If you’ve ever scrolled through League of Legends champion select looking for a brawly, high-impact pick that can blow up backline carries in seconds, you’ve probably wondered: is Vi in League of Legends? The short answer is yes, and she’s been a fan favorite for over a decade thanks to her over-the-top personality, satisfying ability kit, and flexible playstyle that works for both casual and ranked players. Whether you’re new to LoL or just haven’t picked her up before, this guide breaks down everything you need to know to decide if Vi is the right pick for your next game.
Is Vi in League of Legends? A Quick History of the Piltover Enforcer
Vi was first added to League of Legends in December 2012, originally designed as a top lane bruiser focused on dueling and split pushing. She was created as part of the Piltover/Zaun lore arc, paired with Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover, as her former rival turned reluctant partner. She’s never been removed from the playable champion roster, though she’s received small balance tweaks and kit adjustments over the years to keep her viable as the meta shifts. I’ve been playing Vi on and off since her release, and it’s wild to see how much her popularity has grown since Arcane came out – I see her in at least one out of every three ranked games I play these days.
Some key milestones in Vi’s history in the game include:
Unlike some champions that get temporarily disabled for game-breaking bugs, Vi has been consistently available for all game modes, including blind pick, draft pick, and ranked, for her entire run in the game. She also has one of the largest skin libraries of any older champion, with options ranging from cute themed skins to gritty cyberpunk looks that fit her personality perfectly.
Vi’s Current Ability Kit and Optimal Playstyle
Vi’s kit is designed around close-quarters brawling, locking down high-priority targets, and soaking up small amounts of damage while dealing consistent burst. Her passive, Blast Shield, gives her a shield every time she hits an enemy with an ability, making her surprisingly tanky for a jungler even when she builds mostly damage. Her Q ability, Vault Breaker, is a charged dash that knocks up the first enemy it hits, making it her primary tool for ganking lanes and catching out overextended enemies. Her W ability, Denting Blows, adds a stack to enemies with every auto attack, with the third stack dealing max health percent damage and lowering the target’s armor for a few seconds.
Her E ability, Excessive Force, resets her auto attack and adds cleave damage to her next two hits, which is what makes her jungle clear speed so fast. Her ultimate, Assault and Battery, is her most iconic ability: it locks onto a single enemy champion, dashes through all obstacles, and knocks them up for 1.25 seconds, and it can’t be interrupted by most crowd control effects. This makes her perfect for picking off slippery carries like Zed or Ezreal that usually can escape ganks easily.
For optimal play, you’ll want to full clear your jungle first to hit level 3, then gank lanes that have hard CC or overextended enemies. In teamfights, your job is to either dive the enemy backline to take out their ADC or mid laner, or peel for your own carries if the enemy team has a lot of dive champions. If you want to check the most up-to-date item builds for Vi based on rank and matchup, you can look at U.GG’s Vi build page for real-time stats from millions of ranked games. This will help you adjust your runes and items to counter specific enemy team comps, like building more armor against full AD teams or magic resist against heavy AP poke.
Pros and Cons of Playing Vi in Ranked Play
Like every champion in League of Legends, Vi has clear strengths and weaknesses that make her better in some matchups and team comps than others. One of the biggest pros of playing Vi is her low skill floor for new players – you don’t need to master complex combos or advanced mechanics to be effective with her, as long as you learn basic jungle pathing and target selection. Her ultimate is also almost impossible to avoid once you cast it, so you can guarantee picks even against high-mobility teams that usually counter junglers with less reliable CC.
Vi is also very flexible when it comes to builds. You can build her full bruiser for frontline tankiness, full lethality for one-shot burst against squishy teams, or a hybrid mix that balances damage and survivability. She’s also great at taking objectives, as her W ability’s max health damage makes her fast at killing both dragons and Baron Nashor.
Vi can struggle against tanky jungle picks like Sejuani or Zac that can soak up her damage and CC her back in early invades, so you’ll want to ban one of those if you plan to one-trick Vi. She also falls off a bit in the late game if you build full damage, as you’ll get blown up before you can get your combo off against teams with a lot of peel. For example, I once made the mistake of building full lethality Vi against a team with three tanks, and I could barely scratch their front line before I got blown up. After swapping to a bruiser build with Black Cleaver and Death's Dance, I was able to carry the same game easily.
Common Mistakes New Vi Players Make (And How to Fix Them)
Most new Vi players run into the same few issues when they first pick her up, and fixing these mistakes will immediately boost your win rate with her. The first mistake is using your ultimate too early in teamfights, before the enemy support has used their peel abilities like Lulu’s Wild Growth or Thresh’s Flay. If you use your ultimate first, the support can just shield or heal their carry, and you’ll be stuck in the middle of the enemy team with no escape. Wait for the first 3-5 seconds of the teamfight, let the supports use their key abilities, then lock onto the highest priority target that’s out of position.
The second mistake is ignoring your jungle farm to camp a single lane over and over. Vi’s clear speed is fast enough to full clear your jungle before ganking, so don’t fall behind on gold and XP just to camp a losing lane. If a lane is already 0/3 and pushed all the way to your tower, it’s better to farm your jungle and take dragon than to waste time ganking a lane that’s already lost. You’ll get more gold and XP from farming, and you’ll be stronger for teamfights later in the game.
The third mistake is building the same build every single game, no matter what the enemy team comp is. If the enemy has three AP champions, building Spirit Visage instead of another damage item will make you way more survivable, and you’ll still deal enough damage to kill their carries. If the enemy has a lot of healing, building Mortal Reminder first item will make your ganks way more effective, even if it’s not the “meta” first item for Vi.
At the end of the day, if you were asking is vi in league of legends, you now know not only that she’s fully playable, but that she’s one of the most reliable, fun picks for jungle players of all skill levels. She’s got a great lore, satisfying ability animations, and a kit that works in almost any team comp if you play her correctly. Next time you’re stuck on what to pick in champion select, give Vi a try – you might just find your new one-trick champion.