Let viktor be an example of a good meta champion.

Buttigieg 2020·Jul 19, 2015·92 votes·4,717 views

We need more viktors. I think viktor is borderline op but nobody complains. His laser does insane damage but it is dodge able and high mana cost. He is decently ranged but he is immobile. He has an aoe stun but it is delayed. He doesn't have to build mana regen, but he has to buy his hex core. He is good in all stages of the game, but not exceptional at any point so he isn't overbearing when he is meta. He has clear strengths and weaknesses. Viktor is probably the best mid laner, yet nobody says he has a toxic overloaded kit. What a great champion.

107 Comments

SwapShadowsJul 19, 201541 votes

People started complaining about him when he was being a popular pick in the LCS.

Guess what happened? he got less popular so the sheep stopped complaining. You can literally go AP hecarim mid and if its in the LCS people will spam threads to nerf it.

Buttigieg 2020Jul 19, 201517 votes

He got reworked over a year ago and is unchanged since then. I have 0 respect for people who just started complaining now when he has been like this for a year.

OperationDEEZ1Jul 19, 201519 votes

Looks at AP Ezreal Yeah...

LaceUp23Jul 19, 20158 votes

Na, Ap Ez flame had nothing to do with being picked in LCS. It had to do with the new jungle item and people thinking he was broken with it, which wasn't far from true.

Ariel the CruelJul 19, 20152 votes

He was broken with it. Just not for the reason people thought. (The bug letting it proc Lichbane and Luden's for example.)

3TWarriorJul 19, 20151 votes

Q procs lich bane already and was supposed to as part of his design. the magic damage from the jungling item, however, was accidentally coded as a spell and allowed it to cast ludens, drastically increasing his burst damage by 115+

Ariel the CruelJul 19, 20151 votes

Q was peoc'ing lichbane as an AoE.

junglerboy16Jul 19, 20151 votes

Really? No.

Runeglaive has an AoE proc, it didn't overlap with lichbane since they are both sheen procs.

maikokkJul 19, 20151 votes

actually, yes. if you built both, it would proc the liche-banes damage in the runeglave AOE. not very gold efficient though so i wouldnt call it OP. its more that you could spellvamp/rylias/ludens with it.

junglerboy16Jul 20, 20151 votes

Nope, how it works with sheen effects is this: The strongest AoE damage takes priority (either Iceborn or Runeglaive, depending on your AP), and then after that, the strongest single target effect takes priority (as in Iceborn/runeglaive lowest, then Trinity force, then Lich bane).

If you had both Runeglaive and Lich bane, Lich bane would apply to the main target, Runeglaive would apply to the AoE.

maikokkJul 20, 20151 votes

thats how it should have worked. not how it worked.

WolfBVJul 19, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Looks at AP Ezreal Yeah...

AP Ezreal with runeglaive has been stopped by Riot in the PBE. Now the mana return and aoe damage will only apply if a monster is hit.

OperationDEEZ1Jul 19, 20152 votes

Maybe now people will stop QQing about him.

AutoreactiveCD4Jul 19, 201518 votes

His laser has always done disgusting damage and I suck at dodging it...I don't complain because I'm the one whose too stupid to figure out how to dodge it though.

sp441Jul 19, 20157 votes

HOLY SHIT SOMEBODY ACTUALLY BLAME THEMSELVES INSTEAD OF THE "CHEAP CHAMPION", IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.

AutoreactiveCD4Jul 20, 20152 votes

I blame the education system, they don't teach me the trigonometry and physimisics to dodge lasers

Knight SoIaire Jul 20, 20151 votes

thats because the laser is indeed realy hard to dodge but atthe same time its hard to aim too

if you find a good viktor he is guaranteed to whack you hard thou yet it is a fact ... viktor is fine most of the time ... if he does good he is good ... if he does bad he is bad

AutoreactiveCD4Jul 20, 20151 votes

I think the visuals throw me off, I try to dodge the beam and not the place it hits the ground...which always puts me in the place it hits the ground lol. "Why does a laser hitting the ground hurt when I see the beam slice through me and nothing happens?"

BlacksSmokeCrackJul 19, 20153 votes

{quoted}

He got reworked over a year ago and is unchanged since then. I have 0 respect for people who just started complaining now when he has been like this for a year.

Why?

You realize buffs/nerfs to other champions, item changes, and changes to SR can all directly effect his power right?

LeeDarkJul 19, 20152 votes

Okay, what changed, then? Specifically, what changed to justify whining about Viktor now as opposed to two months ago? There is only one answer, and that is his popularity in the pro scene. The sheeple will always complain about any champ the pros play, because they want to believe they are just one patch away from being pro themselves, when their favorite champion gets buffed to "OP" level.

WhinjaJul 20, 20152 votes

The only reasonable complaint is that the changes to AP items which makes his scaling crazy with item 3089 + item 3198 but other than that he's a perfect champ. I sure as hell ain't complaining :D

LeeDarkJul 20, 20152 votes

But that affected every AP champion. It stands to reason that since the only thing that Deathcap does is pure AP, that the same champions who were strong AP scaling champs before would remain the strongest.

The only item I could come up with was Rylai's. The change to stacking slows that allowed the buff to Rylai's wouldn't really affect Viktor. His one slowing spell doesn't apply a Rylai's slow, and the upgrade to his Hex Core for the laser could definitely benefit from the heavy slow being applied on the first pass. That doesn't seem like enough to justify him being called OP.

LordKentravyonJul 21, 20151 votes

You mean like Talon? Years of "he's the worst assassin don't pick him, take Zed / Akali" Then he hits LCS lasts summer and crying begins and he lost silence (He was never hard to lane against, and now i feel bad for the ones I lane against)

BakedLotionJul 19, 201513 votes

Almost all immobile mages are balanced.

Lux TwistedFate Velkoz Anivia Orianna Viktor Veigar Xerath

You see the trend, Riot? These are the types of champions you should be putting out. Not people who can do everything they do with tons of mobility, and better.

YumaS2AstralJul 19, 201510 votes

{quoted}

Almost all immobile mages are balanced.

You see the trend, Riot? These are the types of champions you should be putting out. Not people who can do everything they do with tons of mobility, and better.

You forgot of mentioning Malzahar

He is probably one of the best examples of a champion that is balanced but is still strong. I actually think that he is as strong as Viktor but not nearly as popular.

Why he is always forgotten...

AFK PushJul 19, 20152 votes

His range isn't really that good, making him not nearly as safe as the majority of others you mentioned, also a lot of the midlaners you mentioned outscale him. Not to mention that he has no way to kite an enemy away, which is something every other one you listed can do, a ranged stun/cc without ulting.

terkmcJul 19, 20155 votes

a lot of the midlaners you mentioned outscale him

Wut? Malzahar shits out damage, that is his function as mage. He's like a Kog'maw of mages, if protected or left alone he will shit out unprecedented level of damage

AFK PushJul 19, 20151 votes

He does have damage but that's about it. Someone like Anivia Xerath can stun somebody if they get too close, but malz just can't do that considering his ult can't be used that way anyways. All of these champs are better late game when it comes to teamfighting and overall damage output Anivia Veigar Karthus Cassiopeia Vladimir Swain Orianna etc. What malz has going for him is insane tank busting I'll give him that, but many others excell better in the late game from sustained damage, aoe cc, more range for poking/sieging etc.

Malz is practically the darius of midlane. He can be a nightmare for the midlane opponent until midgame, but once the teamfights start happening and if you chose a better teamfighter champ you'll see why he isn't so popular.

buster kitonJul 19, 20151 votes

AoE nuke+3 second silence on short cd spell is nothing to laugh at late-game.

AFK PushJul 19, 20151 votes

It is also extremely easy to dodge that, just saying.

DrNovaJul 19, 20153 votes

not when a teamfight is going on and everyone is busy smashing heads with everyone else in a pile of clusterfuck.

Tannhäuser GateJul 20, 20155 votes

and the pool with a base of 40% max hp at max level

AFK PushJul 20, 20151 votes

If you derp and stand in in the whole time lol Pretty much the only time it gets all of its damage is if you ult somebody in it.

Tannhäuser GateJul 20, 20151 votes

in a tf there is enough cc to melt people

or a j4 ult

AFK PushJul 21, 20151 votes

Yeah, he is completely reliant on others to cc for him to pull off his full damage in a teamfight, because of his poor range as a caster and him being more about Dot's. I wouldn't consider that a strength nor would I pick him if your team didn't have some very good initiation or peeling for you.

AutoreactiveCD4Jul 19, 20154 votes

I hear that orianna is broken at high levels of play and if you've gone against someone that's mastered her I can see why. Hate laning against good ori's and shockwave wins games so hard.

PhoenixOfHeavenJul 20, 20152 votes

Eh His silences is pretty cheap, but other then that hes more then balanced.

And as an Anivia main, ill openly admit her e does ALOT of damage, and its not a skill shot.

Curling VeigarJul 19, 20158 votes

I've always thought he could use some toning down.

LuggJul 19, 20156 votes

Great post.

The WhamboozlerJul 19, 20153 votes

A lot of immobile mages are pretty balanced. Lacking mobility is a huge balancing factor that makes even strong mages feel weak at times, and easy to outplay. The exceptions of course are ones like Annie and Ryze who just facemash their keys and blow you up... but I'd say that a LOT of mids are in a good spot, balance wise.

Buttigieg 2020Jul 19, 201511 votes

Viktor is good because he feels good to play against. Azir? Good luck getting that CS. Ezreal? He is in his fountain and just 1 shot me at my blue buff. All assasins? Well, I guess item 3157 is going to be my first item. Viktor doesn't force you to completely change everything just because he exists. Viktor also has multiple weaknesses rather that the 1 weakness of low mobility that ryze has.

nachocheeseeeeeJul 19, 20155 votes

Word! Annie is a broken bitch from day 1.

LlaniteJul 19, 20151 votes

He's ordinary and straight-forward. No strength, no weakness, he's just float through the whole game. No, we don't need more Viktor. We need champs with interesting mechanics and interaction. Easy to balance, yes, but it dumb down the game.

Buttigieg 2020Jul 19, 20156 votes

Viktor is completely unique. Which other champion allows you to upgrade your abilities with an item that you inherently own.

LlaniteJul 19, 20152 votes

{quoted}

Viktor is completely unique. Which other champion allows you to upgrade your abilities with an item that you inherently own.

It would be a perfect sarcasm but I know you didn't mean it.

He's a standard mage with 1 cc and 3 dps spells. There is zero interaction between his spells, no spell rotation, no dps maximization, no special mechanics, no weakness, no hard counter, no clever trick. The only thing separate a good from a bad viktor is his/her generic skill-shot aiming.

Hextech adds some flavors, but that's it.

PaletongueJul 19, 20154 votes

Having no specific spell rotation or interaction between his spells is a great defining factor. It gives the player more freedom to play in the way they want, instead of being pigeon-holed into a single way to play.

Viktor He can use his E to farm or to poke, use his Q to reset his AA, poke the enemy, or shield a bit of damage(or MS boost after upgrade), and his W can be used to zone the enemy, hold them in place to land his spells, iniate fro a jungle gank or teamfight, or CC enemies so you can escape yourself.

He's flexible, and much more satisfying to play as and against, because it actually takes some descision-making in what spells you will use in each occasion. Instead of, for example, Leblanc spells combo together perfectly, but there is one specific rotation that is better than the rest, and you don't feel as good as a LB player when you don't land that single rotation.

LlaniteJul 20, 20152 votes

{quoted}

Having no specific spell rotation or interaction between his spells is a great defining factor. It gives the player more freedom to play in the way they want, instead of being pigeon-holed into a single way to play.

He can use his E to farm or to poke, use his Q to reset his AA, poke the enemy, or shield a bit of damage(or MS boost after upgrade), and his W can be used to zone the enemy, hold them in place to land his spells, iniate fro a jungle gank or teamfight, or CC enemies so you can escape yourself.

He's flexible, and much more satisfying to play as and against, because it actually takes some descision-making in what spells you will use in each occasion. Instead of, for example, spells combo together perfectly, but there is one specific rotation that is better than the rest, and you don't feel as good as a LB player when you don't land that single rotation.

He's flexible, but also too simple and straightforward. I don't play him that much to know whether he's satisfying, but I can tell you it's boring as heck to play against.

LB has 3 different rotations she can use, wr to escape/chasing, qw to b7rst, er to mass cc, either of which decided by situation. No fight is the same. Can you say the same for viktor?

What separates a good viktor from a great one? How does your play style differ from the other 1001? Don't say he's bad, but he is ordinary, aka, boring. And I dont want more the like of his being created.

DemonwolfJul 20, 20151 votes

It's incredibly easy to tell apart a good viktor from a bad viktor. Have you ever seen people play Viktor? Good Viktors position themselves well and don't die often. Bad viktor's miss a lot and rarely stun anybody, and die way too much.

LlaniteJul 21, 20151 votes

{quoted}

It's incredibly easy to tell apart a good viktor from a bad viktor. Have you ever seen people play Viktor? Good Viktors position themselves well and don't die often. Bad viktor's miss a lot and rarely stun anybody, and die way too much.

Which is exactly what I said, generic skill-shot aiming, positioning and awareness. If any velkoz suddenly wants to play viktor, you're not gonna be able to tell the difference.

Viktor has no unique mechanics, trick or combo makes him boring in my book. Again, not 'bad', just too ordinary and uninspiring.

Ariel the CruelJul 19, 20154 votes

Khazix wait, that doesn't cost an item slot. ;p