Vladimir 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 Vladimir ARAM build is Health and Ability Power on a champion the mode nerfs three ways: Vladimir deals 95% damage, takes 105% damage and heals for 90% on the Howling Abyss. Tides of Blood and Hemoplague both hit everyone standing together, which is the whole enemy team here, so you build to make Crimson Pact scale and to keep the healing he has left.

What follows is our own pick from the patch 26.22 item data, nothing statistical.

How is Vladimir changed in ARAM?

Vladimir deals 95% damage, takes 105% damage and heals for 90% in ARAM. Three modifiers, all pointing down, which tells you how the Howling Abyss sees him: a champion whose area spells and group heal were made for exactly this map. Why the healing cut on top of the other two? Because Hemoplague heals him for each champion hit, and on the Abyss it hits five. Transfusion on a 4.6 second cooldown at rank 5 adds up over a fight that never ends, and the healing modifier is the lever that keeps that from being free. To be fair, a tenth off his healing isn’t a rework. It means the second Transfusion matters a little less than the first, and the fifth matters a lot less than you’d hope.

Why does Vladimir fit the Howling Abyss?

Because two of his four abilities are areas and the third heals off everyone in one, and the Abyss keeps everyone in one. Riot’s data for patch 26.22:

• Crimson Pact (passive): every 30 points of bonus Health gives him 1 Ability Power; every 1 point of Ability Power gives him 1.6 bonus Health.
• Transfusion (Q): steals life from the target; with his resource full, it gains massively increased damage and healing for a brief time. Cooldown 9/7.9/6.8/5.7/4.6 seconds.
• Sanguine Pool (W): he sinks into a pool, untargetable for 2 seconds, slowing enemies on it and siphoning life from them. Cooldown 28/25/22/19/16.
• Tides of Blood (E): he spends Health to charge a reservoir that damages the area around him when released; enemy units can block it. Cooldown 13/11/9/7/5.
• Hemoplague (R): infects an area so enemies take increased damage, then after a few seconds deals magic damage and heals him per champion hit. Cooldown 120.

Think about what Hemoplague asks for: enemies standing in one area for a few seconds. On the Rift that takes a flank or a choke. On the Abyss it takes pressing R toward the enemy team, because they’re already in one area and there’s nowhere else to be. Tides of Blood is the same story, an area around Vladimir that hits whoever is close, and in a corridor someone is always close. Then Transfusion ticks away between the big casts. Where’s the problem? He has 450 range, and the only escape in the kit is a 2 second pool on a 28 second cooldown at rank 1, which on a map with no jungle to retreat into is not much of a plan.

What should a Vladimir ARAM build focus on?

Health that becomes Ability Power through Crimson Pact, Ability Power that becomes Health the same way, and one item that claws back the healing the mode took. Four items from the current patch.

Protoplasm Harness is the first buy, and the reason is the passive. It gives 600 Health and 20 Ability Haste, and through Crimson Pact that Health is also Ability Power, so a defensive item ends up doing both jobs. Lifeline is the other half: taking damage that would drop you below 30% Health grants maximum Health for 5 seconds and then heals over the duration, with increased size, 10% Move Speed and 25% Tenacity while it regenerates. Honestly, on a champion who pays his own Health to cast Tides of Blood, an item that triggers at low Health is going to trigger.

Riftmaker is next, 70 Ability Power, 350 Health and 15 Ability Haste. Void Corruption adds 2% bonus damage per second in combat with champions up to 8%, and grants Omnivamp at full strength; Void Infusion converts 2% of bonus Health into Ability Power, on top of what Crimson Pact already converts. Vladimir fights long. Every fight on the Abyss is long (that’s the mode). An item that rewards staying in combat and heals him for it is the second scaling engine in a build that’s already running on one.

Spirit Visage is third, and it’s the answer to the 90% healing modifier: 400 Health, 50 Magic Resist and 10 Ability Haste, with Boundless Vitality increasing heals and shields on you by 25%. Transfusion heals, Hemoplague heals per champion, and so does Riftmaker’s Omnivamp. The mode took a tenth off all of that and Spirit Visage puts a quarter back on (the maths favours the item), and the Health feeds Crimson Pact again on the way.

Finish with Rabadon’s Deathcap: 130 Ability Power and Magical Opus raising your total Ability Power by 30%, which on Vladimir is also a Health item, since every point of Ability Power is 1.6 bonus Health through the passive. Boots are Sorcerer’s Shoes, 12 Magic Penetration and 45 Move Speed, because the enemy’s Magic Resist is the one thing Crimson Pact doesn’t scale through.

How do you play Vladimir on the Howling Abyss?

• Hemoplague the clump, then pool. The infection lasts a few seconds before it pops; Sanguine Pool keeps you alive for 2 of them.
• Charge Tides of Blood between casts, not during the fight. It costs Health to charge, and the fight is when you need that Health.
• Transfusion with a full resource bar. It deals massively increased damage and healing when the bar is full, so the empowered cast is the one you save for a champion.
• Pool over the enemy, not away from them. Enemies on the pool are slowed and you siphon life from them, so the escape is also a trade.
• Max Q. Transfusion drops from an 9 second cooldown at rank 1 to 4.6 at rank 5, and it’s your sustain between relics.

How do shopping and Mark change the game on the Howling Abyss?

No recall exists on the Abyss, so the fountain is the only shop. Health relics along the lane are the only other healing on the map, and Vladimir, who spends Health as a resource, feels that more than most. So the buy order follows the passive: Health components first, because every chunk of Health is Ability Power, and the Ability Power items after. Finish Protoplasm Harness before anything with a bigger number on it. The catch is the dead stretch before Riftmaker, when he’s a mage with a lot of Health and not much damage (annoying, but alive, which is the point).

Mark is the summoner spell that exists only in ARAM: a snowball, and a hit lets you dash to the champion it struck. The choice is locked before loading. On Vladimir the dash is a way into Hemoplague range that doesn’t cost the pool, which is the real value, since a pool spent on the way in is a pool you don’t have on the way out. In practice the combo is snowball, dash, Hemoplague, Tides of Blood, pool, and the enemy team is infected and burning and can’t target the champion who did it (ask the enemy marksman how that feels). Funny enough, the snowball is also what kills him, because a dash onto a 450-range mage with 105% damage taken and no pool is a dash onto a corpse.

Is Vladimir good in ARAM?

Yes, despite three nerfs, because the map hands him the one thing his kit wants: a group. 95% damage, 105% damage taken and 90% healing take the edge off, and the area spells still hit five, the group heal still counts five, and Crimson Pact still turns every Health item into damage. What he can’t survive is being the first target, and a Vladimir who gets caught with the pool down is a champion with no crowd control, no shield and a lot of Health to chew through.

The mid laners who do the chewing are in the Vladimir counters guide. Our guide to LoL roles covers what the mid lane expects of a mage. Each item here has patch history in the item database; cosmetics are on the Vladimir skins page.

Long story short: Health first, Hemoplague the clump, Tides, pool, repeat. That’s the Vladimir ARAM build earning back what the modifiers took. Then you respawn, buy more Health, and walk back in a little bigger than before.

FAQ

Is Vladimir nerfed in ARAM?

Yes, three times over. The League of Legends Wiki’s champion data for patch 26.22 lists 95% damage dealt, 105% damage taken and 90% healing on the Howling Abyss.

What items does the Vladimir ARAM build use?

Protoplasm Harness, Riftmaker, Spirit Visage and Rabadon’s Deathcap, with Sorcerer’s Shoes. Health comes first because Crimson Pact turns it into Ability Power.

Does Spirit Visage help against the healing nerf?

Yes. Boundless Vitality increases heals and shields on you by 25%, which more than covers the 90% healing modifier on Transfusion, Hemoplague and Omnivamp.

How long is Sanguine Pool?

Vladimir is untargetable for 2 seconds. The cooldown is 28 seconds at rank 1 and 16 at rank 5, and enemies on the pool are slowed while he siphons life from them.

Is this build based on win rates?

No. Vladimir’s patch 26.22 ability text and the item data decided every slot; statistics had no say.