all your skills, 20% + 30AP Aura and huge boost to Transfusion (Double Ammount of Heal). TIP: Tides of Blood will heal you after getting WoTA:)
- Rabadon's Deathcap, this item outranks Rylai on Vladimir. It provides you with a lot of AP, which scales greatly later on and provides a lot of health as the game continues.
TIP: One Elixir of Brilliance is hella useful with Rabadon and Ardor, buy them everytime you have a chance.
TIP 2: Somehow, it raises your damage to turrets.

Once again:
- Rylai's Crystal Scepter, there's nothing wrong with taking it before Rabadon. Just, more AP = more pure damage, it's up to you when it come to Rylai.
- Mejai's Soulstealer, I've never been a fan of snowball items. This one seems fair on Vladimir, but you know... one Rabadon gives you more AP then 20 Mejai stacks...
- Haunting Guise, Good Early game. You can swap it later for Void Staff against heavy tanks.
- Void Staff, All against tanks, totally. No need to comment.
- Spirit Visage, At first I underestimated this item combo with WoTA but it's really nice, later you can swap it for Rabadon/Rylai
- Zhonya's Hourglass, just in case, if you want to have more AP and defensive power then this item gives you it.

Which and When?
- If you feel that their DPSes are doing too well get Thornmail to just rape them.
- Randuin's Omen comes handy with it's active allowing you for a total CC during Sanguine+Ultimate combo.
- Force of Nature is a great choice if their Casters are heavy on AP f.e Veigar, and +8% to Mov. Speed, sweet on Vlad.
- Warmog's Armor Eh, oh well, I have never been a fan of this one to be honest. It's just a waste to get HP Vlad, but if you like it.

In total, my full build against normal team (2 DPS, 2 Casters, Tank; 2 of them doing well) would be:

Gameplay ~Taking Care of Mid Lane.

Vlad is simply, the best Mid Laner in the game. However some enemies may be difficult:
Anivia, if played right. Get boots first to avoid her attacks and harass her.
Ryze, after his "nerf" he may throw that balls like crazy on you... just play defensive.
Swain, Heal vs Heal. But he has something like Mana, so play wisely and make him lose that source.
Teemo, Annyoing Brat... he is a squisher, but he kills really fast. Just be faster and make use of Sanguine.
Ezreal, Excluding his squishness, he has long range and can harass you through your minions, take care, he is a hard one, remember to avoid his Ultimate with Sanguine, it's crucial.
Karthus, Look at Anivia and do almost the same.
Katarina, the last one. She is tough, as she has no mana as well, meaning the one who deals more damage will need to recall faster.

How to...
~1.Farm
~2.Harass
~3.Gank

AD.1 Use Transfusion on Caster Minions, they are free gold and you can finish them in few hits. When it comes to other minions just let them approach the turret and finish them with Transfusion. Use Tides of Blood on low health waves.

AD.2 Go from left/right, hit them, then repeat it, sooner or later they will start pulling off when they see, then you must "pull off" as well and get ASAP to hit with Transfusion. Mind Tricks win the Mid, the one who uses his Mind better wins.

AD.3 Ganking is a pleasure with Vladimir, but do it only after buying boots. Just approach a lane, wait for a good moment, pop in -> Ghost -> ToB + Transfusion -> Ignite -> Sanguine -> ToB + Transfusion = +xxx value gold.

Gameplay ~Laning with Partner.

I hate it... I despise laning with anyone, it makes me sick. Damned stealers... but anyway, try laning with a Stealthy/Tank Character, like Evelynn or Shen. Yeah, Vladimir and Shen are awesome if played correctly. I can't tell much, it's just a slower mid, get Tides of Blood at level 2 though to have some minion nuke power.

Gameplay ~Team Fights.

Well, the crucial thing is to attack from behind when they have about 60% of health.
Randuin's Omen comes really handy there due to Mega Slow with Sanguine Pool and awesome AoE damage output, your team will love you for doing so.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:
- Take Squishers like Twisted Fate, Teemo, Twitch, Pantheon or Ezreal first. They can deal insane damage, but they die quickly, your AoE will rape others and the tank as well so take it easy.
- There is one fun things if you have Rylai with you, spamming Tides of Blood is a good idea to root them in place, if you have any Carry with CC Tryndamere, Twitch or Jax then it's even better, if you guys time your slows/stuns right they are by far dead
- Transfusion should always be used on Squishers/Carries. If you have an opportunity to finish them in Tides of Blood->Transfusion Instant Combo, do so!
- The best possible combo is: Ghost, Run into the battle and pop Hemoplague, immediately after cast Tides of Blood, Randuin's Omen if you have one, Ignite a nd Transfusion on the lowest HP target, now your Hemoplague should have triggered and the Ghost has ended. Pop your Tides of Blood and Transfusion and catch them with Sanguine Pool. It ensures yourself a double-triple kill almost each battle giving you about 1,000 gold.

Gameplay ~Early-Mid Game

Recalling:

Beggining: Health Potion and Amplifying Tome is the standard for Vladimir. If you are sure about encountering Karthus or Anivia on Mid take Boots of Speed and Health Potionx3.

First Recalling: Make sure to have at least 1900-2100 Gold or so. If you don't have the money, just buy Sorcerer's Shoes, but if you have them go for Hextech Revolver as well.

Second Recalling: About levels 7-8. If you have 1600 gold get one Needlessly Large Rod, if not stick with Blasting Wand.

Gameplay:
You will only want to last hit minions, Vladimir is not Ashe, He can't push that much. Whenever enemy gets too close, hit them with Transfusion and run, about level 5 you will start dealing really hard damage.
TIPS:
- It's always good to finish Tank Minions, they give about 34 gold.
- If you see Caster Minions on low health, use Tides of Blood to get some free cash.
- Transfusion works better as a last hit on Caster Minions, until level 7-9 due to the cooldown. Fighter Minions have higher MR and more health so don't concentrate them that much early game.

PS: I trust you're on the Mid Lane, this is not a guide for Laning with Vladimir.

Gameplay ~Mid-Late Game

Let's say you already have:
- Sorcerer's Shoes
- Hextech Revolver
- Needlessly Large Rod
- Blasting Wand

Now your main targets are Team Fights, if you can ensure yourself a double kill or an Ace you will mostly get Rabadon's Deathcap after the first Mid Game Recall.
Secondly, you must end Will of The Ancients to get Aura for the Team Fights. Considering your high damage it won't be a problem to get cash.
TIPS:
- With Rabadon your farming abilities are insane, clear lanes, defend turrets, if possible gank the team fighters, surprise attack is the best one.
- Don't be afraid of the jungle, if you have free time to spare, clear Wraths, Wolves and Golems for some free cash.

About the enemy:

- 4th Item should be defensive. REMEMBER: Always buy Elixirs, they are more than helpful when you have Rabadon.
- I'd advice looking at the Items Section, however remember that Randuin's Omen and Force of Nature are by far the most effective defensive items on Vladimir as they support his skills/himself a lot.

Gameplay ~Late Game

Let's say you already have:
- Sorcerer's Shoes
- Will of the Ancients
- Rabadon's Deathcap
- Randuin's Omen or Force of Nature or Thornmail

Now, about the next 2 Items. If the enemy tank is doing quite good on stacking MR get a Void Staff to beat him out and destroy the rest of team in the matter of seconds. If you don't it I'd suggest getting Rylai's Crystal Scepter or another Rabadon's Deathcap.

The last item, you will probably have cash for something cheap like Spirit Visage or Hextech Revolver or Haunting Guise. If you do, get one, you will transform it later in almost anything you would like to. The Game shouldn't really last that long to be honest.

Screenshots, Badass Skin etc. ~A Godly Vladimir

Old good times with Old Vladimir Skin (Count Vladimir, I miss You). Wait. Gankplank?!
Now, for the usual scores with Vladimir
@up: Yeah, thanks to the team of squishers and carries I was able to go all offensive, got about 900 AP with Elixir.

And here, a really quick game, they surrendered, too bad.

Summary ~This is where it ends.

Thank you for reading Vladimir of Castlevania guide, I hope you enjoyed it.

Credits:
- To my buddies for letting me test this build countless times
- To the wonderful guy from League Craft for creating that Skin
- To Riot for creating such champion as Vladimir
- To all of of the Guide Makers, they gave me a lot of ideas

Useful Link:
Click to get so badass Skins for all Champions!

The things MOBAfire has not counted:
- It shows about 2,600 HP, where getting the right build would cause it to get about 3800-4000 HP.

Change Log

20-02-2011: Vladimir of Castlevanie has been created.