From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Vladimir in the midlane in League of Legends.
Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.
That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.
Runes
Core Items
Build
Hextech Rocketbelt is a great gap-closer, and allows for waveclear in the early game.
Cosmic Drive offers great raw stats for AP champions, and a bonus every three hits.
Other great items include Shadowflame, Mejai's Soulstealer, Rabadon's Deathcap, and Void Staff.
Starting Item & Boots
Skill Order
While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Vladimir skill priority is:
R > Q > E > W
Summoner Spells
These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Vladimir in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.
Gameplay
Vladimir has the potential to cause major stress for opponents thanks to his excellent range and almost unparallelled sustain. As long as you can navigate a tricky early game if the enemy team has champions like Darius or Renekton, you should be able to control the lane quite easily.
- Level 1 - Take Q - Transfusion, as this is your bread-and-butter damage dealer, as well as bringing excellent sustain.
- Level 2 - Take E - Tides of Blood, as this is a great escape tool if you feel you're about to get locked down by an early gank.
- First Back - Take a Hextech Alternator for early damage, or pick up your boots.
Tips & Tricks
- Remember to stack Transfusion twice in order to take advantage of the move speed bonus.
- Hemoplague applies a damage amplifier to enemies, deals significant damage, and heals Vladimir for each champion hit. Use it to sustain yourself in the middle of a teamfight.
- Sanguine Pool costs a percentage of current health, rather than max health. This makes it great to use at low health.
