Riot, Take Notice: Viktor's Problem Is A CORE Problem

Viktor's problem is fact that he's in the role of "Mid-Range Sustained DPS Mage" while simultaneously blocking his ability to itemize for it. How? Simple.

The problem is his Hex Core.

Before anybody goes into full freakout mode, read to the bottom. What does a champ NEED to fill Viktor's role?

1. High amounts of damage (AP, obviously)
2. VERY low cooldowns or long-duration DOTs to deal steady damage
3. All 3 defensive stats (Health, Magic Resistance and Armor) to survive sustained fights in mid range
4. A reasonable path to keep up during laning so your damage isn't utterly irrelevant
5. Most importantly, SUSTAIN. Health AND mana to keep alive and casting spells

Viktor currently only has 1, a little bit but not enough of 2, and he's alright on 4. But he has no realistic way of getting the rest because his core build was designed to have 5 CORE ITEMS. See?

1. Hex Core - whether you want it or not, he's stuck with it
2. Deathcap - virtually no mages outside of offtanks can get away with not having one.
3. Void Staff - duh
4. Boots - again, duh
5. Lichbane - read his rework posts by devs, his Q was designed and balanced around having this item. And he MUST have it because he only has 2 basic spells that deal damage.

So that leaves you with 5 items, MAYBE half your CDR cap (if you robbed yourself of 15 magic penetration), no sustain of any sort and none of 3 defensive stats that are bare minimum necessities. Is it any wonder that Viktor is proving problematic?

This has forced Riot into the position of having no options beyond dialing his spell numbers up so he can brute force successes or dialing them down so he's just awful.

For example, they reduced the reliability of his E while buffing the damage because trade-offs? All that can do is make him feel frustratingly oppressive to his opponents on the few times his Death Ray lands properly and make him feel utterly worthless to the one playing him every other time.

How do we fix this? Easy. Give him a passive.

Wait, I forgot to mention something. VIKTOR DOESN'T HAVE AN ACTUAL PASSIVE. No, seriously. Viktor doesn't have a passive, he has an item. An item that he's forced to buy, taking up an item slot and completely worthless until you dump gold into it to give Viktor spells that aren't awful. Lets face it: only his E would be a decent spell on its own. His Q is a bit lacking, but his W and ult are just plain awful spells. Even augmented, his ult is pretty terrible. And the stats on this item are just plain awful until you gain a TON of levels. I give Riot full marks for the attempt, but it's a failed experiment.

Proposed Solution? Cut his augment into 3 (or 4), one for each spell, and make them each bind to items he has already bought, one augment per item.

1. Death Ray augment must go to a Blasting Wand, Needlessly Large Rod, or an item built from one. Gives a touch of bonus AP, whether flat, % or level-scaling, I trust to Riot's judgement.

2. Siphon augment (Turbocharge) must go to boots, aether wisp or some other item giving movement speed as a stat. Gives him speed on Q. You should consider giving hp/mana sustain because it should ACTUALLY siphon power. Heck, it could be a mini version of Trundle's Subjugate and give him a whole new dimension of gameplay.

3. Gravity Field augment must go to a mana, mana regen or cooldown reduction item. Add roughly 10% CDR, 200-300 mana and 25-50% base mana regen depending on balance.

4. I would say to keep the ult augment functioning as current. Hard to say because I think he needs a new ultimate.

NEW PASSIVE: Master of Techmathurgy - when Viktor is reduced to 0 hp, his mastery of the arcane keeps his mechanical body alive. His remaining mana pool functions as health, with incoming damage dealing the same % of max mana as it would to his max hp. While in this form, Viktor is slowed by 30%, gradually lose mana and his spells cost double

These changes would give players MORE options with Viktor while not significantly changing the bulk of his kit. Allowing more situational choice will let players resolve his core issues in their own ways, which is something many more than just Viktor players want. No augment forced on people. More thematic elements. This passive would give counterplay to divers without needing an instant stun. Players KNOW they need to be close to danger, so they could choose passing up a little damage for safety (and build for it) or they can wade in with lasers flying while yelling "MWAHAHAHA. The Glorious Evolution has COME!" (and build for it). But really, he needs a line when that passive pops.

So please, take notice guys. There is a lot to take away from this post. I apologize for the length and thank both of you who made it down here.