Essence Reaver Improvements

Right now, Essence Reaver is an often overlooked item. I have three main ideas as to why this is:

1. The allure of it is entirely the mana regen passive. The build path does nothing for this until you finish the item, so you're sitting on items that don't help with your goal while you're building it. Since there isn't much that can be done about adding its utility onto other items, I propose at least making the build path better. Replace BF Sword with Brutalizer, lower the AD it gives to 50, and significantly reduce its cost. This allows you to get some of the stats of the final product without sitting on pure AD while you wait on the gold. Also, Brutalizer would fill all of the random stats that appear in the final item, only adding armor pen (which would make up for losing 30 AD).

2. Speaking of the recipe, another problem with the item is that it builds out of the exact same items as Bloodthirster. It's very rare that a champ who's going for bloodthirster would ever give up 10% lifesteal and the overheal passive for 10% CDR and the mana regen passive. Talon is literally the only champ I can think of that would ever have a vamp scepter and BF Sword, and would actually opt for .

3. Yet another problem with it, which the recipe again is partially responsible for, is the branding. They make this item out to be a mana hungry marksman option, which only applies to , , , , and maybe . This already eliminates almost an entire potential audience for the item. The first three in the list already want a Triforce in addition to a slew of other marksman staples, so adding yet another item for them to get is asking a lot. Most marksmen don't get a lifesteal item until their third or even fourth item, not counting boots. By this point, managing mana isn't that big of a concern, and even the champs who Essence Reaver makes sense on would want the extra lifesteal and shield.

By changing the recipe, you'd solve a lot of problems. The item is all about sustaining yourself in lane, so by pinning an enormous cost on it turns a lot of people away from even considering it.