How can I avoid/counter being ganked at Mid as Vel'Koz?

General Grodd·Apr 15, 2015·22 votes·4,830 views

Yesterday I played mid and Vel'koz for the first time (simultaneously), and most of my deaths were do to ganks. I had flash and ignite equipped for my spells; when someone was about to kill me I of course flashed.

However; being the squishy little void monster that I was, every time 2 people started to attack me (through ganking) I was useless and died pretty much every time. I'm used to playing top lane and being rather tanky so that could be affecting me.... Any thoughts/suggestions or tips? I understand being ganked can be unpredictable and therefore mostly unpreventable, but still....

P.S. I'm lvl 11

105 Comments

Takeuchi 17Apr 15, 201535 votes

wards dude. mid lane you should constantly be placing wards in the two bushes in the river. after you ward try and stick closer to the bush that is warded so that if they come from the other side you'll have time to escape or devise something.

sometimes when i support ill be nice and place a pink in one, but generally its a mid laners responsibility to look out for himself. map awareness. you have plenty poke so theres no need to push up the lane and be too aggressive. utilize the geometry of your q more, watch videos on how to get max range with it. also your knock up helps out a lot. save that for the ganks when youre running away

Sir ArmaMalumApr 15, 20156 votes

^^This, and whenever I jungle and I have the spare gold I'll usually drop a pink in one of the lonely bushes to help mid out. Not only does it help mid out but it sets up counter-ganks very well if they don't pay attention.

Takeuchi 17Apr 15, 20153 votes

yup people always underestimate the value of pink wards and always place them in horrible places. I always work with my adc to place two pinks in our own jungle. Ideally everyone should place one pink on the map, but that never happens

for example, on blue side the tri-bush and then the bush right behind red buff are generally where i put them. on red side i put one in the bush by the river on the other side of blue buff, and one in the river bush closest to bot lane turret. helps the jungler with counter-jungling and helps prevent ganks if towers are lost or lanes are pushed up, also helps get free gold when the enemy places a ward in there

Sir ArmaMalumApr 15, 201517 votes

I feel you have need of this:

http://i.imgur.com/WHwwBJt.png

Takeuchi 17Apr 15, 20152 votes

hahahaha this is wonderful

MacbethAndCheeseApr 16, 20151 votes

Ever heard of the dade ward? if you place it ~3:20 you will be super safe as long as you know a bit about their jungler. Also, check out IMLS twitch. Hes gravity's coach, and he has some vods of lessons he gives. Theres also a weirdly large amount of Orianna vods, a few of the idea's must carry over, either way, the information from the vods got me out of silver single handedly

Laughing FishApr 15, 201514 votes

One word: Wards. When using Vel'Koz, there is no such thing as over warding. He is slow as hell, and people love ganking him. But if you see them coming, you have plenty of time to move. And once you position correctly, you can use Vel's long range to harass the dude that just ganked you, and maybe even turn that gank into a double kill.

General GroddApr 15, 20153 votes

But can't you only place one ward at a time? Or am I missing something?

disregardableApr 15, 20154 votes

You can buy up to 3 at a time plus a pink. ^_^

You put the pink to the left in the small, outer river bush (not the one closest to lane), and you put the standard ward in the long, normal river bush. Wouldn't hurt to also do both passageways closest to your turret.

Laughing FishApr 15, 20158 votes

You can have 3 stealth wards active at one time, as well as 1 Vision (pink) ward. This means every players can have 4 wards max at once. Pre-level 9 buy at least 1 stealth ward every back (it may seem like it hurts your gold, but the saved lives will more than make up for the price of ward.), as well as a Vision ward if you have the extra cash. Once you hit level 9, upgrade your trinket to greater stealth totem (only 250 gold, and it is one of the best items in the game). This will save a lot of money on wards as it gives 2 free wards instead of the standard 1.

rampaging poetApr 15, 20151 votes

Others have already said that you can place more than one ward, but haven't told you where to get them. First, there's the free, short-duration ward you can get from the yellow trinket. I'm pretty sure that's the one you meant when you said you could only place one ward at a time. Second, you can purchase wards separately in the shop. Stealth or "green" wards cost 75gp each at the shop, last 3 minutes once placed, are invisible, and cannot see invisible units. Vision or "pink" wards cost 100gp each, last until killed by the enemy, are visible to the enemy, and can see invisible units. Wherever you get them, you can only have 3 Stealth wards and 1 Vision Ward on the map at any one time. Your allies can also place up to 3 and 1 of their own.

The main other sources of wards are upgraded trinkets and the Sightstone, which gives you up to four free Stealth Wards every time you return to base. Typically only the support and some junglers will build a SIghtstone because it takes up an item slot that the other roles need for their damage or defense - the little bit of health it gives isn't worth the item slot for most people. As a mid-laner most of your wards will come from your trinket. When you hit level nine you can buy upgraded trinkets from the shop. One upgrade gives you lots of free Stealth Wards, while the other occasionally gives you a free Vision Ward. You'll usually want the green wards, but look at what your team already has when picking which upgrade to get - it can be nice to have at least one teammate with the pink wards and you may need them against certain champions like Akali or Evelynn that go invisible a lot.

You may also occasionally see 1hp blue wards. Those are placed by the upgraded blue trinket (and only the upgraded blue trinket). They don't last that long and can easily be destroyed by the enemy, but they can be placed from a very long distance away.

MacbethAndCheeseApr 16, 20151 votes

You should only need one ward if you can guess where their jungle is (like if he started bot or top) and also, you play against your ward. You put your back against the ward so the side you dont have a ward on will be harder to gank from

badoogaApr 16, 20151 votes

That is only for the unupgraded trinket you get in the start of every game (i.e. this: item 3340 ). When you hit level 9 you can spend only 250 gold for something that lets you place wards on a charge system, basically meaning you can place more than one ward at a time (the item looks like this: item 3361 ) and is called the Greater Stealth Totem. Before level 9 you can just buy regular Stealth Wards ( item 2044 ) or a pink ward ( item 2043 ). I hope the visuals help ;D

HolîdayApr 16, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Laughing Fish,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=cRkNEQQF,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2015-04-15T12:53:34.850+0000)

One word: Wards. When using Vel'Koz, there is no such thing as over warding. He is slow as hell, and people love ganking him. But if you see them coming, you have plenty of time to move. And once you position correctly, you can use Vel's long range to harass the dude that just ganked you, and maybe even turn that gank into a double kill.

He's not slow he has one of the highest base ms of any ~~mage~~ (champion period) in the game. He just doesn't have blinks or dashes.

Also to OP do not take ignite take heal or barrier. Most of the time people you're killing shouldn't be in range for ignite, and you need to extra safety for when your E is down. Take MS quints if you end up maining him in the lvl 30's his ratios aren't the best and his passive offsets the ap loss early game. The movement is a huge boost though.

vfactor95Apr 15, 20157 votes

I always take heal instead of ignite as Vel'koz, you should be poking/melting people at range (basically if you're fighting someone and are in range to ignite them you're doing it wrong).

Vel'koz has one of the best kits in the game for kiting so heal really helps him dodge otherwise fatal skillshots or stay out of range of gapclosers. Also avoid pushing the lane before your first back as that's when you're the most vulnerable to jungle ganks.

General GroddApr 15, 20151 votes

Are you sure I shouldn't use ignite? I'm just using because a friend mine recommended that one, he's level 30 and mains Vel'Koz. Not that his advice is better o_O lol. Heal does sound more tempting though.

Volt CruelerzApr 15, 20151 votes

In practice it sort of depends on the match up and how good you are with him. Personally, I'd recommend barrier over heal for most games, but that's just me.

Have a look at this: http://champion.gg/champion/Velkoz

Sinister SnailApr 15, 20152 votes

[{quoted}](name=Volt Cruelerz,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=cRkNEQQF,comment-id=000500000000,timestamp=2015-04-15T14:21:11.677+0000)

In practice it sort of depends on the match up and how good you are with him. Personally, I'd recommend barrier over heal, but that's just me.

Have a look at this: http://champion.gg/champion/Velkoz

The issue with ignite on vel, imo, it's it's range. You have to get so close to use it, as opposed to how distant and safe vel's kit lets you play. You have true damage from your passive (which actually outdamages ignite). With practice, it's entirety possible to finish a passive stack on a fleeing opponent with a long-range Q.

I personally use barrier/flash. The timing's harder than heal, but it's saved me from zed and LeBlanc bursts so, so many times.

WheatloafApr 15, 20154 votes

Don't forget the power of Exhaust!

junglerboy16Apr 15, 20154 votes

heal is the safer option, which as a newer player means it is better and more reliable for you. Once you get good at Vel and know how to use him really well, you could most likely run ignite like your friend and do just as well, but until then safety is better than a chance at getting a kill. Just remember that it is always better for you to have very few deaths than to have a lot of kills while also having a lot of deaths.

vfactor95Apr 16, 20151 votes

I'm a Gold 1 Vel'Koz main for whatever that's worth, but I definitely think heal is always better than ignite for vel'koz simply because he doesn't need it. He has more than enough damage to melt people and ignite honestly doesn't help since you will be dealing damage far out of the cast range of ignite. If someone jumps heal ends up being better since you have more options to kite back and get more skills off. Trust me when I say heal is better than ignite no matter how good you are at Ve'Koz.

DeloricVIApr 16, 20151 votes

Summoner spells are a lot like champions; if you don't know how to use it, don't take it in serious games, but practice with it. It may be worth practicing!

Many times, you can use summoner spells to help you with certain opponents. For a while, I was bad at flashing, so I would take teleport instead, and I did much better that way! Likewise, if you find that ignite isn't helping you so much, or you see champions on the other team that ignite wouldn't be helpful against in your case, I would fully recommend heal. Since you don't seem to have trouble managing your flash, then that one could probably stay as your second spell.

If you find your issue with ignite is that you just don't manage to finish people with it, it may be worth playing a few bot games to get used to having that free DoT spell at your disposal. In the end, you may decide that the better choice for your playstyle is one or the other; lots of people I know claim that that's what it comes down to when you make choices like barrier vs heal vs ignite. Or exhaust, if you prefer!

Sir ArmaMalumApr 15, 20156 votes

After seeing your update on your current level I think you find this image useful: http://i.imgur.com/gzjCRmT.png

I apologize for the bad handwriting in advance, I'm an engineering student and we're second only to doctors in illegible written words :P

DeloricVIApr 16, 20152 votes

You should see essays written by computer science students. My own writing is worse than this at most points ._.

MartyrofsandApr 15, 20153 votes

Ward up, and take heal or barrier. If you are in range to cast ignite as Vel you are playing him wrong. If against an assassin like Zed who can instantly jump on you exhaust is also acceptable but you should never really have ignite on Vel.

SSJTribeApr 15, 20153 votes

Hey, Vel'koz main here.

As I'm sure others have said, taking summoner 21 Barrier or summoner 7 Heal instead of summoner 14 Ignite might really help you out. In my opinion, the key to avoiding ganks is learning the timing on his E until it's second nature. You can stop almost every dash in the game by timing it well, including Lee Sin, Shyvana's Transformation Ult, etc.

Lastly, if you're still having trouble consider picking up a item 3027 Rod of Ages. It'll give you the Health you need to get safely back under your tower. I actually build this item every game.

Good Luck on the Rift! Velkoz

MathbalnaseApr 15, 20153 votes

Use wards. Have vision. Know when ganks are coming. ??? Profit.

IcyPepperApr 15, 20152 votes

but muh damage

But seriously, this. Wards are worth your life.

DalenthasApr 15, 20153 votes

I mainly play Malzahar, not Vel'Koz, but ganks similarly wreck my day, and it's basically impossible not to push unless you don't want to farm at all. The warding advice is great (and I don't mean to put it down, it really is the easiest way to avoid dying to ganks), but doesn't really help when you're in the middle of being ganked (if your wards expire, or the jungler comes from an unwarded angle, or if the enemy jungler stealths past your wards, or maybe they just walked through a warded bush and you didn't have quite enough warning to get back to tower).

DON'T PANIC. All the advice in the world doesn't mean a damn thing if you panic. The rest of these suggestions are assuming you're not panicking.

If you're too far from your tower, it may be better to run away from the enemy jungler, instead of toward your tower. This can seem counter-intuitive, but it's better to run down the river and into the jungle than try running past a jungler, especially someone with melee range. If you ping for assistance you might even be able to get the other lane or your jungler to come rescue you. A 2v1 gank can quickly turn into a 4v4 team fight if enough people react.

Try to break line of sight by getting into a bush. If you play it right, they might assume you're luring them into an ambush with your jungler. If your jungler is good, they'll actually be there to ambush your enemy once in a while.

Save your flash to dodge their CC, don't use it too early or they'll just CC you after you've flashed. Also, save your flash if you're doomed, don't waste it if you're caught too badly. It might be more helpful next time.

If you think you're going to die anyway, rather than trying futilely to escape instead try to take someone with you. Make the best of a bad situation. Hell, on more than one occasion I was able to turn a 2v1 gank into a double kill because the enemy went in with low health assuming I'd run.

I think more than any other lane, your relationship with your jungler is important. I end up pushing a lot, so I let my jungler know ahead of time that I'll probably get ganked a lot and he should look for counter-ganking opportunities.

warpenguin555Apr 15, 20152 votes

Take summoner 12 summoner 7 or summoner 21 over ignite and ward. I dont play vel'koz but i like to play long range immoblie mages like him and thats probably your best best. Also if they still get past that and you have a little range left, try to move back a bit, stun 1 of them with your E, and run. Works like a charm

Volt CruelerzApr 15, 20152 votes

Not taking flash is suicide...

warpenguin555Apr 15, 20152 votes

[{quoted}](name=Volt Cruelerz,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=cRkNEQQF,comment-id=00030000,timestamp=2015-04-15T14:23:57.153+0000)

Not taking flash is suicide...

ik, thats why i said to take them over ignite and not over flash

Volt CruelerzApr 15, 20152 votes

Ah, my mistake. I thought you were suggesting taking either Teleport+Heal or Teleport+Barrier.

warpenguin555Apr 15, 20152 votes

Just though of another thing. To Predict ganks, if you have a reasonable guess as to where the enemy jungler is starting, ward that side of your lane and try to stay near there until your 1st back to buy extra wards.

That way you either A) See them coming, and even though they are closer, you can cc them and get out. OR B) They come from the side you didnt ward and you have a lot of room to get back to the tower.

If you want some more champions like him try out Ziggs Xerath Lux or Syndra . Those 5 play similar to him during laning phase but can take a little bit to get good with.

Good Luck :D

MrBuffingtonApr 15, 20152 votes

Wards are invaluable as a mid laner, like most people have been saying, but you also need to be paying attention to your minimap and warding good locations for them to really be effective. There are some really nitty gritty stuff you can also do with wards and tracking the enemy jungler through things like vision and the game timer, as well as how your other lanes are going, but those aren't so effective until you're at a really high level of play vs. a good jungler (ie. professional. It basically involves keeping mental timers of when the enemy jungler's camps are going to spawn by understanding how the enemy jungler is likely to clear; it's a lot of mind game stuff, I wouldn't be too worried about it since most junglers you meet may not pick the most efficient paths in jungle, often leave their buffs up to gank a random lane, etc.).

Also, as others have mentioned, you might want to take a defensive summoner spell (barrier or heal typically, maybe cleanse, ghost, or exhaust depending on the match up) instead of ignite; you're a long range mage, and ignite is a fairly short range spell, you'll do better by staying alive and pumping out damage with a defensive summoner spell than trying to get in range to use ignite.

Another thing to keep in mind when playing champions like Vel'Koz (Xerath, Ziggs, Lux, etc) is that you have very long range with your spells, and you don't need to extend too far in lane, especially if you have no idea where the jungler is. If you're shoving aggressively in lane (even if you have mobility; most dashes aren't long enough to get you to your turret if you're all the way under the enemy's turret), you're a prime target for a jungler to gank. If you have knowledge of where the jungler is (ie. you see them at one of their camps, or they show in another lane, especially if you see them backing), you have a couple seconds where you can, if you want play more aggressive, try to shove the wave into their turret so it resets back in the middle (and the enemy can't freeze it in front of their turret, which is a really bad spot for you to be in). That's generally how champions like Xerath or Lux play, in my experience, just shove the wave into the enemy turret from long range and back off for the wave to reset.

HelmightApr 15, 20152 votes

I'm a Vel'Koz main, so I'm fairly well acquainted with the situation you've described :P

First, take Heal or Exhaust instead of Ignite. Vel is squishy as hell and if you're ever in range to Ignite someone, you got too close. Exhaust or Heal helps you deal with assassins and tanks that invade your personal space and give you a second lease on life if Flash is down.

Second, ward up your lane. 75 gold isn't much in the early game, and that coupled with your free trinket ward should allow you to stay informed of incoming ganks. Soon as you hit level 9, upgrade your trinket. You won't have to buy wards after that.

Finally, hold onto your Tectonic Disruption (E) as long as possible. It may be tempting to use it on your lane opponent to try and get more damage down, but it's your ONLY escape move. If you've pushed close to the enemy tower, holding that ability in reserve for a gank may mean the difference between life and death.

Another tip I have is to grab the Alacrity enchantment for your boots fairly early on. More MS means you can dodge more skillshots and generally stay safer in teamfights.

Good luck with playing Vel'Koz!

howdoIspellmynamApr 16, 20151 votes

Vel'koz seems like a hard champ doe.

aaronconlinApr 16, 20151 votes

Wards, and if you can land your E on them as they come for you, you can turn the fight around or at the very least escape.

D1rtFarmerApr 16, 20151 votes

I generally use VelKoz's E like i would use flash. Keep your e up at all times... never use it in lane for farm or basic engages... you only want to engage the enemy with your q and the follow up with a proper w for the passive. and if you're winning this engage and youre lvl 6 i generally execute with the e (when i say execute, i mean line up with the knockup and execute with the ulti)... other than that.. it is most helpful in a disengage.

P.S. Ignite works wonders in deterring your attacker.. remember VK does true damage.

N30NP4NDAApr 16, 20151 votes

Wards, Stand near tower, Play mobile champions.

AuryielApr 16, 20151 votes

Like other people have said, ward.

Also there's no need to run Ignite on Vel'Koz. You'd be better off with another summoner spell, like exhaust or heal, because ideally you don't want to be in range to use Ignite. Exhaust helps you deal with people diving you and heal, aside from healing you, gives you a small burst of speed which can be very useful.

Old Man TeetoApr 16, 20151 votes

I'll start with some simple things.

Second mobility/defensive summoner.

Heal/Ghost/Barrier/Cleanse

Vel'koz is a poke/kite long range champion. You won't get to ignite value targets unless your mispositioned and likely to die, or so far ahead they have no chance at fighting.

The second one is you need to have at least ONE side of your lane warded consistently (two wards one for each entry to that side) and hug that side for protection. If you have summoner's up and they don't have strong engage/cc you can get away with less ward coverage, but it's still dangerous.

Go aggressive if you see the jungler appear on the map elsewhere, or your jungler is in the immediate vicinity (within 2 screens of mid-lane, typically Raptors).

Vel'koz is a team fighter, so make sure you show up to Dragon fights and skirmishes around buffs. His R in corridors is DEVASTATING and makes moving out of his W almost impossible.

TrídentApr 16, 20151 votes

I'm not a Velk player or anything, but just do like what the others say, ward the bushes, be cautious, don't overextend(unless you're baiting, try not to get in range of the inner turret by yourself, unless the enemy team is aced or you're backdooring.) Also, save your E to escape, and your Q also has a big slow (I think), which should help you to escape

Eric SenpaiApr 16, 20151 votes

Farm with your spells until you run oom, then rage at jungler for not giving you blue.

Or you can buy a green or pink ward after each recall. At level 9, don't be afraid to upgrade your trinket for 250, the yellow one pays for itself in about 4 minutes.

Both of these strats are equally viable. Follow them and then you too, can be in aluminum elo.

League of PotatoApr 16, 20151 votes

First off, use the trinket/upgrade it. The two bushes on each side of the lane may not seem like much, but it's definitely worth the little extra gold to drop two wards in there. Even if you only drop your trinket whenever it's off of cooldown, your jungler and support will thank you (one less thing for them to worry about).

Second, if you realize you haven't seen the enemy jungler in a while, you should probably back off and stay near your tower. Chances are they won't try and gank you if you're floating 3 "steps" away from the turret.

Third, if you do get caught out land your E, and a Q and you should be good to go. Worst case use flash. I would save your E for either ganks from your jungler, or as an escape for yourself. I wouldn't use E to clear minions unless you know for a fact where all the enemies are on the map. This shouldn't be that big of a deal since Vel Koz has plenty of wave clear without his E.

Fourth, be aware of the mini map. Please check it every so often, just to see where everyone is. If you see someone getting chased down the river (or vice versa) you can go to help and try to secure a kill. Map awareness is very very very important.

Fifth, just as a general precaution, ping if you can't see your lane opponent. That way other people on your team can be notified before it's too late, they can also come to help if you might be getting ganked.

Sixth, learn how to play more passively, remember, it's not bad to play passively. Instead of you diving too hard/missing an important skillshot, wait for your enemy to make a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes sooner or later. Most players get greedy for a kill and will unnecessarily dive under a turret just for a kill, and usually end up dying and looking like a fool. The only time you should really be pushed to their turret is to either take the turret or push them out of lane/kill them. It's not a bad thing to hug your turret. Some games you just have to let your turret safe guard you. I can honestly tell you the jungler won't want to gank you if you're always staying near your turret.

Keep these things in mind when playing, they can be applied to multiple champions, it's really just a smart way to play in mid lane in general. If you have some type of CC such as a silence, knock-up, stun, etc... try and save that certain ability for when you get ganked. Especially if the ability has a long cooldown. Landing those CC shots can make or break a game.

I hope this helps :)

NoMonkuApr 16, 20151 votes

It is called wards. item 2044 These guys will give you vision in places where you most likely will get ganked from, so if you see them, you know that you should back off. Also you can try taking Flash/Ghost if you don't need ignite to get kills. But wards are the easiest way to live. Forking out 75g to not die and give the enemy mid/jungler 300g+w/e assist gold amount is is worth it.

Hyrum GraffApr 16, 20151 votes

Buy wards for 75 gold or 100 gold, from the shop, so you can see the enemy jungler coming and get back to safety. ALWAYS upgrade your trinket, usually to this: item 3361 Trinket upgrades are the best items in the game right now, since they're so cheap.

Shoot your Q at the enemy jungler the second you see them, for the slow. If they're a melee champion, save your E until they use a gapcloser to jump close to you, then drop your E directly under them. (obviously, all this while you're running back to your tower).

Solidair3Apr 16, 20151 votes

Wards.

1MazaApr 16, 20151 votes

How is this Gameplay & Balance?

Anyway, your spells are there for safety. Farm with auto-attacks instead of wasting your cooldowns and mana on minions, then you can use your E knockup and Q slow to escape any gank, or if you're level 6 you can just land E on the jungler and burst him to death.

PS. How the hell is anyone jungling at lvl 11?

DeloricVIApr 16, 20151 votes

Well, there's a few things that you have to learn about mid, that is different about other lanes. Junglers have more options when they want to gank mid, as to where they can enter and escape the lane. This is why it's pretty important to do as everyone else has said, and ward. Knowing when a jungler is going to come into the lane and try to murder you is a very useful thing to have for a mage who can't take much punishment. Just be sure that when you do, you keep an eye on your map; those wards don't help if you don't check to see if someone's coming!

Another thing you have to learn in the mid lane, is mana and cooldown management. Some champions have short enough cooldowns to make cooldown management largely irrelevant, but it is important. Another thing is to make sure you have enough mana, and make sure that your cc spells (your slow, your stun, etc) are ready at any time that you don't know where an enemy is. For all you know, they could be waiting in the bushes for you to use that spell, so they can come in and attack consequence-free.

Another thing to worry about is the position in lane. If your opponent is right smack int he middle of the lane, go ahead and punish him for it. But if they're staying back, be careful; the further you are from your tower, the easier it is to gank you. Also be aware of the risk involved with pushing lane. Most mids push hard, and then, when the enemy has to get that mess straightened you, you leave lane to go and help another lane (aka, roaming). When you do this, just remember how much it opens you up to ganks.

Since you're level 11 and I don't know what your gameplay is like, I figured I'd put up as many general tips I could think of. I hope none of this feels like you're being patronized! I always like to help players improve. :)