Vladimir is one of the most unique characters in the thematic department, and he is also one of the hardest-scaling champions in the game. He is a medium difficulty champion that can be played successfully in every ELO.
This article will serve you as the best Vladimir guide to kick off your journey!
Phases of Vladimir Gameplay
The laning phase is the key thing to focus on when looking to do well with Vladimir. This is where we want to accumulate the most lead which will enable us to carry in the mid and late game.
Early Laning Phase With Vladimir
In the early phases of the game, our primary goal will be to accumulate the most gold possible. The easiest way to acquire gold with Vladimir is to be mindful of farming. We will want to get as much CS as possible. Since Vladimir is a highly gold-efficient champion, we can not be wasting too much time on unsuccessful roams and skirmishes. If we do that, we risk falling behind and not having the time to recover by the time the late game hits.
When it comes to trading, we want our trades with enemies to be at least equal when it comes to HP. Since we have enough sustain with our Q healing, we do not have to do more damage than the enemy to win. Even if the trade is equal, we will still have the ability to regain our HP, while the enemy won’t in most cases. The trading should be done without any minion sacrifices.
How to Play the Mid Game With Vladimir
In the mid-game, we will want to continue building gold advantages. We only want to go for fights that are almost guaranteed to work. Otherwise, we will want to spend our time pushing and farming on the sidelines.
This side-lane strategy is extremely powerful in all ELOs below Master, as enemies are simply not equipped with enough knowledge to deal with it. You can simply farm and take the towers in the side-lane for 5-10 minutes. Next thing you know you are the strongest person on the map with +1K gold leads.
How to Play the Late Game With Vladimir
By the time the late game hits, we will hopefully have achieved all the power spikes we were going for. At this point in the game, we will want to join our team and put as much pressure as possible on the enemies. The engages we should go for are the ones where we can connect our E and ultimate with as many enemies as possible while saving our Q for key targets.
Best Vladimir Runes and Items
The items we will be going for are aiming to maximize our damage. The high damage will allow us to confidently march into the enemies and significantly injure them in all of the fights. Here is the item list:
- Cosmic Drive
- Rabbadon’s Deathcap
- Mejai’s Soulstealer
- Zhonia’s Hourglass
- Void Staff
- Sorcerers Shoes
The runes we will equip will enable us to have a stronger lane presence, which will enable us to have more pressure on the opposing laner. The higher pressure will enable us more freedom to farm. Here are the runes we are going with:
Final Thoughts
Vladimir is an incredibly strong carry in League of Legends. When played correctly, he can single-handedly carry almost every game (unless we are talking about Challenger). The greatest way to play this champion is in a resource-oriented way. We want to accumulate as much gold as possible so that we can annihilate the enemies in the late game.