A Guide to Domination Runes in League of Legends
Image Credit: Riot Games, League of Legends
Domination runes in League of Legends are great for champions who rely on burst damage, movement speed, and have the ability to hunt down enemies (even if they are solo). This path is a favorite among assassins, aggressive junglers, and champions who specialize in high-damage plays. With Domination runes you can maximize your champion’s ability to secure quick kills and therefor control the map. Here’s a complete breakdown of the Domination rune path, with details on each rune and tips for using them effectively.
Note: If you want to check out our other rune guides you can find them here.
Domination Runes: What They Are and How They Work
The Domination rune path is all about aggressive plays and high burst damage. These runes grant bonuses that help you amplify damage output, increase mobility, and take down targets quickly. For champions who rely on mobility and powerful combos, Domination runes are ideal. Assassins, burst mages, and aggressive junglers tend to benefit the most from this rune path.
Choosing a Keystone: The Backbone of Domination Runes
Domination has four keystone runes, each tailored to maximize burst damage or improve movement for precise execution. Here’s a look at each keystone and when it’s best used.
Electrocute
Effect: Hitting an enemy with three attacks or abilities in quick succession deals bonus damage.
Best For: Assassins and burst mages like Zed, Katarina, and LeBlanc who thrive on quick kill combos.
Tip: Electrocute gives a burst of extra damage on short trades, making it effective for champions who can reliably hit multiple attacks or abilities in a quick sequence.
Predator
Effect: Grants a large burst of movement speed when you activate it, making it easier to chase down or escape.
Best For: Roaming champions or junglers like Hecarim, Rammus, and Evelynn who want to engage or escape quickly.
Tip: Predator is great for champions who rely on surprise attacks or need to cover large distances. Use it to make quick engages or to rotate between lanes effectively.
Dark Harvest
Effect: Damaging low-health champions marks them, dealing bonus damage and granting a stack. Each stack increases your Dark Harvest damage.
Best For: Snowballing champions like Karthus, Miss Fortune, and Shaco who excel at cleaning up fights.
Tip: Dark Harvest stacks grow throughout the game, so champions who frequently finish off low-health enemies can gain strong damage boosts by the mid- to late-game.
Hail of Blades
Effect: Grants a burst of attack speed for the first three attacks against an enemy champion.
Best For: Champions with fast attack combos, such as Jhin, Kai'Sa, and Kalista.
Tip: Hail of Blades works well for champions who need quick, successive hits to maximize their damage and abilities. It’s especially helpful in early skirmishes or for champions who rely on attack resets.
Domination’s Secondary Runes: Building on Your Foundation
Domination’s secondary runes add valuable bonuses that can increase damage, improve sustain, and enhance your mobility. Choose two secondary runes to complete your setup based on your champion’s strengths.
Tier 1: Malice (Burst and Sustain)
Cheap Shot
Effect: Deals bonus true damage to enemies with impaired movement (slowed, stunned, rooted, etc.).
Best For: Champions with crowd control abilities, like Morgana and Pyke.
Tip: Cheap Shot is great for poking and harassing enemies in lane, especially if you can reliably trigger it with abilities that apply crowd control.
Taste of Blood
Effect: Damaging an enemy heals you.
Best For: Lane sustain champions like Yasuo, Fizz, and Ahri who need to stay healthy while poking enemies.
Tip: Taste of Blood offers minor but consistent healing, helping you stay in the fight longer, especially in tough matchups.
Sudden Impact
Effect: Grants bonus lethality and magic penetration after using a dash, blink, or teleport.
Best For: Champions with mobility, such as Talon, Lee Sin, and Fizz.
Tip: Sudden Impact rewards champions who frequently use dashes or teleports to engage, adding extra punch to your attacks immediately after using these moves.
Tier 2: Tracking (Vision and Map Control)
Zombie Ward
Effect: Killing a ward spawns a friendly Zombie Ward.
Best For: Junglers and support champions like Thresh and Elise who actively clear wards.
Tip: Zombie Ward helps with vision control, especially if you want to keep an area dark for ambushes.
Ghost Poro
Effect: Entering a brush spawns a poro that grants vision.
Best For: Assassins or roaming champions like Evelynn and Pyke.
Tip: Ghost Poro provides temporary vision, letting you scout risky areas or prepare for surprise attacks.
Eyeball Collection
Effect: Gain adaptive force with each champion takedown or ward kill.
Best For: Assassins and snowballing champions like Rengar, Katarina, and Master Yi.
Tip: Eyeball Collection helps snowball damage quickly, making it ideal for champions who rack up takedowns frequently.
Tier 3: Hunter (Sustain and Utility)
Ravenous Hunter
Effect: Heal for a percentage of all damage dealt by your abilities.
Best For: AP champions and fighters like Sylas, Vladimir, and Katarina.
Tip: Ravenous Hunter provides healing, which works well for champions who rely on spell damage for sustain.
Ingenious Hunter
Effect: Grants cooldown reduction for items with active effects.
Best For: Champions who rely on active items like Zhonya’s Hourglass or Galeforce.
Tip: Ingenious Hunter is useful for champions who often engage with item actives, reducing the cooldown to allow for more frequent use.
Relentless Hunter
Effect: Grants movement speed out of combat.
Best For: Roaming champions and junglers like Shaco, Pyke, and Nocturne.
Tip: Relentless Hunter is perfect for champions who need to rotate quickly, adding valuable movement speed outside of combat.
Ultimate Hunter
Effect: Reduces your ultimate’s cooldown.
Best For: Champions with high-impact ultimates, like Karthus, Malphite, and Amumu.
Tip: Ultimate Hunter is ideal if your champion’s ultimate is a major part of your power spikes or combos.
Using Domination as a Secondary Path
Domination also works well as a secondary rune path for champions focused on damage or mobility. Combining Domination with paths like Precision, Sorcery, or Resolve offers versatile builds:
Precision + Domination: ADCs like Kai’Sa or Jhin can add more burst damage and healing while focusing on attack speed and sustain.
Sorcery + Domination: Mages like Ahri or LeBlanc get enhanced burst damage and sustain, pairing poke with powerful burst potential.
Using Domination as a secondary path allows champions to pick up additional damage or healing without fully committing to the aggressive style of the Domination path.
Tips for Using Domination Runes Effectively
Pick Based on Playstyle: Domination’s burst-oriented runes work best on champions who rely on high-damage combos and swift movement.
Adapt to Enemy Composition: Against tanky teams, consider runes like Cheap Shot or Eyeball Collection for extra damage. For high-mobility champions, try Sudden Impact or Relentless Hunter.
Use Domination to Control the Map: Domination’s vision runes—Zombie Ward, Ghost Poro, and Eyeball Collection—are valuable for aggressive playstyles, giving you better vision control for safer roams and ganks.
If you choose the right Domination runes you’ll amplify your champion’s ability to take down targets and roam the map effectively, putting your team in a strong position to secure objectives and win fights.
All Rune Guides
Read More
