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[Item Discussion] Essence Reaver: "It's like communism"

ModCaptainMårvelous·6/19/2014, 5:46:48 PM·15 votes·1,003 views

"It's like Communism: Great in theory, falls apart in implementation"

So I wanted to talk about Essence Reaver (Which doesn't have a CB icon yet) because I feel that it's kinda worth talking about. So, for background, the apparent reason this item was brought into existence was to diversify the Marksmen's build paths (AsheVarusLucian). Mostly, it was made to accommodate those who used mana frequently but didn't really justify buying item 3004/item 3042.

So, in theory, it's a great idea. Gives mana for restoring auto-attacks, a bit of utility stats for ADCs (Mana Regen, Cooldown reduction, lifesteal) and overall it's a cool idea. Where it falls apart, however, is in the implementation of this item.

Here are my main complaints about this item:

  • It's expensive- At 2650g in total, about a 150 less than item 3087, this item is a pretty pricey purchase to deal with mana. Sure, it gives lifesteal/CD reduction but if you rush this or even buy it as a second/third purchase, you're going to be hurting a bit versus the enemy adc who rushed some other big ticket item.

  • It's incredibly niche- 2-8% of the damage dealt as mana sounds nice, but most ADCs rarely use that much mana at ALL. The only ADCs I ever run into mana problems on are Ezreal and Lucian. Most of the time, this isn't even a problem with mana drain from skirmishes. Rather, I'm just spamming and not moderating my mana efficiently enough.

  • It has to compete with Manamune- Manamune is only 2100g. While it doesn't have the same stats that most ADCs want, that's almost 2 kills worth of gold packed into Essence Reaver. Furthermore, when mana becomes less of an issue late game, Manamune turns into Muramana and increases the damage dealt. Do many ADCs get this item? Not at all, but from the sound of it Manamune seems like a better purchase than Essence Reaver. ESPECIALLY considering how it grows stronger late game.

  • It's a bitchin' Scythe- Not an actual problem but god damn if it doesn't have a cool icon.

  • It overlaps with Sanguine Blade- Not a huge problem but it has the EXACT same build path as item 3181. On maps like Dominion/ARAM, this would be a bit of an issue especially considering that sanguine's stats end up being stronger when you put in the passive. Do I want to save a little more gold and get 10 more damage, CD and mana regen at all times? Is mana regen enough of an issue for me to get this item? Will my attack speed compensate and turn 40 to 70 and 15 to 20? It was a bit of an oversight, for sure.

  • The price and stats don't justify the need- My biggest problem, the item's stats and what it gives doesn't seem to justify the cost for the items. If I wanted lifesteal on an item, I'd be better off with any of the other options. Cooldown reduction is decent but not that often required on an ADC (And 10% isn't really going to do much), 50 attack damage is cool but why wouldn't I just get a BF sword? The reason I'm getting this item is for the mana regen and, at it's core, a little more mana won't win a fight like an early BF sword/crit cloak will.

So, what about essence reaver is cool? Well, for starters, it seems to work better on other champions than marksmen. Champions like Jayce and Yorick can purchase this item and rarely deal with mana issues instead of buying a manamune (Especially if they're like Yorick, who spams so much he runs out of mana at almost all stages of the game). Furthermore, I think this item is cool. I like this item, it's neat. I just think it could be built/implemented in a bit more clean way.

Is it bad? Naw, not at all. For getting on the client for a single patch it's pretty awesome. I just feel that it could be improved a bit:

  • Have an in-between or T1 version- Maybe do something like...

item 1053 + 400g = Mystic Viper

Total Cost: 1200g. Stats: 8-10% Lifesteal (Negotiable for price), 15-20 Attack Damage. Unique Passive: Mana Venom: Basic attacks grant 1-4% of the damage dealt as mana. The lower the mana, the higher the return.

This way you can build a smaller version to deal with current mana problems (As well as expand the early-mid tier of marksmen items that seems to be lacking a bit) and upgrade it later when you feel the need.

  • Change the buildpath- How about instead of overlapping with item 3181 on maps, we can change the path so that it's a bit more "unique". For example:

item 3134 + item 1053 = Essence Reaver.

Now the cooldown reduction doesn't seem to pop up from thin-air (As it's on brutilizer), the armor pen could either be added or lost upon upgrade (Giving a meaningful trade-off between the various brutilizer upgrades you could get) and there is no longer an overlap. Not to mention you have two decent mid-game marksmen items to carry you until you A.) Build essence reaver or B.) opt for rushing a different item.

  • Make the divide between Essence Reaver and Manamune more unique- How about we make there bit a more of a divide between the two. Maybe Manamune is for champions who function better with higher mana pools or tanky champions who will build more mana items while Essence Reaver works best for champions who need just a -little- more mana to get through the day. As of now, these two items feel like they're fighting to occupy the same position.

Overall, I'm not design expert. I'm just suggesting some ideas and trying to diversify the build path and what may be best for an item like Essence Reaver. In indea, it's an awesome concept. In execution, it leaves a bit to be desired. However, for being out for only a patch, at least the problems aren't that bad at all.

21 Comments

CaptainWednesday6/19/2014, 6:22:54 PM3 votes

You're right about the price. It is very pricey to even rush as a first or second item.

That being said, there are fighters that can also benefit from Essence Reaver.

Skarner, Poppy, Urgot (with others) have mana issues and the Reaver allows them to sustain themselves without backing after every skirmish.

Even with that, I agree with you that concept is nice, but the implementation of said item was poor and ineffective.

KSHarrison6/19/2014, 8:10:17 PM3 votes

My beef with this item:

  • Essence Reaver pales in comparison to Athene's Unholy Grail

Athene's and Essence Reaver are essentially analogs. Athene's is an AP item for unlimited mana; Reaver is an AD item for unlimited mana. They even both grant %CDR. Because their passives fulfill similar functions about as well, we can directly compare their gold efficiencies:

  • Essence Reaver : 100.6% Gold Efficient
  • Athene's Unholy Grail: 116.8% Gold Efficient

To make them equal, Essence Reaver would need its price reduced from 2650 to 2280 - almost 400 gold.

Seems a little unfair to have Athene's so damn efficient while Essence Reaver is not.

On top of this, Athene's has Chalice - it does have that mid-range upgrade!

OP:

I really like option 1. The mid-tier item with passive is what this needs.

I don't like option 2. Flat APen is already very efficient at lower levels, providing "unlimited" mana to boot makes the item too strong early.

JackYAqua6/19/2014, 8:14:51 PM3 votes

I've said this before, but I think Pickaxe + around 400 gold to make an in-between item should do the trick.

P.s. : I laughed out so hard when I read the title. Like communism? That comparison though.

ploki1226/20/2014, 6:56:31 AM2 votes

I think you hit the mark quite accurately. Basically, if you want mana regen, you want quick, reliable mana regen, and you want it without already being oom. The reason that Athene's work so well is that 1) mid laners have blue, and athene's work on blue and 2) it synergizes with other sources of mana regen.

In ER's case, it's a "life steal" of mana, meaning yo uhave ot constantly AA to regain mana, and early game you will probably be hiting ~100 which means 2-8 mana per hit, or ~4 mana per second (if you're at half mana with ~.8 AS). That's barely more than a 180g fairie charm, and late game you're stuck with a slot-inneficient item (unless you're really craving for CDR and mana, which you aren't).

On top of that, if you're building it on a bruiser instead of an ADC, it means you have to be winning lane to be able to stay in the minions and constantly AA minions. If you're simply last hitting, a Doran Ring is cheaper and will give you much more mana than this item.

If you're an ADC, you're gonna start vamp scepter, but then you need the power spike now, so it's vamp + Shiv/BT/IE. Then, you're gonna need an AS item if you didn't rush shiv, so Trinity Force/Shiv, and IE if you did rush Shiv. At this point, peoples are geared up, so you're probably getting LW next. So as a 5th item, Reaver could be used... or you can get take blue buff and be done with it... or a tear.

Basically, the item is good... but there's no good time to buy it. I also believe that "Mana Steal" is a flat out worse way or regenerating than Muramana.

Nortwin6/20/2014, 8:13:19 AM2 votes

Pantheon and Gangplank benefit from this item, if you have trouble managing their mana pool and just don't want to get Iceborne. With over-decent farming, you will be able to grab it just after main items.

Fires of Justice6/20/2014, 5:41:52 PM2 votes

Unfortunately, I personally found Essence Reaver to be very Lackluster after multiple attempts. I have to agree that I really feel like it makes me fall behind vs item rushers. While it looks pretty, it's not intimidating against an enemy. I think the item is confused between been an early or late game item, if that makes sense. Not a fan.

BlueBuffandChill6/20/2014, 10:09:33 PM1 votes

This is your opinion not mine i love essence reaver lol

Linna Excel6/19/2014, 6:42:17 PM1 votes

There's one flaw in your post: you are only considering ADCs and not all AD based champs. Some aren't viable only because they've got mana issues up top. Having a mana constraint when dealing with a manaless champ is always a PITA. This just gives mana-starved tops an option.

You are also ignoring the CDR which is important for AD casters.

Another thing: its build items are common for all AD based champs. That makes it convenient to buy. If I'm sitting on a vamp scepter and a pickax and I'm running into one of those games where I'm using more mana than I'd like to, I might want to pick this up.

Tobasco da Gama6/19/2014, 7:20:30 PM1 votes

Oddly enough, I just posted a similar thread about ER, and I think we agree about its major issues: http://community.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/live-gameplay/EvLzdVVO-the-fundamental-design-flaw-with-essence-reaver

To TL;DR what I said over there, basically I suggested that the Mana Regen comes too late to be useful on champs who want it. Your Mystic Viper suggestion is one way to tackle it. I proposed instead changing the build path to include Forbidden Idol, since it seems like a perfect early game item for most champs who want Essence Reaver, apart from the fact that it currently only builds into AP items.

12tales6/19/2014, 11:12:31 PM1 votes

I still think that Kog'Maw might be able to use this effectively as a 2nd or 3rd item. He's relatively mana hungry after he hits 6, and can use CDR fairly effectively effectively for an ADC. He's also able to proc the passive from longer range than most other ADCs thanks to his W.

The CDR is also interesting on Lucian in particular, since at 40% CDR, he's able to use his Culling every 30 seconds (AKA every wave). I'm not certain what the most efficient build path would be, but the addition of a new CDR item that gives entirely desirable stats is certainly helpful.