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Why Essence Reaver is a GOOD item and should be taken over BT on many champions

IonCannonKarthus·7/18/2014, 4:38:11 AM·30 votes·7,554 views

Alright, I've been seeing a lot of hate against Essence Reaver, most people are saying that it's passive is intended for early game when mana is an issue. I have to ask those people, how often have you been on a mana hungry champion late game and gone OOM and lost a fight because of it? Don't expect me to believe that you will have blue buff late game and to "manage your mana" Managing your mana is for laning phase and split pushing. There is no "mana conservation" going on in team fights or skirmishes, you want to deal as much damage as you possible can in as little time as you can throughout the entire game and you STILL want to be able to participate in longer engages and fights that happen before you can recall. What item solves this for ADs? Essence Reaver.

One of the arguments that I've seen against current Essence Reaver is that since you already bought the item, you are going to want to spam your abilities and not auto attack. This is entirely untrue for most cases and I'll go through a lot of them.

Jayce Is a prime example of a champion who will want to use Essence Reaver because he is very mana hungry and spam happy. What does Jayce usually build? item 3078 and item 3042. Jayce Is not just an ability spammer, he is also an avid auto attacker, just look at his W if you think I'm wrong, the man is literally forced to auto attack for optimal DPS and wants as much CDR as he can muster all game long, Essence Reaver fixes this for him.

Lucian Is another who is like this. What does he need to be effective? CDR and immediate Mana back because even though his E has no mana cost, we all know how spam happy current Lucian is and his Q and W's mana costs WILL add up over longer engages. Plus, his passive allows him to get even more mana back because it hits twice.

Urgot Now you can tell me that this crab never auto attacks in fights, but then you'd also be admitting to me that you haven't played him since Riot nerfed him oh so long ago. I shouldn't have to go into detail on him.

Ezreal If you think Ezreal doesn't auto attack enough to make use of the passive, you are a terrible Ezreal and you never utilize your passive. If you need further evidence that Ezreal makes good use of Essence Reaver, remember that his Q procs the mana return.

Corki He's a Trinity Force user, he fires an ability and auto attacks over and over for sheen procs and optimal DPS. What does Essence Reaver do for the people who need to constantly use their sheen procs? It helps them keep spamming abilities by giving them more mana. Go ahead, go play Bloodthirster Corki on live at the moment and then go play Essence Reaver Corki and compare the two.

Yorick Alas, poor Yorick. If you don't think he auto attacks, remind me why Trinity Force or Frozen Fist are staple items on him?

Talon Overall the Essence Reaver has the same AD as Bloodthirster and apart from their passives, the only real difference is that Bloodthirster has 10% more lifesteal while Essence Reaver has 10% more CDR. Which stat do you think Talon would actually prefer since he already has his Hydra's 12% lifesteal. Did I mention that Essence Reaver is 100 gold cheaper?

Khazix If you EVER built Bloodthirster on him for whatever reason compared to other, better items, then you will most likely understand that maybe Essence Reaver is a better item on him. I wouldn't personally build either item on him myself, but personal preference.

Gangplank He's a pirate, any item except Hurricane is viable on him, ANY ITEM, even Ohmwrecker and Ardent Censer.

Varus MissFortune I've seen it used to great effect on these champions, mostly because Varus is half caster and MF can put out some serious damage with her Q. Just saying what I've seen since the last patch, don't build it myself but it's viable. Comes down to shield and more ls vs mana and CDR.

TwistedFate AD TF is still a thing, don't hate on TF players who try to keep up their tradition.

Poppy This chicks mana costs, oh dear lord. I'd gladly take Essence Reaver over Bloodthirster on her any day.

Warwick MonkeyKing Whatever world you live in where you can successfully get a blood thirster on these guys you can definitely use an Essence Reaver because oh dear lord are they spam happy or mana hungry.

Graves "lol w0t, graves?!" item 3085 item 3508 item 3172 item 3026 item 3035 item 3006 Have you ever wanted to be as mobile as the current Lucian without having to worry about mana costs all while having a shotgun AND Tenacity? Look no further, mobility Graves is here for you! Trust me, this works, sacrifice your crit to be a god. If you are feeling extra special, trade out item 3026 for item 3031 or even item 3071 ,item 3153,item 3072 . Don't knock it till you try it.

Things to take away from this. Essence Reaver has the same AD as a Bloodthirster with only 10% LS instead of 20% and 10% CDR in exchange. Bloodthirster has the shield which is great on champions who are fully focused on auto attacking, like Draven, Vayne, Tristana and Kog'maw. But for champions who need to use their abilities to increase their DPS to be optimal will find that Essence Reaver is a better choice, and its 100 gold cheaper.

60 Comments

5G8Nri0B547/18/2014, 8:07:13 AM5 votes

Here is the thing you don't understand about Essence Reaver. The champion who buys this item is a champion who has mana problem late game. Except NO AD champions have mana problems late game if you're playing them right. Not even Jinx or Ezreal.

As for JayceJayce, people got a Muramanaitem 3042 on him not because it's particularly good on him, but because he has severe mana problems in lane, hence why Tear is gotten sometimes. Essence Reaver on the other hand is gotten LONG past the laning phase.

In short. Late game item. Early game problem.

You could argue that Essence Reaver is more attractive than BT in some instances, but the problem would lie moreso in BT's design flaw rather than Reaver being any useful.

Cloud Potato7/18/2014, 8:50:50 AM2 votes

I agree with you that it's a situational LS item that competes with BT. BT is now a very defensive item whereas ER is an all-in-one sustain item. While I don't agree with all your champions you suggest, it's not terrible on a single one, since, hey, 80 AD and 10% CDR is a pretty good combo. Plus, that Graves build is awesome. One champion that isn't on your list that loves the item is Sivir. You can spam Q and W a lot more and become less reliant on using E to solve your mana issues.

To speak more broadly, I agree with the general sentiment that not a lot of champions have mana issues when you can complete it, but you can say goodbye to mana management if you buy it, which is a pretty nice thing. There are plenty of champions who get a lot more freedom with their ability use, and unlike, say, Athenes, you aren't paying damage output for that luxury. The build path is terrible, but so is BT's. Overall I think it's a good item that does what it says well, and it makes 40% CDR easier to reach, which i always appreciate.

Rukimedes Shodai7/19/2014, 2:41:46 AM2 votes

The beauty of item 3508 the way I see it is not in it's passive, sure it is unique in it's own right and is great on specific champions but the beauty is in the cool down reduction it provides. I personally do not value the shield of item 3072 highly and cool down reduction is invaluable to most of the champions that CAN use this item and use it well.

Sooiga Iboogie7/18/2014, 5:30:48 AM2 votes

With the most recent patch, I agree that Essence Reaver is now a very good item. The original 60 AD was a bit weird; it made it a niche item. Now that it's comparable to BT in its AD stat, it's certainly not a bad thing to get on anybody anymore, assuming you thought that BT was worth getting to begin with. But it's silly to say that BT's bad.

The CDR really is the determining factor in getting Essence Reaver over BT, in my opinion. The champions who make a very good amount of use with it are casters, and obviously CDR on casters is great. The mana eating part? Eh. It's great too. You really should just build it on people who need CDR though. The mana-stealing part is just a plus, and it makes the item even more delectable.

BT should be for the losers who think they're going to die (or people who don't really benefit from Essence Reaver), and Essence Reaver should be for the cool, quick kids.

Mercyz7/18/2014, 9:19:23 PM2 votes

There is not much credibility for this post from you, You are silver and rarely play competetively(Ranked) Furthur more it isnt that fair to compair a ad items that gives mana to a ad item that gives lifesteal, They are both in different ball parks pertaining to different champion pools

March of Dimes7/18/2014, 3:30:20 PM1 votes

Comparing the item to Bloodthirster isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

Sir ArmaMalum7/18/2014, 3:42:02 PM1 votes

Psssst. Udyr loves ER as well. CDR for faster switches and the mana return let's you spam bear stance for faster transit very well.

Jean Never Wins7/18/2014, 3:54:54 PM1 votes

not bad on yi either can really go all out in fights with ult+alpha strike/meditate spam

Nebuul7/18/2014, 4:01:52 PM1 votes

Poppy uses item 3153 or item 3146, never item 3072. For AD poppy, you are comparing 55 AD + mana leech + 10% CDR to 40% AS + on-hit + active. For AP poppy, you are comparing 35 AD + mana leech + 10% CDR to 65 AP + active + spell vamp.

Both are tough calls. Both the mana leech and the CDR are in fact very nice, but the actives on the current two choices are so good with Poppy's ult that it would be hard to justify giving them up.

Dragon Fang Shot7/18/2014, 5:17:52 PM1 votes

I was a bit worried you would forget about Graves.He's my min ADC, and I find ER is a great buy for him since I always run out of mana on him.

Also, I think the basic gist of what you're saying is "if you'd get them Trinity Force/Iceborn Guantlet, get them an ER as well."

acepil0t7/18/2014, 8:31:04 PM1 votes

I had hoped that the patch to item 3508 would make it an early game item, because that is where its passive is most useful. Maybe still building from vamp scepter and pickaxe but with only 40 AD and a lot less expensive would make this a good early item on many AD casters.

Sire Hippington7/18/2014, 10:45:20 PM1 votes

pretty true that on many champs them ER is better than BT, but honestly on most of them neither item is a great choice...

bzhen09157/19/2014, 3:54:39 AM1 votes

BT is never a good item first buy in patch 4.10 and later. While essence reaver is a great alternative for some champs, IE definitely brings out much more damage on champions like graves and lucian and usually I would rush IE on those adcs, (maybe botrk on lucian other times)

Essence reaver should be taken over BT, but IE should be taking over essence reaver, at least on adcs.

Snupe7/20/2014, 2:15:33 AM1 votes

I agree that there needs to be a smaller item before upgrading to Essence Reaver that has a weaker passive.

12tales7/18/2014, 5:08:01 AM1 votes

Runaan's Hurricane without any on hit effects seems odd to me. I guess having your dash more often than not is nice, but it seems like BotRK would be too good to pass up on that build. The active also makes you even more mobile.

Also, what build order are you using? None of those items are amazingly good rushes.

(essence reaver is really bad on ADC Lucian, btw. Viable on Mid Lucian, but you're giving up way too much damage by building it for it to be a viable ADC item.)

KingSmizzy7/20/2014, 9:13:51 AM1 votes

Graves Top Lane item 3508 item 3006 item 3153 item 3072 item 3071 item 3143

Ive won a few games with it but i cant say its because of the build/champ or because of my skill.

Essence reaver has difficulties proving itself as an actual mana regen item because it only restores 2-8% of damage dealt as mana. Meaning if youre auto attacking minions you'll be doing maybe 120 dmg and only regening 4 mana a hit. If you're spamming 100 mana buckshots then 4 mana per auto isnt going to help.

Silverclaw7/18/2014, 6:50:07 AM1 votes

As a Graves main, I personally think the best Graves build is item 3508 item 3006 item 3087 item 3031 item 3035 item 3072, as Graves scales VERY WELL with AD, you'll have over 400 AD when all is said and done.

Can you say burst, everyone? Also, Wukong doesn't like bloodthirster - he gets off very few autos in a fight, so Essence Reaver doesn't really work for him.

titillating kiwi7/18/2014, 7:37:12 AM1 votes

Even though Essense Reaver did get buffed with more damage, BT did get buffed as well as a nerfed shield amount: LIFE STEAL 15% ⇒ 20% <------- 2x the amount of Essesnce Reaver newUNIQUENESS Life Steal is now UNIQUE BLOODY SHIELD 50 - 440 ⇒ 50 - 350 <------- Lower amount TIME BEFORE SHIELD DECAYS 15 seconds ⇒ 25 seconds <------- Longer to decay

Essence Reaver does help with mana, although for the adc champions that are not too mana hungry should stick with BT as a priority over ER.

Cheesesky7/18/2014, 8:56:35 AM1 votes

Isn't kog a spam happy adc? why didn't you include him here?

Gavran7/18/2014, 3:18:34 PM1 votes

I did buy it on Varus vs Doom Bots (tier 2) and carried pretty hard, but I bought it because I had an afk lane partner and I was desperate to sustain and poke against targets that do push a lot but don't dive a lot. Hard to say how well it'd have worked in a real game. I might try it again, but there are a bunch on your list that I totally disagree with too. That is, disagree that they should build it - not necessarily disagree that it's better than BT for them.