I've been maining with Rammus (approx 6/4 win ratio over 100 games) and now I'm lvl 18, sometimes I get bored of only playing one champion over and over so I played Vlad when he was on free week awhile ago and decided to save up the 6300 ip to buy him.

I've read lots of guides on him and my build tends to focus on CDR and AP which in a win game usually nets me a score of 4/2/20 which is incredibly frustrating as it means that I only do good if I have a good team, I can't carry my team like I do sometimes with Rammus.

If my team is good enough to give me mid then I am at least skilled enough to CS and farm to the point where mid lane is either a draw or I am 5 minions or so ahead of the other mid but I can only force bots to b I have yet to force a human player out of lane.

I feel as if Vlad is an excellent farmer but I just can't figure out how to be effective against enemy champs.

Once into the team fight phase I find Vlad difficult because it feels like he has no range. In order for ToB to be effective you need to be practically standing next to them and if you are then you will dead be in a few seconds as they focus you down. Which just leaves you with transfusion which is a good spell but one spell every 3 seconds does not a good AP carry make.

I dont think it helps that I'm trying to learn vlad at this summoner level but at 6300 ip you almost have to be high level before you can afford him so I dont think I can make a smurf to practice with him against lower level people.

Any tips on how to get me from the assist side to the kill side are more than welcome.

Thanks in advance.

You could try to save a Q for a last-hit on a champion.
Since Vlad doesn't really rely on any costs to his abilities, at level 6 you should have at least 1 point in your tides of blood, and 1 in your sanguine pool. This means you have 1 point in ult and 3 in your Q.

I recommend that at lvl5 you try to harass your enemy with Q. If they back up away from you, just keep them zoned. Don't falter. As soon as you hit 6, especially so if they aren't 6 yet, go after them. Initiate with a Q. keep running closer. Soon as Q is off CD, use ult, followed by ToB, Q, and pool. After which you ToB or Q again. This should force most enemies out of lane.

Consider taking ignite on Vlad for additional solo mid-lane phase impact. If you do take ignite, use it right away for harass. Q+ignite at lvl 1, and they will be lower on health, making them more defensive. By the time you're ready to commit to a kill, ignite will be back off CD again.

You shouldn't build CDR early on, if you're buying Ionian boots or other CDR items, you're giving up a lot of your killing power. In lane, Vlad can gather up a lot of kills, with harassing with your Q, and if you can, also you're E. I always start with boots first, which lets met walk up close, push E and then Q. You should look to kill the enemy mid once you hit 6. Flash in, ignite them, cast your ultimate, E, then Q, then sanguine pool under them to slow. Once you come back up from Sanguine Pool, the cooldowns for E and Q will already be over, so you can cast them again for the kill.

Hextech Revolver is almost essential on Vlad as well, you should look to buy this item on your very first trip back. It helps with both staying healthy, and killing your enemies with the boost of AP.

Actually, Killing with vlad takes a bit of practice. He isn't really a burst mage, so it really makes it hard to judge when you can kill with vlad. I don't like Taking Flash, simply because all your damage isn't in one burst. It's often chunking away someone's health, over a few seconds. Ghost allows him to stay within reach of his enemies, and retreat with relative ease.

Harass with Q, as often as you can. Don't worry about Tides until Team fights start, or you are going for a kill. If you can get it off, great, if not, it's not really a huge amount of damage unless you are stacking it, Which isn't advised until you can do quite well with Vlad. I might suggest Rylais as your first major item, as it provides a slow with your Transfusion (Trns) which will make those kills a lot easier.

The last thing I'll say about Vlad is he is a mage TANK. Take advantage of that. Build Zhonya's, Abyssal, Rylais, and abuse his more tanky side. Those three items, plus WotA will make you harder to kill, hard to run from, hard to chase, while still giving you decent damage and killing power. Throw in Visage for the CDR and Sorc shoes for the Penetration. If you are still having issues killing, replace visage with Guise for an additional 20 MPen. Your Cooldowns suffer, but your damage becomes greater.

I've been playing Vlad a while now. I mainly mid. Get Flash and Ignite.
First, go asap to Hextech Revolver, and then will of the ancients.

If you havent noticed, your Q cd goes from 14sec (around) at lvl 1 to 4 secs at lvl 5. Meaning that lvl 9 is the level that Vlad shines. Teamfights haven't started yet.

How to kill ? Get the enemy to half / third of his hp by harassing with Q. Pop a E when in range, and farm minions as much as possible with Q and E. When the enemy is by his tower with low hp, flash in, Q him, E him, ult him, ignite him (you shouldve taken 1 shot from turret and enemy should be fleing by his 2nd tower if a bit smart). Then pop W and chase him. Q back at the end of you W. He's dead.

In teamfights, focus on popping your ult from afar, using W if in trouble, and finally using your E as much as possible. Get your stacks BEFORE the fight preferably. It hurts. ALOT.

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Sorc Shoes / Ionian Boots (I get sorc shoes )
Hextech Revolver ASAP -> Boots 1 + HP pots, Revolver, Boots 2.
Blasting Wand -> for Ryaly's Scepter, Finish off Will of the Ancients, complete Ryaly's.
With this you will get some early game kills. Believe it or not, I take Heal + Flash as spells cause im more agressive and i like to get First Blood in Mid lane with level 2. Flash to counter enemy flash, also easier to do approach the enemy, in level 6, Ult + E + Q + (Include Flash / Heal to survive) = +300gold. If you are low, spam Q to last hit minions.
IF you are FED, get Boots 1, Needlesly Large Rod (80AP), which only means 300more gold from Revolver, yet you will OWN your lane and every gank. If this is the case go Boots 1 - Needlesly L. Rod - Revolver - Boots 2 - WotA - Ryalis (BELT 1st) - DeathCap - (Insert High AP Damage Item).
Oh and to own your mid lane, 1st Q, then E, then W, to provide escape mechanisms in lvl 3, harras with E, then Q.

I've played a lot of Rammus, and a lot of Vlad. I never have an issue getting the kills on my team, in fact, I usually have to conciously not attack so someone else gets some gold. Vlad is incredible for stealing kills.

Start with boots and health potions so you can move quickly in and out of range to harass your opponent. Last hit with autoattack (or Q is they're being passive) and use Q to harass. Once you're 6 (though you're at your best at 9 if you've been maxing Q) you can flash onto them, ideally in the middle of minions so they struggle to click or skillshot you, drop your R to increase the damage of your other spells. E, Q, W underneath them as they run away, E/Q/Ignite. I promise, they will die from this.

Use all the gold you've been farming (really, last hit a lot) to buy cooldown boots (for more Q) and most importantly Hextech Revolver to be built into a Will of the Ancients. The spell vamp you now have is insane and broken.

Dominate your lane. Buy more AP, an Abyssal Scepter or Deathcap is good. Depends if they're getting magic resist or not.

Thanks guys for the tips.