I've been playing vladimir for a while now and i've noticed something. My ult is almost useless i don't know if i'm using it wrong or something but i find it useless in almost every situation. I know that the more people it hits the more damage you do but still, please tell me if im missing out on the god vladimir build or something because everything i try doesn't do that much damage.
Although vladimir ult doesn't hit as hard as most ap champion's ults, vladimir ult amplifies all of his damage helping to deal big aoe damage to all of the guys getting caught by it.
The ultimate doesn't do a lot of damage, but it increases the damage you do by 12 percent, in addition to every single one of your allies also doing 12 percent damage. This in conjunction with Rylai's puts a delayed slow on everything afflicted by it when the effect ends.
Vlad's ultimate doesn't really shine in solo situations, you just cast it to have bigger damage output. Yeah, it doesn't feel like it does anything. using it feels pretty lackluster, but it has huge value in team fights. Good 5-man ult gives so many free damage for your team. Vlad's ult is just one of those ults that feel like they don't do much and don't have flashy effects (Maokai ult comes to mind too), but they give huge amounts of value.
His ultimate does mediocre damage, but that's not the point of it. The point of it is that you plague a large group of enemies, increasing their damage taken by 12%. This boosts your damage, and your allies damage. The initial damage itself might not be appreciable, but its functionality is immensely appreciated and favored, especially in aoe wombo combo teams. Miss Fortune, Orianna, etc. would love this ult on their team a lot! :)
It kind of has invisible power since its the damage amp that makes it shine, it's basically a team fizz ult, don't try to use it like a zed ult
In lane you use it offensively to help win a fight, or defensively to make your lane opponent disengage. Its nothing special in this situation.
In teamfights you land it on a bunch of people and they get shredded by the damage amp. Especially good if you get in synergized with a kindred ult.
I had the same reaction at first but it really fits into his kit. In 1v1s dont use it when your opponent can disengage; save it for counerengages or dives
Try this for a top lane build, you will love it. i Guarantee it
Use your ult BEFORE you use your Q and E. Also always have your E with 4 stacks BEFORE you ult. Remember Vlady's ult power comes from the dmg AMP not THE DMG. The dmg it's just the icying of the cake. Also if you can wombo combo it the better.
It's absolutely not useless; don't underestimate it. Its damage, at all ranks, is nothing to laugh about. It is an AoE nuke, just like Annie's ult, with only 33 less base damage and 1.5% less AP scaling than hers at max rank. The people you hit with the ultimate take 12% increased damage from ALL sources--including the damage your teammate's deal. The only reason people don't cry that it's OP is because it is difficult to notice just how much damage it's doing to you.
In a teamfight, use it to initiate a fight so that your teammates can utilize the 12% damage increase when they dish out their initial burst. In a 1v1 scenario, I typically do not initiate with it. Usually what happens is your opponent gets scared and just runs away, and, since Vladimir has no chasing options (without Rylai's, of course), he can't re-engage if the opponent doesn't want to. That's the reason I usually use the ultimate as an execute--when my opponent is half HP or less and when both my E and Q are off cooldown.
If you're vs AP or your team is behind while you're ahead, your next item after Ionia's and WotA needs to be abyssal. This pushes your mid-game damage to absurd levels.
If your team is about even with you, or you're behind, Zhonia's. This lets you bait and also persist through a fight while outputting damage, hopefully letting your team load in some damage while you clean up after almost everything is on CD.
Unless you can afford Void or you desperately need it next, grab whichever of zhonia's/abyssal you didn't grab before. In some cases, Rylai's will fit in here first. (Morde, fed Garen, Darius, etc)
Your ult at lvl 2 and before some srs AP/magic pen does pitiful damage. Your unstacked E is almost as powerful.
Its mostly there for the damage amp and to scare people. Most of the time you'd get a kill with it, you'd also get a kill without it. However, it definitely gets people to back off after you cast it. Use it to disuade aggression. Before you have your CDR core, don't spam it needlessly. After that, though, it'll be up every fight.
Vlad is all about attrition. With 30% cdr (runes, ionia, wota) and abyssal, if you can't burst people 30% of their HP with Q, E, grab a rylai's and chase them down. Abyssal, Zhonia's, Ionia, WotA, Void, Deathcap/rylai's is pretty much going to be your build most games. The variation comes in when you build it, and that's what sets experienced Vlads apart.
Always focus on farm. Only harass with Q if you know its 100% safe to do so. You need to hit 7-9 without being set back.
Also, in most cases, TP is trap. Ghost/flash or flash/exhaust is most cases. Otherwise your teamfighting won't be stellar in this age of hyper-mobility. Always Exhaust vs AD or 'all-in' champs.
Here's the kicker, though. Vlad does best mid now, not top. While you still can do well top, you may set your team back if you don't take teleport and the other laner does. If you DO take teleport, you might still not have enough of an impact with it. In addition, taking TP makes your team-fighting less reliable, and doesn't let you be as aggressive or reactive against counters, should they arise. Top you are much more susceptible to being ganked, and even dying during a dive.
Mid gives you supreme safety and a very reliable ability to farm (since abyssal both prevents you from being able to be killed with WotA mid, gives you a large damage spike for teamfights [dragon], and allows you to 1 shot casters with stacked E).
the point of his ult isn't to do stupid amounts of damage. Its to amplify damage done to whoever is affected by it so your your abilities and your allies abilities (and autos i believe... can't be 100% sure on that one) hit harder. The ability itself already does decent enough damage on it's own as well
