Manamune has been around for a long time in League of Legends, and from the moment it was launched, this item was closely associated with the champion Ezreal, as the Explorer’s skill set perfectly matched this item. Later on, as more champions that accumulate power and use abilities like Ezreal emerged, this item was no longer exclusive to this champion.
However, when it is used excessively by champions that are completely different from the aforementioned champions, people cannot help but wonder why it is being used so much. Some players even shared that they encountered Jhin, Talon, Darius, Draven, and even… Fizz building this item. So what exactly happened?
Firstly, Manamune is the item that provides the best gold efficiency among AD items; with just 2400 gold, you can gain about 80 additional damage once fully stacked. Although this item requires time to stack, its characteristic of providing points through normal attacks allows you to rest assured that this item can stack extremely quickly.
The more frightening aspect of Manamune when fully stacked is that it also deals damage on basic attacks, and this damage scales with your energy, which perfectly aligns with the stats of this item. Simply put, Manamune grants you a significant amount of pure damage, additional damage on attacks at the low price of just 2400 gold.
However, that’s only half of the story, as this item has had all these qualities for several seasons now. The crucial condition for Manamune to become the “national item” of League of Legends recently is the recognition of its excellent synergy with the newly adjusted Presence of Mind rune.
Specifically, in the Preseason 2020, Presence of Mind lost its ultimate cooldown reduction on takedowns; instead, you receive permanent energy, stacking up to a maximum of 500 energy. Not to mention the effect of recovering 20% of your maximum energy.
Remember that the damage effect on basic attacks of Muramana depends on your current energy. With the energy increase of up to 500 and the significant recovery from Presence of Mind, just with one item, you can deal a level of damage that is completely superior compared to other builds like critical damage in the mid-game (which is only strong when you have all three items).
With its high damage output, excellent energy recovery, and strong snowball potential in the mid-game, Manamune suddenly compensates for the weaknesses of many champions like Kayle, Corki, or even Draven. In fact, with its power spike arriving too early, energy-using fighters can use this item as a primary damage item. This explains why the player lamented to the community about losing to a Wukong player building Manamune.
In conclusion, with the changes to the Presence of Mind rune, Manamune has gradually become an incredibly powerful item, providing users with extraordinarily “crazy” damage right from the early game. If you’re looking for a new playstyle for your favorite champion, give Manamune a try; you might be surprised by the results. Of course, the champion you intend to play must be an energy user, primarily dealing physical damage.