Vi Strategy Guide

What Makes Vi Special?

Vi’s ability to easily initiate and dive on her targets before pummeling them into dust is what makes her an amazing champion. She can cross great distances to jump on her target with Vault Breaker. Not only that but in team fights, she can dive the enemy backline and knock up their highest damage dealer using her ultimate Assault and Battery. Once she’s on her target, she can deal large amounts of damage from her Denting Blows passive. Additionally, when in lane or when clearing large jungle camps, her Vi Excessive Force ability lets her next AA deal massive AoE damage behind her target, allowing you to clear many enemies at once.

Overview of Vi's Abilities

Vi Passive Skill - Blast Shield

Vi’s passive gives you a temporary shield whenever you hit an enemy with an ability that scales with your maximum health. It provides extra sustain when farming up in the jungle or in lane. Additionally, it will proc the shield on your initiate, helping you survive when the fight starts.

Tricks to Using Vi's Blast Shield

• When running for your life, it may be beneficial to briefly turn around and hit the chasing champion with on of your abilities to proc the shield. You can use the large AoE effect of Excessive Force to do this without directly engaging your foe.

Q - Vault Breaker

Vi can channel to increase the damage, speed, and range of her dash ability. She can pass through minions and will apply a small knockback and one stack of Denting Blows when she strikes a champion. This is Vi’s main initiation, escape, and ganking ability.

Tricks to Ganking with Vi and Vault Breaker

• This ability slows you while channeling. When chasing, don’t hold it too long trying to get your angle just right or you might fall too far behind.
• Always fully charge this ability when ganking to increase the initial damage and your dash range.
• Interrupt other champion’s channeled abilities with the knock back of this ability.
• Be sure that the enemy team doesn't have vision wards placed where you are attempting to gank from. Otherwise, they will spot you and ruin your gank, despite the extra range provided by this ability.

W - Denting Blows

Denting blows makes Vi a tank killer. Every third attack on an enemy champion procs this ability, dealing additional max-health-based damage, reducing their armor, and applying an attack speed buff on Vi.

Tricks to Breaking Tanks with Denting Blows

• If you face a tank heavy enemy team composition, focus leveling this skill up first.
• Combining this ability with attack speed-boosting items will significantly increase her damage output.
• You can trigger the effect more often by animation canceling with Excessive Force.

E - Excessive Force

Using this ability causes Vi’s next basic attack to deal damage to enemies in a cone behind her target. It is great for clearing large camps and waves of minions.

Clearing Enemies with Excessive Force on Vi

• This ability allows Vi to be an effective top lane champion. Position yourself well when clearing waves with this ability, not only to damage multiple minions but also to damage the enemy champion without drawing minion aggro.
• Using this ability too often in the early game can drain your mana.
• Towers can be taken done faster by using Excessive Force.

Vi Ult - Assault and Battery

Vi’s ultimate causes her to dash towards her target, knocking aside any enemies in her path. Vi is immune to all crowd control while dashing. In the late game, when the enemy team’s tanks are peeling for their carries, this ability will get you past all of their defenses, so you can wreak havoc in their back line.

Tricks to Winning Fights with Vi's Ult

• Be careful, if your target Flashes back or uses another movement ability before you knock them up, you may find yourself much deeper into the enemy’s territory than you planned.
• You can use this ability to initiate over walls, although Vault Breaker might be a better choice to initiate with.
• Vi’s ult damages enemies that she passes through on the way to her target. If you can, try to use it while multiple enemies are between you and your target to maximize your damage.
• Vi’s ultimate also lands her behind her target. Follow up with Vault Breaker to push them back towards your team or if they were in their team’s backline, follow up with Excessive Force to hit multiple enemies.

Best Jungle Vi Ability Sequence

Jungle Vi Summoner Spells

Smite

For a jungle build, you need to take smite. It’s not very complicated. Without it, clearing jungle camps will be difficult and you won’t be able to secure Baron and Dragon.

Flash

Flash is essential on almost every champion. It can save you in tight spots and can also be used offensively to Flash in and close the gap before dashing forward to engage.

Best Vi Ability Sequence in Top Lane

Top Lane Vi Summoner Spells

Teleport

Teleport will allow you to get back into lane quickly if you are forced to back for health or to purchase a better item. Additionally, in the mid and late games, you can split push effectively without worrying you can’t make it to a team fight.

Flash

Flash is essential on almost every champion. It can save you in tight spots and can also be used offensively to Flash in and close the gap before dashing forward to engage.

Vi's Best Item Build

As a starting item, we would recommend Hunter’s Machete in the jungle and Doran’s Shield in the top lane, both for their added sustain early. You need to play a little safe until you are at least level 3 and have unlocked each of your basic abilities.

For the best late-game item builds, check out our Vi build guide, which contains the best item builds versus a variety of team types (i.e. tanky, CC heavy, AD, etc…). The data there is built entirely from real match data and is updated often.

Some great items to build include Ravenous Hydra and Sterak's Gauge. In particular, Ravenous Hydra is a great item because it increases your damage range and provides a solid boost to your sustain with omnivamp.

Laning Phase

Jungle: As the jungler, it is your responsibility to help your lane mates get ahead by ganking them when their enemies push too far forward. Plan out your jungle path well to maximize your gold income and ganking opportunities. Fully channel your Vault Breaker to engage during ganks. Try to save your ultimate in case the enemy attempts to Flash away or tries to CC you.

Top: Focus on getting CS and managing the minion wave position. Use Excessive Force to clear waves and poke the enemy top laner without taking minion aggro. If your opponent has used their Flash or lacks an escape, use your high mobility to punish them when they push too far.

Mid and Late Game Strategy for Vi

Vi excels in team fights, where it’s her job to dive the opposing team’s back line, taking out their carry as quickly as possible. This will cause their front lines to fall apart as they try to cover their carry, which in turn will allow the rest of your team to follow. Make sure your team is aware you will be diving. You will be quickly targeted, so if your teammates are not ready to follow you in, you will accomplish nothing.

Images Courtesy of Riot Games.