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Vi Guide

Ability numbers checked on patch 26.21 · Strategy reviewed: October 2026

Vi splash art for this Vi guide

Vi plays the jungle as the Piltover Enforcer dive-engage bruiser on patch 26.22. Vault Breaker charges forward and knocks the first enemy back. Denting Blows apply percent-max-HP damage on third-hit stacks. Relentless Force sheets Vi with a shield plus Attack Speed. Cease and Desist locks a target enemy into a long-range dash plus knockup.

Vi’s Data Dragon file lists her under Fighter and Vanguard tags, 4 out of 10 difficulty rating, 125 melee auto range, and Mana as the pool. The ceiling lives in Cease and Desist target selection: a point-and-click ultimate on the enemy carry forces a 1v1 at Vi’s choice of range.

Abilities and role

Where does Vi fit? Jungle solo-queue dive-engage bruiser. For what it’s worth, her jungle pick rate dominates whenever the meta favors R-based pick comps over fast-rotation farm pattern.

Blast Shield (Passive)

Every time Vi casts a basic ability, her next basic ability (or basic auto) within 10 seconds grants her a shield based on bonus HP. Thing is, the passive shield is why Vi dives tanky; chaining Q plus W plus E stacks three shields in a brawl.

Vault Breaker (Q)

Vi charges up for up to 1.25 seconds, then dashes forward in a line, dealing damage and knocking back the first enemy champion hit. 12 to 6 second cooldown, no cost. Honestly, Vault Breaker is Vi’s primary engage; a max-charge Q from brush pushes the enemy carry 400 units backward into Vi’s team.

Denting Blows (W)

Vi’s third basic attack on an enemy champion deals bonus percent-max-HP damage, reduces their Armor, and grants Vi bonus Attack Speed. 0 second cooldown (passive proc), no cost. The catch is, Denting Blows stacking on the enemy ADC in a 2v2 skirmish deletes their HP bar in two auto cycles.

Relentless Force (E)

Vi’s next basic attack deals bonus physical damage in an AoE around the target. 1 second cooldown between casts, no cost. Real talk, E is Vi’s AoE waveclear and multi-target damage tool during teamfights; a single E auto on a stacked minion wave hits 400 damage.

Cease and Desist (R)

Vi dashes to a target enemy champion, knocks them up on arrival, and briefly becomes unstoppable during the dash. The ultimate deals bonus damage based on the target’s missing HP. 140 to 90 second cooldown, 100 mana. The point-and-click target lock is why Vi R is the premier assassin counter-pick; a Zed, Yone or Qiyana cannot dodge the R dash.

Build and item spikes

Vi’s jungle start reads Scorchclaw Pup pet with the Smite summoner. The first-item plan brings up Eclipse; the periodic Omnivamp proc fires on every Denting Blows third-stack and the raw Lethality compounds with Vi’s percent-max-HP shred.

Slot two typically rotates to Sundered Sky for the Spellblade heal on E AoE autos (the lifesteal catches Vi back up in extended brawls). Slot three has three strong options: Death’s Dance if the enemy stacks AD burst; Sterak’s Gage on dive-heavy comps for the Omnivamp bubble; Spear of Shojin whenever R uptime matters more than tankiness. The full first-through-sixth-item path sits on our LoL items database.

How to play by game stage

Early jungle 1 through 6: Vi power-farms both buffs and Scuttle. First gank opens at level 3 with E empowered auto plus Q max-charge knockback onto the enemy laner.

Mid game, levels 7 through 13: Eclipse online is Vi’s mid-game spike. Rotate to Drake with Q Vault Breaker charged from brush — the full charge carries Vi forward and knocks back the first enemy hit. Save R Cease and Desist for the enemy ADC in a 2v2 skirmish.

Late game past level 14: full build teamfights revolve around R Cease and Desist on the enemy carry (ADC or burst mid-laner). Denting Blows third-hit shred on the carry during the R dash. Blast Shield stacks mitigate the enemy support’s engage CC. A Sterak’s Gage third item keeps Vi alive during the committed 1v3 pick.

Who counters Vi

Who shuts down the Vi jungle? Three distinct pressure types stall Vi. Scaling tanks who ignore Denting Blows percent-max-HP shred (Dr. Mundo, Zac, Rammus). Hyper-mobile dodge carriers who dash out of Vault Breaker on cast (Fiora Riposte, Ezreal E, Yasuo Wind Wall). Enchanters who cancel R dash with Lulu Whimsy polymorph or Milio Breath of Life cleanse.

  • Scaling tanks: Dr. Mundo, Zac, Rammus. Each absorb the Denting Blows shred behind HP stacks.
  • Dodge carriers: Fiora, Ezreal, Yasuo. Each spell-shield or dash out of Vault Breaker on cast.
  • Peel enchanters: Lulu, Milio. Each hard-CC midlaner stuns Vi mid-R, canceling the Cease and Desist charge before it knocks the target up.

Deeper matchup notes with ability-level timings for every Vi opponent land on the Vi counters page.

ARAM notes

Vi’s Howling Abyss build mirrors her summoner’s rift start: Eclipse unlocks Omnivamp on the committed brawl, Sundered Sky backs that up with Spellblade heal on E AoE autos, and Mercury’s Treads add tenacity against stacked clump CC. Point-and-click Cease and Desist on the enemy ADC chains into a Vault Breaker knockback at the bridge choke almost on cast. The ARAM balance tag on 26.22 adjusts her damage profile on this map (consult the current patch notes for the exact modifier).

For an ARAM Vi, any ally comp with physical follow-up translates her R pick into instant kills. See our Vi ARAM build page for the complete item path and matchup table.

Vi skins

Skins: 13 · Newest: Officer Vi (2026)

Theme-wise, the lineup includes Arcane, PsyOps, Debonair, Project and multiple event drops. Three stand out for full VFX reworks on Cease and Desist dash animation.

  • Arcane Brawler Vi (1350 RP): Arcane TV theme with reworked street-brawler Vault Breaker and factory-R dash.
  • PROJECT: Vi (1350 RP): cyberpunk theme with hard-light gauntlet Q and holo-R dash.
  • Debonair Vi (1350 RP): formal-event theme with gold-knuckle Denting Blows and tuxedo-R.

See All Vi skins and prices for the full catalogue with RP tags and release years.

FAQ

Is Vi easy to learn?

4/10 and the beginner-friendly bruiser-jungler. Her Q Vault Breaker is a charge-up dash-plus-knockback — new Vis Q at min range (weak), mains Q at max charge for a 800-unit knockback. R Assault and Battery is a point-click chase — chase the enemy ADC through 1500 units of terrain for a free kill.