Vladimir sustains forever with Q healing, goes untargetable with W pool, and R amplifies all damage. He's weak early but at full build he's an unkillable AP bruiser who heals everything.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Crimson Pact
Passive
Every 30 points of bonus Health gives Vladimir 1 Ability Power and every 1 point of Ability Power gives Vladimir 1.6 bonus Health (does not stack with itself).
Crimson Pact: bonus HP → AP and bonus AP → HP. Health and AP scale each other.
Q
Transfusion
Point-Click · Heal · Empowered
Vladimir steals life from the target enemy. When Vladimir's resource is full, Transfusion will benefit from massively increased damage and healing for a brief time.
CD: 9/7.9/6.8/5.7/4.6 · Cost: 0
Q heals you. Every 3rd Q is EMPOWERED with bonus damage + healing.
W
Sanguine Pool
Pool · Untargetable · AoE
Vladimir sinks into a pool of blood, becoming untargetable for 2 seconds. Additionally, enemies on the pool are slowed and Vladimir siphons life from them.
CD: 28/25/22/19/16 · Cost: 0
W sinks into a blood pool. UNTARGETABLE. Slows enemies. Costs 20% current HP.
E
Tides of Blood
Charge · AoE · HP Cost
Vladimir pays his own health to charge up a reservoir of blood which, when released, deals damage in the area around him but can be blocked by enemy units.
CD: 13/11/9/7/5 · Cost: 0
E charges up AoE damage. Costs HP to charge. Deals more damage fully charged.
R
Hemoplague
AoE · Damage Amp · Heal
Vladimir infects an area with a virulent plague. Affected enemies take increased damage for the duration. After a few seconds, Hemoplague deals magic damage to infected enemies and heals Vladimir for each enemy Champion hit.
CD: 120 · Cost: 0
R debuffs enemies: ALL damage they take is amplified 10%. After 4s, heals you per target.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q first, then E, then W · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Q — heal | ||||
| 2 | Take E — AoE | ||||
| 3 | Take W — pool | ||||
| 4 | Level Q | ||||
| 5 | Level Q | ||||
| 6 | R — Hemoplague | ||||
| 7 | Level Q | ||||
| 8 | Level E | ||||
| 9 | Q maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level E | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level E | ||||
| 13 | Level E | ||||
| 14 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level W | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level W | ||||
| 18 | W maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Core Build
Hextech Rocketbelt
Dash + magic pen.
2600g
Ionian Boots
CDR for Q healing uptime.
950g
Rabadon's Deathcap
AP → HP → AP scaling chain.
3600g
Void Staff
Magic pen.
2800g
Situational
Zhonya's Hourglass
Stasis stacking with W pool.
3250g
Spirit Visage
Increases Q healing by 25%.
2900g
Cosmic Drive
CDR + MS for kiting.
3000g
Rocketbelt → Deathcap → Void. Passive converts AP to HP, making you tanky AND deadly.
Runes
Sorcery Primary
Phase Rush
Q + E + auto procs. MS for kiting/engaging.
Nimbus Cloak
MS on Flash for Flash → R engage.
Transcendence
CDR for Q spam healing.
Gathering Storm
AP scaling forever.
Resolve Secondary
Bone Plating
Survive burst.
Overgrowth
Bonus HP → AP from passive.
Shards
Adaptive Force · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Vladimir
01
Early Game
Q Heal, Survive Early
- Q heal on minions for sustain. Every 3rd Q = empowered.
- You're WEAK early. Don't trade vs aggressive laners.
- W pool dodges everything but costs 20% HP. Use sparingly.
- Farm with Q + E. No mana = can always cast.
- Empowered Q (3rd) deals more damage + heals more. Trade with empowered Q.
02
Mid Game
R Engage, W Pool Outplay
- Flash → R → E charge → empowered Q → W pool → combo.
- R amplifies ALL damage by 10%. Use before your team's burst.
- W pool dodges key abilities. Zed R? W pool. Syndra R? W pool.
- Q heal makes you deceptively tanky in extended fights.
- No mana means you never run out of resources.
03
Late Game
Unkillable Sustain Mage
- Flash → R on grouped enemies → E → empowered Q → W pool → Zhonya's.
- R damage amp + your team's burst = instant kills.
- You heal so much with Q that you're nearly unkillable.
- W pool + Zhonya's = 4 seconds untargetable. Can't be killed.
- Full build Vladimir has 3000+ HP AND 800+ AP. Tank + damage hybrid.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Vladimir
Vladimir Flash → R amps all damage, W pool survives burst, Q heals back. Unkillable teamfight god.
1
Engage — Flash → R
Damage amp
01
Flash into grouped enemies.
02
R amplifies ALL damage they take by 10%.
03
Charged E for AoE burst.
R amp benefits your ENTIRE team. R before your team bursts for maximum value.
2
Survive — W Pool + Zhonya's
Untargetable
01
W pool to dodge burst.
02
Zhonya's after W pool ends.
03
4 seconds untargetable total.
3
Sustain — Empowered Q
Heal back
01
Empowered Q heals 30%+ HP.
02
Continue Q spam for sustain.
03
R heal procs after 4 seconds.
W pool → Zhonya's → by the time you emerge, R has healed you, Q is empowered, and enemies are low from R amp. You re-emerge at full HP while they're dying.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Vladimir.
Basic
No Mana
Vladimir uses HP, not mana. You can always cast abilities. Infinite sustain.
Intermediate
Empowered Q
Every 3rd Q is empowered with 2x damage and 2x healing. Trade with empowered Q.
Basic
W Pool
W makes you untargetable. Dodge key abilities. Costs 20% HP — don't spam it.
Advanced
W + Zhonya's
W pool + Zhonya's = 4 seconds untargetable. Can't be killed during this window.
Intermediate
R Damage Amp
R amplifies ALL damage (yours AND allies) by 10% on affected targets. Use BEFORE burst.
Basic
Passive Scaling
AP → HP and HP → AP. Both stats scale each other. You get tankier AND stronger.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Vladimir struggles against aggressive early laners and grievous wounds. He excels in late-game teamfights.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Anivia outranges and out-zones you. Wall blocks W pool escape.
Farm safely. Both scale — respect her wall.
Outranges you and bursts before Q heal.
Farm. Outscale at 3 items.
R suppresses through W pool.
QSS or bait R.
Wins Against
Q heals through his damage. W dodges his tornado.
Sustain through everything. He can't kill you.
W pool dodges everything. Q sustain.
W pool her R. Q sustain.
W pool dodges his R shark.
W pool his R. Q sustain back up.