After doing the Jinx build a few weeks back, I sat down and realized that I could build almost every single character from Arcane and decided that I wanted to explore that a little bit. Vi seemed like the logical way to continue that idea and with recent releases in the Lost Omens line, I found some feats that fit her perfectly. This build is definitely one of those that takes a while to come online, but I personally enjoy how all of it comes together. As always, this build is conceptualized in a vacuum, with choices made in an attempt to fit the character. These choices might not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
Let’s get into the build for Vi, the Piltover Enforcer, from League of Legends!
VI, THE PILTOVER ENFORCER
CHARACTER Violet
SOURCE League of Legends
GOALS
o Hailing from Zaun, Vi lost her parents when she was young, and she and her little sister were taken in by Vander, a former revolutionary
o Vi was the leader of her group of friends consisting of Vander’s children, but a heist went wrong and led to domino effects that led to the death of her entire family
o She was ‘spared’ death by being sent to prison for years until she was finally given a chance to be free and find her sister, the last surviving member of her family
o Despite her criminal background, Vi went on to become a Warden of Piltover, frequently working alongside Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover
o Her atlas gauntlets were invented by Jayce and use hextech to augment the strength of their wielder, delivering powerful blows
o Even without her gauntlets, she is a highly skilled hand-to-hand fighter after training from her adoptive father
o Vi’s passive is Blast Shield, which charges over time and gives her a shield when she hits an enemy with an ability
o For her first ability, Vi charges Vault Breaker to dash in the target direction, dealing damage to enemies and knocking back the first champion she hits
o Denting Blows causes Vi’s attacks to build stacks on the enemy until the third stack, which deals bonus damage and reduces the target’s armor
o Relentless Force empowers Vi’s next attack to deal damage in a cone behind the enemy that she strikes
o Her final ability is Cease and Desist where she picks a target, apprehends them, and then slams them into the ground
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Half-Orc Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Skill
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (trained), Survival (trained)
Background: Prisoner
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Skills: Stealth (trained), Underworld Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Experienced Smuggler
Class & Subclass: Monk
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skills: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Crafting (trained), Deception (trained), Society (trained)
o Class Feat: Ki Strike
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 18, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10)
While half-orc doesn’t exactly fit Vi, it sets her up for some ancestry feats down the line without deviating too far from her human base. Monk provides a lot of what Vi needs but is a little light on skills, with her Natural Skill ancestry feat helping to cover for that. Ki Strike empowers Vi’s blows, but its main purpose is so that she qualifies for ki spell prerequisites down the line. She does manage to get something that works for her Denting Blows as Flurry of Blows adds the damage from both blows together before applying any resistance, mimicking the armor reduction that the ability inflicts along with the attack speed increase.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Sterling Dynamo Dedication – Manual Power Driver
o Skill Feat: Hefty Hauler
o Gear: everburning torch
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), everburning torch, predictable silver piece
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Modular Dynamo – Entangling Barbs
o Skill Feat: Streetwise
o Gear: backfire mantle, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), glamorous buckler, everburning torch
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 19, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10)
o Ancestry Feat: Victorious Vigor
o Skill Increase: Society (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), backfire mantle, crushing weapon rune, glamorous buckler, everburning torch, predictable silver piece
Vi can use the Sterling Dynamo Dedication with the manual power driver to mimic her Atlas Gauntlets while still being able to take advantage of her monk class thanks to them being unarmed attacks. Furthering the feel of her Atlas Gauntlets is Hefty Hauler increasing her carrying capacity, which was one of the original intents of the Atlas Gauntlets rather than them being used as weapons. Given how much of a brusier Vi is, Toughness felt like an appropriate fit but the closest fit to her Blast Shield passive that I could find was Victorious Vigor, providing her temporary Hit Points whenever she fells a foe. With Modular Dynamo, Vi also gains an unarmed attack that has the grapple trait, meaning any item bonuses that she gains from her handwraps also add to her Grapple attempts with the weapon, which sets her up for other facets of her abilities down the line. Given that Vi was raised on the streets of Zaun and demonstrates an ability to gather information within them even after being released from prison gives a good reason to pick up Streetwise and invest in her Society skill.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Piston Punch
o Skill Feat: Criminal Connections
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt, backfire mantle, glamorous buckler, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Iron Fists
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Path to Perfection: Fortitude (master)
o Gear: hauling weapon rune, +1 explorer’s clothing, quick runner’s shirt, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), backfire mantle, crushing weapon rune
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Wrestler Dedication
o Skill Feat: Titan Wrestler, Underground Network
o Gear: greater ablative armor plating, hauling weapon rune, ring of the ram, +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Cooperative Nature
o Skill Increase: Society (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater ablative armor plating, boots of bounding, hauling weapon rune, quick runner’s shirt, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence (Str 20, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 10)
o Class Feat: Running Tackle
o Skill Feat: Quick Contacts
o Skill Increase: Legal Lore (trained)
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater backfire mantle, greater ablative armor plating, hauling weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
Piston Punch gives Vi a subpar way of replicating her Relentless Force, but is taken at least in part to wrap up the sterling dynamo archetype so that she could pick up the Wrestler Dedication, simultaneously netting her Titan Wrestler. While Vi doesn’t do a lot of grappling as part of her kit, some of the feats provided by the wrestler archetype fit her perfectly. For example, Running Tackle is almost an exact copy of her Vault Breaker, allowing her to move, strike, and afflict a knockback. Vi’s criminal contacts are further expanded upon with all her skill feats during this block while her habit of working as a crew, whether with her family or as Caitlyn’s partner, are played up with the Cooperative Nature ancestry feat. Iron Fists may seem like a dead feat, but grants her strikes the shove trait when she can’t use her power driver for some reason. If that is still not enough to convince you, I suggest digging deeper into the tankier side of her by picking up Diehard.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Fast Recovery
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Path to Perfection: Reflex (master)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, greater crushing weapon rune, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater ablative armor plating, boots of bounding
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Aerial Piledriver
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), impactful weapon rune, armbands of athleticism, shock weapon rune, greater backfire mantle
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Cooperative Soul
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, floating shield, impactful weapon rune, armbands of athleticism, greater crushing weapon rune
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Combat Grab
o Skill Feat: Group Coercion
o Gear: major ablative armor plating, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater quick runner’s shirt, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, impactful weapon rune, greater demon mask
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 21, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 12)
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Path to Perfection: Fortitude (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, major ablative armor plating, greater ring of the ram, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), floating shield, implacable weapon rune
As it’s described, Aerial Piledriver is an excellent match to Vi’s Cease and Desist and taking Combat Grab allows her to inflict some damage while also seizing somebody, allowing her to combine a Strike, Grab, and Aerial Piledriver in a single turn. With Athletics and Society raised as high as they can reach, I wanted to invest a little bit into Vi’s Intimidation to play up her ‘bad cop’ tendencies. The skill feats of this block mainly focus on that concept, skipping Intimidating Glare since she can simply take Intimidating Prowess to ignore the language barrier while also taking advantage of her strength.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Ki Blast
o Skill Feat: Lasting Coercion
o Gear: greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding, major ablative armor plating, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater quick runner’s shirt
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Stubborn Persistence
o Skill Increase: Society (legendary)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater shock weapon rune, antimagic armor rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, major ablative armor plating, greater ring of the ram
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Shattering Strike
o Skill Feat: Battle Cry
o Gear: belt of giant strength, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater floating shield, greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Quick Repair
o Skill Increase: Crafting (expert)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, belt of giant strength, greater impactful weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater shock weapon rune, antimagic armor rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 22, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 16, Wis 18, Cha 14)
o Class Feat: Diamond Fists
o Skill Feat: Quick Coercion
o Skill Increase: Thievery (trained)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, titan’s grasp, greater impactful weapon rune, speed weapon rune, greater floating shield
While Vi already has Piston Punch, Ki Blast better achieves the cone that Relentless Force creates while Shattering Strike bypasses a target’s resistances, again a better version of the Denting Blows that were previously achieved by Flurry of Blows. I initially considered Deadly Strikes for her capstone feat, but the forceful trait provided by Diamond Fists felt more appropriate than the deadly trait. Finally, the investment into Crafting allows her to maintain and potentially upgrade her own gauntlets, fixing them between battles with Quick Repair.
CONCLUSION
Given the extensive amount of time that Vi spent in jail, prisoner felt like a good background for her and give her a connection to the underworld. Her atlas gauntlets are covered through her Sterling Dynamo Dedication with the manual power driver as well as her entangling barbs while her skill at close-quarters combat is reflected by her monk class. The closest she comes to achieving her Blast Shield is with Victorious Vigor, but we get much closer with the rest of her abilities. Running Tackle covers her Vault Breaker while Flurry of Blows and Shattering Strike cover her Denting Blows. Again, there are two ways to achieve Relentless Force, using either Piston Punch or her Ki Blast. The latter provides better damage but is reliant on a less than stellar saving throw DC while the other is an attack – something she’s better at landing. Finally, Cease and Desist is achieved primarily through her Aerial Piledriver though she has to grab a foe before she can make use of it.
Be sure to lemme know what you think of the build!
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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