Quote from Brynn;1186085:
I wanna be good at Viktor... but it's just so easy to die with him...
Plat II mid laner here, I have ~65-70% win rate with Viktor over 20-something games.
First, his early game is really freaking strong. You should be able to shit on almost anyone from level 1-3 and then again from levels 6-9. Basic early game combo: Q, AA, E, AA. The Q shield is really good because it blocks the minion damage when going in on them. This makes it really easy to force trades that, for most mid laners, wouldn't be worth the effort. Be aggressive. Once you hit level 6 your burst is insane, he is actually one of the top 3 highest burst damages at level 6 in the game. People do not expect this, hit a couple E's and then you're good.
As for dying easily, I assume you mean either to ganks or during teamfights, since his 1v1 laning is so strong. This all comes down to proper use of your W. DO NOT USE IT TO ENGAGE. The cast range is way too short to be a reliable engage. Always save it for disengage, or when you get dove on by some bruisers. The only other time you could use it is as a follow-up engage on an AoE wombo combo that you know will kill them before they can retaliate. If you're getting dived by assassins it's the same thing as a bruiser, except you might want to grab a Zhonyas early. If it's Kassadin, just blame whoever forgot to ban him.