Tuesday, 20 January 2015

League of Legends Champion Guide: Viktor, the Machine Herald



Why not kick off this blog with the best champion in League of Legends (according to Joel that is). And that champion is Viktor, the Machine Herald. This guide will give you a better understanding of Viktor’s strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and how to build him. This guide is not the only way to build this champion. Everyone will have a different opinion on builds and ability order. However this guide is specifically for players who wish to start picking him up right away and start using him. If you have a difference of opinion share it and why you think that your Viktor build is great! We are always happy to hear from other players as well as get your feedback.

Viktor is an ability power burst champion with a very unique skill set. Viktor’s role is a mage and is played in the middle lane. Viktor is a fairly high skill cap champion meaning he will take some time to master. 

CHAMPION STRENGTHS 

+ High Burst

+ Great area of effect damage

+Good range

+Great wave clear

+ He is a cyborg


CHAMPION WEAKNESSES

- Is very squishy

- Can be very mana hungry
- Long cooldowns

- Difficult to just pick up and play



CHAMPION ABILITIES

Viktor’s passive is an item that can be upgraded to gain more ability power and mana, but every time his passive is upgraded he may also upgrade one of his main abilities. Once Viktor reaches the final upgrade all of his abilities will be upgraded.

 Siphon Power is Viktor’s Q ability. This ability targets an enemy dealing small damage and returning a shield to Viktor. Viktor’s next auto attack will deal increased damage. Upgraded this ability on cast will give Viktor increased movement speed.

Gravity Field is Viktor’s W ability. Viktor puts down an area of effect trap that will slow enemies that enter the trap. Enemies in the trap gain a slowing debuff that will stack the longer they are in the trap. Once the debuff maxes out that enemy will become stunned for a short amount of time. Enemies will no longer gain the slowing debuff once stunned. Once this ability is upgraded enemies who are stunned will be pulled to the center of the trap. 

Death Ray is Viktor’s E ability. This is a line skill shot that deals incredible amounts of damage with very long range. This ability can be cast in a multitude of directions not just in a straight line. Viktor is able to choose from a range circle where the laser starts then hold and drag the mouse to where he wants to laser to travel. This ability can be used while running. When upgraded this ability will explode where the laser hit dealing additional damage. This ability is also very satisfying to use to clear minion waves and kill other champions. Lasers are great!

Chaos Storm is Viktor’s R ability, his ultimate. This ability creates a storm at the targeted location dealing initial damage and damage over time. The storm will chase an enemy that it damaged upon its activation. Viktor can also control where the storm moves by using the ultimate hotkey to control its position if the storm is not chasing an enemy. The storm will move faster the closer it is to Viktor and move slower the farther it is. When upgraded the storm will gain additional movement speed when Viktor repositions it or when chasing enemies. 

When playing Viktor the most common abilities to max out in order are:
R > E > Q > W

Start with a point in Q to have harass and a shield to win trades against other champions at level 1. By level 3 have a point in all your abilities to have them all at the ready in case of ganks. At level 6, 12, and 18 put a point into your ultimate as soon as you can. After level 6 follow the skill priority mentioned above. 

SUMMONERS SPELLS

For Viktor the best summoners spells to use are flash and ignite. Flash helps to escape when things go wrong or to secure kills. Ignite allows for even more damage over time to help secure kills and add to your overall burst potential.



RUNES AND MASTERIES

These masteries are a fairly standard ability powered mid mastery tree. Adding as much damage as possible with some extra mana regeneration and buff timer. 



These runes allow for better scaling ability power, mana regeneration, and magic penetration. Runes should be custom to whatever matchup you are playing however this guide is for a quick build assuming you do not have all the runes to make multiple rue pages.



CHAMPION BUILD

Given Viktor’s role as a burst mage building straight ability power and magic penetration is a very smart idea. Starting items should be a Doran’s ring and two health pots just like many other mages. The best route the build Viktor is to start by fully upgrading his passive. This item will allow for better mana sustain as well as give Viktor scaling ability power. Once his passive is complete magic penetration boots and an ability power item are a great follow up giving Viktor more mobility and damage. A standard core Viktor build should look like:
Perfect Hex Core > Sorcerer’s shoes > Rabadons deathcap > Zhonya’s hourglass



The next two items can be situational. If the enemy is building magic resistance then items such as Void staff and Liandry’s torment are great choices because of the magic penetration they offer. Cooldown reduction items such as Athene's unholy grail also can help with Viktor's long cooldowns. If there is little to no magic resistance then a Lich bane and maybe even a guardian’s angle if you are very ahead in gold.

CONCLUSION

Overall Viktor is a very difficult champion to pick up but very fun to play when mastered. His play style is unique in League of Legends and more entertaining than some other champions whose abilities are fairly straightforward like Caitlyn. We hope this guide has proved helpful to you to better understand Viktor, the Machine Herald. Like, share, comment, and visit all our other social media sites!

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