How do you play Viktor if the team is behind, especially when your Frontline is behind and can't seem to start a good fight?
I feel kind of useless if I just stand back and poke with lasers (most of it hitting tanks) but am hesitant about Ghosting/Flashing into their squishes because I feel like I don't have reliable burst.
Big Lincoln1 votesPlay safe until you have an opportunity to land your stun on somebody you can kill, then dump your combo on them. just be poke-y and annoying, throw out Qs and Es where possible
try NOT to put yourself at risk especially if you're carrying; you dying if you're fed gives the enemy team an even bigger advantage due to killing the MVP + shutdown gold
WitchQueen Annie1 votes[{quoted}](name=Big Lincoln,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=PVJBXgEW,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2017-02-19T03:09:32.221+0000)
Play safe until you have an opportunity to land your stun on somebody you can kill, then dump your combo on them. just be poke-y and annoying, throw out Qs and Es where possible
try NOT to put yourself at risk especially if you're carrying; you dying if you're fed gives the enemy team an even bigger advantage due to killing the MVP + shutdown gold
How do you use your W offensively in team fights?
If you're well practiced, can you fire it like a Lux bind or is it too hard to time?
Big Lincoln1 votesHow do you use your W offensively in team fights?
You want to be reactive with it; wait until someone moves out of position or your team lands a CC on them and combo into it.
If you want to make an aggressive play then you usually want to use it after they've blown their mobility (drop it directly on them and force them to flash or die) or if you want to make them use that mobility (drop it to block off a path, drop it directly in front of them, etc)
WitchQueen Annie1 votes[{quoted}](name=Big Lincoln,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=PVJBXgEW,comment-id=000000000000,timestamp=2017-02-19T03:25:15.208+0000)
You want to be reactive with it; wait until someone moves out of position or your team lands a CC on them and combo into it.
If you want to make an aggressive play then you usually want to use it after they've blown their mobility (drop it directly on them and force them to flash or die) or if you want to make them use that mobility (drop it to block off a path, drop it directly in front of them, etc)
oh I see... thanks for the tips
I think I just need more practice with Viktor's W. Its an important part of his kit that I feel I have been under-utilising.
By the way, do you still build 
?
Big Lincoln1 votesi don't build rylai's on anyone; I always viewed it as a crutch item
that said I haven't really played mages that often since season 5; I can't tell you what Viktor actually builds right now.
Miror B1 votesYeah, viktor is a lot like anivia: if you can hold your tower for the majority of the game then you've basically done your job. Rylai's "can" be useful (would not reccomend getting it if you snowball though, as the damage is usually better than the slow), typically if you're behind then you should be focusing on picks and trying to get to lategame as fast as possible.
WitchQueen Annie1 votesYeah, viktor is a lot like anivia: if you can hold your tower for the majority of the game then you've basically done your job. Rylai's "can" be useful (would not reccomend getting it if you snowball though, as the damage is usually better than the slow), typically if you're behind then you should be focusing on picks and trying to get to lategame as fast as possible.
the problem I've been having is that while I can almost always, in nearly all games, hold the tower.... I can't do anything with him if my team (and especially if my frontline) is really behind.
Generally I can win the lane and in the mid game I shove and then roam bot for kills. My tower is almost always the last to fall of all the three towers.
However, late game I find that he's very squishy and that no matter how ahead I got from before, its too tricky to play around their fed front line if my team fed.
Whereas if I'm Annie I can Flash Combo the backline (the stun means they can't retaliate) and reliably still contribute... or if I'm Vladimir I can pretty much ignore the front line and run at their backline because of the sustain, tankiness and AOE nature of the damage...
With Viktor its harder. If I Flash at their backline, land part of my Q and they Flash back... all of a sudden I'm seriously screwed because their team will just collapse on me and kill.
Miror B1 votes[{quoted}](name=Vlad Maine ,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=PVJBXgEW,comment-id=00010000,timestamp=2017-02-19T05:27:32.733+0000)
the problem I've been having is that while I can almost always, in nearly all games, hold the tower.... I can't do anything with him if my team (and especially if my frontline) is really behind.
Generally I can win the lane and in the mid game I shove and then roam bot for kills. My tower is almost always the last to fall of all the three towers.
However, late game I find that he's very squishy and that no matter how ahead I got from before, its too tricky to play around their fed front line if my team fed.
Whereas if I'm Annie I can Flash Combo the backline (the stun means they can't retaliate) and reliably still contribute... or if I'm Vladimir I can pretty much ignore the front line and run at their backline because of the sustain, tankiness and AOE nature of the damage...
With Viktor its harder. If I Flash at their backline, land part of my Q and they Flash back... all of a sudden I'm seriously screwed because their team will just collapse on me and kill.
This is kinda why you should be running ghost instead of flash, as it offers both offensive and defensive options with a way lower cooldown (ghost in and proc thundies, or ghost away from enemies who try to dive you).
Comparing annie/vlad to viktor is also something you shouldn't be doing, as both do different things. The former are meant to "dive" enemies and probably die in the process. Vik is a lot like cait/ezreal, in that you're supposed to "kite" enemies and get them to focus you instead of your spells, so that they'll do things like stay in your w and let it "center" them or stand in your e and get hit twice by it. If you can kite them and not let them ambush you, then it doesn't really matter how far behind/ahead they are as they'll still die anyways.
Lategame, your goal always should be to not so much aim straight for the backline but do as much damage as possible to who is in front of you. If that's a frontline, then the damage they take will hardly be insignificant (unless it's something stupid like a maokai with 300MR and his ulti popped) and might force them to b. If they have zero frontline (which happens in about 70% of my viktor games), then popping them shouldn't be difficult unless they have tons of mobility (rylai's helping for that q-slow) or went full mr with hexdrinker/eon/qss/ga.
WitchQueen Annie1 votesI have the same problem with Ezreal. My Ezreal (same as my Vik) more often than not wins the lane, takes tower and can hold my tower for a very long time.
But in team fights I feel very inconsequential. In the sense that if our team was even, just slightly behind, or ahead... Ez/Vik EASILY close out the game.
But if we've lost at least 1 or 2 other lanes hard and our team as a whole is substantially behind, I feel like I can't do much. I can maintain a very strong KDA (my casualty remains very low) but I end up not being able to turn the game around.
Whereas had I played Vladimir or Annie instead, I feel like there's a larger number of games I can turn around by simply focusing/diving the back line more reliably... at the same time, those champions seem JUST AS GOOD when your team is ahead or even.
...
For Viktor, it might be that my W usage sucks. How are you supposed to use it? I know how to use it follow up (ex if a Malph ults or a Yasuo tornado hits) where you just place it under the key targets or a group of targets.
But what about in casual fights?
Should I try to place it between 2 enemies?
Or straight ahead of where I'm walking if focused as bait?
Miror B1 votes[{quoted}](name=Vlad Maine ,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=PVJBXgEW,comment-id=0001000000000000,timestamp=2017-02-19T18:57:19.998+0000)
I have the same problem with Ezreal. My Ezreal (same as my Vik) more often than not wins the lane, takes tower and can hold my tower for a very long time.
But in team fights I feel very inconsequential. In the sense that if our team was even, just slightly behind, or ahead... Ez/Vik EASILY close out the game.
But if we've lost at least 1 or 2 other lanes hard and our team as a whole is substantially behind, I feel like I can't do much. I can maintain a very strong KDA (my casualty remains very low) but I end up not being able to turn the game around.
Whereas had I played Vladimir or Annie instead, I feel like there's a larger number of games I can turn around by simply focusing/diving the back line more reliably... at the same time, those champions seem JUST AS GOOD when your team is ahead or even.
...
For Viktor, it might be that my W usage sucks. How are you supposed to use it? I know how to use it follow up (ex if a Malph ults or a Yasuo tornado hits) where you just place it under the key targets or a group of targets.
But what about in casual fights?
Should I try to place it between 2 enemies?
Or straight ahead of where I'm walking if focused as bait?
The idea with w is to try and cause fights to have a bit of a numbers advantage. Let's say someone steps a bit too far forward from the rest of their team, put the w behind them and they're kinda in a no-win situation. Casually, you almost never want to use it as it takes up so much mana and isn't the most reliable thing (compared to a q-trade onto the enemy, where you at least guarantee something).