So, how am I supposed to play the new Vladimir?
Hey,
I've just played my first game with the new Vlad, sure I had a Riven main against me and a poor itembuild I guess, but just playing Vlad felt absolutely horrible. His Q is beyond useless, dealing like 0 damage and healing for nothing, even with 30%+ CDR it takes years to be able to use Crimson Rush, if your enemy doesn't just walk away seeing your Rush-bar slowly preparing to fill (30% CDR and it takes about 7 second to be able to use the enhanced Q, IF you had the chance to consistently target someone. The E can deal good damage, but just trying to clear a big minion wave costs more health than you'll ever heal with your Q and he just feels extremely clunky to play.
How is Vlad supposed to deal with targets that don't give you at least 12-15 seconds to kill them?
Seriously, I don't get it. I really liked to play old Vlad from time to time and even if he was simple, you had a better "flow" playing him and he was actually able to poke or take those long duels/fights, now I don't see any of that.
Sorry for being so salty here, but this is the only mage rework that just feels absolutely horrible to me and where I don't really see what all this was aimed at.
Over and out. [zombie-brand-clap]
to counter me, Vlad right now roflstomps Fizz), and since mid lane is packed with AP champs you can rush your new favourite item: 
, which acts as a surrogate Will of the Ancients, it simply has everything you need. After that grab 
and 
and then finish
, and with scaling CDR runes you're all set, you can spam your spells as much as you like, with a heavier emphasis on Q in order to not kill yourself as previously stated. Protobelt is an underrated item that, just like SV, gives Vlad all he wants, and even has a short range dash/shotgun to finish off people or hit better ults. Many times I've had the highest champion damage in my team with those two items alone.
After those, it's your choice. I almost always rush 
and 
to maximize your damage and keep people at an arm's reach for yourself and your team, and for your last item it depends on what the enemy is building. I find 
to be an excellent purchase that synergizes with your Rylai and your passive, and allows you to shred health stackers; if the enemy has heavy MR, I suggest you get 
instead, much cheaper and chews through their defenses.
So yes, bigger emphasis on HP than old Vlad, since your E scales with the thing, but AP is equally as important in order to maximize your healing potential and not kill yourself in fights.
I differ from most of the people in this forum, I actually think Vlad got a lot better since the rework, your damage potential is through the roof and you're actually a pretty decent lane bully in a lot of matchups, which translates into massive teamfight power later in the game, you just need to be a lot more careful and not spam your E as it can and will drain your entire HP if you're careless with it, use your Q much more frequently since with all your CDR it should be on a negligible CD, don't forget to use your ult on as many people as you can and watch your HP bar restore to full after it's finished. Use your W carefully as it drains a lot of your HP (which you can gain back with the damage it deals, btw), but with enough CDR it should be up in no time as well. I don't really think Vlad is as clunky as everyone makes him out to be, with reasonable management of your HP and your healing spells you should be dealing massive damage and healing yourself like it's nobody's business.
