Season 11 of League of Legends was mostly focused on one major event, the Ruination. With such a large buildup, players were finally presented with none other than The Ruined King himself, Viego, whose deep storyline and unique kit turned him into one of the most popular champions in League history.
His presence in professional play, from the regional championships all the way to Worlds, made it clear just how powerful this character really is, often time being referred to as the strongest Jungler across the metas. The person behind the Ruination surely left his mark on the game, as players keep finding new and improved strategies to execute on him to this day, further emphasizing how much depth went into Viego’s development.
For all players looking to start or improve their Viego play, we are here to bring you a complete guide, including the best Runes, Items, and Summoner Spells for Viego, with great emphasis on his ideal Jungle pathing. Despite The Ruined King’s exceptional gameplay mechanics, in order to truly dominate games, players first need to execute his Jungle plays properly, where the perfect routes come into play.
Without further to do, here is the ultimate Jungle route and clearing guide for Viego, the Ruined King!
Enjoy!
Summoner Spells
Flash + Smite
Given Viego’s ultimate and the mechanics behind it, some players do prefer skipping over Flash in favor of some more offensive Summoner Spells such as Ignite. Indeed, his R resets allow Viego to jump over walls consistently, but this should not be a reason to give up on Flash. The otherwise mandatory Summoner Spell enables players to close in on enemies on order to successfully land his W, which is an all-important ganking tool.
The Best Viego Runes
As one of those champions on which players develop unique gameplay tactics, it is hard to point out one particular set of Runes to run on him. For this reason, we will be presenting two of the most effective paths, considering both their win rate and the builds these Runes work best with.
Press the Attack
Considering Viego’s basic-attack mechanics, activating Press the Attack is extremely simple, which is why it has been the go-to Keystone for most players, ever since The Ruined King’s release.
Additionally, players want to run Triumph, Legend: Alacrity and Coup de Grace. These runes simply enhance some of Viego’s core mechanics, such as the ability to thrive in extended fights.
For the secondary Runes, we’d advise players to go with Sudden Impact and Ravenous Hunter, but the secondary choices are subject to even more preferential options.
Conqueror
While this approach has also been popular upon Viego’s release, it was soon proven less effective than Press the Attack. Today, however, Conqueror can still be a more than viable Keystone, especially with the more skirmish-oriented builds, focusing on increasing Viego’s sustainability in extended combat.
In that case, Triumph, Legen: Alacrity, and Last Stand make for the best options besides the Keystone.
In terms of secondary picks, players could stick with the Sudden Impact and Ravenous Hunter approach, but some defensive Runes from the Resolve tree could work just as well, if not better, depending on what each players is looking for from Viego.
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The Best Viego Items
Starting Items: Emberknife + Refillable Potion
Mythic Item: Kraken Slayer / Divine Sunderer
Core Items: Defensive Boots, Essence Reaver, Blade of the Ruined King
Finishing Options: Infinity Edge, Lord Dominik’s Regards, Guardian Angel, Mortal Reminder, Death’s Dance, Sterak’s Gage
The two most popular builds for Viego surround either the glass-cannon approach of running Kraken Slayer, as it is so easy to proc, or Divine Sunderer, which provides some added resistance and skirmishing power.
Although some would say that players should choose their builds based on the enemy team’s composition and win condition, we’d argue that it all boils down to which playstyle feels more natural for each individual player.
Subsequently, Immortal Shieldbow is another great Mythic item for The Ruined King, as it falls somewhere between Kraken Slayer and Divine Sunderer in terms of the overall impact it has on the champion. Players should ultimately experiment with all three Mythic options to see which one works best for them.
The Best Skill Order for Viego
Q > W > E > R
The Best Jungle Paths for Viego
Before we head into the main subject of this guide, we need to stop and talk about some essential Viego mechanics, necessary if looking to clear the Jungle effectively.
- Harrowed Path (E) is great for navigating the Jungle with some added movement speed, converting into a bit of extra tempo in Viego’s favor, but players should always make sure not to give their position away, considering how the mist extends on a considerable amount of terrain.
- Secondly, players should constantly be on the lookout for early fights, even if in 2v2 scenarios, as Viego’s ability to take control over the enemy champions will constantly convert into an edge over your opponents.
We are going to cover the most advantageous starts from each side, but players should keep a few factors in mind when deciding upon where their Jungle pathing should start. These are:
- Which laners are going to provide more help in clearing the first camp?
- Counter-jungle opportunities, based on where the enemy Jungler is likely to start.
- Which lane would you like to gank first, depending on both the allied and enemy champions.
The primary gank tool in Viego’s arsenal is his W, combined with the extra movement speed from E, allowing him to walk up to the enemy Laners to comfortably land a stun on.
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Red Side, Red Clear
Viego’s Jungle clear is pretty solid from the beginning, but despite the fact that he can ultimately carry games even from behind, The Ruined King does require an early and consistent gold lead in order to be as dominant as advertised. For this reason, players should focus primarily on ganking and counter-ganking, where Viego can get the most out of his possession mechanic.
For the Red Start, secure your first buff using repeated Qs and auto-attacks, which may take a bit more than we’d initially expect, but HP loss shouldn’t be a problem. Next head towards the Raptors and use your first Smite to accelerate the clear, skipping over the Krugs entirely.
Make your way to the Wolves and slay them steadily using Q and auto-attacks, before making your way to the Blue Buff as your fourth camp. Your second Smite charge is going to help with your tempo, allowing you to reach the Scuttler quite early. However, before stepping into the River, make one last stop at the Gromp, steadily securing the extra gold and experience.
Once in the River, use W to break the Scuttler’s shield and slay it steadily. If the enemy Jungler happens to come to contest, players should consider taking the fight, as Viego’s early game skirmishing power is quite solid.
Lastly, make sure to drop one gank on either Mid or Bot before your first reset, using Harrowed Path to enter the lane and a well-aimed W to initiate the gank.
Red Side, Blue Clear
The Blue Buff start is going to be a bit different, as the added tempo won by having two allies assisting you with Blue is going to be converted safely, into one additional camp clear. Truthfully, using the extra time to clear the Krugs is guaranteed to give you some additional gold and experience, whereas ganks don’t always convert into takedowns.
Once Blue has been secured, put your Smite to use against the Gromp, finishing your first two camps with full Health. Next on the list are the Wolves and Raptors, which can be secured safely with the use of well-aimed Qs and repeated Passive procs.
Your second charge of Smite should be kept for the Red Buff, which would otherwise take a bit more to slay. Players are unlikely to lose a considerable amount of Health at any time, but if that’s the case, you can always use the Refillable Potion to regenerate.
Finally, head towards the Krug camp and clear it steadily, before making your way into the River to secure some extra gold and vision for your team. However, if you suspect that the enemy Jungler has already taken the Scuttler, or you spot a gank opportunity on Top when leaving the Krug camp, do not hesitate to pull the trigger and gank.
Otherwise, after you claim the Scuttler, try forcing a gank on Mid or Top. We recommend going to the lane where you are most likely to secure a takedown, extending your gold lead even further.
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Blue Side, Red Clear
From the Blue Side, things are very similar to the Red Side’s Red clear, as the ideal routes are perfectly symmetrical. The only noticeable difference is in the extra help given by your Bot Laners, allowing you to reach the River a few seconds quicker.
After successfully taking Red, use your first Smite to slay the Raptors without losing much Health, making your way towards the Wolves.
Remember that your second Smite charge is going to go down on Blue, and the next camp after that is going to be the Gromp, meaning that you will likely finish this clear with full Health regardless, so do not use the Refillable Potion unless necessary.
After going through with the first five camps as shown in the image, step into the River to claim the Scuttler, once again using W to break its shield. Since this route also skips over the Krugs, it is even more important to land a successful early gank in order to start building a gold lead, which can only be achieved through tempo.
Blue Side, Blue Clear
For the final and perhaps slowest clear, we are once again taking the safe route, aiming for a full clear of the Jungle mobs. Start with the Blue Buff and head for the Gromp as your second camp, using Smite to prevent any significant Health or tempo loss.
From there, clear the two multi-mob camps on your way to the Red Buff, keeping your second Smite charge for the latter.
Once at Red, start paying a bit more attention to the mini-map, as you will be heading towards the Krugs next. This allows you to shift your focus towards Bot, if the lane happens to be in a favorable position for a gank.
Otherwise, step into the River to secure the Scuttler. From there, you can once again choose between ganking either Bot or Mid, a choice that should be based on the likelihood of successfully converting your efforts into a takedown.
The Best Tips and Tricks for Viego
- Viego needs an early gold advantage in order to overtake games, but his ability to take control of his enemies means that he’s going to be a considerable threat regardless of his items or level, on the condition that he is given a chance to possess one of his foes.
- Given how easy it is to land critical hits and other on-hit effects with Viego, players should always rely on his auto-attacks to win fights with. Successfully sequencing between a Q and a few autos will be more than enough to win 1v1s, even if your opponent is slightly ahead of you.
- Although Viego’s Ultimate is mostly used as an execution tool, remember how easy it is to reset. It is not uncommon for experienced players to use Heartbreaker for its sheer utility, as an extra mobility spell. Repositioning yourself in tight situations using R, only to then reset it upon getting a takedown is an essential part of high-level Viego play.
- When possessing enemy champions, some of their mechanics work on Viego even after he cancels the possession. There are tons of such synergies, and as extreme as it may sound to urge players to discover all of them, these otherwise minor pieces of information are the key to some of the most impressive Viego plays out there.
Finalizing Thoughts
After years of wondering who the Blade of the Ruined King belongs to exactly, the League of Legends community has been given an answer. Despite the many nerfs and balance changes Viego went through, he is still perhaps the strongest Jungler and one of the most dominant champions in the entire game.
Perhaps the most important objective for a Viego player in the late game is to find one early takedown, unlocking his full power through extended fights. Although players are required to at least know the basic abilities of all champions in order to get the most out of Viego’s kit, mastering The Ruined King is incredibly entertaining.
Being both fun to play and outstandingly strong, Viego is one of those champions all League players should add to their roster, as he is more than likely to remain a popular pick in both normal and competitive play. Bring the Ruination upon your foes and take over games by yourself as Viego, giving yourself a chance to enjoy arguably one of the greatest champions ever created by Riot!
With this we conclude our guide on Viego, The Ruined King. We certainly hope you’ve found some valuable information in this piece, and if so, make sure to check back soon for more League-related content, as we continuously publish engaging articles and guides, such as this one!
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