One of the most prominent mid lane champions of the past two seasons, Viktor has proven to be a solid and consistent pick in both the competitive scene and high elo. Viktor thrives when your team is coordinated, and can set up crowd control so he can get off his high damage potential. Not to say that he isn't viable in solo queue, it is just harder as your solo queue teammates are less teamwork oriented and play more like individuals. When played properly, Viktor can be played in every team comp and does not have any hard counters that he cannot play around.

Let's go over the strengths and weaknesses of Viktor

Strengths:

- Amazing/safe waveclear
- Safe blind pick
- Great poke
- Very high damage, particularly damage over time (DoT)
- No true hard counters

Weaknesses:

- Immobile
- Unreliable CC
- Squishy
- Requires enemies to generally be locked down with CC to pull off his full damage potential

Summoner Spells

Flash: There is not a scenario where you should not take Flash, as it is the best summoner spell in the game. Useful for escaping or closing the distance on a low health target, the versatility of the spell is unquestioned.

Ghost: The second most popular summoner spell used on Viktor, this can generally be used in most matchups. Viktor suffers from being immobile, and this helps you work around that easier. This summoner spell synergizes great with his ultimate Chaos Storm, as the closer it is to Viktor, the faster it moves. This summoner spell is great when you need additional ways to escape or close the distance.

Barrier: Barrier is useful when you are against a lane opponent like Syndra, who is very oppressive and can one shot you if you are below 3/4 of your health. Against opponents with high burst, Barrier is always a solid option.

Exhaust: You would take Exhaust in a matchup against someone with strong all in. Assassins are a perfect example of this. A valuable Exhaust right when that Zed, Fizz, or Talon jumps on you significantly reduces their damage output and can even put you ahead in the exchange.

Cleanse: Take Cleanse in the event your lane opponent has hard CC, like a snare. Good examples of this would be Lux and Lissandra. Cleanse against Lissandra is pretty much a must, as it helps with her W, Ring of Frost, and, more importantly, her Ultimate, Frozen Tomb.

Runes

Reds/Marks: You always take magic pen marks here. You may think perhaps hybrid marks due to Viktor using an auto attack after he uses his Q, Siphon Power, but it converts the next auto attack's damage entirely to magic damage.

Yellows/Seals: This is pretty simple. If you are against an AD matchup, then you want to go with 9 armor seals. If you are against an AP lane opponent, scaling health seals are the best bet. The additional health late game is a lot more important late game than 9 armor will be, not to mention it won't be useful in lane.

Blues/Glyphs: The most optimal rune setup you will see for AP mages is 3 Glyphs of Magic Resist, and 6 Glyphs of Scaling Cooldown Reduction. This gives you 10% cooldown reduction at the end of the game. This is very important particularly to Viktor, because his Hex Core item takes up an item slot, and this is one less item you can buy for cooldown reduction.

Quints: You always take 3 Quints of Ability Power. There is not any other Quint that Viktor will benefit more from.

Masteries

Ferocity:
Tier 1- In the Ferocity tree, we put 5 points into Sorcery for the increased ability damage.
Tier 2- Feast for more sustain when killing minions.
Tier 3- You will see some variation when it comes to the next masteries in the tree, Vampirism and Natural Talent. A lot of pros will run 1 point in Vampirism, and 4 into Natural Talent. This is to get the added benefit of the spell vamp while still getting the late game impact of Natural Talent. You only end up missing out on 3 ability power by not using that 5th point. Ultimately choosing 5 points into either are both viable options, Personally, I would lean toward Natural Talent for the increased AP late game.
Tier 4- For the next tier the most popular choice is Double Edged Sword. Viktor generally deals damage with his Death Ray from a safe distance. Chances are, if someone manages to pounce on an immobile champion like Viktor, he is likely to die quickly so the increased damage to him of 2.5% is worth the risk for the increased 5% damage. You may see some people go with Battle Trance but the increase of damage is only over 5 seconds, while Double Edged Sword is permanent.

Cunning:
Tier 1- We take Savagery to make last hitting CS easier
Tier 2- This is a preference of play style. You can never go wrong with Secret Stash as the extra health and mana from potions are certainly useful for sustain. You could also go with Assassin if you like to duel and are confident you can dominate your lane opponent and are not afraid of jungle interference.
Tier 3- We go 4 points into Merciless for 4% increased damage to targets below 40% health, and one point into Meditation for some increased mana regen
Tier 4- Dangerous Game is the most optimal choice here. Bandit is not really useful as farming with Viktor is not that difficult, and you don't need the extra gold. You shouldn't be missing those last hits with that waveclear! Viktor is not exactly a bush camper to be abusing Greenfather's Gift either.
Tier 5- Precision is the best choice for the increased Magic Penetration.
Keystone Mastery- Thunderlord's Decree is by far the most popular choice on Viktor and with good reason. It is easy to pull off with his kit, with a simple auto attack>Q>Augmented auto burst combo. This makes Viktor's level 1 quite strong for trading. Now I have seen some players, such as Samsung Galaxy's Crown, go Stormraider's Surge on Viktor. I could see how this would be useful in making him more mobile and giving him a slow resistance. It is certainly a viable option in certain circumstances. However, you can never really go wrong with Thunderlord's and I would recommend that 99% of the time.

Abilities and Skill Order

Passive: Viktor starts with the Prototype Hex Core that can be upgraded three times in the store to augment his abilities. Viktor has his Hex Core and can upgrade it at the shop to give each of his abilities an additional effect

Q - Siphon Power: Viktor blasts an enemy unit dealing magic damage, gaining a shield and empowering his next basic attack.

In most cases you will take this level 1 as it makes your ability to trade much better than your E. As mentioned above, this ability makes Thunderlord's really easy to proc and, in addition, gives you a shield to come out ahead in most trades. Upgrading this with the Hex Core augment gives Viktor Turbocharge, which gives him 30% increased movement for 2.5 seconds. This helps Viktor be more mobile to weave in and out of fights for better positioning.

One important thing to master with Viktor's Q is the animation cancel on the empowered auto attack, which we will go over later in the Tips and Tricks section of this guide.

W - Gravity Field: Viktor conjures a heavy gravitational field that slows enemies in its radius. Enemies who stay within the device for too long are stunned.

This is Viktor's only form of CC. This ability is great for zoning off enemies who are trying to collapse on you by placing it in entrances to the lane from the jungle to ward off potential ganks. This ability is not the most reliable crowd control, but it is handy when you are jumped on or facing an issue where you are being chased down. This is extremely useful in teamfights as people tend to get lost in the chaos and will often be lumped up in one spot, making the stun easier to land. This will allow you to get off your complete rotation of abilities for maximum damage. The Hex Core Augment on this ability is the enemies stunned by the field are dragged into the center.

E-Death Ray: Viktor uses his robotic arm to fire a chaos beam that cuts across the field in a line, dealing damage to all enemies in its path.

Viktor's signature ability. It has seen some changes over the last year, but is still his best ability. This is what makes Viktor's waveclear so amazing, and lets him poke from a safe distance. This ability can also be used to check bushes, giving you temporary vision so you don't need to facecheck. When this ability is Augmented, the cut he makes with his Death Ray explodes for additional magic damage.

R-Chaos Storm: Viktor conjures a singularity on the field which deals magic damage and interrupts enemy channels. The singularity then periodically does magic damage to all nearby enemies. Viktor can redirect the singularity.

This ability does damage on the initial cast and does tremendous damage over time if you can keep it on a target. This also interrupts channels, like Galio Ult, Katarina Ult, Malzahar Ult etc. A key reason why we want spells like Ghost on Viktor is so he can keep his Chaos Storm on targets. When this is Augmented, the Chaos Storm moves 20% faster. This upgraded Augment happens automatically after all of Viktor's other abilities are Augmented. This ability can be re-cast to move to a target location or enemy champion. This ability also can check brushes for vision, though I wouldn't exactly just throw my ult around to check bushes. This is useful for when you know someone is there and you want to gain vision of them for you and your team to be able to hit without losing sight.

The skill Max Order is always E>Q>W, always taking your ultimate at levels 6, 11, and 16. The reason being is your E is your primary damage and waveclear. Q's damage is pretty decent and we take it at level 1, but we max E first. W is a one point wonder and is just used for utility, being maxed last.

In lane, levels 1-3 you want to start Q and then E at level 2. Depending on how this goes I would generally put a second point into E before leveling up W. If you feel that you are going to be ganked or jumped on by your lane opponent, then W can be fine to pick at level 3, otherwise take W level 4. Your skill order should be this: Q>E>E>W.

Another thing to go over here is Viktor's Augmented abilities. It is very crucial and sometimes difficult to get that first Augment upgrade. Your first upgrade used to be 1000 Gold. After the nerfs to Viktor, the first upgrade costs 1250 gold now. This is actually quite significant and it is not always easy to get that on your first back. The cost of the Perfect Hex Core, the finished item, is still the same at 3000, but they moved the 250 gold cost from the last upgrade to the first. The final upgrade is now only 750. As far as the ability order for your Augments, you always want to take your E Augment first. Not only are we maxing E first and its damage is higher as a result, but the Augmented effect of the ability makes Viktor's waveclear insane and allows him to zone his lane opponent from CS and shove the lane. This lets Viktor shove lane quite easy, creating a lot of pressure mid lane. This makes your opponent have to choose between losing his tower and CS or roaming. This is very abusable against opponents who have a hard time farming under tower.

After Augmenting your E, you want to go with Q. The additional movement speed is great for maneuvering around fights and finding the optimal position in teamfights. Your last Augment will be W, and because it is the final Augment, it automatically Augments your R as well. The additional effect of pulling enemies into the center is a nice addition, but is not a priority. The increased movement speed on your Ult is, of course, a great upgrade to keep your Chaos Storm on targets.

Items

Starting items: When it comes to starting items on Viktor, you will pretty much always go with Doran's Ring and 2 health potions. You could go for the Dark Seal if you really feel like you will smash your lane, get kills and try and snowball. Otherwise you can never really go wrong with Doran's and two pots. You will always start with Yellow Trinket, the Warding Totem for vision. After level 9 you will want to exchange it for Blue Trinket, Farsight Alteration.

Core Items: Your primary goal in laning phase is to try to farm up for that first Hextech upgrade of 1250 gold, to Augment your Death Ray. If you are in a situation where you do not have enough gold to get the upgrade, then getting a seconds Doran's ring or boots will be fine. When it comes to upgrading Viktor's Hextech Core in your item path, you will generally always get the first upgrade to your E. As for your next item, if the lane is going evenly or you are a little ahead, your next goal should be getting the next Augment upgrade on your Q. The increased movement speed from the augment on Q will help you in the mid game. If you are in a situation where you are behind, it may be best to start investing into a Negatron Cloak to build into Abyssal Scepter against AP opponents, or a Seeker's Armguard for Zhonya's Hourglass if you are against and AD opponent over the Q upgrade.

At some point after the first hextech upgrade, you want to complete your boots into Ionian Boots of Lucidity. These are the most optimal choice for boots. Viktor needs the cooldown reduction, and his this also makes your summoner spells come back faster. As we talked about before, he is immobile, so having that Ghost or Flash up is very key to his positioning. Having those summoners come up sooner can mean the difference between life and death.

After we upgrade our Q, the need to complete to the Final Hextech upgrade can be saved for later in the game. The last upgrade will give your W and R the Augmented abilities, but the AP per level becomes more efficient when you are a higher level, and can be delayed in favor of completing your first core item. As stated above, if you are behind or against a bursty AP mage that has a lot of kill pressure on you, then completing Abyssal should be your next priority. Seeker's Armguard can be upgraded into Zhonya's if you are against someone like Zed who is going to threaten you under tower.

If you are in a situation where you have both of your upgraded E and Q, you have boots completed, then you can start working on your next priority item, Rylai's Crystal Scepter. Even after the nerfs, this item is core on Viktor due to the slowing effect. This item was amazing on Viktor prior to nerfs, the higher slowing percentage as well as the high AP and health bonus really helped Viktor get off his spells and allow him to kite and chase quite effectively. Even though the AP amount and slowing effect has been reduced, so has the price. This makes completing this item a lot easier. You still need the slow, and the health bonus always helps Viktor be a bit more tanky.

Rabadon's Deathcap is always a core item on just about every AP mage. The 120 AP and passive of increasing your AP by 35% will make your damage skyrocket.

Void Staff is also a core item on most AP mages and its cheap cost, 80 AP, and 35% magic pen will really let your abilities shred through tanks building MR.

Situational/optional items: In the mid game if you have your two hextech upgrades and Rylai's completed, then you have a few options depending on how the game is going. If you are ahead, then an item like Luden's Echo is going to really help you snowball. The 10% increased movement speed, 100 AP, and passive really let your waveclear and damage be a force to be reckoned with.

Morellonomicon is also a great addition if the opposing team has a lot of sustain. Vladimir, Dr. Mundo, and Darius are perfect examples of when this item is most beneficial to have. This will help finish them off easier and reduce their healing with the Grievous Wounds passive once their health is reduced below 35%. Nothing is worse than getting a Mundo or Darius low and not being able to finish them off due to their incredible sustain. The High AP, 400 mana, and 20% cooldown reduction make this just a great item all around. Between this item, your Boots of Lucidity, and your Scaling Blue CDR runes you will hit your cap on CDR and can opt for other damage items over an Abyssal Scepter or Zhonya's which only give you 10% CDR each.

Lich Bane is becoming less of an optional item and becoming more of a core item. I have noticed a lot of pros opting for this item. This item gives a good amount of AP, and the increased mobility allows Viktor to weave in his auto attacks for additional damage in teamfights without putting himself out of position. It also gives 10% CDR and 350 mana. I believe this is becoming more popular due to the Rylai's nerf. Now that the slow reduction has decreased, the extra mobility will make it easier for Viktor to move around in teamfights to get his damage off.

For an extra defensive item I really like Banshee's Veil. It makes Viktor a bit more tanky and the passive will help you immensely. This makes it so they have to blow an ability just to pop it the passive veil, so that can be a huge deal if they are trying to lock you down with CC. The 300 health, 70 MR, and health regen are all fantastic stats to keep you alive.

Early Game

For the early game, your goal in lane is to farm your face off. Viktor specializes in short trades, but you are not an all-in champion before level 6. You generally want to favor farming and pressuring your lane opponent at range with Death Ray when they go to last hit. That being said if you are against a melee matchup, do not be afraid to zone them away from CS. You really want to pressure them and make them pay for trying to farm. You want to make them waste their abilities on farming and everytime they go in to last hit is your opportunity to chunk them and abuse your range. As we talked about earlier, you really want to focus on getting that first Augment on your Hextech Core. Your goal is to try to hit that 1250 gold mark so that your waveclear becomes much stronger. This allows you to shove lane with one E, and kill an entire caster minion wave. Then you can look to roam or force your opponent to CS under tower while harassing them. Generally I will play the laning phase as a safe controlled playstyle, looking for advantages when they present themselves. I look for opportunities to execute trades in my favor, while keeping up in farm and trying to get my first few items.

Mid Game

Mid game is when the laning phase has ended, and thus Viktor is able to start grouping with his team. When it comes to mid game on Viktor, you should hopefully have your E and Q Augmented, boots completed, and at least one of your core items. This is when you really start hitting your power spikes. Now you have the ability to clear waves very quickly to either shove lane, or use your waveclear to defend against enemies sieging towers. Hopefully your team will be helping you get damage off with crowd control abilities as you transition into fighting over neutral objectives, such as Baron, Dragon, tier 2 turrets, and any tier 1 turrets that haven't fallen yet.

Late Game and Teamfighting

When you hit late game, this is your time to shine. You should have your core items completed, wrapping up your 5th and 6th items. Neutral objectives like Baron and now Elder Dragon are becoming highly contested. Most of the outer turrets it not all of them should be destroyed. This is where sieging and defending sieges really come into play. You will want to stick with your team. Don't get caught out solo farming a lane or roaming blindly in the jungle. You thrive when you are with your team, letting them set you up to get off your damage. Let's talk about Viktor and his role in teamfighting. When you teamfight as Viktor, your job is to let your front line initiate while you are at a safe range, getting off your spells. Your W will come in handy in teamfights, as people tend to get lost amidst the skillshots and abilities and will end up bunched up in one place.

This is especially true when they are locked down by other forms of CC from your team. You want to hang back with your AD Carry, and get use your Death Ray after dropping Gravity Field. Don't be afraid to ult the enemy tank if he gets CC locked in your W and you are in a position to cast it and keep it on them for an extended amount of time. Chaos Storm will really shred front lines, especially in combination with Death Ray and your Q. You want to make the most of your high damage potential. If you are in a position to get off your damage on carries without putting yourself out of position and risking your own demise, that by all means look to burst them down. But you are a whole lot more useful alive, getting your damage off and looking to clean up extended teamfights. If you kill the enemy front line, you can pursue their carries as they retreat. Your goal is to get off as much damage as possible, while keeping yourself alive.

Tips and Tricks

Siphon Power Animation Cancel: This is the animation cancel of the enhanced auto attack after his Q lands. If you land your Q, then quickly click the target as soon as the Q animation hits the target. The auto attack will hit immediately after the Q damage lands, making your burst much more instantaneous. In addition, you can also cancel the animation with movement, as you will not always be stationary to perform this. As soon as you cast your Q, click to move, and then immediately click on the target when the animation of the Q lands and you will see the Q damage then enhanced auto immediately land afterward.

Gravity field use as a zoning tool: You want to try to use your W predictively, and not just drop it right on your target in most cases. When you know your opponent is moving in a direction, whether it be chasing you or running, you want to put your Gravity Field in a position where if they continue to move in the direction that they are going, it will cause them to get stuck in the field for the stun. Your opponent now has to deal with walking around the Gravity Field now or trudge through it and get stunned. I also see a lot of Viktor's panic and drop their W as soon as they are jumped on. You need to factor in your opponent's gap closers and place the field in a position where you will be heading toward so they continue to follow you they will get caught in it and you can escape or turn around their all-in. This ability is great when running through the jungle as it can really close off entrances/exits and can stop the pursuit or escape of an enemy. Remember this is your only form of CC so get used to using it optimally.

Siphon Power enhanced auto does not get blocked by Yasuo's Wind Wall: Much like Xerath's Q, this isn't technically a projectile, as it fires underneath the Wind Wall. Note that the Q spell itself will still be blocked, but the enhanced auto attack will not.

Here, I throw my Q right on Yasuo.

As you can see here, it gets blocked by the Wind Wall.

However the enhanced auto attack still hits.

Death Ray through Yasuo Wall: Another great thing to note against Yasuo, is if you use your Death Ray straight at him it will be blocked when he uses Wind Wall. However, if you simply put the Death Ray behind the Wind Wall at a side angle, it can go right over it.

If I use my Death Ray straight at Yasuo, the Wind Wall blocks the laser.

But if I angle my Death Ray behind the Wind Wall, the beam is not blocked.

Chaos Storm is a channel interrupt on cast: As stated earlier in this guide, Viktor's R can be used to interrupt channels that enemy champions use. Examples include, Katarina, Urgot, Malzahar, Galio, Ezreal, etc.

Here, Katarina Shunpos to me and starts using her ultimate, Death Lotus.

Immediately I cast Chaos Storm and it interrupts her ult entirely.

Mid Lane Matchups

Syndra

As I mentioned earlier in the guide, I don't believe Viktor has any hard counters he can't play around. There are certain matchups that are difficult and you have to play safer and really focus on farming. Syndra is one of those lanes. Syndra is very oppressive and has very high kill pressure. I would highly recommend Barrier in this matchup and the age old meme of "Hit R and get outplayed" is very much a reality. You could also go Ghost if you are confident that you can dodge her skillshots and want more mobility. In this matchup, you need to pay attention to where she puts her spheres, so that you don't set yourself up for getting stunned. If you can focus on pushing the wave and making her use her abilities for farming, this will be a much more manageable lane.

I would definitely try and avoid trading with her after level 3, as her abilities are more efficient in trading. Her waveclear is also quite strong, and so you really want to make sure that you are not the one pushed under tower, otherwise its going be a bad time. I would keep plenty of health potions in your inventory, and try to keep your health nearly full at all times. This will make her play less aggressively since she can't one-shot you by hitting R. This lane is a skill matchup, but one that could go very badly in her favor if you let her get the edge on you. When it comes to teamfighting, she is basically going to try and one shot a member of your team, you don't want this to be you. You are stronger in teamfights due to your AoE and DoT. After she uses her R, her kill pressure is reduced, and you are going to be a lot more effective in teamfights.

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia is a popular pick right now. This lane is also a skill matchup, but I feel it is slightly Viktor favored. Levels 1-3 her trading is slightly better if she lands poison on you. You don't want get hit by her Q and then eat the Twin Fangs spam that follows. Trading with her early on revolves around baiting her to use her Q and/or W, avoiding it, and making your short trade afterward when those abilities are now on cooldown. What is in Viktor's benefit is she is extremely squishy, and very easy to chunk with Death Ray. Her mobility is not great early, and she cannot buy boots. You should be able to control the minion waves against her and, especially once you get your E Augment, you will waveclear faster than her. With this matchup Flash/Ghost is your best bet. The increased mobility will be key in avoiding her skillshots. When she starts playing up aggressively after she hits 6, it is usually an indication of her jungler ganking and she is trying to setup their gank with her ultimate. Be sure to have your back to her, so worst case scenario if it hits you, it's just a slow and you are not stunned. It is important to move around and be unpredictable in this matchup and make her miss her abilities. Utilize your longer range and poke her down.

LeBlanc

This is not a fun matchup for Viktor. LeBlanc's burst is quick, her mobility is high, and trading with her difficult. Not only is she tricky to hit with skillshots because she is so mobile, but she is able to basically outtrade you heavily after level 3 unless she really screws up. Level 1 and 2 you can play a bit more aggressively, and you will be able to get of some decent exchanges against her. In this matchup, I would still go Ghost/Flash because you will need to be mobile to avoid her. I wouldn't run Exhaust here, because she distorts all over the place and can quickly decide to go from an all-in to backing off entirely. Even with the LeBlanc rework, her waveclear and farming still is far from the best. Your goal here is to play super safe, farm, and get to the mid game without falling behind.

You want to try and shove this lane to make her answer the minion wave. She has a harder time farming and if she uses her abilities on minions instead of you, you don't have to worry about her blowing you up. Shove this lane and make sure you call MIA when she roams, as she is super mobile and will look to roam and snowball. I would also caution following her when she roams, as she can turn around and create a 1v1 you don't want any part of. If you do follow her roam, make sure you have vision or you take a safer route than just running down river blindly.

Orianna

This lane is a skill matchup. Viktor has a bit longer poke with Death Ray. A good Orianna will try and zone you from CS with her ball. Be very aware of where the ball is at all times, and do not let her Q+W combo you when you go for CS. If Ori plays too aggressively and uses this method of harass too much, she will often make herself run out of mana, as well as pushing her lane making her more vulnerable to a gank. With this lane, Ghost/Flash is your best bet. Orianna herself has medium kill pressure at best, but she sets up ganks very well for her jungler if they have a gap closer. She will look to put her ball on the jungler as they jump on you, and then ult. Proper positioning is key in this matchup and you want to try and starve her early on by gaining minion advantage and taking favorable trades. She also has great waveclear, but yours is longer range and it's only one ability. She needs to Q+W, putting both on cooldown as well as using more mana. She also doesn't get her waveclear as fast as you do after you get your E Augment. In teamfights, Orianna's ultimate is devastating. You do not want to get too clumped up with your team and get ulted. Her goal in teamfights is just like yours, sticking to the back line by the AD Carry and trying to land a big Ult.

Ryze

Viktor can really poke and abuse his range advantage against a bad Ryze. The problem is, a good Ryze will push you under tower and keep you there. You will need jungle assistance so that you are not stuck farming under tower, missing minions and eating harass. Even if Ryze is pushed up, his Rune Prison makes it easier for him to escape a gank, not to mention he usually runs Ghost/Flash as well. After level 6, his ult will also TP him out of trouble. Once you get your Death Ray upgraded, pushing back will be a lot easier. Ghost/Flash is most optimal for kiting Ryze and keeping him in your range and out of his.

Conclusion

I hope you found this guide useful, and it improves your gameplay with Viktor. If you have any Questions and/or comments, I'd be happy to answer them in the comments section.

Thanks for Joining the Revolution!

Like our content? Support us by getting our merchandise in our shop