do the math
At which lvl is the cdr/lvl rune better than the flat one? Does that lvl suits your needs?

The runes are .65% and 5% per level IIRC.

That means the per level runes don't get better than the flat ones until level 14.
In most games I play, the outcome is obvious by level 14.

So, you have to choose between 5.85% CDR at the start or .45% at the start to 8.1% CDR end game.
Looking at just those numbers, it's be stupid to go with per level CDR runes....


That being said, I prefer per level runes! Half the price... and early game you almost never have enough mana to spam abilities anyway. The ~2% CDR endgame isn't that big of a deal, but I like saving my ~4k IP for a small loss in early game CDR.

But, if you were playing a no mana/energy champ, then flat CDR are near impossible to pass up simply because of how much they will increase you early game farming.

Quoted from "guenwhyever"

But, if you were playing a no mana/energy champ, then flat CDR are near impossible to pass up simply because of how much they will increase you early game farming.

It's funny you say that because on my main Mordekaiser, flat cdr means that his abilities eat away at his health too much. He has absolutely no problems farming anway and as he can have some trouble late game, cdr per level is what I find to be most effective.

But that's just my personal opinion. There is no definite answer.

(though I believe that most high ELOs prefer flat to per level)

It depends on the masteries you are going to use and eventual Itemchoices.The math is pretty simple.

A full blue set of CDR flat is giving you 5.85 % CDR . Masteries can give you either 3%, 6% or 9% if you combine them. This could lead to 15% CDR flat at lvl1 - which is pretty much what you want. A single yellow CDR flat rune (-0,29%) and an ingame item that provides 25% CDR and you´ve reached the hardcap of 40% CDR. But you don´t really need that yellow rune. You won´t notice the 0,15% that yellow rune i going to provide once you got your 25% item.

Everything above 6% CDR is wasted if you go for the full 9% CDR from masteries. Going CDR/lvl will allow you to use other blue runes.Thats rarly gonna impact your early game as much as a full CDR/flat set.

Its a bit trickier if you don´t use both CDR masteries.You are going to have to mix CDR flat and CDR/lvl then to get to the 15% CDR - but you will miss a few percent at the lower levels then.

I highly advise against pure CDR/lvl since they are only better later in the game and weaker early when you might need them.

Remember the hardcap of Cooldown Reduction is at 40% . Everything above that won´t do anything. So if you plan on buying Spirit Visage or Brutalizer you might not get the full effect out of your item / your runes.

No mana chars generally benefit from these runes the most.They are also nice on Supporters (Soraka,Taric) since there is generally a high cooldown on heal spells.
They are not as efficient on Chars with already low CD (usually burst mages, Manareg/lvl is usually the way to go there).

Hope that helped.

Quoted from "Schmuall"

It's funny you say that because on my main Mordekaiser, flat cdr means that his abilities eat away at his health too much. He has absolutely no problems farming anway and as he can have some trouble late game, cdr per level is what I find to be most effective.

But that's just my personal opinion. There is no definite answer.

(though I believe that most high ELOs prefer flat to per level)



So you're saying that you don't have any HP on your shield when you use your abilities? Or does Morde's abilities bypass ALL hp left on your shield and eat away at your main health pool?

So you're saying that you don't have any HP on your shield when you use your abilities? Or does Morde's abilities bypass ALL hp left on your shield and eat away at your main health pool?

FLAT cdr is better for early game and is the best.

Quoted from "Mazurati"

So you're saying that you don't have any HP on your shield when you use your abilities? Or does Morde's abilities bypass ALL hp left on your shield and eat away at your main health pool?

Morde's abilities use his actual HP, not shield.



2% endgame CDR isn't that important, with CDR items and/or blue buff you won't notice the difference at all. If IP cost makes a difference (I don't think it should, you can always play more games), go for the cheap option and get per-level. Otherwise, flat > per-level 98% of the time.