(Champion Rework) Vladimir

I may be the only one that thinks he could use a rework, but in all honesty, he does. His kit is not bad per say, but it lacks a lot of what top laners are getting these days(dashes, higher burst, mobility, toughness) and his mid game isn't what it once was with the introduction of a lot of assassins, as well as mid lane mages who have more mobility than he can imagine. I find he is a bit too reliant on the only thing hes good at, sustain.

He cant poke reliably like , , or . He also can't bully lanes like , , or . His kit also does not feel as unique as it once was. What he can do, other champs do better.

Vladimirs passive is unique in the way it scales, and how it allows him a bit more flexibility in build paths. It is a bit outdated and could be reworked to something a bit better. His Q(his signature spell and play style) has no counter play, he is too reliant on it with little to no satisfaction from using it, and is outclassed by other abilities( does the same thing, with more utility, built in stun, and refunds on kills). His W is fine as it is. One of the few things I think he's got that allows for counter play and outplay potential. E is very lackluster. High costs early game makes it less feasible to stack, and late game it is practically up all the time. It offers little in terms of utility and (at this point) feels like it was just thrown in as a last ability when nothing unique or interesting could be created to be placed in that slot. And finally his ultimate, which I think is fine the way it is. Maybe have it tweaked a bit to either offer utility or to have some power shifted so his kit could be a bit more stream lined for early game. Definitions CD = Cooldown AP = Ability Power HP = Health (X) = Value Given

I came up with two concepts for him but can only put 1 up for now. Ill update if there is any interest in hearing the other one. This is only ability, mechanics and interactions. Numbers and scaling are up in the air. Names are just placeholders.

Concept 1 > Passive: Blood Sucker > For every point of ability power, Vladimir gains (X) Health. Additionally, any time Vlad uses Transfusion, a Blood Globe is spawned half way between the enemy and Vlad. Vlad can walk over it to heal for (5% Vlads Max Health). Additionally, Vlads enemies and allies can walk over to heal for half the amount. Blood Globes last for 2 minutes and interact with his Hemospear.

I kept the AP passive to allow him to scale better late game, much in the same way his AD bruiser counterparts do thanks to AD items and natural tankiness. His Blood Globe portion is what would replace his natural Q sustain. The globes offer more interactivity with the opponent, create counter play potential and make his kit a bit more interesting thanks to more complex mechanics and interactions with his abilities. It also offers up an interesting concept involving his Q and bot lane which I will get into next. > Q: Transfusion > CD: 7/6/5/4/3 seconds Cost: 0 Damage: 5/5.5/6/6.5/7% Max Health Range: 650 Target/Nuke > Vladimir sucks out the blood of a target enemy, dealing 5% +(X% AP)(Max Cap of 300 Scaling against minions/monsters) Max Health magic damage to them, and releasing a Blood Globe that spawns half way between the target and Vlad. Additionally, if Transfusion kills a target, the Blood Globe travels to Vlad(it can be intercepted) and the CD is reduced by half. This ability can be self cast. Each self cast costs 10% of current health. The Globe is spawned in front of Vlad.

So the idea behind his new Q, is it allows him to scale better late game. It also gives him a tool to use against very big and beefy champions. As stated previously, the Globe generation is where his new sustain would come from. Managing it would create opportunities to deal more damage and create more interactions with his opponent. And since he no longer has guaranteed sustain(except for killing things), his Q CD, and damage can be modified as needed(makes balancing him easier). The CD reducing nature of killing things makes farming with him slightly easier(since his AA animation is very slow, and can be difficult to time) and can create some great combos late game if he gets fed.

> W: Sanguine Pool CD, Range, Damage, Cost unchanged. Self-Cast While in the pool, Blood Globes are attracted to Vladimir for up to 1000 range. They will travel very quickly towards Vlad while in pool, and can be intercepted. Globes will be absorbed if they come into contact with the pool.

His W is mostly unchanged. It still interacts with his other abilities, and gives him a unique escape option. The Blood Globe attraction is placed in there to offer him a chance of creating more combos with his detonation ability. > E: Hemospear CD: 4 seconds Cost: 5% Current Health Damage: 65/80/95/110/125 Range: 700 Line/Skillshot Vladimir launches an instant Spear of Blood. The spear deals 65 +(X% Vlads Max Health) magic damage to all enemies caught in the line. If the spear contacts a Blood Globe, it will detonate the Globe dealing the spears damage +(X% Vlads Max Health) in a 150 Radius, slowing movement speed by X% over 1.5 seconds and reducing the CD of Hemoplague by 2 seconds per Globe detonated. Hemospear can be cast without interrupting his movement.

I replaced his E completely. I always found it lackluster and was just another buff that needed to be kept up at all times to maximize his damage. The new promotes a lot of interaction with his abilities, enemies and even with himself with self cast Q's. It has a lot more utility now, thanks to said interactions and gives him a bit more CC that does not come with a massive CD and does not leave him as susceptible to getting kited or CC'ed as much as his W would. Also, he would not feel as immobile as many casters do thanks to being able to cast it on the move(similar to W: Void Rift). The damage potential is kept low so that it does not overshadow his bread and butter Q. As for the reduction to his Ultimate, that was placed there to give you another reason to use it. > R: Hemoplague CD: 170/150/130 seconds Cost: 10% Vlads Max Health Damage: 100% of Cost Range: 750/180 Vladimir releases a plague that cause's all enemies hit to take an additional 5/10/15% more damage from all sources for the next 5 seconds. After 5 seconds, the plague erupts from each targets body dealing 100% of the Cost in magic damage and creating Blood Globes equal to the number of enemy champions hit. The globes will travel at a steady pace towards Vlad, but can be intercepted by anyone.

Again playing of his usage of % health costs, as opposed to raw numbers. With this, late game Vlads ultimate can be a game changer. With the increase in damage taken, and the amount of utility it provides, its no longer just a simple click and forget. Now you have a bit more options to either all in someone, while staying healthy thanks to the globes, or stand back and detonate them all for extra damage.

So, just wanna talk about lanes really quick. With this kit, Vlad has potential for top lane as a bruiser who can trade a bit better with other bruisers, in mid his abilities will still be able to keep him safe, and allow him poke potential. But this also opens up potential in bot lane as an AP Support Bruiser of sorts. With his Q being able to generate globes for either an ADC to use to heal, or being used to harass the opposing duo team. With his bruiser identity and new utility, he has potential to be paired with another bruiser in bot, creating something similar to how Mordekaiser was after the Juggernaut update, but without the crazy snowball potential.

Well I hope you guys like the ideas. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Ive been seeing alot of champions being phased out slowly by new champs with much bigger and more robust kits. It saddens me because Vladimir is one of those champs i always liked. And i still remember saving those IP points so I could play him. Anyways, enjoy.

The rivers will run red.