Combos · Mid

Vladimir combos

the Crimson Reaper

3 Vladimir combos explained key by key: in which order to cast the abilities, when to use them and what each step does. The main combo is Q › E › AA. Further down: every ability's cooldown, cost and range, and the skill max order measured over ranked games.

Vladimir combos

Written guide · based on the official ability texts

Harassment

E AA AA

When: An enemy is within Transfusion range.

Transfusion steals health, Tides of Blood deals area damage (it can be blocked by enemy units), your attacks finish.

The team-fight combo

When: Several enemies are grouped.

Hemoplague infects the area: enemies take more damage, then take magic damage and heal you for each champion hit. Sanguine Pool makes you untouchable for 2 seconds.

The escape

When: Several enemies are engaging you.

Sanguine Pool makes you untargetable and slows the enemies in the pool; you can drain their life.

Common mistakes

Casting Tides of Blood at low health: it costs you life.
Using Sanguine Pool too early: its cooldown is long.
Casting Hemoplague on enemies who can easily leave the area.

Cooldowns, costs and ranges

A combo only comes back once its abilities are off cooldown: these values (rank 1 to max rank, in seconds) tell how long to wait between two combos. Source: Data Dragon 16.19.1.

Ability	Cooldown (s)	Cost	Range
Q · Transfusion	9/7.9/6.8/5.7/4.6	—	600
W · Sanguine Pool	28/25/22/19/16	—	350
E · Tides of Blood	13/11/9/7/5	—	600
R · Hemoplague	120	—	625

Official ability descriptions

PassiveCrimson Pact

Every 30 points of bonus Health gives Vladimir 1 Ability Power and every 1 point of Ability Power gives Vladimir 1.6 bonus Health (does not stack with itself).

QTransfusion

Vladimir steals life from the target enemy. When Vladimir's resource is full, Transfusion will benefit from massively increased damage and healing for a brief time.

WSanguine Pool

Vladimir sinks into a pool of blood, becoming untargetable for 2 seconds. Additionally, enemies on the pool are slowed and Vladimir siphons life from them.

ETides of Blood

Vladimir pays his own health to charge up a reservoir of blood which, when released, deals damage in the area around him but can be blocked by enemy units.

RHemoplague

Vladimir infects an area with a virulent plague. Affected enemies take increased damage for the duration. After a few seconds, Hemoplague deals magic damage to infected enemies and heals Vladimir for each enemy Champion hit.

Skill order

Max order: Q > E > W53.9% · 89 games

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Q	●			●	●		●		●
W			●											●	●
E		●						●		●		●	●
R						●					●

The order shows which abilities reach rank 5 first; the grid shows the most-played level-up sequence with that order (measured over 93 games).

Riot's official tips for playing Vladimir

Transfusion instantly deals damage to the enemy before healing Vladimir, making it one of the best last hitting tools in the game.
Cast Hemoplague where it will afflict the most units.
Sanguine Pool pops incoming missiles, so it can be used to dodge disables.

How to play around Vladimir's combos

Try to take Vladimir down before Hemoplague detonates, as it will heal him for each afflicted enemy Champion.
Making Vladimir use Sanguine Pool at the start of a fight will maximize the Health cost of the ability to him.
Items that counter Health stacking, such as Liandry's Torment and Blade of the Ruined King, are very effective against Vladimir.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vladimir's main combo?

Harassment: Q › E › AA. An enemy is within Transfusion range. Transfusion steals health, Tides of Blood deals area damage (it can be blocked by enemy units), your attacks finish.

Which ability should I max first on Vladimir?

The most-played max order is Q > E > W (89 games, 53.9% win rate).

What is the cooldown of Vladimir's ultimate?

Hemoplague has a 120 second cooldown depending on its rank.

Build, runes and counters: full Vladimir guide · every champion's combos · tier list