Hextech Alternator

Hextech Alternator is the burst mage component in League of Legends: 45 Ability Power for 1,100 gold in patch 26.21, plus Revved, a passive that deals bonus magic damage when you damage a champion and then goes on cooldown. It is two Amplifying Tomes with a 300 gold combine fee, and it builds into five finished items: Luden’s Echo, Shadowflame, Stormsurge, Hextech Rocketbelt and Hextech Gunblade.

What does Hextech Alternator do?

45 Ability Power, which is more than two Tomes give on their own, plus a proc. Revved adds a flat chunk of magic damage the first time you damage a champion, then rests for a while, and that is the whole item.

Riot’s data text does not state the proc’s damage, only the trigger, and the shop tooltip shows a fixed amount that is a real part of an early trade. For a burst mage that is exactly the right shape. Thing is, a Syndra or a Lux at level six already has a combo that nearly kills, and the Alternator is the component that turns nearly into actually, because the proc lands on the first spell and the 45 Ability Power lands on all of them. Is it a lane-winning purchase? More than any other mage component at this price (the Lost Chapter wins lanes by letting you cast more; the Alternator wins them by making the next cast hurt).

Is it gold efficient?

Not on stats: 82%. 45 Ability Power is worth 900 gold at 20 gold per point, and the remaining 200 gold is the price of Revved.

That is a small premium for a proc that fires in every trade, and honestly the item is one of the better buys in the mage shop even at 82% on paper, since the unpriced passive does more than most priced stats. The 300 gold combine fee is reasonable for an epic item, and the sell price is 770 gold (70% back, the usual rate). No surprises. Put simply, the Alternator is not a value play; it is a damage play, and mages who want value buy a Lost Chapter instead.

What does it build into?

Five items, all of them about burst or mobility:

• Luden’s Echo, the standard burst mage first item.
• Shadowflame, the magic penetration item for assassination.
• Stormsurge, the delayed burst and Move Speed item.
• Hextech Rocketbelt, the dash active for AP assassins.
• Hextech Gunblade, the hybrid item for champions who mix attacks and spells.

So the Alternator commits you to the aggressive half of the mage item tree, and the choice among the five is mostly about the champion: Luden’s for most mages, Rocketbelt for Ekko and Fizz, Gunblade for Akali and Katarina, Shadowflame and Stormsurge when the enemy is squishy and the goal is a one-shot. Current prices for the five sit in the LoL items database (they move more often than the component does).

Who buys it?

Burst mages and AP assassins who do not need Mana early: Syndra, Lux, Veigar, Annie, Ahri, Zoe, LeBlanc, Akali, Katarina, Ekko, Fizz and Diana. Mages who rush Luden’s take it on the first or second recall, usually before the Lost Chapter half of that item, because the damage matters more than the Mana in a kill lane. Who skips it? Mana-hungry control mages who open with Lost Chapter and never touch the Alternator (Orianna, Viktor, Azir), enchanters, and anyone whose first item is Liandry’s or Blackfire Torch, since those start from Fated Ashes instead.

How has Hextech Alternator changed over the patches?

Eight entries, and the item has been reshaped twice:

• Patch 6.9: Cost 1200 → 1050 gold, as Hextech Revolver.
• Patches 6.13 and 6.22: Effect text changed.
• Patch 10.23: Renamed from Hextech Revolver to Hextech Alternator.
• Patch 11.23: Ability Power 40 → 25, Health added at 150.
• Patch 14.1: Cost 1050 → 1,100 gold, Ability Power 25 → 50; the item returned to pure damage.
• Patch 14.6: Ability Power 50 → 45.
• Patch 14.21: Effect text changed.

Funny enough, the 11.23 version with Health and only 25 Ability Power lasted two seasons and was one of the least popular mage components in the game; the 14.1 rebuild doubled the damage and the item came straight back into every burst mage’s first recall. For what it’s worth, the 14.6 trim to 45 was the only nerf since, and it left the item comfortably ahead of where it had been.

When should you buy it?

On the first recall with 1,100 gold if you are a burst mage in a kill lane, or on the second recall after a Tome start. The one case for delaying it is a Mana problem: a mage who cannot cast enough to use the damage should take a Lost Chapter first and the Alternator second. An Amplifying Tome is the placeholder when you are short, since both halves of the Alternator are Tomes. Not sure whether your champion is a burst mage in this sense? The guide to LoL roles covers what mid lane mages and AP assassins are built around, and Hextech Alternator is the first real purchase in most of those builds.

FAQ

How much does Hextech Alternator cost?

1,100 gold in patch 26.21; the two Amplifying Tomes account for 800 of that and the combine fee is 300 gold. It sells for 770 gold.

What stats does it give?

45 Ability Power, plus the Revved passive.

How does Revved work?

The first time you damage a champion, Revved adds a burst of magic damage, and then it rests until its cooldown ends. The amount is not in Riot’s item data; the shop tooltip has it.

What does it build into?

Luden’s Echo, Shadowflame, Stormsurge, Hextech Rocketbelt and Hextech Gunblade.

Was it always called Hextech Alternator?

No. Until patch 10.23 the shop entry was Hextech Revolver.

Hextech Alternator or Lost Chapter?

Alternator for damage in a kill lane; Lost Chapter for Mana and Haste on a mage who runs dry. Luden’s Echo needs both, so most burst mages end up buying each.