One of my recent games in S2 was as Vlad playing against Viktor. The first thing I noticed, however, that they were in fact pretty similar to each other conceptually, but the problem was that even at level one I could trade Qs with him and would always come out ahead. Not to mention the fact that it was easy to tell he was trying to zone me from minions with Death Laser and that it being a skillshot means it would be easy to dodge. But that's another story.

What I'm suggesting in this thread is a slight buff to the base damage of Viktor's Q, considering he can't even match Vlad in lane.

Let's compare at the numbers:
Viktor Q:Viktor sends a device at an enemy unit to blast them for magic damage, which then returns to him granting a shield for up to 3 seconds with an amount equal to 40% of the damage dealt before reduction.
Magic Damage: 80 / 125 / 170 / 215 / 260 (+ 65% AP)
Shield: 32 / 50 / 68 / 86 / 104 (+ 26% AP)
Range: 600
Cooldown: 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5

Vlad Q:Vladimir drains the lifeforce of his target, dealing magic damage and healing himself.
Magic Damage: 90 / 125 / 160 / 195 / 230 (+ 60% AP)
Health Regained: 15 / 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 (+ 25% AP)
Range: 600
Cooldown: 10 / 8.5 / 7 / 5.5 / 4

Vlad's Q has higher base damage but lower scaling, but he is considered more of a lategame champion because of his ultimate giving him damage amplification on all his spells AND all his allies. Viktor's Q, on the other hand, has lower base damage but higher scaling, but is meant more for early-mid game because of his long-range harass with E, crappy passive which I hope Riot will remake soon and that he builds more defense as an AP carry than most others build offense.

This is in addition to the fact that Viktor's Q has delay for both damage and shield, while Vlad only has delay on healing and his Q damage is instantaneous. So this means that Vlad can trade a Q with him while Viktor's Q is en route to Vlad, or even wait till the shield wears off to drain him again. This means that Vlad has more zoning potential.

But Vlad doesn't regain health as much from one Q as Viktor gains from shield right? The problem again is that shield is only temporary HP and is only used for defense, while Vlad does relatively the same amount of damage while regaining permanent HP, which is also recycled to fuel his other spells.

They have relatively the same range and at level two the same cooldown period, so no problems there. I ran 21/9/0 masteries and Mpen marks, HP/level seals, AP/level glyphs and Flat AP Quints in my game for reference.

Yes, from what you have said here, vlad Q is better......but it doesnt scale as well, and vik has CC that vlad doesnt have. You can't just compare one ability and ask for a buff. Place your slow first, vlad will have to take the stun (if you place it correctly its almost impossible to escape) and then you can Q him free of charge. Or he blows 20% of his current health to avoid the stun. Good job, you just made him harrass himself.

Viktor would be fine if he had a real passive

Its fine if he cant trade with vlad very well

I concur.

The only buff Viktor needs is a less terrible passive.

Or you could realize that Vlad is coming in to poke, and Deathlaser him en route, getting your shield off a nearby minion (conveniently last-hitting while you're at it) to mitigate what he takes.

I actually like the current iteration of Viktor. I just wish he had three viable item upgrades and less reliance on snowballing. He chunks people fairly well early on, but he drops off late game if you can't snowball.

The huge early game nerf to Clarity did hurt Viktor, though. You can't just force damage with E, replenish your mana bar to full, and then either force people out of your lane or get early kills to snowball as easily anymore. A lot of champs were affected by that early game nerf to Clarity though. Horrible change. Riot plz ;_;

To be honest, I would actually prefer it if they traded scalings and base damage, considering that I've been playing Vlad as an AP-carry who performs better in the lategame, while as Viktor I perform better mid-game due to the CC output but can't match the ADC late. If he's better as just a CC mage who comes with a silence against his AP opponent than as a proper carry then he's even worse off when the ADC comes lategame to blow his head off. His scaling could still be more geared toward mid-game to help him end the game quickly.

But I guess if people accept that this intended weakness is meant to give Vlad an opportunity as a counterpick to Viktor, then he might not need a buff.

I was more focused on level 1 trades, which is why I only compared the two abilities at the time, because that was what I feel was a tad lackluster from Viktor. It wastes a bit of mana shooting off Q at a minion, and even if Vlad takes the damage from Deathlazer he can just run in and use Transfusion into Tides of Blood to deal damage to you (a bit less because of shield) and negate your own damage. At higher ranks of Q and 90 base damage, Vlad Q can simply punch through the shield entirely, making it rather worthless in sustained combat.

Ah, missed that. In that case I'd take laser on Viktor at level 1 anyway, and proceed more or less as noted before. Except ideally you don't let Vlad actually harass off of you, and a good Viktor can actually do that. By forcing him to Q off of a minion, you can then double up on him at later levels with your Q, or intercept the Q with your shield (taking off a minion as I described before). His only recourse at that point is to auto you back. There's actually a bit more back-and-forth counterplay here, depending on the skill of both sides (e.g. is Vlad Old School?), but it is a back-and-forth, and not totally 1-sided.