Why is Night Harvester Good? A Deep Dive into League of Legends’ Burst Item
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Night Harvester is a powerful mythic item in League of Legends that caters to a specific playstyle: burst damage and mobility. Its strength lies in its unique passive, Soulrend, which provides an immediate surge of magic damage and a burst of movement speed after damaging an enemy champion. This combination makes it exceptionally good for champions looking to quickly eliminate vulnerable targets or aggressively reposition in fights. Essentially, Night Harvester is good because it offers a potent mix of damage, mobility, and ability haste, making it a compelling choice for specific champions and strategies.
Understanding Night Harvester’s Strengths
Night Harvester’s power stems from several key aspects:
Burst Damage
The Soulrend passive is the heart of what makes Night Harvester valuable. When you damage an enemy champion with an ability or basic attack, you inflict additional magic damage that scales with your level (ranging from 175 to 250) and your Ability Power (+15% AP). This upfront damage is crucial for champions who need to secure kills quickly or poke down enemies before engaging in prolonged fights. Unlike some items with damage over time effects, Night Harvester offers that immediate impact, making it ideal for assassins and burst mages. This is especially valuable when targeting low-health or vulnerable enemies, allowing you to capitalize on openings and secure kills or objectives. It can also help assassins quickly take out squishy targets before they have time to react.
Enhanced Mobility
In addition to the burst damage, the Soulrend passive also grants 25% bonus movement speed for a brief 1.5 seconds. This burst of speed is a game-changer. It enables you to chase down fleeing enemies, reposition effectively after an engagement, or kite your opponents in skirmishes. This short-lived speed increase enhances your playmaking potential and allows for more aggressive and dynamic gameplay. This burst mobility allows you to secure the kill, or get away quickly after doing the initial damage.
Ability Haste
Night Harvester also provides a healthy amount of ability haste. This stat reduces the cooldowns of your abilities, allowing you to use them more frequently. Ability Haste is a good overall stat, allowing you to use your abilities more often. As most burst mages rely on using abilities to deal their damage, this extra stat is ideal.
Mythic Passive Utility
Night Harvester also provides additional ability haste for each legendary item purchased, maxing out at an additional 25 ability haste for 5 legendary items. This makes it a strong scaling item that gets better throughout the game.
When is Night Harvester the Right Choice?
Night Harvester is not a one-size-fits-all item. It excels on champions who benefit from the following:
- Burst damage: Champions who need to quickly eliminate targets, such as assassins or burst mages.
- Mobility: Champions who need to reposition frequently or chase down enemies after using their abilities.
- Ability-centric kits: Champions who rely heavily on their abilities to deal damage and control the battlefield.
Examples of champions who can use Night Harvester effectively include Gragas, Fiddlesticks, Ekko (situational), and Karthus.
Comparing Night Harvester with Alternatives
While Night Harvester has its strengths, it’s essential to compare it to other mythic options, like Luden’s Tempest.
- Night Harvester focuses on single-target burst and mobility via its passive and has a shorter cooldown for its passive. It is ideal for champions who can capitalize on burst.
- Luden’s Tempest offers more consistent damage over time with its bouncing bolts, which also has AP scaling (which Night Harvester doesn’t). It also provides a more consistent movement speed buff via its passive. Luden’s is preferred for those that want to do consistent damage, rather than burst.
The choice between these two depends heavily on your champion and playstyle. If you’re looking for quick takedowns and mobility, Night Harvester is your pick. If you’re aiming for more sustained damage and lane control, then Luden’s Tempest may be more appropriate.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions about Night Harvester:
1. What are the stats of the Night Harvester item?
Night Harvester provides 80 ability power, 250 health, and 15 ability haste.
2. What is the unique passive of Night Harvester?
The unique passive, Soulrend, deals 175-250 (based on level) (+15% AP) bonus magic damage when you damage a champion and grants you 25% bonus movement speed for 1.5 seconds (40-second cooldown per champion).
3. How much gold does Night Harvester cost?
Night Harvester costs a total of 3200 gold.
4. Is Night Harvester a mythic item?
Yes, Night Harvester is a mythic item in League of Legends.
5. Does item haste work on Night Harvester?
Yes, item haste works on Night Harvester, reducing the cooldown of your abilities. The mythic passive of the item also provides bonus ability haste for other legendary items purchased.
6. Can Night Harvester trigger on multiple enemies at the same time?
Yes, a single area-of-effect ability can trigger the Soulrend passive on every enemy champion damaged.
7. Is Night Harvester good on Gragas?
Yes, according to analysis of matches in patch 13.21, Night Harvester is a great item for Gragas, as it combines burst damage with ability haste and movement speed for his combo.
8. Is Night Harvester good on Fiddlesticks?
Yes, Night Harvester is a good option on Fiddlesticks, providing a burst of damage that complements his playstyle.
9. Is Night Harvester good on Ekko?
Night Harvester can be good on Ekko in certain situations, especially if you’re playing a more burst-oriented playstyle. The item synergizes well with Ekko’s overall play style.
10. How does Night Harvester compare to Luden’s Tempest?
Luden’s provides consistent damage and a more reliable movement speed buff, while Night Harvester focuses on burst damage and a short burst of speed after dealing damage, with a shorter cooldown for its passive. Luden’s is better for consistent damage, whereas Night Harvester is ideal for burst damage.
11. Does Night Harvester do more damage than Luden’s?
Night Harvester provides significant burst, whereas Luden’s does consistent damage. In many cases, Luden’s will do more damage, as its passive procs more often, and it scales with AP.
12. How long is the movement speed duration of Night Harvester?
The bonus movement speed from Night Harvester’s Soulrend passive lasts for 1.5 seconds.
13. Does Night Harvester work on Karthus?
Yes, Night Harvester is a great item for Karthus, as it provides a burst of damage and CDR for him to use abilities more frequently.
14. Is Hextech Rocketbelt better than Night Harvester?
Rocketbelt’s active does slightly more damage and grants a bit more movement speed than Night Harvester’s passive. Night Harvester’s advantage is that its passive’s cooldown is per champion, while Rocketbelt’s active is only usable every 40 seconds.
15. Does Night Harvester scale with level?
Yes, the base damage of Night Harvester’s passive scales with level. The damage will range between 175-250 at max level, and provides 15% bonus AP.