I would like to thank you for taking your time to look at this guide. I hope you enjoy how I build Vi and I hope it helps you as much as possible (whether that is improving your gameplay as Vi or looking for a way to counter the Champion).

Please comment if you have any questions. Although, I do ask you to wait on voting after your comment so that if you have any questions after reading the whole guide, I can answer them with a more in-depth explanation in the comments.


(I have put this thank you up here not only because I do want to thank you for your time, but also because people have ignored the thank you below the chapters of my other guides. Please have the respect to let me answer questions you may have before voting the guide down or up.)

Pros:

- High Damage out put without needing to rely on items
- The knock up from her ult can't be interrupted by anything, including Quicksilver Sash
- Clears the jungle quickly/Clears minion waves quickly
- Easy Ganks before level 6 (if top lane has Crowd Control abilities so you can hit with Vault Breaker)
- Vault Breaker gives you the escape ability you need if you are being ganked in top lane
- Cease and Desist travels with it's target

Cons:

- Vault Breaker is easily dodge and can be interrupted
- Auto-attack reset is quite buggy with your E
- Without Vault Breaker, you are an easy target in top lane
- Easy for targets to esacpe your ganks if you don't have red buff
- Cease and Desist travels with it's target


You are most likely saying 'Wait a minute... you said something twice.' Let me explain.

The reason why ' Cease and Desist travels with it's target' is both a Pro and a Con is...

Pro - You are able to stick with a target no matter what

Con - They Flash into their tower or close enough to their team for you to be killed.

Basically it's a double edged sword.

This guide is for Vi, the Piltover Enforcer in both Jungle and Top lane. This guide will go over several items I use on her and [items/abilities/etc.] that are used to counter her and how to get around those items.





Here is a review on her current abilities:


Blast Shield - (Passive)
When Vi's abilities damage an enemy target, she gains a shield that is equal to 10% of her maximum health. Has a cooldown of 18/13/8 seconds.

Vault Breaker - (Q)
First Cast: Slows her movement speed by 15% while increasing the range of her dash and the damage over 1.25 seconds. You will not be able to auto attack.
Second Cast: Vi dashes forward dealing physical damage and applying Denting Blows to all targets in the path of her dash. Vi will stop when she collides with an enemy champion. Only deals 75% of damage to minions and monsters.

Cooldown: 18 / 15.5 / 13 / 10.5 / 8
Cost: 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 mana
Minimum Physical Damage: 50 / 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 (+70% bonus AD)
Maximum Physical Damage: 100 / 160 / 220 / 280 / 340 (+140% bonus AD)
Dash Range: 250 - 725
Maximum AoE Range: 900

Denting Blows - (W)
Passive: Every 3rd attack on the target will deal additional damage based on the target's maximum health, reduce the target's armor by 20%, and will increase Vi's attack speed for 4 seconds. Will only deal 300 damage to minions and monsters.

Bonus Physical Damage: 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10% of target's max health (+1% per 35 bonus AD)
Attack Speed Bonus: 30 / 35 / 40 / 45 / 50%

Relentless Force - (E)
Active: Vi's next auto attack will deal bonus physical damage to the target and enemy target's behind it.
Passive: Vi charges a new punch. Maximum of 2 charges at once. Will not charge a new punch unless she has less than 2 punches.

Range: 600
Cooldown: 1
Cost: 60 mana + 1 charge
Total Physical Damage: 5 / 20 / 35 / 50 / 65 (+115% AD) (+70% AP)
Charge Reload Time: 14 / 12.5 / 11 / 9.5 / 8 seconds

Cease and Desist - (Q, Ult)
Active: Vi charges down an enemy target, knocking it up for 1.25 seconds and dealing physical damage.
During the charge, Vi is immune to crowd control abilities and will knock enemies, in the path, aside and will deal 75% damage to them.

Range: 700
Cooldown: 130 / 105 / 80
Cost: 100 / 125 / 150 mana
Physical Damage: 200 / 325 / 450 (+140% bonus AD)
Physical Damage to Secondary Targets: 150 / 262.5 / 375 (+105% bonus AD)

Only two changes have happened to this build from the new patch:

- Warmog's Armor costs 180g more because of needing a second Rejuvenation Bead
- Trinity Force now costs 297g less which balances out the new cost of Warmog's Armor

No major changes with the new patch which is good. The patch actually made this build less expensive during the mid game. Although, I am not 100% sure about the situational item list yet. I think there might be a change or two in there. Will find out soon.

My current rune page set up:

Greater Mark of Attack Damage x 9
Greater Seal of Armor x 9
Greater Glyph of Magic Resist x 9
Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage x 3

Reasons:

I use Greater Mark of Attack Damage and Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage because all of her skills are boosted by AD total and with Denting Blows, you shouldn't need early Armor Pen for ganks or going through the jungle.

I go with Greater Seal of Armor and Greater Glyph of Magic Resists for early game sustain while ganking, going through the jungle, or encountering the enemy jungler while counter jungling or being counter jungled.


Other Options:
Greater Marks of Armor Penetration - Even though Denting Blows gives you early game Armor Pen, these Marks will still work with this build.

As of right now, I wouldn't really use any other runes besides the ones above. If you take away the Armor and Magic Resist, she becomes too squishy and will be easily taken down during ganks or if you come across enemy champions within the jungle.

There are several mastery set ups you can use. The one above (which is also in the general explanation) is used if you are filling a tank role for your team and you are jungling. It focuses on giving you as much health as possible to increase your shield from your passive, Blast Shield. Although, this is not the only role she can fill, it is normally what I choose to go with.


Another Mastery set up you can use while jungling with Vi:



This will increase your damage out-put compared to the tank set up. You will go through the jungle much quicker but you will be much squishier. Only use this build if your team already has a 'main tank' and needs more damage out-put.


Now if you are top lane, you would not use these mastery set ups at all. Here are the two pages I use when in top lane.



Basic tank set up for top lane. It focuses on giving you as much health as possible to increase the shield from your Passive, Blast Shield.



This one is used for when you aren't filling in as the 'main tank'. You will not be as tanky as the other set up, but you will put out more damage.

The one point in Lethality can be switched over to Spellsword only if you are planning on building Trinity Force.

My starting items:



This set up will allow to put out the damage to quickly get through the jungle while also healing you to make sure you have enough health to gank early on.


First Back:



You still want to be able to get through the jungle quickly so build Madred's Razors to do just that. Also, build Phage to increase your damage for ganking, and to increase your health for sustain and to increase the shield from your passive. Build first tier boots, at least, to give you some more movement speed so you don't have to rely on Vault Breaker as much to get through the jungle.

If you don't have enough to build both Phage and Madred's Razors while also getting tier 1 boots, there are two ways to go. If you are having issues putting out damage while ganking, build Phage to increase your damage and also boost your shield from your passive, Blast Shield. If you are having issues getting through the jungle (which really shouldn't be that big of a deal but it happens) or you really don't need the damage but want to be able to gank more often, build Madred's Razors.

Another option is to build Avarice Blade instead of Phage. Still build Phage later on, but this will increase your gold gain so you can build quicker. I would only do this if you are having issues with getting kills from your ganks, but you could build it either way. Do remember, if you build this instead of Phage, you are not increasing your shield from your passive.

My Core Set ups:

Core Set Up 1

This set up is to keep the damage from AD carries as low as possible. This is only if your bottom lane is having issues and needs you to camp/gank often.

UPDATE!!! I changed out Frozen Mallet for Trinity Force. I did this because the damage from it is way too strong to keep in the situational items list. I moved Frozen Mallet to the situational items list.


Core Set Up 2

This set up is if you think you are going to have issues with Crowd Control and AP Champions. Also build this if your mid lane is having issues and needs you to camp/gank often.

UPDATE!!! I changed out Frozen Mallet for Trinity Force. I did this because the damage from it is way too strong to keep in the situational items list. I moved Frozen Mallet to the situational items list.

Important! For both core set ups, the boot enchantment (or tier 3 boots) can be bought at anytime. I suggest getting them mid to late game but that is completely up to you as the player.


Situational Items:


Frozen Mallet - Why the sudden change? Well, Greenfrogs suggested to go offensive with Vi if she starts snowballing. I had a game where I accidentally stole first blood from our mid and continued to snowball from there. I built Trinity Force instead of Frozen Mallet because I knew I was gonna need the movement speed and the extra damage from it's passive, Spellblade. After that game, I moved it to the core set and this to the situational items list. I still think this is a great item to use when abusing her passive, Blast Shield, but not enough to keep it a core item. If you are going as tanky as possible, go with this instead of Trinity Force.

Randuin's Omen - I would only build this item if you are having issues with keeping near your targets, the attack speed of your targets, and need more armor. If you are going to build this, I would drop Maw of Malmortius.

Runic Bulwark - This item is only if you are going straight tank and are not worried about your damage out-put. This will give you and your team more resistances but it will also give you more health, increasing your shield from your passive. If you are going to build this, I would drop (yet again) Maw of Malmortius.

Sunfire Aegis - If you aren't having issues with staying near your targets or their attack speed but want to have a little more health and armor to protect yourself, I suggest this. It not only gives your armor but it also gives you health, increasing your total shield from your passive, and a constant AoE of magic damage, which will help clear minion waves and take down enemy champions. I'm not 100% sure if I would take this over Randuin's Omen, but I will leave that decision up to you.

Guardian's Angel - If you are being targeted and dying after your initiation from Cease and Desist or Vault Breaker, than I would build this item. It gives you armor and magic resist to help stop the damage, as well as if you are still dying, it's passive will keep you alive. If you are going to build this item, I would drop Maw of Malmortius.

Mercurial Scimitar - If Crowd Control is still an issue with the Core 2 build, than I suggest building this. It's active ability is basically the summoner spell Cleanse with a boost of movement speed, allowing you to get out of the fight or to keep on the target you are after. If you are going to build this item, I would drop Maw of Malmortius.


UPDATE!

Black Cleaver - This is a decent item if you believe you are having issues with her cooldowns. If you are going to build this, I suggest dropping Maw of Malmortius.
(Credit to Cath4rsis)

My starting items:



This set up will give you the sustain you need, from the health pots, and also the mana you will need, from the Crystalline Flask, to allow you to use Relentless Force for farming and harassing.

First Back:



Depending on what you are facing, you can either build Ninja Tabi or Mercury's Treads. If you are facing a champion that relies on their auto attacks, I would build Ninja Tabi, but if you are facing a champion with a lot of crowd control, go with Mercury's Treads.

Also depends on what you are going to be dealing with from the other lanes. If you think you are going to be having issues with late game fights, always build for late game. So if your bot lane is having issues with the enemy ADC, go with Ninja Tabi, but if the enemy mid is the bigger threat and the enemy team has a lot of Crowd Control, build Mercury's Treads.

My Core Set ups:

Core Set Up 1



Core Set Up 2



UPDATE!!! I changed out Frozen Mallet for Trinity Force. I did this because the damage from it is way too strong to keep in the situational items list. I moved Frozen Mallet to the situational items list.

Situational Items:



The reasons for each one are basically the same from the 'Items for Jungling' section.

Yes, the awaited jungle path is here!

Unlike my original [Diana]] guide, I am not gonna use paint to show the path. It is way too ****py looking. So instead, I figured I would just cut out the monsters pictures to show the path in the explanation. Hope this works the way I want it to and I hope you all like it.


Step 1: There are two starts you could possibly have.

First start (Recommended)



Take down Wolves with your team's help.

Second start



Only start out with Blue if the enemy is attempting to invade and you need to grab the buff quickly. Don't let them near the buff and don't focus it until they are out of the picture. Although, you should be able to take down Wolves before an attempt to invade your blue is possible by the enemy.


Now, depending on where you have started changes your next step. Step 2:



If you started out with Wolves, than go straight to Blue Buff with some help from your team but if not...



Go for Wolves. Your team doesn't need to help you here. They are most likely low and need to go back but you should be able to take them on since Blue Buff should give you level 2. If you lost Blue during an invade however, you are going to need a little help from your team to continue jungling. You will also need to counter jungle the enemy jungler to catch up in experience.


Step 3: Wraiths



Go for your own Wraiths! Yes I know the picture shows the opposite color but don't counter jungle this early unless you are 100% sure you can take them without risking death. If you have been invaded, don't even think about counter jungling. The enemy jungler is at least 1 level ahead of you and will take you down easily. If you want to give yourself time to counter jungle, force him to gank/counter-gank/protect lanes. This way you can get into his jungle without risking death.


Step 4: Red Buff



Once you get this, you will be able to gank easily. It's debuff/slow is applied to your target with all of your abilities, including the cone damage from your Relentless Force.


Step 5:

There are several options after this. It all is up to what has happened in the game so far.

Option 1: Gank mid/bot lane
Your first gank should always be an attempt to feed one of your carries. While having Red and Blue buff, it is prime-time to gank a lane. However, don't get too cocky, if a lane is pushed in go for it but if it is even or pushed out, I suggest going with Option 2.

Option 2: 2nd Wraiths



It might have not respawned yet but after getting Red Buff, it should be up soon. You can harass mid a little if it isn't up yet but only do this if mid is even or pushed in. Otherwise, wait for the respawn.


Option 3: Recall

This is only if you have been invaded, lost Blue Buff, and need to regen health and mana. Otherwise, go with Option 1 or 2.


Now, you may be asking 'Why not go for Golems?'



With the recent jungle in Season 3, I suggest ignoring Golems until after level 5. They do too much damage even if you get your passive, Blast Shield, to take some of it for you. You should be able to constantly farm the rest of the jungle, without waiting, if you can get ganks off and counter jungle the enemy jungler a little.

I always put this in my builds so that players can see what they should watch out for if they are Vi or if you are up against Vi, you know what counters her.

Items that can counter you:

Randuin's Omen/ Frozen Heart - These items will cut down your attack speed and will stop you from getting Denting Blowsstacks onto a target. Only real way to address this counter is to use your abilities to get the stacks on. Charge in with Vault Breaker, auto-attack, than use Relentless Force. Should be doing that anyways but especially if they have either one of these items.

Champions that can counter you:

Zed - If you use Cease and Desist on him while his ult, Death Mark, is up, he can dodge your ult. I think it is the only ability that can actually do this. Be sure when you are targeting Zed with your ult that his own ult is down, otherwise he can use it as you are charging towards him and completely dodge the stun.

Blitzcrank, Thresh... Basically any champion with a Crowd Control (CC) ability - Any CC ability can be used to stop you from hitting your target with Vault Breaker. This is bad, especially if you are using it to get closer to a target so you can use Cease and Desist. Only real way to counter this possibility is to build Banshee's Veil. This is very situational if you build this so I wouldn't even add it to the situational items list because you should only build it if the person playing the champion is really good at hitting their skill shots.



If I encounter anymore counters, I will update as soon as possible. If you have anything to add to the list of counters, please comment with the information you have and I will test it and put it up if I find it an actual counter to this build.

I hope this build has helped you with playing Vi in either Top lane or in the Jungle.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please post a comment. Please DO NOT vote until all your questions are answered and you have no doubt in your mind how you want to vote.

Again thanks for reading and good luck on the battle field.

I know it's only two games but I think this shows what the build can do. I did make this build to be a initiator for your team so even though it's not a high amount of kills in the games, it did it's job well.

The 5/4/18 game I built: Wriggle's Lantern, Mercury's Treads, Trinity Force, Atma's Impaler, and started Warmog's Armor

The 9/9/27 game I built: Wriggle's Lantern, Ninja Tabi, Frozen Mallet, Black Cleaver (I tested it out when Cath4rsis suggested it), Warmog's Armor, and started building Atma's Impaler.


And after the 3.0.1 Patch:



Still doing exactly what it is suppose to do.

My build: Wriggle's Lantern, Mercury's Treads, Phage, Atma's Impaler, Warmog's Armor, and Zeal which was going to build up to Trinity Force

List of people who suggested certain items/ideas:

Cath4rsis - Black Cleaver for Cooldown Reduction

Skouty - Trinity Force for... everything?

Greenfrogs - Trinity Force for being aggressive (Even though she did not state 'Go with Trinity Force', I would not have built it if she didn't suggest to go offensive with her once in awhile.)

Still in the works are:

- How to counter (I always put this in my guides and I continue to plan on doing so)