A champion should NEVER be made more clunky/less satisfying to play (Regarding Viktor's PBE changes)
The Mage Update is underway and beside the six major reworks we’re getting tweaks and changes for a lot of the other mages. Some are really interesting, thematically fulfilling and exciting like Annie’s Tibber frenzy.
And then there’s Viktor. I get that Viktor does need some changes, seeing that he’s the lowest win rate Mid laner for some time now but these suggested changes do something a rework should NEVER do. Making a champion less satisfying and CLUNKY to play. Yes, the proposed changes Ricklessabandon pushed onto the PBE do little to amend the problems Viktor is currently having and completely destroys his most satisfying and most iconic ability, his Bond-Villain Death ray.
I get that Riot doesn’t like how much damage Vik can lay out in such a short period of time but making him less satisfying and less smooth to play is definitely NOT the way to go.
I might not play Viktor as much as Mordekaiser, and hell, I don’t play ANY champion as much as Morde, but there are certain champions that I find extremely enjoyable to play and our dear Machine Herald’s one of them. His entire kit has perfect synergy in itself and you feel great when you chain your spells, weave them and land those layers absolutely on point.
Personally I think Viktor doesn’t need ANY functionality changes but rather some number shifts, something Ricklessabandon tried to do with the changes being shifting power to Viktor’s chaos storm AoE pulses rather than its impact damage.
But instead of slapping a horrendous 2 second interval on his R and a full 1.25 second aftershock to his E he could have simply lowered his R’s impact damage and increase the persisting cloud’s damage/0.5 second.
- An annoyed Metal enthusiast
) but to outsustain them the way a juggernaut like 
does, by spamming low-cd heals. Passive does promote health over raw AP now, which I'll talk about more in detail below. The Q changes I feel are a necessary nerfing, especially with that third Q. One major thing jumped out at me when I first thought about it; 
. If Vlad players are smart, they'll treat the Crimson Rush (god what a good name) the way Jhin players treat their fourth shots. Zoning/Harass tools against their enemy laner. The power Crimson Rush offers is worth the loss in standard Transfusion in my mind entirely worth it.
The only W change is that you can detonate/cast Tides of Blood whilst in pool, at the cost of solidifying you early - and this is one of my favourite changes, hands down. It adds a sense of dynamic ability to Vlad's kit, rather than Live Vlad who just uses spells as they come off cooldown. "Do I use E for damage but lose pool, or stay pooled?" Furthermore, it adds an previously unknown level of outplay to Vlad's kit. Now you can properly destroy some low-health fool who doesnt respect the threat that is the red puddle of death.
for the stats and slows, 
for the scaling interaction with Crimson Pact, and 
for the CDR, healing, MR and HP. Every Vlad worth their salt will build these three items, IMO. The three stats Vlad misses out on from these items that he needs is Mpen, Armour, and CDR. Since his Q and E CD's are ever so slightly higher at the cost of the abilities themselves being worth more bang, I think maximizing full CDR is less important now - though you still want to get it where you can. Zhonyas can offer armour, but with the way ADC's are right now you'd want the armour and health from 
for the anti-crit or 
for being speedy, over the armour, AP and CDR that 
provides. Then you need boots (I'd opt for 
, but 
are all fine choices). Then for your Mpen choice you have 
which grants additional health but less Mpen, or 
, which offers no health but stronger Mpen. Abysall is also a choice against AP heavy teams, especially since it provides CDR now.
. With this build fully charged E's were putting out roughly 1000 magic damage per cast, due to the health scaling and the AP scaling of the ability.
. As Vladimir, you have no business running away with with the dash, you stand and sustain and laugh as your health remains neutral and theirs goes down. When they run, beyond "uncatchables" like Yi, Udyr, Kassadin, or LeBitch, no one should be escaping you between your E slow, your Crimson Rush haste and your Rylai's slows, ditto for running away. Ever tried to chase an Ezreal who keeps proccing IBG? It's like that with Vlad's low CD's and Rylai's.
Tl;Dr - Rocket Belt is an item for those who need the dash to engage and burst, or to escape. Vlad doesnt care for either of those as much as he cares for what other items can offer.
bola?
