Which AD and/or melee champ takes Spell Vamp runes?

Absolute0Chaos·Aug 7, 2015·1 votes·932 views

Currently, all my AD champs take Life Steal, this goes from AA's to casters, I was wondering for the latter, if Spell Vamp could be better despite the 33% AOE.

14 Comments

kJsAug 7, 20152 votes

Lifesteal Quints are useful for heavy AA reliant champions. Depending on the match-up of course.

I take 3 Lifesteal Quints (4.5% lifesteal) on Olaf to boost his survivability when he's low on mana and can't proc W. Aatrox likes it as well.

I'd probably avoid using Quint Lifesteals on Casters though.. just my opinion, nothing to back it up except my own experience.

Spell Vamp isn't as good as Lifesteal on AD scaling champions. Period. It's because with LS you can proc it with basic attacks but with SV you have to use abilities.

I don't really see why SV would be useful on melee champions besides champions like Galio who aren't AD but are AP Casters. Even then he heals off better with his own abilities so no one buys SpellVamp on him.

I did build item 3153 item 3146 item 3074 item 3072 item 3124 on Rengar in a Twisted Treeline match though a long long time ago. It was stupidly strong when you could catch them and not get hard CCed.

Absolute0ChaosAug 7, 20151 votes

What if my build only consists of 1 LS item?

kJsAug 7, 20152 votes

If you're a jungler or top laner then I think BotRK and Hydra are the best choices.

item 3074 is pretty much good on any AD melee you can think of: Rengar Riven MonkeyKing Renekton Gangplank Shyvana Olaf JarvanIV LeeSin Any other AD melee caster or AA reliant melees work well with it. In most scenarios.

item 3153 is really for those that use basic attacks for like 80% to 100% of the match like: Aatrox Tryndamere Olaf Jax Nocturne Rengar Trundle Shen MasterYi

Zed 's passive synergises well with the %health damage that BotRK gives it's almost core on his. However Hydra isn't built because there are better items. Some Yasuo builds recommend BotRK if the sustain is needed. Attack Speed lowers the cooldown and lifesteal is applied on Yasuo's Steel Tempest. However correct me I'm wrong but Talon isn't recommended to build BotRK because his (most effective) playstyle is burst rather than sustained AA. He jumps at you throws out the blades basic attacking in between abilities and then ults to either finish your off or disengage. His combos don't warrant the need for BotRK.

If you're the ADC then it's almost core on every character to have item 3072 sometime in the game because of it's high AD, LS and useful anti-harass shield. Most often built right after item 3031 and/or item 3087 . An exception that I can think of is Vayne whose most common build is to rush item 3153 because she has zero damaging abilities. All of her damage is sourced from her basic attacks. Amplifying her basic attack damage increases almost 99.9% of her damage. She's unlike Caitlyn who can harass and poke from a distance with abilities - Vayne in fights will most likely get hit by a bunch of abilities or autoattacks because of her inherent low range and she needs the lifesteal to keep her pressure. (However I know nothing about her apparent rework.)

These are just what I think of lifesteal items. Of course some of these are not set in stone because of variety and diversity of matches and champions. It is only a general guide.

Absolute0ChaosAug 7, 20151 votes

Thanks for the help but my question was would it be worth it to take LS quints if my build only had 1 LS item?

For BORK, it'd be 10%->14.5% Hydra, 12%->16.5%

Also, I usually go item 3046 over item 3087 unless I'm Tryndamere or Yasuo

kJsAug 7, 20151 votes

I don't really think it matters.

LS Quints are there for early sustain like in the lane phase IMO.

Hard4HamstersAug 7, 20152 votes

Lifesteal I feel is only useful on certain AA based champs, and I would always take AD quints over Lifesteal for AD casters as it will help their scalings better and they won't AA enough to make use out of the Quints. Due to Doran's providing Lifesteal now, I actually think that it is better just to get Attack Speed Quints on AA champs as you get more attacks off the amount of lifesteal you get is comparable with a stat that scales better and helps your early DPS in trades. Aatrox might be one of the few champions that I think Lifesteal Quints are good on and that is because of his health costs.

Spell vamp is probably a bad idea on AD casters. If you are having trouble surviving in lane, I would say that Spell Vamp you would be using as a crutch to cover up your weaknesses rather than boosting the early strength of a champion that would make better use out of AD Quints. If you are having trouble sustaining in lane as an AD caster, let me ask you what champions you are playing. You can take item 2041 on champs like Darius Pantheon Talon who have no form of sustain in lane and also tend to have mana problems early. On champions like Zed Garen LeeSin , take in mind that 2 of these champions do have increased sustain in Lee's W and Garen's Passive. Investing in lot of HP pots early can help Cloth +5 is a common start against many champions in lane you may come across; Doran's Shield can also help against some matchups. As for Zed, he actually functions a lot like a mage in midlane as he has a lot of waveclear and has bonus AD and a passive that helps with last hitting, so his laning phase is actually pretty safe.

Absolute0ChaosAug 7, 20151 votes

What if my build only consists of 1 LS item?

Hard4HamstersAug 7, 20152 votes

Most carry builds do only consist of one lifesteal item. By mid-lategame, your AA's will do enough damage to give you enough health back from lifesteal if you build Bloodthirster or BoRK, given you have IE and a Shiv/PD. If you feel like you are not getting enough back, the Elixir of Wrath will give you basically 10% more lifesteal and some AD. This is basically for ADC's. Melee DPS carries such as Master Yi will have a similar build situations in that they really don't need lifesteal quints as AS and AD will give them more in the early game and augment their ability to lifesteal.

For more Fighter and AD caster based champions, the same principle will apply in that 1 sustain based item is usually enough or not needed these champions usually build semitanky as they tend to be short range and surviving long enough to output damage and absorb some from the main carries is more important to helping their team. Assassins are trickier in that they tend to build mostly offensive and follow in the ADC format in that 1 lifesteal item is usually enough to allow them to get their job done; they however do not usually build Attack speed to be DPS based, but are rather bursty. Whether it be Bloodthirster, Hydra, or BoRK there is usually an optimal item for each of these champions in a variety of situations.

One thing to keep in mind is that Runes are primarily to affect your laning phase and help you win against your opponent. Because lifesteal is built in to starting itemization for AD champs item 1055 , AD and Attack Speed are more impactful to your damage against your lane opponent whereas Lifesteal is more of defensive/on the back foot stat to have, but by sacrificing 14% attack speed, you don't really benefit heavily from Lifesteal Quints over Attack Speed on ADCs when it comes to lane sustain. The additional benefit of AS over LS is to help you push and take towers quicker in the early game when and if you push out your lane opponent.

When it comes to AD casters, they usually have low attack speed, so Lifesteal isn't going to be very useful on them (spell vamp most likely will not be very useful either; though I can't think of a champion where Spell Vamp would be very useful at all, let alone on AD casters). My previous post presents some suggestions to help you in the early game in terms of sustain. By mid game you shouldn't really be worried about sustain, but rather your ability to survive a teamfight is based on your tankiness with items and base stats.

Absolute0ChaosAug 7, 20151 votes

Thanks a lot.

I have since removed my LS quints from my rune pages. Would be nice to get that 6150 IP back, but no big deal.

I use Aatrox.

Hard4HamstersAug 7, 20151 votes

Aatrox is a good one to have Lifesteal Quints on. I think if I were to make a page specifically for him, I would bring Lifesteal Quints, Attack Speed marks, Armor Seals, and MR/lvl Glyphs. AD marks can work well with him too, but I usually play him jungle and AS gives better clears. You can definitely do the same in top lane but AD marks help you with last hitting a lot better, so If you are playing him in lane, AD marks might be preferred, but find your own way that feels best for you. Peace.