League of Legends: Runaan’s Hurricane Spotlight

I was doing a bit of custom bot 1v1 matches to test Runaan’s Hurricane. I’ve made some fascinating discoveries. Most of what I’m about to share is common knowledge, but some of the champions that benefit from Runaan’s will make you do a double-take. This item spotlight will be in addition to the champion spotlight I have planned for the week.

Runaan’s Hurricane:

First let’s take a look at the item itself.

Stats:

+70% Attack Speed

Unique Passive:

“When basic attacking, bolts are fired at up to two enemies near the target, each dealing 10(+50% of Attack Damage) physical damage. These bolts apply on-hit effects.”

Basic Explanation:

This is a pretty unique item that can only be used on ranged champions. Generally, you would only build this on a ranged ADC or Marksman that has on-hit effects. Runaan’s is also justifiable if you build a lot of life steal on a ranged ADC. Life steal counts as an on-hit effect.

On-Hit Effects:

On hit effects are any special effects that happen upon hitting an enemy with a basic attack. Look at Twitch for example, when he hit’s an enemy with a basic attack, that enemy also receives a true damage poison debuff that ticks down every second. This is part of why Twitch is hard to handle, but Runaan’s allows him to apply that poison to three enemies per one basic attack.

Champions That Benefit from Runaan’s:

Here I’ll list the champions I know of that benefit from Runaan’s and how they benefit. I’ll add to this as I discover more champions that benefit. Some of these champions are fairly obvious, others not so much.

Ashe:

Ashe’s Q – Frost Shot is a buff that you can toggle on and off. While on, Ashe applies a slow to enemies she hits with basic attacks. With Runaan’s she slows up to three targets at once.

Caitlyn:

Caitlyn’s Headshot passive allows her to do increased damage on a basic attack after she has performed eight basic attacks. What’s really happening is on-hit Caitlyn gets a buff that stacks up to eight times. After eight stacks she uses her boosted attack. I have yet to run tests to see if the boosted attack itself applies the bonus to all hits on the single attack. Runaan’s does affect the speed in which stacks build up. Caitlyn can get three stacks per attack with Runaan’s.

Corki:

Corki deals additional true damage on-hit with basic attacks equal to 10% of his attack damage. This damage is static, the two side bolts are not dealing less true damage than the main attack. It’s useful for a little extra poke, but not a necessary item.

Jinx:

While Runaan’s is useless in Mini-Gun mode, the rocket blasts count as on-hit effects. I ran some tests earlier and Runaan’s allows Jinx to really push enemy champions away. Additionally, her rockets are more effective in team fights, and the increased number of explosions will have a big impact on the team fight.

Miss Fortune:

While the passive of Impure Shots is in effect, Miss Fortune makes good use of Runaan’s by dealing extra magic damage to enemies. It may not seem like much considering Miss Fortune players don’t generally build AP on her, but the damage does make a difference.

Teemo:

Not generally filling an ADC role, Teemo can still make use of Runaan’s with his Toxic Shot (E) passive. This works whether you build Teemo ADC or AP on-hit as Teemo’s poison scales with AP.

Twisted Fate:

Like Teemo, you’ll rarely see Twisted Fate as an ADC. Runaan’s is useless on AP Twisted Fate.Stacked Deck, Twisted Fate’s E ability works the same as Caitlyn’s Passive. The difference is Stacked Deck only needs four stacks. I am not sure whether the additional damage applies on the same attack that he reaches the four stacks on.

Twitch:

As I mentioned in the item explanation, Twitch’s passive adds a True Damage poison to his basic attacks. This poison affects any enemy hit by a basic attack so you can effectively poison three targets at a time.

Urgot:

Yet another champion you’ll rarely see as an ADC, but that’s mostly because nobody really plays Urgot. Urgot’s more of an anti-ADC, his passive lowers enemy damage by 15% for 2.5 seconds. This debuff applies on Urgot’s basic attacks which makes it
really useful in team fights.

Varus:

Varus’ Blighted Quiver allows his basic attacks to put Blight on enemies. Blight detonates when his abilities hit an enemy to do bonus magic damage. This is another champion that really benefits in team fights from a Runaan’s

Food For Thought:

While Runaan’s is great for the attack speed and sustainability with life steal, it’s not always the best option. Vayne, for instance, is actually effected negatively by Runaan’s. Silver Bolts requires consecutive hits on the same enemy to proc, hitting three enemies can potentially remove the stacks on an enemy.

Another thing to consider is AP on-hit Kayle. Righteous Fury does make Kayle’s auto attacks ranged while in effect, but she still counts as a melee champion. Just remember to double-check your champion before making a Runaan’s Hurricane.

Let me know if you found this guide useful, or if you’d like to see another item in a future spotlight. Also, be sure to check out my LoL Champion Spotlights.