League of Legends champion profile: Viktor, the Machine Herald

Lanes Viktor players love

Irelia –  In either top or mid lane, Viktor does pretty well into Irelia, especially after Riot gutted her magic resist to make her weaker into mages. Yes, you still have to be wary of the all-in potential, but if you get snared you can also drop your Gravity Field on top of yourself to lock down Irelia and trade back onto her. Plus, if you can proc your shield when she goes in to trade, it’s fairly easy to exit trade with your E.

Kayle – Although Kayle will outscale you as she does every champion, you can use your range and waveclear advantage early to get to your item breakpoints before she can reach her level advantages. Plus, you’ll be able to do more damage in a fight as Viktor than she can do, as long as you play around the ultimate. She’s also kiteable if you use your W properly.

Fiora – Yes, she can easily Reposte your telegraphed W, but that’s about all she can do. You can easily whittle her down with Qs (especially after you upgrade) and you can shove her under tower with your superior waveclear. You don’t want to fight her in this lane until you chunk her down enough, but she shouldn’t be able to get onto you without taking a lot of damage.

Lanes Viktor players hate

Talon – Just about every assassin in mid and top lane is going to be hell to play against as Viktor. You’ll have to be incredibly judicious with your W because once you use it he’s free to go all-in on you. Worse yet, he can actually out-push you early with his W, allowing him to get off those easy roams while you’re stuck waveclearing.

Annie – Point and click cc is definitely not your friend as Viktor, nor is heavy burst. Annie, unfortunately, brings both of these. The laning phase should be fine for you since you’ll shove her in but Annie has perfect gank set-up once you do over-extend.

Rengar – Especially top, Rengar has an easy time going all-in on you or ganking you. With his multiple jumps and ability to cleanse your only form of cc, Rengar is the Talon of Viktor in the top lane.

Tips for playing Viktor

• Be careful with using your E early as it has a high mana cost. Instead, try to trade more with your Q in lane.
• Your Q target and subsequent auto attack targets do not have to be the same. You can Q a minion to get the shield and then trade on your opponent with the empowered auto.
• When playing against an assassin, don’t be afraid to drop your W right on top of yourself if you’re getting all-inned. The slow and subsequent stun will at least give you a window to trade back (if you’re not dead already).

Tips for playing against Viktor

• By contrast, if you’re against Viktor try and wait out his W. Once he drops it, that’s your cue to go all-in.
• If you can shove Viktor in early and harass him down, you’ll force him to have to use his E to waveclear under tower. This will run through his mana pool and set him behind quickly.
• Fairly obvious but needs to be said: Viktor’s main damage comes from his E, which is a straight-line skill shot. Walk to the side to dodge it, especially once it’s upgraded to avoid both procs.

Champion Difficulty: 7/10

Viktor has a lot of complex aspects to his kit that are very unique. His passive upgrades require a lot of thought and can vary from game-to-game depending on who you face.

As far as gameplay goes, three out of four of Viktor’s abilities are skill shots or need to be placed at a target. This means that if you use an ability incorrectly there isn’t a lot of wiggle room to recover.

Having said that, Viktor doesn’t really need a ton of thought to do his job well in the team fights. You want to stay behind your front line, pump out damage, and avoid getting dove or bursted. If you can position well and hit your skills, Viktor will be a fantastic champion for you.

Similar to champions

Swain, Karthus, Morgana

Have any tips for new players trying to learn Viktor? Let us know down in the comments below!