Vi is one of the staple champions when it comes to the jungle role. Her simple yet effective kit makes her excel in every ELO below master, and she is viable even in the top ranks. Vi has great clear speed, objective control, and gank setup. In order to get the most out of this amazing champ, today we are gonna go over the build that has helped me achieve a 70% win rate all the way to the top 0.4% of the ladder.
Best Vi Items
Sundered Sky
The absolute best first item for Vi is the Sundered Sky. Its components are nice for early skirmishes, and the full purchase is just as good. Sundered sky will make us tanky, give us cooldown reduction, as well as a great periodic boost on our auto-attacks. The item works really well with Vi’s Q + AA + E + AA combo.
The Black Cleaver
My favorite item, and the second greatest item for Vi is The Black Cleaver. It will give us a bunch of HP, ability haste, and most importantly, an armor shredding passive. The passive has a 30% armor penetration cap, and we can reach it by landing 6 consecutive attacks on an enemy. It’s great in combination with the passive W ability, which also shreds armor itself. W and Black Cleaver combined will enable us to fight even the tankiest of enemies.
Sterak’s Gage
400 health, 20% tenacity? Count me in. Sterak’s will make us a menace to deal with. It will enable us to comfortably engage fights, execute an enemy carry, and walk out scot free in many situations. It’s also important to highlight the Sterak’s passive, which will grant us a major shield each time we drop below 30% HP threshold.
Death’s Dance
Another key fighting purchase for Vi is Death’s Dance. The item will store the damage we receive, and release it over time. This will make the enemy hits much less deadly in the short term. An additional benefit of this passive is that it cleanses the scheduled damage if we manage to score a takedown. Having such a passive will enable us to make much more aggressive plays if we believe in our ability to win the given fight.
Guardian Angel
My last buy is usually the Guardian Angel. I mainly buy it for its insane revive passive. In the late game, having an extra chance to respawn is often game-changing, and it can make the enemies feel like they are playing a 6v5 game. When playing against readers of this guide, they might even feel like it’s 7v5.
Boots
Boots options for Vi are plenty. I like to take Swifties the most, as they allow me to have a greater map presence. However, the defensive options such as Plated Steelcaps and Mercury Treads are just as fine. Another potential option would be the Ionian Boots for their cooldown reduction.
Best Runes for Vi
- Conqueror
- Triumph
- Legend: Haste
- Coup de Grace
- Magical Footwear
- Cosmic Insight
Conqueror stands as the best keystone for Vi, it stacks fast and grants great damage and healing. I also take Triumph for healing after scoring a takedown, and Legend: Haste for its cooldown reduction.
The next rune is usually Coup de Grace, which enhances our damage towards low HP enemies. Finally, I take Magical Footwear for free boots, and Cosmic Insight to reduce my cooldowns.
Final Thoughts
Vi is a very nice jungle choice. She is easy to pick up, and really satisfying to play. The greatest build for her is a bruiser one. Such a build has enough damage to delete enemies, but enough sustain to play a semi-tank engaging role.