HEY WE GOT ANOTHER BUFF AND A REAL ONE THIS TIME! Arcane torpedoed us into GOD TIER, BABY. Brand new runes for old man. Psyops Viktor is stupid hot also god bless. ENJOY.

Who am I? Nobody.


Why should you listen to me, then? You don't have to. But I play Viktor a lot, I've tried every possible build, I've suffered. I know the champion mostly because I've been pigheaded enough to keep on playing him even when he's on tier Stop Playing This If You Love Yourself.

I could lie to you but long story short, playing Viktor is playing the suffering game. While I know that he has the potential for greatness, mastering him takes effort and patience and more often than not it's an exercise in futility.

Pros + Siphon Power has poke potential and can protect from Ignite. + Hextech Ray clears minion waves nicely. + Gravity Field can save you from ganks. + He will be understimated and that can work in your favor. + Can kite decently. + Nice hair. His kit makes for a dynamic and full of movement play style that I like. Dealing significant damage with Siphon Power is risky, but mostly worth it with these runes.

Cons - He's Viktor. - Perfect Hex Core first update isn't cheap, and you're forced to work with it. - Arcane Storm is slow, has ridiculously low damage and doesn't do damage over time. It pulses. It buzzes. - Every other champ can counter him. - Easy to gank, especially with Gravity Field on CD. He has to get up close and personal to cast his abilities too, which isn't ideal. Add to this that he never got his PhD, lost his best friend to academia, and that he's very sad.

I played against another VIktor once who was cocky. They were aggressive. They were overconfident. I knew the second they taunted me over chat that they'd lose the lane. Not because I'm better than anybody else, but because that is an awful mindset to play Viktor. They lost, not only their lane but the game.

Playing Viktor is an specific form of existential dread. A sysiphean torture of choice. One plays Viktor when one has nothing to lose and one figures that why the hell not.

Even god tier Viktor is suffering.

A sad academic.

After the Big Lore Stravaganza ft. Jayce and Viktor, he's a very sad and bitter man who wants to do good but lives in a lab with a bunch of automatons and organs in jars. The glorious evolution is like a research paper know. Hopefully it'll get published in The International Journal of Robotics Research. Kids say stupid *** things about him but he's pretty chill with that. Will ask for your consent before taking away your sense of fear for around 30 minutes, which is nice. Will not ask for your consent if you're Jayce and he's about to raid your lab with a mechanical reproduction of Alistar.

“A mechanized heart never misses a beat, and never falters with emotion. So why would anyone trust their life to a fragile muscle of flesh and blood?”, he says, and that's basically his entire character in a quote. Dramatic, intense, will make deeply emotional statements in which he condemns emotions.



Alas, Riot never bothered to change his quotes in-game after the Big Lore Stravaganza and he remains sounding as if he's obsessed with the so called glorious evolution and seeing himself as the herald of it all, when in the new lore it reads more like he really wants humanity to reach a new era via posthumanism and somehow his actions have lead to some developing a cult around him. He does not like the cult.

He developed and built Blitzcrank, and Stanwick Pididly stole the credit. He then asked Jayce to back him up and Jayce basically answered new phone who dis and ghosted. This, understandably, pissed him off but he marched on. Then Jayce had beef with him re: free will when it's coerced to begin with and got pissed and told on Viktor to the Academy, who kicked his *** out of the institution that was his whole life. This, too, pissed him off but mostly made him sad.

Then **** went down the drain in Zaun, Viktor needed some crystal Jayce had, went to Piltover and asked nicely for it giving no explanation whatsoever as to why he wanted it, Jayce threw a fit, Viktor stole it, Jayce raided his lab and killed a bunch of people (Viktor maybe? Jayce thought?)


Basically Viktor's whole life is a never ending parade of disasters.

And who is at fault, Viktor wonders. Emotions. Easy. To be fair, I can't blame him when he's been dealing with Jayce for, as far as we know, a fair amount of time.




Why am I telling you all this when you could go and read Viktor and Jayce's lore (please do) and basically get the same thing?

Because, to me, understanding Viktor as a character played a big role in understanding Viktor's mechanics in-game. This might sound stupid. Maybe it is. Who knows! But the more I knew about him, the more I got why he worked the way he did. I have no idea about whether or not the way he was designed followed this logic (considering the Big Lore Stravaganza, probably not) but keep in mind that playing with Viktor is a never ending parade of disasters.

You have to be careful or everyone is going to hurt you, steal your credit, pretend they don't know you and then kick you out of the Academy. It's barely metaphoric. Playing Viktor requires calm, too, but the kind of calm that is paired up with the dramatic flair of someone who plays a tier Why Are You Doing This To Yourself champion.

Viktor is a hard champion to play according to Riot itself, and Riot hates Viktor like it hates nothing else.

Why is he hard to play? Mana management, the fact that if you missused one skill when you shouldn't you're dead, you gotta have dancer's feet and you need to be aware of how fragile you are at all times. Where's the enemy jungler? You don't know? Bye!! Your role is neither assassin nor front line mage, it's to run around the fight trying to do as much damage as you can while remaining unnoticed and managing to focus the right targets.

Why is Viktor's kit fun to play anyway? In my opinion, it's unique and mobile and makes for a chance to pay more attention to the game. Here it is, roughly explained:

• Glorious Evolution: WE NO LONGER HAVE THE CURSE THE CURSE HAVE BEEN LIFTED WE ARE FREE FROM THE CURSE. Now we only have to FARM which and KILL. There are three upgrades total that I recommend to get in this order: Hextech Ray, Siphon Power, and Gravity Field.
  
• Siphon Power (Q): Hit once for a shield, hit twice for a prize. Q enemy champ then AA, deals a fair amount of damage. Easy to get overconfident though. Nice to avoid getting killed by Ignite. Makes you run faster when upgraded.
  
• Gravity Field (W): Slows and stuns, only if the enemy stays inside for long enough. It rarely happens, unless there's a team fight and you lay it there on the ground when it's too chaotic for anyone to notice that you even exist. The upgrade is fun cause everyone jumps to the center of it.
  
• Death Ray (E): The third tiny arm Viktor installed on himself shoots a laser beam in a straight line in any direction you cast it. Tricky to use at first, once you get used to it it's fun to use. The trick to it is running around too much for the enemy to figure out when and where you're going to cast it. Its upgrade is also fun cause enemies sometimes forget that the second laser happens.
  
• Chaos Storm (R): Casts an electric storm on an area that's coincidentally about the same size as Gravity Field's. You can move it around or select a target that it will follow. It pulses around three times, dealing damage every two seconds. I've literally seen people walk under it like it's no big deal. Something that's important about Arcane Storm and easy to forget is that it interrupts abilities. Keep in mind, too, that it goes faster the closer you are to it. It goes through terrain now.

Runes

Okay friends I'VE GIVEN UP. These are the good runes. RIP FASTOR 2021.
Here's what I've chosen and why:

first strike First Strike: Cash money. magical footwear Magical Footwear: I hate this rune but, again, cash money BABEEH. biscuit delivery Biscuit Delivery: It's free real healing and mana estate. cosmic insight Cosmic Insight: I miss ye olde cdr Viktor builds days so bad. manaflow band Manaflow Band: points Mana. transcendence Transcendence: points CD.

Summoner spells

Flash: I mean. You can take any other thing you want, that's up to you, but Flash's what's gonna get you out of trouble or/and in a lot of trouble if you so choose.

Ignite: Ignite is useful but worry not, you won't get kills anyway. One of Viktor's hidden passives is that your ignites are invisible to the rest of the team. So is Arcane Storm.

Teleport: It's the spell of choice as of now because it's good for farming and, with the changes to the hexcore, farming is everything now.

Ghost: I used to play with ghost. Still like it on Viktor. Sadly, no matter how hard and good you kite you gotta accept your death. It happens. Time to move on.

As I wrote up there in the notes: The only thing I can say is that you're absolutely f***d, but you picked Viktor so you know this already. Your build should adapt to what you are against, there is no one right answer for what to build with Viktor. The only two items that you should build y/y are the little crown and the little boots.

Why those core items and not others, though?

This item shouldn't exist and yet. It does. Provides a fair amount of defensive AND offensive power ALL AT ONCE.

WE ARE NOW ALLOWED TO GET THE FORBIDDEN SHOES. I GET THEM BECAUSE I CAN.

Remember abyssal mask? Me neither.

Fast.

That said, the rest of the build and even these items is up to you and who you're facing. And between us, it doesn't matter much. You can get 5 Zhonyas and xXxZedL0ver69xXx is going to kill you at least thrice anyway.

"Play better," you say, after having bested the mightiest of Zeds.

Yeah. That's fair.

Accept your mortality and that you're playing as a man that got himself a tiny wee lil third arm that has no functionality other than shooting lasers. This is who you chose. The guy who runs around the battlefield yelling "Join the glorious evolution!" and "Metal is perfection". This is who you are now. A sad nerd, academic disaster on wheels.




Take this as a chance to have fun. Take that Need To Kill pressure off your shoulders. You mostly need to avoid feeding the champ you're facing and farm to get loaded and get items. Got a kill? Cool. Got killed? Cool. We knew it was gonna happen. Take the time to enjoy the Viktor experience as much as the Viktor experience can be enjoyed.



What's important playing as Viktor?

Time yourself and your mana and try to wear out the other champion as much as you can while avoiding getting yourself in a position to get ganked. If things get slow, seek ganking opportunities but keep in mind that you pushing your lane will force your opponent to come back if they roamed and the rest of the team to keep an eye on you.

Regarding Hextech Ray, be unexpected. Look at your opponent closely and try to predict what they'll do. Trick them to move with Siphon Power then Hextech Ray too after AA. Be relentless, as Viktor has always been, and avoid casting Hextech Ray straight ahead of you if you want to damage the other champion unless it's a clear hit. Good news is some think it's shorter than it is. Bad news is Yasuos will dash in your face anyway AND their Wind Wall WILL stop a laser beam that cuts through the earth.

Remember that most opponents will understimate you and your damage and that can work in your favor, but remember too that some well known players played Viktor not that long ago and people know all his dirty little secrets, which are varied and many.

If you get ganked and you have Gravity Field up, try to run away with that. If Gravity Field is down, accept the sweet embrace of death.

Either way, keep a close eye on how the game is developing and remember that you are nothing without your team. How many kills you get doesn't matter as much as how many objectives your team manages to get.


During team fights, it's a matter of positioning and trying to deal as much damage as possible and laying down as many stuns as possible before you eventually get noticed and either manage to outrun them or get killed. That's how it is on this ***** of an Earth.

No matter the champ, try to farm as much as possible. Duh, right?

Yeah.

Heed my word.

A fair warning: My playstyle focuses on staying safe, denying farm and not letting your opponent kill you and get fed. It's defensive and aware of how greed can punish the player. Be aware of that as you read. This is, also, based on my own experience as a player and can differ from others' views and opinions.

Ahri

I don't find being against her specially hard, as in it's relatively easy to dodge her skills and by level 6 the flow of the game will be changing enough for you to be able to avoid dying. The most annoying thing about Ahri in lane is Essence Theft because it makes poking and wearing her down a challenge. Then again, most Ahris have something against them that can be their downfall: Hubris. They see a Viktor and play like it's not a big deal. They all in, they are careless, they let you hit them and walk around inside Gravity Field until they get stunned.

Orb of Deception hitting you back and forth does as much damage as your full Siphon Power plus Hextech Ray, which is cool. Try to bait (and please dodge) Charm so you are in the clear to do as much harm as possible until it's back up. Once she hits level 6, forget about ulting her unless she's already stunned.

Be aware that if one (1) Charm hits you, you're dead. Bye!

Akali

It's hard to wear an Akali down and most of them will drop Twilight Shroud the second you get too close to Q them. But, then again, Akali's kit isn't too complicated. I recommend getting Zhonya's Hourglass to avoid letting her get fed.

Against Akali is important, too, to be aware of her cooldowns and what she's doing in lane. Shadow Dance is tricky and almost impossible to avoid if she's already close but due to range if you keep your distance she's gonna have to run to you or drop Twilight Shroud, which is suspicious on its own.

Just stay focused and alert and if you're lucky or manage to make her waste abilities you'll be able to get in a fair amount of damage without losing health and even maybe get a kill. As the game progresses, due to her role as an assassin keep your eyes open and stay in group or close to your tank/support/anyone who'll help you.

Anivia

Dance. Never stay put. Make Anivia waste Flash Frost and mana with bold and bodacious steps. You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen.

Besides that, Rebirth is annoying but Arcane Storm somehow can be a useful tool against that. Blessed. Keep an eye on whether or not her passive is up and keep in mind your own positioning at all times, since a wrong move can get her an easy kill if she places Crystallize correctly.

Do not get greedy. It is dangerous. I've said this a million times and I'll say it again. Stay calm, don't get too hungry for kills and be chill.

Annie

Annie is a tough cookie (until/after rework if she does get one??) because Disintegrate is targetted and it will hit and it will hurt. It can also be a very frustrating lane due to her being able to kill you with ease if you make one (1) mistake and her probably walking out of every mistake she makes (and Arcane Storm) mostly unharmed.

That is going to happen a lot.

Try to avoid getting too close, ult or not, and wear her down with Hextech Ray. Once she's used Summon: Tibbers be aware of the cooldown because you're going to have a gap of time in which she's gonna be kind of vulnerable (if still dangerous). Use this chance to punish her a little and once you know that Tibbers is summonable again just step back.

Aurelion Sol

I have never played against Aurelion Sol as Viktor in my life. Actually, I've only played against Aurelion maybe thrice. BUT I have played Aurelion a lot (why do I do this to myself) and I know how he works.

Breath of Light can be very dangerous if the person playing Aurelion knows what they're doing. They can poke you with Cosmic Creator until you get under your turret without spending much mana. Center of the Universe also makes poking Aurelion hard, since both of you have to get close to damage the other and you ain't the one with stars orbiting around your ***.

Singularity is useful but also kind of a joke. The most Aurelion can do in terms of laning with that is build up Breath of Light or go look for ganks. So keep an eye on him and be sure to call miss when he isn't around.

Falling Star is also kind of a joke. Aurelion isn't only a dragon, but an aspect. He creates galaxies. And then he shouts at you and maybe if he's lucky and has dropped some abilities on you he can kill you. Then again, don't understimate it. Aurelion won't only scream at you, but will also maybe throw you in his team's direction or poke you with his passive without you noticing.

All in all, more than hard I find this match up to be tricky. Both champions are hard to play and a mistake can **** them up awfully.

Azir

Like with Aurelion, I haven't played against many Azirs full stop. Again, like what happened with Aurelion, I have played a lot of Azir. Mained him for a while when he was tier Stop This Please Go Play Zed Who Hurt You Like This and he could destroy opponents like it was nothing when treated right.

Now that he's got a buff, he's more dangerous. If the Azir is smart, Arise! and Conquering Sands won't get thrown around too much until level 5 and he'll focus on farming. Why? Because their mana cost is out of this world. What can you do with this info? Try to bait the other Azir into casting them too much and wasting mana, while dodging and minding the damage you take.

Because you are gonna take some.

Shifting Sands is now harder to use even if it gives Azir a shield since he collides with the first enemy champion on his way and stops gliding. Be kind of menacing and keep your distance so he feels forced to use it, then use the gap until cooldown is up to maybe get a Q+AA in. Be mindful of Emperor's Divide and the beloved by all W+Q+E+R that Azir can do behind your *** to throw you under his turret if you get cocky.

The key against Azir, in my opinion, is to drain his mana and make him waste E. Then use Hextech Ray wisely and drop him down until, if you can't kill him, he's forced to leave the lane. Regarding Arcane Storm, try to wait until he's at least out of flash and preferably out of ult too.ç

Brand

Knowing that Viktor is gonna have a bad time not matter who he's facing, I generally don't find Brands challenging. Being that this build prioritizes mobility too, dodging Pillar of Flame and Sear shouldn't be too hard.

Be aware that a Brand who knows what they're doing WON'T generally start the combo with Pillar of Flame, but with Conflagration whenever they can. This way, they can stun you with sear and get a free pillar of flame that you can't get away from. Hence, Brand's basic combo wouldn't be W+Q+E, but E+Q+W.

Knowing this, don't get greedy since minions will protect you and use Hextech Ray to deny farm. Good news is Brand's only way to get out of Arcane Storm is to flash away, so try to force a flash with your jungler or by your own and you'd be in the clear for ulting.

Cassiopeia

This is another one of those champs that I have played a lot but faced very rarely. She's strong, and can outburst you by level 2. To a high mana cost, true, but that's the price Viktor has to pay to burst too and trying to trade isn't smart when Cassiopeia CAN push you down to the ground just by landing Noxious Blast and chasing you with Twin Fang.

It's easy to get cocky against a Cassiopeia but it's, as with any other champion, dangerous. Cassiopeia's Petrifying Gaze might be bugged but it hits hard and gives her a chance to attack you with no consequences for her.

As with Anivia, my advice is to dance. Move and deny farm when possible. Be smart about positioning by paying attention to how they play. Do they like using Noxious Blast on minions? Then stay away from them. If they don't as to avoid pushing, stay close to the minions. Move a lot, try to Hextech Ray whenever possible, and lure them into ulting then giving them your back. Still dangerous, but less than getting stunned.

Diana

This is a tricky one. Until around level 3-4, Diana's pretty much harmless. Annoying, maybe, but Crescent Strike is easy to dodge and if you move around too much to be predictable it shouldn't be a problem.

Once Diana can all-in you and they know it, if you're not careful they will and you will probably die unless they stay inside Gravity Field to have tea. Why? Lunar Rush is the short answer, Diana outburts Viktor and has better mobility and ways to protect herself is the long one.

How to avoid that? Staying away from her and dodging Crescent Strike. Moonfall and Pale Cascade are a problem only if they get close enough to get you with them.

Ekko

Ekko's probably going to have a bad time during early game but it's gonna be okay after laning phase so don't even worry about it. Timewinder is easy to dodge, Phase Dive won't be a problem if you keep your distance and Parallel Convergence is highly telegraphed.

When Ekko drops Parallel Convergence, a projection of himself bats the area in which he can either get a shield, or slow, or get a shield and stun you. You probably don't know where this area will spawn, but you can guess. A little trick I've learned is to react differently every time they drop Parallel Convergence. Go back to tower once, then to the river another (if you are sure that their jungler isn't there, please), then maybe don't bother to run back but try to see how the Ekko behave and guess if they are going to all-in by jumping on you or luring you into getting closer to avoid Parallel Convergence. Knowing how the Ekko will behave usually depends on the game and you're going to have to observe their playstyle and keep a close eye on their mana management.

Ulting Ekko is fine up until lvl 6, by then don't even think about it when in lane cause it's only going to be annoying. Remember that Ekko's ulti DOES DAMAGE to those around him and try to keep an eye on their projection to position yourself away from it.



As said before, Yasuo's Wind Wall can stop Hextech Ray (when upgraded, second hit does get through it though) which is fun because you can still go ahead and cast it behind it to begin with, but then you'll probably die. Thus is the price of hubris.

That aside, why isn't there a detailed guide against every champion you can encounter?

Because a lane can be going perfectly well and suddenly you get hit with a skillshot and you're dead. Easy as that. Weren't you supposed to counter that? Apparently not. Weren't you fast enough to dodge and position yourself? No!

Technical aspects of the champion aside (those can be read hovering over the icons), this is everything I know about playing Viktor. It hurts and it's better to do it listening to sad music if possible.

Big thanks to Nad for most of the pics included and the tiniest of pushes that got me to write a guide.

1. Added Ahri to VS champs cause I had some time in my hands. Still a lot to go, but we'll get there.

2. Adjusted runes to the last patch.

3. VS champs letter A section complete.

4. 8.4 adaptation (not much has changed) and some edits here and there of no importance.

5. Runes reworked after some testing.

6. Runes updated and VS champs complete up to letter E (last champion included being Ekko).