Hello! Welcome to my guide on how to play Vi in my favorite off-meta ways. I am xmotoby, a previous Vi main. I'm a jungle/ADC main.


CURRENTLY UPDATING THIS GUIDE AFTER A 2 YEAR LEAGUE HIATUS

Vi is a simple, strong champ to play. She has two gap closers, %armor and HP shred, a passive shield, one knockback and one knockup. Vi has high base damage and can be built in many different ways, and can build 2 of the jungle enchantments effectively. She is my favorite champion in the game.

Pros

+ Can be a good tank, assassin, or duelist + Lots of CC + High base damage + Strong early, mid, and late game (doesn't fall off) + Fast clears

Vi has one of the best kits in the game. She has a shield, two gap closers, all 3 kinds of knocks (knockback, knockup, knock aside), an attack speed steroid, armor shred and an auto attack reset. These combine to make devastating ganks and teamfights.

Cons

- No inbuilt healing - Tends to get focused - Ult sometimes puts her in a bad position - High mana costs early game

When Vi uses Cease and Desist, basically it's a FOCUS ME sign. You can ult into 5 people while your team watches you die. Also, Vi has no inbuilt healing and can run out of mana quickly if spamming spells.

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I go 12/0/18 hitting Courage of the Colossus for bonus shields. 12/18/0 hitting Thunderlord's Decree is also good for more burst.

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Fury gives 4% attack speed, which is nearly a full quintessence. It's more useful than Sorcery in my opinion.

Fresh Blood gives Vi more damage on ganks.

Natural Talent gives some scaling damage.

Double Edged Sword gives Vi a good flat amount of damage.

Recovery gives some health regeneration.

Tough Skin reduces monster camp damage, so we stay at higher health.

Veteran's Scars gives some bonus hp, which is never bad.

Insight reduces summoner spell cooldowns, which is very useful.

Swiftness gives run fastyness. Good stuff.

Courage of the Colossus is probably the best keystone for junglers in season 7. Shields are great.

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Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed helps early clears quite a bit. They also help with proc'ing Denting Blows faster in duels, which is good.

Greater Mark of Attack Damage boost early game damage a lot, and are good overall.

Greater Seal of Armor helps you take less damage from camps and towers.

Greater Glyph of Attack Speed boost DPS a bit. I don't take CDR or MR glyphs because we build a lot of CDR anyway, and there are now a lot of good anti-AP AD items.

Flash is the best spell in the game. Use it to finish off escaping enemies, escape over walls when Vault Breaker is unavailable, and dodge skillshots like Dark Binding.

Smite is totally necessary to jungle. You need this to get the jungle item, to secure objectives, and to smite minions.

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I wouldn't take any other spells.

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Blast Shield is Vi's passive. It scales off health, which is why we build a decent amount of health on her. When getting chased, pay attention to how long until your shield is available again. You can pretend like you're going over a wall, but Vault Breaker back toward them, getting your shield and possibly winning a fight.

Vault Breaker is Vi's most useful ability. The hitbox is slightly longer than the indicator. To go over walls, you need to be closer than the indicator shows (I learned the hard way). With quick cast, tapping Q is like Vayne's Tumble. You can also tap it while fighting to apply a stack of Denting Blows and stun the enemy for a little instantly. Don't use q right away as Vi when ganking. If you hang onto it the enemy will likely zigzag trying to dodge it, wasting their time and letting your laner get free damage off. I've found that if the enemy laner has flash, they will probably flash ahead as soon as you q as vi. Ask your laner if the enemy has flash. If they do, aim Q a flash distance ahead of the enemy. If the enemy doesn't have flash, they will likely try to turn backward as soon as you q. Max first.

Denting Blows is Vi's attack speed steroid. After you hit your enemy 3 times (abilities included), Vi gets an attack speed boost, does a % of the enemy's max health, and reduces their armor. Max second or third.

Relentless Force is a decent ability. You can use it to clear waves. Use it right after a normal auto attack to reset the timer, doing more damage faster. I think it doesn't offer as much as the other abilities. Max second or third.

Cease and Desist is Vi's ultimate ability. It makes Vi lock onto a target, chase it down, knock aside anyone in the way, and knock up the target. If you think someone will Flash over a wall, start Cease and Desist right before they do and you will follow them over a wall. You can also use Cease and Desist to ignore crowd control. Example: Yasuo has tornado and he throws it at you to try to Last Breath and you can't dodge it. Hit R, tornado does nothing, profit. However, it is one of the most dangerous spells in Vi's kit. Never engage with it (at least with this build). Use it to follow up on a fight or get an assasin off your squishy carries. Max whenever possible.

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Combos:

While farming:

Vault Breaker->AA-> Relentless Force->AA-> Relentless Force

Ganking before level 6:

Smite-> Vault Breaker->AA-> Relentless Force->AA-> Relentless Force

Ganking after level 6:

Smite-> Vault Breaker->AA-> Relentless Force->AA-> Relentless Force-> Cease and Desist

Assassination combo:

Vault Breaker-> Smite->AA-> Relentless Force-> Cease and Desist->AA-> Relentless Force

Stalker's Blade - Warrior gives Vi AD, CDR and a slow as well as jungle sustain. It's everything Vi needs early game.

Boots make you run faster. Upgrade into Ninja Tabi against high AD, Mercury's Treads against high magic damage, Mobility Boots for dank roams, or Boots of Swiftness for overall cheap speed.

Trinity Force is probably the best item for Vi. It gives a lot of different stats and combines them into one item. After the 6.11 change it's even better than before for my build.

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If you're fed, you can go for more damage. Good items are Youmuu's Ghostblade and Black Cleaver. Ghostblade is good for chasing/running away and against squishy champions. Cleaver is better against tanks. Edge of Night I haven't tried yet, but looks to be a more damage-focused version of Maw of Malmortius. This next item isn't really a full damage item, but one that promotes an aggressive playstyle. Sterak's Gage has great synergy with Vi. Its bonus base AD works with Trinity Force's Sheen damage and its shield is great for Vi's diving playstyle.

If you need armor, generally build either Dead Man's Plate, Randuin's Omen, or both. Dead man's is better for roaming, while Randuin's is better against champions that run fast ( Shyvana, Hecarim or Quinn) or multiple champions that rely on auto attacks to do damage.

If you need magic resist, you can buy Maw of Malmortius or Banshee's Veil. Maw is better against burst while Banshee's is mostly good against multiple AP champions in general.

Early Game:

Early game, get a leash from either top or botlane at red buff. My general clear in the new jg is red>wolves>gromp>blue or blue>gromp>wolves>red depending on the side. Vi has amazing early game pressure, so I'd reccomend ganking as much as possible. However, never try to force a gank since 90% of the time, it will just be a wasted effort. Don't be afraid to fight the other jungler 1v1 because Vi is a strong duelist.

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Mid Game:

By this point, you should have 2-3 of your big items. If you are doing fine or are ahead, try to force fights by trying to ganking non-stop. If you are behind, just farm and try to keep the other team off of dragon and rift herald.

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Late Game:

By this point, everyone should have nearly full build. Team fights will happen non-stop. Your job in team fights is not to engage; you are not tanky enough. Your job is to peel assasins off your ADC or APC with Vault Breaker and Cease and Desist. However, if the enemy carries are out of position (in the front of a fight), don't hesitate to pick them off.

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ALWAYS REMEMBER:

NEXUS>INHIBITORS>TURRETS>BARON>DRAGON>KILLS>FARM

Thanks for reading my support Vi guide! Please upvote if you liked it and comment if you have constructive criticism to give. Good luck and have fun!

Thanks to jhoijhoi for instructions on how to bb-code and thanks to everyone who has had feedback so far!

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