I really love Vlad but he feels really old (which he is) and his visuals feel really underdramatic. His autoattack also feels really slow and weird. I also feel like he could use his ball of blood more in his abilities. For example, his q could suck in the blood of his enemies or have a line of life force instead of a bork active.
I'd like for Vladimir to enlighten us more on why he practices hemomancy and why he is the Crimson Reaper. He must also have some connection with Aatrox's ancient and living Darkin Blade since their abilities are pretty much the same, and so I propose all this:
What is hemomancy and what would its purpose be?
Noxus is known for its use of necromancy (Sion and Urgot) or at least allowing the use of necromancy. This automatically makes you think of undead but there's no connection with the Shadow Isle in Noxus, I think. Vladimir practices hemomancy so what does that make you think? It makes me think of unliving. These two conditions both may allow eternal life after being alive. Both may take the property of life (blood or soul) for themselves to feel alive again if just for a moment to make sense of their persistence. [READ MORE ABOUT BLOOD & SOUL]
What are the thematical differences?
Shadow Isle is plagued with a magical curse that brings death to life; piercing the veil.
Mordekaiser is supposedly unliving (not undead). His ancient armor could be the thing that consumed his life. "Entombed in ancient armor, the Master of Metal is said to be the first of the unliving--"
The sorcerers under Mordekaiser's command brought about the curse of undying. Their sorcerery may have afflicted Mordekaiser's current state of unliving with undying who then became representative of both. "It is said that he was the first of the undead, existing before the Shadow Isles--"
Alternatively, he was encased in a magical Iron Maiden for reason(s). Dead now, his soul eternally locked within he gathered his spirit over decades to master his metal encasing, clumping it into a human visage of his previous living self. Permanently enduring the pain; permanently anchored in corporeal world. Later, the Shadow Isle curse of undeath was an attempt to free his soul.
Noxus practices hemomancy (and necromancy) and is not magically cursed.
Urgot may represent necromancy through techmaturgy. Forbidden advances.
Sion may represent the difference between unlife and undeath. Volatile and violent compared to undead. (Sion - the Unliving Juggernaut)
Vladimir may represent how hemomancy facilitates unliving persistence. He has lived and is now eternally unliving.
Aatrox is something else entirely and his ability surges from his ancient Darkin Blade. Aatrox may not be the same unliving as Vladimir, basically. Those abilities are more or less the same as Vladimir's, Vladimir practices hemomancy and this whole idea suggests that Vladimir is unliving (not alive). [READ MORE ABOUT THE DARKIN WEAPONS]
This whole suggestion defines the differences and creates a consistency that suggests Vladimir is actually not alive. Vladimir (and Sion) is actually unliving like Mordekaiser was (and maybe Yorick?). This also suggests he must have been a magic-user prior to passing into afterlife as an unliving 'vampire'. What I have not suggested is how he becomes unliving, which is where story and narrative comes in. It could be that Vladimir's current background could expand on Noxus warmongering ideals/traditions since there's a history of war and previous hemomancers, and conveniently unintentionally collaborating with Aatrox's ideas: "True warriors are forged in blood."
Unlike Mordekaiser who may have been consumed by his ancient armor and unable to self-sustain (before the curse made the Shadow Isle), Vladimir is the mage-like variation of <other unlivng champion> and that perk may be Vladimir's reason for being able to self-sustain his afterlife more successfully. How else, though? In years of peace, world populations and fertility rates increase so in Vladimir's time there's a planetary-wide harvest unlike Mordekaiser's time of limited travel confined to an isle. Unliving can hibernate to manage their afterlife when there's no harvest (e.g. classic vampire in a coffin).
Since Yorick should also need looking at, I propose these:
Yeah, his visuals look really bad for his classic skin. His model and stuff are fine in my opinion, but I mean his abilities' particles and his blood ball are all really ugly (except Soulstealer's particles).
Technically BotRK's active is Vlad's Q, but yeah I agree. His "Tides" of Blood don't really feel satisfying when it doesn't really look like tides of actual blood coming out but more like rectangles covered in blood.
I bet you'd be Vlad for a VU, huh? gets kicked out
