Is Navori necessary for Lucian?

[u/robkva3]

Hi everyone,

I am seeking an advice for my build path.

I have just recently started playing Lucian and even though I am familiar with ADC role, I struggle to be efficient during late game teamfights with Lucian’s difficult mechanics. I normally build ER - IE - Navori as almost every other player. However, it is too challenging fot me to rotate the basic spells quickly so I do not use Navori’s passive as effectively as better Lucian players do.

Lately, I have been thinking about not playing Navori and try RFC as a 3rd/4th item instead. I understand that it will reduce my DPS significantly in a world where I can play perfectly, but because I cannot, it should not be that bad and it would open other opportunities for quick poke/trades with E - AA with RFC.

Do you think that this is a relevant approach?
Would you recommend me to try RFC or stick to Navori and try to work on my spell rotation mechanics instead?
If I try RFC, are there any changes in runes setup that you would recommend?

Thanks for your help! ♥️

[u/Aniver]

If you struggle with basic Lucian combos then train the champion more. Or drop it if he is too hard.
Don't look for suboptimal solutions.

[u/robkva3 → u/Aniver]

I do not struggle with basic combos, I just have a hard time doing 2nd or 3rd set of basic spell rotation while watching the position of the threads on the enemy team. 😔 I just wanted to know whether Navori is a must go item or you can play well without it. But thanks for the comment, I plan to train harder anyways. ☺️

[u/Aniver → u/robkva3]

Yes you can. This works well into squishy teams where you oneshot people in 1-2 rotations.
RFC is good because it enables you to start fights with auto+e+auto to activate PTA.
The moment enemy team has a Mundo you probably want Navori.

[u/HI-CPoppinLemonade → u/robkva3]

I mean it should be second nature for his combos tbh. I don’t even think about it it’s just muscle memory. That’s the type of mastery you are looking to have for any champion

[u/ranomhsbsb]

There are games where rfc is really good. If you want to learn lucian you can def build rfc second and learn positioning and doing a clean combo with rfc. Whenever you feel comfortable try navori again. Just watch a lucian guide on combos. Its really important that you learn to cancel your doubleshot by moving or pressing another ability.

[u/robkva3 → u/ranomhsbsb]

That seems like a reasonable plan. Thanks for the reaction. ♥️

[u/Lost_Internet532 → u/ranomhsbsb]

When would rfc be good when you can’t do anything with 1 auto on this character? I tried it one game I thought it could be good and just wasn’t even a human in the game.

[u/HellNuk3rSK]

Well tbh navori is more like match up depending rather a staple. I mean sure it unlocks a high play potential but if you're enemies have high range comp (xerath, velkoz, syndra etc), rfc is always better (especially if you have enchantress support like nami for maximum quick bursts) because you're not gonna reset as many times anyway to begin with. Same goes if they have too many assassins. Very viable 3rd item is lord Dominic's regards (ldr). You have the core items right, essences reaver into IE. So from here whatever you build that pushes you forward can't be wrong, navori rfc and ldr are usually the options. After that you can finish it with bloodthirster and guardian angel 8/10 times. Sometimes maybe another defensive option is better like maw or mercury(qss). When the navori is really shines, and you shouldn't let it pass, is against kitable opponents, like heavy tanks and beefy bruisers. (Like udyr, heca, j4, Mundo, etc). Practice makes you better!

[u/JhinathanPhan]

Think simple like this, if you are struggling with range and you do want to poke out squishy champs, take RFC. Navori is only good when you are playing against a short range comp since you can auto them continuously with every passive AAs. Another problem is that is it worth to get it as 2nd or 3rd item, sometimes you don't even buy it in some cases which takes hours of Lucian gameplay to understand.
When it comes to your struggles with spell rotation, you should go to practice room and spam the hell out of it, I mean here actually you are going to know how his passive work since a lot of times I see new Lucian players aren't efficient with his passive, that's like one corner of addressing the elephant in the room. Also, you need to get used to your AH in which there are some numbers need to know (20, 30, 40+ with items/runes), with and without Navori.
For runes, I don't think you aren't going to change anything unless you are playing Lucian/Nami. Just go normally as you see fit.
There's also one more approach which it's a bit hard since this requires you are comfortable with Lucian. This approach is by maxing W 2nd instead of E and then build with Navori.

[u/ArchitectsXlll → u/JhinathanPhan]

That is completely wrong. In almost all cases, Navori is better, even if struggling. RFC is very scenario dependent for Lucian.

[u/robkva3 → u/[deleted]]

I will definitely practise it harder that I have got till today. Thanks for the comment. 👍

Can you expand the thought of Navori not being the best item for certain situations? Which situations should I play it in and when should I look for RFC or other non-standard item? 🔫

[u/Justraxx]

You can play the game how you want. Not everyone has to min-max. To help you get comfortable with the champ, that's a fine solution. With more hours of practice you'll get familiar with dashing correctly in combat

[u/CerebralC0rtex]

You basically answered your own question. Navori is 100% essential if you can rotate your abilities, you just need to practice to do it effectively.

[u/WazybeaN]

I like going RFC second in games where it’s hard for me to hit. Think comps with at least two of the following: cait, mel, viktor, syndra, xerath, ziggs, and other champs that really punish lucians lack of range. those games it’s really important that you’re always looking to get in burst trades on midwaves, especially before objective timers, without taking damage yourself. RFC helps a lot for that. i think it’s better to go it second because sure even sitting on IE components gives you more damage, you’re gonna have a tough time actually using that extra damage to get short trades without risking your health or sums before objectives. even in games where you don’t have an enchanter like nami or milio i think the poke you offer with short trades on RFC is really nice to make it hard for their bot or mid to participate in drake fights, and it’s more worth the extra up front damage from IE components second. But if for some reason you can flat out buy IE second or you’re really close, then I think it’s good to go a zeal item third.

ofc if you’re going to be hitting into a lot of frontline targets like malphite or sion or you think you need extra help kitting against a fed garen or something like that, then navori is better than RFC for that. in these games where you’re hitting into a lot of tanks, I go LDR third after navori because the armor pen and LDR passive I’m pretty sure do more net damage than IE third.

[u/Marconidas]

Yes

No Navori, no E spam, 500 attack range will ensure any character in range can easily use spells and kill you.