Vex ARAM Build and Guide

Updated for patch 26.22. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch; ARAM balance numbers come from the League of Legends Wiki’s champion data.

A Vex ARAM build starts from a small nerf: on the Howling Abyss, Vex deals 95% damage and takes 100% damage. The kit suits this map anyway. Personal Space damages enemies around her, Looming Darkness slows a lane with no side paths, and Doom ‘n Gloom punishes enemy dashes, including the dash from the Mark snowball.

The items below are our own picks, chosen for what each one actually does in the current patch. We don’t use win-rate data.

How is Vex changed on the Howling Abyss?

She deals 95% damage in ARAM, and since damage taken sits at 100% there is nothing on the defensive side to account for, so the only number worth remembering is the first one.

Every Mistral Bolt, Personal Space pulse and Shadow Surge lands 5% lighter than it would on Rift. That’s it. Nothing on the defensive side moves, and there is no modifier listed for her shielding, healing, attack speed, ability haste or tenacity. Does 5% matter? Honestly, a bit, on a burst mage. A Vex ARAM game doesn’t need a different build over 5% though.

Why does Vex fit the Howling Abyss?

One lane, five enemies, and the Mark snowball dash available to all of them. Thing is, Vex’s whole passive revolves around that. Doom ‘n Gloom periodically empowers her so that her next basic ability fears enemies and interrupts dashes, and whenever a nearby enemy dashes she applies a mark that she can consume for bonus damage, which also reduces the cooldown of the empowered state. In ARAM every enemy has the Mark snowball dash, so any snowball they throw at you is a dash near you: a mark you can consume and a faster empowered passive.

• Doom ‘n Gloom: a periodic empowerment that makes her next basic ability fear and interrupt dashes, plus a mark on any nearby enemy who dashes.
• Mistral Bolt: a missile that accelerates mid-flight. Its cooldown drops from 8 seconds at rank 1 to 4 at rank 5, so you poke with it nonstop.
• Personal Space: a shield for her and damage to nearby enemies, on a 16 to 12 second cooldown.
• Looming Darkness: a damaging, slowing zone that applies Gloom, with a flat 12 second cooldown at every rank.
• Shadow Surge: fires a missile that marks an enemy champion. Recast to dash to them and deal damage. Cooldown 140/120/100 seconds.

Where does she struggle? Range. Her attack range is 550, and Shadow Surge is a dash toward the enemy, which on one lane can mean dashing toward the whole enemy team. The ult finishes fights. It doesn’t start them.

What should a Vex ARAM build focus on?

Ability Power, mana, and one defensive item for the dive. Start with Luden’s Echo, which brings 100 Ability Power, 600 Mana and 10 Ability Haste. The reason is its Echo passive: whenever a damaging ability lands, it sends out 6 Echoes that hit the target and nearby enemies for bonus magic damage. The 600 Mana matters as much as the AP. A 4-second Q (that is its rank 5 cooldown) drains you fast if you throw it every time it’s up.

Zhonya’s Hourglass second, every game. It gives 105 Ability Power and 50 Armor, and its active, Time Stop, puts you in Stasis for 2.5 seconds. Shadow Surge drops you next to the enemy team (often all five of them), and Zhonya’s is how you survive the seconds right after. That’s the job.

Rabadon’s Deathcap is the damage spike: 130 Ability Power and a passive that increases your total Ability Power by 30%. With the 95% modifier, raw Ability Power is one way to buy that 5% back. Fourth slot goes to Rylai’s Crystal Scepter (the only Health item in this build), with its 65 Ability Power and 400 Health. Its Rimefrost passive makes damaging abilities slow enemies by 30% for 1 second, and if a slowed enemy in Looming Darkness dashes out, Doom ‘n Gloom applies a mark.

How do you play Vex on the Howling Abyss?

In practice, Vex ARAM play is mostly poke, with one fear held in reserve.

• Poke with Mistral Bolt. At rank 5 the cooldown is 4 seconds. Throw it every time it’s up.
• Save the empowered passive for a dash. The fear interrupts dashes, so holding it for the enemy’s engage is worth more than spending it on a minion wave.
• Looming Darkness across the lane. Lay it where the wave stands. Anything in it takes damage, gets slowed and picks up Gloom.
• Personal Space when they come to you. It shields you and damages everyone nearby, so it’s best when an enemy is already in your face.
• Shadow Surge to finish, not to open. Mark a low target, recast, dash in. Waste it and you sit there for 140 seconds at rank 1 without an ult.

How do shopping and Mark change the plan?

You can’t recall in ARAM. You buy at the fountain at the start and again each time you respawn, and there’s no walking back to base to heal. The health relics on the map do that job (there is no recall to fall back on). So decide your next item while you’re still alive. Then a death at least turns into a Luden’s or a Zhonya’s instead of a blank stare at the shop while the timer ticks.

Mark is the mode’s summoner spell: it throws a snowball, and if the snowball hits, you can dash to the target. For Vex it works two ways. Your own Mark dash is a second gap closer while Shadow Surge is down. The enemy’s Mark dash is a dash near you, by the passive text, which puts a Doom ‘n Gloom mark on whoever snowballs in. Pick your summoner spells in the lobby, because once the game loads they lock in and you can’t swap them for the rest of the match.

Is Vex good in ARAM?

Yes, with one caveat. To be fair, the 5% nerf is small, and the map gives her passive what it wants: one lane, five enemies, and the Mark snowball dash available to all of them. The catch is her 550 range and a dash ultimate that points the wrong way for a squishy mage, so she wins games by poking and fearing, not by diving. Who gives her trouble? Teams with long-range poke that never need to dash, since a Vex who sees no enemy dashes is just a 550-range mage with a 5% nerf. For the Summoner’s Rift side of that question, see our Vex counters guide, and for the role she normally plays, the guide to LoL roles. Her skins are on the Vex skins page, and every item above has its full stats in our items database.

A good Vex ARAM game can be a boring one: Mistral Bolt every 4 seconds at rank 5, Looming Darkness on the wave, and the empowered fear sitting in your pocket for the one enemy who thought a dash would save them.

FAQ

Is Vex nerfed in ARAM?

Slightly. The League of Legends Wiki’s ARAM data lists her at 95% damage dealt and 100% damage taken.

What does Vex’s passive do in ARAM?

Doom ‘n Gloom periodically empowers her next basic ability to fear enemies and interrupt dashes. Any nearby enemy who dashes receives a mark that can be consumed for bonus damage and reduces the cooldown of the empowered state.

What items does a Vex ARAM build use?

Ability Power items such as Luden’s Echo, Zhonya’s Hourglass, Rabadon’s Deathcap and Rylai’s Crystal Scepter.

How does Vex’s ultimate work?

Shadow Surge fires a missile that marks an enemy champion. Recast to dash to them and deal damage. Its cooldown is 140/120/100 seconds.

Is this build based on win rates?

No. Each pick is an editorial call, made by looking at what the items and abilities actually do in patch 26.22. We don’t use win-rate data.