Veigar is a champion that isn’t defined by a keystone.
And the idea of playing Veigar with Dark Harvest isn’t a new one. Ever since Riot Games reworked the runes and masteries for League of Legends, Veigar players have been trying to implement a successful build around this rune.
But they weren’t successful at all! Why?
Because for a few years, Veigar’s best keystone was Glacial Augment. LoL had a few items that would apply slow to the target (like Twin Shadows) and synergize with this keystone.
Veigar could then easily trap the frozen enemies in his cage and slay them!
However, Veigar’s best keystone by far is Dark Harvest! It offers some incredible benefits, and we’ll explore them all in this post!
In fact, let’s do that right now!
What Does Dark Harvest Do for Veigar?
Dark Harvest is a scaling rune in LoL. When your enemy is below 50% Health, you can collect their soul by hitting them. These stacks are permanent and grant +5 Adaptive Damage.
But Dark Harvest deals base damage too, plus a percentage of your AD/AP. It has 45 seconds cooldown, but it resets on a champion takedown.
This may sound too complicated to many of you, so let’s break it down!
The first part is clear, right? When you damage your lane opponent to 50% HP, you make them vulnerable. Their champion starts to glow red for you, and you know that it’s time to collect their soul.
And you can do that by either auto-attacking your enemy or using a damaging ability on them while they’re glowing red.
All souls you collect are stored permanently for the rest of the game. And you can check the number of your Dark Harvest stacks above your champion’s icon.
Now, let’s say you have 10 souls harvested already. What does this mean for your power?
It means that the next time your enemy’s soul is vulnerable (below 50% HP), you will do tons of extra damage to them, thanks to Dark Harvest. How much is this extra damage?
Well, Dark Harvest does 20-60 damage based on your level, +5 damage for each stack you have, and +25% bonus damage of your AD or +15% bonus damage of your AP.
So, Veigar, with 400 AP and 10 Dark Harvest stacks on level 12, would deal around 170 extra damage on top of his regular damage!
Obviously, more stacks mean more damage. But the damage is great either way!
Read Also: How To Play Veigar Jungle
Why Should You Play Veigar with Dark Harvest?
Dark Harvest’s extra damage works great on many champions in League of Legends. But why exactly is it recommended for Veigar?
- Late Game Scaling.
Simply put – Dark Harvest offers the biggest late game scaling in LoL. And the fact that there is no limit to how many soul stacks you can have is fantastic!
Obviously, Dark Harvest’s gradual power progression synergizes incredibly well with Veigar’s passive – Phenomenal Evil Power.
In every game, Veigar can work to build both sources of power simultaneously. And in the late game, all the extra damage make him an amazing AP carry!
- Increased one-shot potential.
The whole idea behind playing with Dark Harvest is to boost your burst damage. This perfectly fits Veigar’s playstyle because it helps him finish off targets with one combo.
But most importantly – Dark harvest makes Veigar’s R hit much harder, giving it almost 100% chance to slay the enemy!
- Additional damage source.
The great thing about Dark Harvest is that it boosts Veigar’s DPS in the early game too. Veigar is a champion that can’t really fight the 5-10 minutes of the match.
But having Dark Harvest makes it so his auto-attacks also deal great damage to enemies below 50% HP. And that gives him better chances for winning those 1v1 fights in the lane!
- Dark Harvest is fun.
Yep, playing with Dark Harvest is always a blast! And even if you don’t play Veigar, the keystone gives you something additional to do in every game.
Chasing soul stacks is exciting because it’s always worth it! Every new soul boosts your damage for the rest of the match, so it’s rewarding!
Read Also: How to Counter Veigar in League of Legends- Full Guide
How To Play Veigar with Dark Harvest?
Here is the recommended rune page to have when playing the Dark Harvest Veigar build:
- Dark Harvest
- Cheap Shot
- Eyeball Collection
- Ultimate Hunter
- Transcendence
- Gathering Storm
As you can see, there aren’t too many changes in the other runes. We take Ultimate Hunter because it makes Veigar’s ultimate a 30-seconds cooldown.
And Gathering Storm is another way to passively increase Veigar’s power without even getting kills or wining lanes.
But to make the most out of this build, you need as many Dark Harvest souls as possible!
So the question now is: How do you efficiently gather Dark Harvest stacks?
Since there is only one way to collect souls – through damaging champions below 50% HP – you have no choice, really.
Some games are slower than others, so you can’t always force fights and quickly build your Dark Harvest. However, there are a few things you can do.
As for items, you can check my one-shot Veigar build to see which ones you need to buy.
Tips on How to Collect Dark Harvest Stacks
Poke your lane opponent more often. Veigar players are often passive in the early game. But trading with your enemy is what’s going to bring them to 50% Health.
So don’t waste all of your mana on the minions and instead aim some abilities at your opponent!
Roam and collect souls from elsewhere. Your lane opponent isn’t the only champion in the game. Sometimes you can catch the jungler or the support on low HP setting vision in the river.
And only hitting them once will give you a permanent damage stack!
Don’t abandon the lane without gathering the stack. You don’t have to be sneaky when trying to collect your souls.
Remember – your enemies can’t see the Dark Harvest animation, so they often forget about it.
So walk up to them, hit them, get your stack, and then go back to base!
Read Also: How To Stack Quickly And Efficiently on Veigar?
Conclusion
So, is Dark Harvest Veigar actually good or just “meh”?
There is a massive difference between playing Veigar with Electrocute and the DH build. Electrocute has a higher damage output at the start. And it’s excellent for bursting targets early on.
But Dark Harvest offers much higher damage output in the late game, once you have enough stacks collected! So Dark Harvest Veigar is actually great!
I heavily recommend you to give this build a chance, no matter whether you’re a casual League player or a Veigar OTP.
It’s fun, it’s spicy, and it one-shots people! What more can you ask for?
