Vex is League of Legends’ newest mid laner, with the Gloomist putting an end to all things flashy and colorful. Want to shut down mobility creep with all those dash champions? We’ve got the best builds, runes, tips and tricks for her.
Vex is finally here in League of Legends, and while she’s not the artillery mage Riot promised in 2020, the mid laner does fill a void in the roster in her anti-dive capabilities.
The Gloomist is an excellent burst mage that can stop — and turn around — enemy dives in the press of a few buttons. To live out that fantasy, we’ve got the best builds, runes, tips and tricks for Vex so you can master her from your first game.
Who is Vex?
Vex is a far cry from the happy-go-lucky yordles we’re used to seeing from Bandle City. She has embraced the Shadow Isles and its Black Mist with open arms, doing everything in her power to sap all happiness and joy from this miserable world.
On Summoner’s Rift, she does that by shutting down carries as a mid lane mage.
Vex abilities & gameplay
Vex’s kit is part control mage, part burst mage, and absolutely zero percent artillery mage despite that being her original design. While Riot moved on from that quickly, what they have made is a mage that can fundamentally put a stop to the role’s biggest weakness — dive.
Vex is an anti-dive champion at heart thanks to her passive, which can interrupt dashes and fear flashy enemies. That, combined with a huge shield on her W — which can proc said fear — makes her a handful to deal with.
Her Q gives her great waveclear, although it can be hard to hit at long range without some form of crowd control. The Doom fear is one, and her E slow is another — combining a combo of E into Q can quickly burst enemies because the long-range slow also applies stacks of her passive.
Vex might not particularly like getting dove on, but diving enemy champions? She does that too with her ultimate. Being able to dash into the backlines and one-shot carries is great, but her potential to then escape is low. Be sure to use this wisely (and maybe partner it with a Zhonya’s Hourglass), but if you can get the resets off, pentakills are on the cards.
- Passive: Doom ‘n Gloom
- Doom: Periodically, Vex becomes empowered by Doom, causing her next basic ability to interrupt dashes and Fear enemies.
- Gloom: Whenever a nearby enemy dashes or blinks, they become marked with Gloom. Vex’s next basic attack against a marked enemy detonates the mark, dealing bonus damage and refunding part of Doom’s cooldown.
- Q: Mistral Bolt — Vex launches a wave forward, dealing magic damage to enemies it passes through. After a short delay, the wave accelerates but has reduced width. Mistral Bolt detonates Gloom on any marked enemies it hits.
- W: Personal Space — Vex gains a shield and emits a shockwave, dealing magic damage to enemies around her. Personal Space detonates Gloom on any marked enemies it hits.
- E: Looming Darkness — Shadow flies to a location, increasing in size as it travels. On arriving, Shadow deals magic damage, slows, and marks enemies hit with Gloom.
- R: Shadow Surge — Shadow flies forward, marking and dealing magic damage to the first enemy champion hit. Vex can then recast this ability to have Shadow pull her to the marked target, dealing additional magic damage. If the marked target dies within a short time of taking damage from Shadow Surge, Vex can cast Shadow Surge again within a few seconds.
Best build for Vex
There’s two ways to build Vex, and you deviate from the path based on your mythic. You can opt for either Liandry’s Anguish or Luden’s Tempest for more damage — the former is best against tanks, the latter against squishies. However, Everfrost is also a viable option if you want more crowd control to ensure your enemies can’t escape.
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Whatever it is, Vex’s build needs two things: Mana and Ability Haste. Oh, and lots of AP — she’s a burst mage after all.
Seraph’s Embrace solves most of her mana problems with a tinge of Ability Haste, while either Zhonya’s, Banshee’s, or Cosmic Drive help her out on the Ability Haste side of things (alongside runes).
Then, it’s all about damage. Horizon Focus is great with your ultimate, increasing your damage dealt to enemies at range. Rabadon’s Deathcap and Void Staff are burst mage staples. However, making sure you have your cooldowns and mana up to dish damage out is important (you can’t just rely on blue buff), so finding a delicate balance between the two is a must.
Top meta Vex build in Season 11
- Mythic: Liandry’s Anguish (best generally) / Luden’s Tempest (if you need more burst) / Everfrost (if you need more crowd control)
- Boots: Sorcerer’s Shoes
- Archangel’s Staff / Seraph’s Embrace
- Horizon Focus
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Void Staff
- Zhonya’s Hourglass / Banshee’s Veil (if you need defensive items, shield usually suffices though)
- Cosmic Drive (if you need more ability haste)
Best runes for Vex
Vex can get most of her ability haste and mana issues solved with her runes: Manaflow Band and Transcendence — either as primary or secondary runes under the Sorcery tree — works a treat.
However, there’s a bit of contention on her best keystones. Conqueror is great for long engagements, but she’s a burst mage. So, Electrocute is best, right? Wrong — it’s Phase Rush.
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The Sorcery keystone, combined with Scorch and Domination runes Taste of Blood and Ravenous Hunter, gives her a healthy dose of sustain for when she dives enemy backlines, and the potential to get out thanks to the movement speed burst. It also enables her to more easily trade in lane with her three-hit E-Q-auto combo.
Top meta Vex runes in Season 11
- Phase Rush
- Manaflow Band
- Transcendence
- Scorch
- Taste of Blood / Cheap Shot
- Ravenous Hunter
Vex skins in League of Legends
Vex is a breath of fresh air from the typical mid lane mages like Syndra and Orianna, allowing you to get into the thick of battle and really put a stop to those pesky carries.
Once you get a handle on her combos and maximize the uptime of her passive by utilizing her E, you will make mincemeat out of any dash champion thanks to her high burst damage.
