The New Essence Reaver- We Should Probably Look At This

Meep Man·May 6, 2018·36 votes·43,448 views

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This item, in it's current iteration on the PBE, is actually rather revolutionary for a fair few champions. This actually changes the game for a lot of champions, many who aren't just Marksman:

Fiora This is deceivingly good on a ton of "Melee Carry" champions that use mana and AD. Fiora is another one that benefits a ton since her cool downs are actually fairly long outside of her Q, which can still be decently long if she misses somehow. With this, Fiora can W and E far more in a fight as well as basically never worry about going OOM. When Fiora uses her R, it is already a pretty overwhelming assault if you are alone. With ER, this whole assault becomes a lot harder to deal with if you let her keep attacking you. Her Q will also the cool down reduction as well, making it reduce it's own cool down!

Irelia You thought Irelia dashed around a lot before? Oh, well, you have no idea. Of huge note is that her Q will proc the cool down reduction, even if it gets reset, meaning that Irelia's W and E cool downs become SIGNIFICANTLY reduced on top of the CDR already provided by the item. The bonus attack speed provided by the effect is also appreciated. Overall, Irelia can make tremendous use of this item and she needs to be kept an eye on.

Jax Oh my god, you ever think Jax's E CDR is a little low right now? I have bad news for you. When Jax is attacking you two times a second, his E cool down is going to become so low it's going to make him almost an outright counter to basic attack champions, even more so than right now. If you can't CC this guy, he is going to become almost immune to basic attack damage and that's not an exaggeration.

Master Yi You knew he was going to be on this list. This item doesn't help with any of Yi's main counters, but it sure does help him a ton. With a Guinsoo's and his Passive, Yi can trigger the effect of this item an incredibly high number of times in the late game to the point that he could be using as many as 2-4 more Qs in a team fight without needing resets. This item also solves the issue of Yi not having too many item synergies that provide either CDR or a way for him to restore his mana (which most of the time isn't an issue, but it can come up sometimes). Yi is probably one of the scariest users of this item, and it worries me about the fate of PUBs and lower ELO groups.

Nasus Ok, this one is a little weird and might not even show up, but it's enough that it should at least be talked about. This solves any mana issues Nasus has and lets him reduce the cool down of his Q past what 40% CDR and his ultimate CDR can provide. Furthermore, it lets him use even more Withers and Es, to the point that Nasus' target IS going to be permanently slowed as long as he can basic attack during the fight. That is a scary thought. However, at the same time, the item does not provide Nasus with any extra defenses. Time will tell if this is worth taking.

Nocturne I'm not a Nocturne main, but it doesn't take one to see this could be of use to him. Out of all his abilities, it's pretty clear that getting more Es is probably the most important one here, although more Ws is also useful. This removes any mana issues he might have. Also, Nocturne isn't one to not appreciate extra attack speed as most of his damage is, in fact, from basic attacks. He's not as insane as some people on this list, but his rotation and play style naturally overlap with what this item wants a champion to be doing.

Olaf This is actually a pretty scary thought considering Olaf's basic attacks already reduce his E's cool down and his W and Passive already grant a ton of attack speed AND he can sometimes run OOM in very long fights. Any Olaf player should seriously consider this item since Olaf's R is the one ability in the game that would allow him to make use of this item without any possible interruptions.

Skarner More Q's and E's? No problem. Any mana issues get heavily reduced with this on Skarner and his E has it's cool down significantly reduced, meaning much more powerful stuns. His R naturally lends itself to this style of play as well, since he usually opens with it, allowing him to make use of the item for the full duration of the fight. Skarner also benefits from attack speed, making it at least a decent item on the bug. It also, strangely, increases his defenses indirectly by allowing for more Ws to be cast.

Teemo Ok, hear me out. This may seem extremely weird at first, but it's not uncommon to see a Teemo build AD items, especially one that offers CDR, Attack Speed, and extra mana. However, what actually worries me about this item on Teemo is the fact that it "breaks a threshold" so to speak. There is probably many other champions not listed here that this happens on, but I am not going to theorycraft and look into the numbers of every single champion. Anyways, Teemo's Q cool down with 40% CDR is 4.8 seconds, which is already pretty low considering the duration of his Q's blind is 2.5 seconds, leaving only 2.3 seconds of the target not being blinded (give or take a bit considering travel time). However, with Essence Reaver, if Teemo can just throw out a "Combat Shroom" and then stick to his target, this can actually lower the cool down of his Q even farther to the point to where if the target isn't actively reducing, removing, etc. the effect of his blind, the target will be almost permanently blinded... at least for the 8 seconds that Essence Flare is active. That's a pretty long time that a champion just can't basic attack almost and shouldn't be ignored.

Warwick I'm sorry. I had to bring this to light. Warwick immediately procs this effect upon using his ultimate and his Q procs on-hit effects as well. This means Warwick's E is going to be up constantly and his Q will reduce it's own cool down (as well as his W's and E's, but the W isn't important here). Warwick is already a very difficult champion to deal with, and this only further enhances his combat prowess. As stated many times before, this solves any mana issues he might have and all the stats given are appreciated. This item is definitely worth looking into when playing Warwick.

Xin Zhao Xin Zhao's Q already reduces the cool downs of his abilities and his rotation naturally lends itself to this item. This item is going to make Xin Zhao an absolute menace and, I would say, is going to be a must buy on him. Out of all the champions on this list, I might even argue this fits into his play style the most just naturally. He appreciates all that it offers and already has an effect similar to it in his own kit. This item, in my opinion, WILL be purchased on Xin Zhao almost every game and should be considered in the future whenever balancing him.

Of course, there are also many Marksman that this item makes pretty scary, but I wanted to point out the non-Marksman that can make pretty vicious use of this item. Some of these interactions actually allow for shenanigans that were previously unheard of in League, such as Jax and Teemo, which I really can't ignore. Riot, please consider these champions as you move forward with balancing this item on the PBE. Note that I am not saying this item can't be shipped onto live. I actually think it's an item that pretty crucially needed to be in the game for Skirmishers and select Marksman. However, I really would like for Riot to think about what this item may do to some champions that might not be obvious at first.

UPDATE

After some testing on the PBE, these are my results so far:

Fiora Rating: 4/5 It's a considerable purchase depending on the match up. As long as you don't NEED Black Cleaver, such as when you are facing a Malphite, Rammus, Maokai, etc., or another item she builds, this can easily replace one of the offensive items Fiora usually takes. It lets you stick to people a lot better with her Q and has allowed me to use an extra, crucial W in several team fights.

Irelia Rating: 4/5 Very similar to Fiora. She can stick a ton better and can cast another W in the average fight, but most importantly is the additional E or two that it lets you throw out. This seriously boosts the number of dashes that Irelia can use during a fight.

Jax Rating: 3/5 Not bad, but not exceptional either. There is better items to build, but you won't exactly lose much power by building Essence Reaver. Against a basic attack reliant enemy team, I would say it becomes a lot more powerful. However, Jax's current build is pretty strict in what it wants and needs, so Essence Reaver is likely just a niche purchase.

Master Yi Rating: 5/5 Sorry, this is just insane and I can't hold back. Yi's basic attacks already reduce the cool down of his Q and this pushes it WAY over the edge. On top of giving Yi the CDR on his ultimate that he has wanted from a synergistic item for a long time, Essence Reaver easily allows for MULTIPLE additional Qs to be cast during a team fight, with Yi essentially being untargetable for a good 50% of the time or more. It also allows for a near permanent E buff while Essence Flare lasts, meaning Yi won't be cooling down at all during a team fight if he can keep attacking. Insane item. Heavily recommended purchase.

Nasus Rating: 1/5 This might have been a good purchase if it reduces cool downs by a flat number, but it doesn't. Simply put, Nasus' Q cool down is so low after he casts his ultimate that reducing it by 20% of the remaining cool down is almost never going to be noticeable. It DOES allow for many more Withers, but that's not worth an entire item slot just for that in my eyes. It seemed tempting, but it's actually pretty bad. Better to just get extra defenses and stick to the current offensive items.

Olaf Rating: 2/5 This item is weird on Olaf. It let's you E an atrocious number of times and is really good against champions that have a lot of damage reduction, but it doesn't solve any of his issues. It is a big win more item or a niche pick. Would only recommend purchasing it against a stupidly tanky enemy team.

Teemo Rating: 4/5 This was actually surprisingly good. It was available every single fight and it's innate stats given allow Teemo to have a fun little hybrid damage build. However, it does EXACTLY what I imagined it would do, plus some. If allowed, a Teemo with Essence Reaver WILL permanently blind his target and if they can't kill him with spells, they will lose! This item gives Teemo a strong niche, and should be kept in the back of your mind when playing him against basic attack reliant teams (or just if the enemy Marksman gets fed).

Warwick Rating: 1.5/5 Simply put, there is better items. Warwick has a pretty specific style of play, and Essence Reaver doesn't benefit it enough to warrant over Titanic Hydra or any other offensive item he will be building. The interaction it has with his ultimate actually feels like a detriment more than a bonus as you can proc it faster out of ultimate than in it. It's not as bad as Nasus with it, but it's not good.

Xin Zhao Rating: 4.5/5 Ok, this one is weird. If the enemy team has a fed burst character, DO NOT BUILD THIS. You will need the bonus defenses and this doesn't help that. However, if the enemy team has anything else, I would highly recommend Essence Reaver on Xin Zhao. His cool downs can get pretty insanely low with this along with his Q effect. It can allow for some pretty intense shenanigans.

and remain untested so far.

"Does It Work on This Champion?

I'm making a list of questions that seem to come up often of whether it works on them or not. So far:

Jayce - Yes