HOW TO PLAY VEL’KOZ

I will explain how to play vel’koz

RUNES

Arcane Comet is the best keystone for Vel’Koz. Electrocute can also work for some players depending on their playstyle but Arcane Comet enables you to go

Sorcery tree which has way better synergy with Vel’Koz.

Manaflow Band is really good on Vel’Koz, it’s very easy to proc and fixes his early mana issues.The only alternative is

Nullifying Orb against AP assassins.

Transcendence: I like to take Transcendence because most of Vel’Koz damage output comes from his passive

Organic Deconstruction and getting that extra CDR enables you to spam your abilities increasing your damage output significantly. It also makes you less dependable on the burst and more of a reliable damage source.

Scorch has perfect synergy with Arcane Comet and enables you to dominate your lane even harder. It gives you more power early game compared to Gathering Storm which is very unreliable in Solo Q.

Magical Footwear:Vel’Koz has relatively high base movement speed so delaying boots isn’t that punishing.Magical Footwear alone has great gold value and that extra 10 movement speed suits Vel’Koz playstyle quite well.Cosmic Insight gives great stats for just about anyone but they do work specifically well with Vel’Koz. One alternative to this is Minion Dematerializer which is really useful in match up-s like Taliyah and Aurelion Sol.

SUMMONER SPELLS

Barrier. It is taken when opponents are likely to take Ignite. It is good substitution due to it’s shorter cooldown and potential to block more damage

Flash is definitely a must when playing Vel’Koz due to his lack of gap closing and movement enhancing abilites.

ABILITIES

Skill order is one of the most debated things about Vel’Koz. Maxing Plasma Fission gives you higher burst and kill potential but weaker wave management. On the other hand maxing Void Rift gives you better wave control but less kill potential. Over the years of playing Vel’Koz I have devised a skill order which I believe to be optimal in most cases. I like putting 3 points in Void Rift by level 5 which gives you just enough pushing power and helps you through the early game when Vel’Koz isn’t the strongest and you wouldn’t be going for kill anyway. After 3 points in Void Rift I proceed with maxing Plasma Fission to increase the slow duration and burst potential. Obviously you will be getting points in Life Form Disintegration Ray when available and after maxing Plasma Fission you will proceed with maxing Void Rift.

Organic Deconstruction is extremely important mechanic in your kit when playing Vel’Koz. To deal optimal damage you should be basing your trades around Organic Deconstruction. In the best case scenario you will land 9 stacks on the opponent which is 3 true damage rotations. For quick trades you should be looking to proc Organic Deconstruction at least once. People will very rarely respect your stacks especially if you only apllied one, but sometimes only 1 stack is enough to enable your play. If you have time check out my combo guide in which I go in depth on managing your stacks and Organic Deconstruction rotations.

TIPS

In most cases at level 1 you will want to take Plasma Fission. It is more reliable for farming early game, less mana consumption and you might get some poke damage.

Early game as Vel’Koz you’re pretty safe and you will most likely not get ganked before 3 minutes so you want to make as much as pressure as you can. You are at your best when you are pressuring enemy and holding him on the ropes.
In some match up-s like Azir,Aurelion Sol, Taliyah,Orianna etc. you will not be able to outpush so picking up Void Rift level 1 and Minion Dematerializer can save you from taking a lot of damage trying to control the waves.

Vel’Koz is a champion that scales very well with levels, so you have to try and take advantage of spikes for level 2,3 and 6 during the laning phase. If you are controlling the waves and having slightly more pressure than the opponent, that means when you get close to a level up you can get it way sooner than the enemy.

Level 2 spike will rarely kill since you only have Plasma Fission and Void Rift available to you so in best case scenario you will get 2 rotations of Organic Deconstruction, but it might just be enough to give you a good lead in lane or even force a Heal or Barrier.

Level 3 spike works in a similar way except you have access to your only hard cc ability making you more of a threat and better at setting up a gank. At this point it is possible to make enemy use Flash defensively.

Up until this point Vel’Koz was a relatively weak champion, even if you landed poke it wouldn’t have been that impactful. From level 3 and on you gain more and more control. Level 6 powerspike is definitely responsible for good majority of my solo kills in lane. When you reach level 5 and about 60–80% of experience one good trick to use is zone them towards the wave with your Plasma Fission and then prematurely drop your combo on the wave immediately leveling up your Life Form Disintegration Ray which is at least going to cost them a Flash and in many cases give you a kill.

At this point you will have 3 points in Void Rift which will enable you to out-pressure even the stronger pushers in the game. Use that lane priority to get deeper wards on enemy raptors or river. Many junglers tend to be careless in solo Q and they feel overly safe in their jungle. Using your vision and knowledge you may be able to get a long range kill on some unsuspecting junglers. If you are unable to force your lead in lane and get a kill, try using your map vision to devise a nice roam.

Vel’Koz roams tend to work great on side lanes due to map curvature and geometry. In many cases you are able to get a kill or an assist from the edge of the river which will cost you hardly any cs.