Champion Breakdown: Vex
Vex Champion Breakdown
The Rift’s newest champion has already proven to be an excellent choice in the mid lane with a kit that punishes mobility and excels in team fights; let’s breakdown Vex, The Gloomist.
Abilities
Passive - Doom - Vex periodically becomes empowered, causing her next basic ability to fear enemies and interrupt dashes.
Passive - Gloom - Whenever a nearby enemy dashes or is hit by Vex’s E, Vex applies a mark that can be consumed for bonus damage that also reduces the cooldown of Doom. This market can be consumed with a basic attack, Vex’s Q or Vex’s W.
Q - Mistral Bolt - Vex launches a bolt that deals magic damage to all enemies hit; after a small delay, the bolt becomes faster but smaller.
W - Personal Space - Vex gains a shield for 2.5 seconds, and damages all nearby enemies.
E - Looming Darkness - Vex sends out her shadow to deal damage and slow any enemies it hits; the further the shadow travels, the bigger it becomes. If an enemy champion
Ultimate - Shadow Surge - Vex sends out her shadow, damaging and marking the first enemy it hits for 4 seconds. Upon recasting, Vex can dash to the marked target to deal additional damage upon arrival; she is unstoppable while dashing to the target. If the marked champion dies within 6 seconds of being hit by this ability, its cooldown is temporarily reset.
Skill Priority & Runes
R → Q → W → E
Laning Phase
Vex’s laning phase is focused on poking down your enemy, pushing out waves to roam, and utilising your passive. Mistral Bolt (Q) and Looming Darkness (E) can be used to wave clear from a safe distance and poke enemies from afar, while Personal Space (W) can kill nearby minions and shield you during trades. Remember how distance affects her Q and E: her Q will become narrower yet faster the further it travels, while her E will become bigger the further away it is from Vex.
This amount of wave clear makes Vex an excellent roamer during the early game, as she is able to push out waves quickly before roaming to a side lane for a gank. Whenever you are roaming, or setting up for a gank for your jungler, it’s important to keep track of your passive as it can CC an enemy and interrupt dashes to help set up for a kill. All enemies hit by an empowered ability with be feared, and the best ability to do so will depend on the situation:
- Q and E can lock down enemies from a distance, so it’s best whenever you are coming in for a gank or have to CC an enemy that’s far away
- W will instantly CC all nearby enemies, and is great whenever you are in melee range of the enemy
Mid and Late Game
Shadow Surge (ultimate) is an incredible tool during team fights thanks to its eclectic uses. If the enemy team is clumped together and your passive is available, Vex can dive into them and use her W (Personal Space) for an instant AoE CC. If an enemy has a lot of mobility, Vex can follow them if you are able to time your ultimate correctly and recast it after they have used their mobility tools.
If you are able to kill your target within 6 seconds of hitting them with your ultimate, the cooldown is reset and Vex is able to traverse across a fight seamlessly by bouncing between targets. Finally, it can be used as an escape tool if you find yourself outnumbered while another enemy is isolated.
Just like in the laning phase, it’s crucial to pay attention to your passive and identify which ability to use based on the situation you find yourself in. Given how likely it is enemies will be Flashing in a team fight, this will trigger Vex’s Gloom passive which can be consumed to reduce the cooldown of her Doom passive, allowing Vex the opportunity to CC enemies multiple times during a fight.
Item Build
Luden’s Tempest and Horizon Focus are excellent items on Vex, given how often you will be poking from long distances, while Sorcerer’s Shoes will enhance Vex’s damage. Zhonyas is also essential, even if you are not against a lot of AD threats, as its active effect is essential when diving into the enemy using your ultimate. The build can be rounded out with Rabadon’s Deathcap and Void Staff to further amplify your damage, or Banshee’s Veil if you need to opt for a defensive option.
Summary
Vex’s kit is relatively simple to pick up, yet the importance of skill shot accuracy and the variety of ways she can be played in team fights means she has a very high skill ceiling. Nevertheless, this champion is excellent against a team with a lot of mobility, and can solo carry a game if she is able to secure a reset and lock down enemies with her AoE CC.