[Champion Concept] Vikus, the Redemption of Demacia

Vikus, the Redemption of Demacia

Sorry rito, no picture from me!

Champion Concept

Vikus, at a glance, is meant to be a Paladin-esque champion who focuses around manifestations of 'light' and holy fires as the means for his damage. A bruiser at heart, he uses a mixture of physical and magic damage tuned to unique abilities to deal damage to his foes. Also capable of tanking, Vikus' utility allows him to be a great help to his allies when confronted with heavy-cc teams or when simply handling his own lane. With the right runes, he might even be a good candidate for smiting the monsters of the jungle with his abilities. At the end of the day, Vikus is still a burly, pearl-armored, giant warhammer-wielding warrior who seeks to boast his team's potential in every way he can.

I envisioned Vikus as a helmet-less warrior, one with dark flowing hair and a character that showed all of his experiences. Middle-aged, most likely. He'd be a rugged man in his classic skin, much like Rugged Garen but with a much shinier aesthetic due to his prowess with the light and the general appearance of his armor. Naturally, his abilities would come with bright glows.

When backing, Vikus would fall to one knee and hold the shaft of his warhammer over his shoulder while he said prayers. As the recall animation came closer and closer to its finish, glowing energies would raise up around him and encircle him until it finished.

When dying, Vikus' body would erode into bright particles as his warhammer fell back into the ground hammer-up. The particles would raise up and dissipate, leaving only his hammer behind as a representation of his devotion.

Concept Lore - Not Final

All the stories speak of a knight in gleaming white armor, but in the days of the present it is often that such a knight never shows for the people of Valoran. With the war between Demacia and Noxus constant, and innumerable, unspeakable plots unfolding all around those nations and their denizens, there had to be one to stand above. He who was true to the legends of a kind man, one with the strength of Braum and the devotion of Garen. The confidence of a hundred in the face of a thousand, the man people called 'Hero'. Perhaps not as glorious as his stories might tell, Vikus is still a renowned warrior that chose to avoid the conflicts of the League of Legends for quite some time.

Traveling far and wide around Valoran to bring his abilities to their maximum, Vikus made ties with Kayle, learned from the strength of Garen's Judgment, and even learned from the tribes of Mount Targon and their devotion to the Sun. Now, with his war hammer in hand, he brings his experiences and abilities to the League. Once a herald of Demacia's Citadels and holy groups, Vikus is stepping forward to purge those of the Void and those who would threaten Valoran as a whole.

Time quickly showed that Vikus' quest would not be that simple. The void was a maintainable enemy, but the more Vikus rose through the ranks, the more he realized that the true enemy was something darker than creatures from the nightmare dimension. His fight belonged to the nightmares of Valoran, and their evil magics that would raise the peaceful from their rightful places. Vikus' targets became those who would disturb the dead, and call upon those dark powers.

"Karthus, Yorick..." some might hear Vikus whisper to himself on occasion. The two foul beings that were to be smote next.

Champion Abilities

Passive - Retribution (12/8/4s CD) % Health damage scales with level, not stacks.

Vikus gains 10% critical chance after using an ability for 3 seconds, which can stack up to three times for a total of 30% bonus critical chance. If his next attack is a critical strike, it will deal magic damage instead of physical damage plus 2/4/6% of the target's maximum health as magic damage.

Notes: Retribution is designed to allow Vikus to safely fight tanky top laners who stack heavy amounts of armor. With strategic use of his passive and his Q, he can do high amounts of magic damage to eliminate their health and shred their armor. After a basic attack, Vikus can follow up with his W, Purify, to deal additional percent health damage before the Sunder debuff wears off. This combination is an effective trade winner, but it still leaves Vikus open long enough to take considerable amounts of damage from AoE champions like Mundo or Shyvana.

Oh, and there'll be a cool special effect to show just how hard you're hitting someone with that special crit.

Q - Sunder (40 Mana, 8/7/6/5/4s CD)

Vikus imbues his warhammer with the strength of the Sun, causing his next basic attack to cleave units in front of him for 10/20/30/40/50 (+1.0 AD) and apply a stack of Sunder, shredding their armor by 4/6/8/10/12% for 3 seconds. Sunder applies on-hit effects and if it is a critical strike as a result of Retribution, it knocks the opponent back a short distance and cripples them, applying a 10/14/18/22/26% slow for 2 seconds.

Vikus has little to no CC in his kit aside from some slows and the devastating effects of his R. While it might not seem like a good idea to knock an enemy away with Q's Retribution effect, being able to land this can be good for kiting or for making sure an opponent stays inside your R AoE or your W AoE. Even then, the knockback is short, and the slow gives you enough time to stick again with Phage.

More light effect on their faces, too.

W - Purify (70/80/90/100/110 Mana, 14/13/12/11/10s CD)

Vikus slams his warhammer on the ground, sending out pulses of holy fire in a radius around him for 3 seconds. Enemies standing on the fire take 15/25/40/60/80 (0.2 AD, 0.2 AP) magic damage per second. The fire persists for 2 seconds after foes leave the fire, revealing and slowing them by 25%. Targets under the effect of Sunder have the armor reduction removed, but instead take bonus magic damage equal to the percentage of armor shredded.

Purify is Vikus way of saying 'This is my land.' Sort of like Trundle's Frozen Domain, this area of effect gives Vikus a huge damage bonus. The slow for Purify doesn't apply until the opponent leaves the radius, meaning that knocking an opponent out of W with your Ret. Q can slow them by up to 51%!

E - Exorcise (40/50/60/70/80 Mana, 12/11/10/9/8s CD)

Vikus floods a target with holy energy, cleansing their being of up to 1/1/2/2/3 debuffs and healing himself for 2/3/4/5/6% (+0.01 AP) of his maximum health. If Vikus cleanses an ally of an enemy debuff, he and the target gain 30% movement speed for 1 second.

Exorcise allows Vikus to save himself from ganks, but he still has no way to up his movement speed without boots or Mercurial Scimitar. If he were laning with someone or if his jungler was present, E also grants a possibly life-saving movement speed bonus.

R - Purge (100 Mana, 130/120/110s CD)

Vikus hurls his warhammer a short distance, causing it to explode into a pillar of light upon reaching an enemy champion or the end of its course that deals 200/300/400 (0.2 AD, 0.4 AP) magic damage. Champions struck by the hammer are rooted for 1.5 seconds, and as the pillar dissipates, it lets out waves of holy fire in a radius that cripple foes. Crippled enemies are slowed by 40% and take an additional 10/20/30 (0.1 AD, 0.1 AP) magic damage per second until they leave its radius.

A flashy show of power, Purge is Vikus' largest form of CC but it also has a painfully long cooldown. Without a small amount of CDR, this ultimate requires perfect usage in order to be truly effective. Similar to Sejuani's bola of True Ice, Vikus uses his warhammer to shut down his opponents for an incredibly long time, making this the difference between winning or losing a teamfight.

Champion Roles and Items

Primary Role: Fighter Secondary Role: Tank

As mentioned in the foreword, Vikus is a bruiser at heart. If necessary, he can build full tank and still manage to get some decent damage out thanks to his passive and % health damage across his kit. It should be noted that his tank would come exclusively from his items, so he could be quite vulnerable in the early game unless he rushes a Giant's Belt before his Phage.

Recommended Items

• Essential Items

• Offensive Items

• Defensive Items

• Boot Choices

• Enchantments

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Conclusion

Stats and otherwise are up to Rito should they even consider this idea for League. A mana-using fighter with the powers of light and all that fun stuff. Let me know your thoughts on this Champion Concept.

• TheSenescent

(P.S. - I thought I should add in that you pronounce 'Vikus' sort of like 'Fikus', the plant, except with a V. Best name NA, huh?)