Dark Harvest is the main Assassin-oriented Rune in League of Legends. It is a stacking, passive effect that motivates aggressive and prowling gameplay.
The Jungler’s bread and butter, Dark Harvest, draws its power from low-HP enemies, namely ones below 50% of their maximum health. When hit, these enemies will grant a Dark Harvest stack, permanently increasing its damage.
I believe it’s one of the best Runes available, despite being nerfed into the ground by Riot Games. I understand the reasons behind the constant nerfs, but Riot failed to make the Rune balanced and usable, opting to make it obsolete instead.
Thankfully, it still works and is a viable option. However, the pool of Champions its viable on has decreased severely – and it was small, to begin with. It’s best used on Junglers and some high-burst Assassins, categories we will go over in this list.
Here, I’ve compiled the best of the best for Dark Harvest usage; Champions that strive to execute enemies as fast and efficiently as possible. While Dark Harvest may not be the most powerful effect, it grants enough extra damage to make the execution possible in some close situations.
So, with the explanations out of the way, let’s begin with the 7 Best Dark Harvest Champions in League of Legends.
(All kinds of Champions and builds will be discussed here; therefore the list is in no particular order.)
Also read: Dark Harvest vs. Electrocute
1. AP Shyvana
AP Shyvana is widely known around the League of Legends community. You cannot get more cancerous than that, as she is infamous for one-shotting people left and right. Most of this one-shot potential comes from her draconic form, with her E becoming a massive nuke that hits like a truck when used with a lot of AP.
Dark Harvest can only add to this, and post-level six, it becomes easy to get stacks off using that same spell. Once she does stack up a lot and get some AP going, she’ll obliterate people like no tomorrow. She can get insanely powerful really fast, so keeping an eye on her is paramount for any Jungler out there.
However, Shyvana is a Bruiser/Fighter and strives primarily from getting a bit tanky. If she decides to go for a lot of AP and rely on her spells, she’ll be left weak, squishy, and often defenseless in actual 1v1 scenarios. If you want to go for a Dark Harvest AP Shyv, consider balancing between AP and tankiness for max potential.
She’s not that difficult to play, so all of you should give her a look.
2. Kha’Zix
Moving on to one of the best Junglers in the game, we have the evolving bug. Kha can set any Rune you can think of and still come off as totally overpowered. But this OP status is at its highest level when he picks up the Dark Harvest.
Kha’Zix is a Champion that has a lot of incentive to play as a prowler. He’ll creep around the Jungle, always staying close to the lanes, ready to pounce at any given moment. The obscene amount of damage stemming from his Q and passive is only amplified by the Dark Harvest Rune, and it can sometimes make your jaw drop.
Kha can quickly and efficiently farm up the Dark Harvest stacks. With his prowling nature, he can always promptly jump into the lane to use his W for a quick stack and then retreat into the Jungle to go about his way. This allows him to rack up a lot of stacks quickly, and considering that he’ll go for items that are usually high in AD, the Dark Harvest damage becomes obscene quickly.
Kha, as if he already wasn’t one-shotting everyone, will now have an extra damage tool that will help him eviscerate all enemies he comes into contact with. Alongside items like the Duskblade, a few attacks will be enough to finish off any opponent in the game, save for some chunky Tank.
Kha is the most fun you’ll have in the Jungle, and I highly recommend you try him out. He’s constantly near the top of the best Junglers in the game, and that should be enough to motivate you to pick him.
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3. Kayn
Kayn is also one of the best Junglers in the game and has been for a long time. He’s versatile and highly adaptable to various situations. Most of this adaptability comes from the passive that lets him choose one of two forms – an Assassin or a Tank. Kayn, depending on the situation, can opt for either form to fill in the gap that his team needs.
While the Tank Kayn may be strong, Dark Harvest is perfect for his second form – Shadow. This form is a pure AD, high burst, and fast Assassin that can shred through Champions like paper. Quickly and efficiently, Shadow Kayn can kill people and make it as easy as anything.
Dark Harvest will only help with that, adding extra damage and burst potential to his already powerful kit. As for stacking it up, Kayn can do it similarly to Kha’Zix. Namely, he can walk in using his E and hit the enemy with one of his spells. While Kha does it well, Kayn is additionally motivated to do so.
You see, Kayn stacks up his forms by attacking Champions, meaning that he’ll have to fight with them no matter what. This adds an extra reason to go out of his way and attack an opponent, which will net him passive orbs and likely a Dark Harvest stack together with it.
The more stacks, the more damage, and Kayn can get a ton very fast. He’s one of the best Champions ever to step foot into the Jungle and has proven that many times so far. Check him out. You won’t be disappointed.
4. Miss Fortune
Miss Fortune is the most well-known Lethality ADC in League of Legends. Picking up any Domination Rune is undoubtedly a good choice, but Dark Harvest remains the best for her infamous playstyle.
As an ADC, she’ll always have two targets to attack to get some Dark Harvest stacks. From level 1, Dark Harvest will give her extra damage on low-HP opponents. Considering how much damage MF can do in a single attack or Q, it’s a fantastic addition to have right there for no extra cost.
As the game progresses past level 6, MF will have gained her Ultimate that shreds through HP like it’s nothing. Stacking up a ton of Lethality on top of procuring Dark Harvest stacks will give you the ability to eliminate multiple enemies in mere seconds. MF is the Lethality beast among ADCs and is likely to remain so until Riot decides to make a dedicated Lethality ADC.
She’s one of the easiest ADCs to play in the game and is so simple that I don’t even have things to comment on too much. Though a bit immobile, MF can hit like a truck and do so much damage so quickly that she’ll often leave you wondering what the hell just happened.
I recommend her to all who enjoy the Marksman Role.
Also read: Fastest Champions in League of Legends
5. Karthus
Ever since Karthus became a viable Jungle option, people immediately noticed how well he scales with Dark Harvest. Most of that scaling comes from Karthus’ executory nature, and he’ll often use his Ultimate on low-HP enemies to quickly put them to death. Dark Harvest, being a Rune that procs from any source of damage, only adds to his ability to deal the final blow.
He’s likely the easiest one to get Dark Harvest stacks with on this list. Everyone knows of Karthus’ Q, the rapid-firing ball of death that deals a crap ton of damage if he manages to get you alone with it. He can walk up, get the stack, and back off. That’s mostly his gameplay strategy when played on the lane and remains so in the Jungle. At least for farming Dark Harvest stacks, that is.
With these powerful stacks, he can do insane damage using his Ultimate, arguably among the most potent spells in the game. With it, Karthus can slam down all five enemies with a single press of a button. However, Dark Harvest will hit only one enemy, but even that is enough to get at least one kill. And we all know that Karthus rarely Ults for just one.
He’s super straightforward. There’s a lot of stuff unique to his kit, and you should give him a try. He can do Jungling and Laning equally well, so pick your poison accordingly.
6. Jhin
Jhin is one of the most powerful ADCs in the game, at least in sheer attack damage. Jhin insanely scales from Critical Chance, and since most Crit items in the game will also provide some damage, Jhin can come out quickly at over 1000 damage. With this damage, he can obliterate people in just a few of his bullets, not to mention his fourth one.
You can then imagine how powerful he can get when he picks up Dark Harvest, a Rune that isn’t ordinary, nor is it unusual to be seen on this Champion. As MF before him, he’ll always have two targets to get a stack on. Using his W, he can even get stacks from a vast distance, giving him the opportunity of picking up stacks elsewhere.
Jhin has many characteristics of a pure executioner, and his damage proves as much. With Dark Harvest as an additional execution power source, Jhin can obliterate people with just a few attacks and bullets, embodying the serial killer persona that Riot has built for him.
He’s also straightforward and isn’t too difficult by any means. Jhin is widely considered to be the perfect Champion, and there’s truth to that statement. He’s unique, powerful, and refreshing to play, especially in the stale ADC Role.
I recommend Jhin to anyone that wants a good League of Legends experience, as it honestly rarely gets better than him. (Save for, of course, Jax. But you already knew that when you typed in LeagueFeed.)
7. Veigar
All burst Champions work magically with Dark Harvest, but they rarely get as magical and powerful as Veigar. He’s the king of burst damage in this game and embodies that “1 button 5 kills” playstyle as best as one can.
Many builds and Runes go well on Veigar, and players have tried them all. However, Dark Harvest is no exception and can be excellent on this small evil Yordle.
Veigar stacks a lot, mostly with his Q. These stacks provide him with extra AP, in turn making him more powerful by the minute. By minute 20, Veigar is already fed, even if he has 0 kills. All he needs is to execute a few minions now and then with his Q, and he’ll garner enough AP to snipe you with his Ult and send you into Kingdom Come.
Dark Harvest will only help him in that endeavor, adding that little bit of extra damage to his kit that might just be enough to kill you in 2 spells rather than 3. He can stack up the Dark Harvest without much effort, as he is a laner and will always have at least one target to torture.
He also has the capacity of roaming and tends to do so since it pays off tremendously. Every kill will also give him extra passive stacks, further incentivizing fighting and stacking. Dark Harvest comes along for the journey, like sugar on top.
Veigar is one of the oldest Champions in League and remains one of the strongest as well. IT is insane what this little thing can do to health bars with only one spell. I won’t even mention what he does with the rest. I recommend him to everyone and anyone. Do it; he’s fun.
Conclusion
Though a bit obsoleted by Riot’s poor design choices, Dark Harvest remains powerful when picked on the right Champions. We sincerely hope this list has helped you acquaint yourself with this fantastic Rune and wish you the best of luck on your Summoner’s Rift endeavors.
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