Viktor is one of League of Legends‘ most beloved mid-lane mages and, while he’s become very popular to play, mastering him can be quite difficult. Here’s a rundown of his best, runes, items, and tips & tricks.
Viktor has been one of LoL’s most popular battlemages since he was released 10 years ago.
His popularity massively spiked in 2021 with the release of Netflix’s hit show Arcane where he shined as one of the main characters.
Whether you just watched Arcane and want to try your hand at Viktor for the first time, or have been playing him since release, here’s everything you need to know about The Machine Herald in Season 12.
Contents
Who is Viktor?
Viktor is a machinist hailing from Zaun, the polluted undercity of Piltover. An idealist, the Zaunite has dedicated his life to the advancement of humankind and uplifting of Zaun which he believes can only be achieved through the glorious evolution of technology.
The Machine Herald has even augmented his own body via science and steel, turning himself into a living piece of technology. Viktor is also well known for imbuing Blitzcrank with hextech technology, turning him into a conscious being who serves the undercity.
On Summoner’s Rift, Viktor is a mid-lane mage who can deal astronomical levels of damage both as a lane bully and a hyper scaler for the late game.
Viktor abilities & gameplay
Viktor’s kit is characterized by heavy damage as well as crowd control (CC) effects. His abilities all have a basic effect as well as an Augmented bonus effect once upgraded through his passive, Glorious Evolution, granted by farming minions and scoring champion takedowns.
His Death Ray (E) is used to poke opponents in lane as well as push minion waves quickly. Look to both max out Death Ray first, as well as choose it as your first Augment since the bonus effect of exploding the ray will help you in the mid-game considerably.
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Siphon Power (Q) is an important trading tool in lane. It grants you a shield on cast as well as a chunky follow-up empowered attack. Use the shield to soak up incoming damage so you won’t be forced out of lane so easily.
Viktor can also avoid ganks by utilizing his Gravity Field (W) which places a massive gravitational field on the ground to slow then stun opponents. By using the shield from Siphon Power and efficiently placing your Gravity Field you can outplay ganks from the opposing jungler with ease.
Chaos Storm (R) is his ultimate ability which creates a moving singularity that deals magic damage as well as interrupts enemy channels to all in its path. The damage it deals is quite high and can chunk out enemies who are lumped together, and interrupting channels can be useful when pitted against opponents who rely on channeling spellcasts.
- Passive: Glorious Evolution — Viktor can augment his basic abilities when he gets kills on enemies.
- Q: Siphon Power — Viktor blasts an enemy unit dealing magic damage, gaining a shield and empowering his next basic attack. Augment: Siphon Power’s shield is increased by 60% and Viktor gains bonus Move Speed after casting.
- 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. Augment: Viktor’s non-periodic spells apply a slow to enemies.
- 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. Augment: An explosion follows the Death Ray’s wake, dealing 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. Augment: The Chaos Storm moves 25% faster.
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Best build for Viktor
As a mage who needs to lay out heavy damage to win team fights, Viktor benefits from items that grant him high AP numbers as well as magic penetration.
His best Mythic item is either Luden’s Tempest or Lindary’s Anguish depending on how tanky the enemy team is. Luden’s is going to be a more stable item for him but Liandry’s can be a great option when the enemy team has lots of champions who build HP items.
After your Mythic item, look to pick up Shadowflame into Rabadon’s Deathcap to give you the highest amount of damage possible in most scenarios.
If faced with assassins and high burst damage, Zhonya’s Hourglass is a great defensive option to survive team fights.
Top meta Viktor builds in Season 12
- Mythic: Luden’s Tempest / Liandry’s Anguish
- Boots: Sorcerer’s Shoes / Ionian Boots of Lucidity
- Starting Item: Corrupting Potion / Doran’s Ring
Victor build paths:
- Shadowflame
- Rabandon’s Deathcap
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Void Staff
- Morellonomicon
Best runes for Viktor
The runes that work best for Viktor are the ones that help him deal the highest amount of damage possible while scaling for his mid-to-late game.
Look to take First Strike from the Inspiration tree since it helps him deal a bit of extra damage against opponents he initiates on as well as passive gold income to help him reach his second and third items quicker.
Magical Footwear and Future’s Market are very good for The Machine Herald, helping him to reach his power spikes with additional items quicker.
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Another good option is Summon: Aery which will deal bonus damage to enemy champions. Be aware, Aery should only be taken when you know you can bully the opponent during laning phase.
Sorcery is next, as Absolute Focus and Gathering Storm are two runes that will make you an absolute monster in the late game.
Top meta Viktor runes in Season 12
- First Strike
- Magical Footwear
- Future’s Market
- Time Warp Tonic
- Absolute Focus
- Gathering Storm
Viktor skins in League of Legends
- Full Machine Viktor — 975 RP
- Prototype Viktor — 520 RP
- Creator Viktor — 1350 RP
- Death Sworn Viktor — 1350 RP
- PsyOps Viktor — 1350 RP
- High Noon Viktor — 1350 RP
Viktor can be a hard character to master, but once you get the hang of him, you’ll be an absolute wrecking ball of damage on Summoner’s Rift.
Looking to master all champions on Summoner’s Rift? Be sure to check out our other champion guides:
Ahri guide | Akali guide | Amumu guide | Blitzcrank guide | Caitlyn guide | Camile guide | Evelynn guide | Graves Guide | Hecarim guide | Irelia guide | Karma guide | Kayn guide | Kindred guide | Lulu guide | Nami guide | Malzahar guide | Sona guide | Swain guide | Tahm Kench guide | Taliyah guide | Thresh guide | Warwick guide | Varus guide | Vex guide | Yuumi guide
