Electrocute vs Dark Harvest

Dr Endeavor·7/10/2019, 5:27:36 PM·1 votes·3,802 views

Context. I know what each one does, plenty of discussions that say what they do but not why you take them. I know how their damage differs, and when it differs the most. What I am trying to wrap my brain around, is why some take one.... and not the other.

For instance, if Rengar would choose one... they would choose electrocute from what I am told. Early on it does more damage front loaded, so it makes getting early kills easier. Games usually are not completely over early game though, so being able to stack up dark harvest and use it multiple times in team fights sounds way more appealing (to me anyway).

So the ultimate question is, what about a champions kit makes you pick one over the other?

EDIT: Thank you for all the replies, it makes much more sense now.

8 Comments

Kazekiba7/10/2019, 5:58:37 PM3 votes

Rengar's passive requires him to get kills to snowball his stats. This means he needs as much damage as possible before claiming the first one. If he falls short and misses a kill, he may never reach the point where he's overkilling targets on command. The primary factor though, is that he hits 4-5 abilities simultaneously. (E+W+2 Qs and an auto) means he procs Electrocute, too. This is also why Zed takes it over Dark Harvest - R -> aa+E+Q is three hits even if only 1 Shuriken lands (and i dont think landing multiple shurikens count for the proc anyway) so it doesn't matter if theyre brought below the harvest threshold if you're getting Electrocute anyway.

If you want to land 1 damaging ability and maximize damage from it = Harvest (good on Ez, Karth and MF because they just want to land Q or R) If you want to dump a combo ultra fast and maximize burst = Electrocute Likewise, if oyu want to pick one target and delete them, you usually want Electro unless youre in the former group that puts all the damage in a single spell (Electrocute Zoe... probably not a thing. KhaZix and Talon have auto+Q+W and other combos, but if they can land just one and get the Harvest proc theyre fine either way and can take either rune.)

Mavëríck7/10/2019, 5:56:00 PM2 votes

I've played Dark Harvest on Blue Kayn using Cut Down in the second rune page. It's pretty great. You can utilize the passive proc + cut down to reduce people to 50% really quick for fast Dark Harvest procs to take over and melt them further.

iiGazeii7/10/2019, 6:08:27 PM2 votes

Electrocute is great for champions that are looking for an all-in combo to snowball, since it adds a lot of early kill pressure. Dark Harvest doesn't add that early kill pressure. Until you get to 10+ stacks, it's really nothing to write home about. However, Dark Harvest does eventually deal more damage per proc, and it can be proc'd multiple times in teamfights and skirmishes.

Take Electrocute when you need to snowball, or Dark Harvest when you need to scale. Most assassins are not looking to scale, they're looking to be as scary as possible levels 3-6, get a bunch of kills, and end the game before it gets to the point where Dark Harvest is relevant. Dark Harvest is really good on champions that want a strong late game and like to teamfight, like some poke and battlemages and a handful of ADCs.

Polaris I7/10/2019, 6:11:04 PM2 votes

Only take dark harvest if you can both proc it enough and is better than electrocute. Basically if your champ can use electrocute take it instead

Electrocute LVL 18 24 Souls + 3 per 100 AD + 2 per 100 AP

This is the amount of souls you need just to break EVEN so with 400 AD or 600 AP on the lower side you would need 36 Souls just to have the same damage

Butterwood7/10/2019, 6:16:26 PM2 votes

DH is great for poke execution. I play electrocute on AD Shaco and DH on AP Shaco because with AD, hitting 3 abilities is a give-in with any gank. With AP however, sometimes you want to be able to Q in near their tower and throw a quick E to execute.

heroikc7/10/2019, 5:47:49 PM1 votes

I'm taking dark harvest on burst mages and swain.

season10balanced7/10/2019, 5:43:29 PM1 votes

Don't take DH unless you're Karthus or Miss Fortune.