Since its introduction, I’ve been picking up Harpoon on Juggernaut every now and then. I don’t see a whole lot of other people buying it and my teammates really don’t like it lol. But it’s a lot of fun and feels good in some matchups. I dunno if it’s good in higher levels of play, so I’m curious if y’all think it’s viable.
In some matchups against squishy ranged carries or lots of slows, or if my team lacks stuns, I usually feel the need for some extra mobility, and I feel like I need it before I can justify a swift blink. Harpoon lets me build mobility into my early mid game kit, letting me get in range for omnislash or a spin or just right clicks. and if it’s a good game for it, it pairs well with basher/abyssal too.
In lane, usually I build wraith band + phase and then decide on a farming item - bfury, mael, or echo saber if I’m going for harpoon. Echo saber on its own feels underwhelming as a farming item - probably the biggest downside of this build - so I only really feel comfortable getting it if I’m doing well in my lane and can stay there for a while. It feels like it’d be overkill to get echo and mael, so I haven’t done it, but the extra lightning proc is tempting.
Anyone tried this or have opinions? Ty :)
As you already mentioned, by going echo saber in favor of BF, you’re sacrificing a lot of farming ability.
I guess harpoon can be good in some scenarios (like you already mentioned, getting kited by slows/stuns), but I’d ask myself if harpoon is really better in this scenarios than other popular items such as BKB or Manta.
Personally I think harpoon is super niche on juggernaut and if anything I’d get it as like a 3rd or 4th item. Definetly don’t skip BF for it.
Now, I’m no jugger regular, but it feels pretty expensive for the stats it gives. You already have the shard movespeed with a free bkb so I feel like you should be able to just run in and ult valuable targets. A basher/skadi usually does the job with more preferable stats.
I’m of the opinion Harpoon is a disgustingly overtuned item that should be built on virtually every non-illusion melee hero, and needs something like a mana cost attached.
With that said, while I think Jugg might one of the few exceptions… I mean, Jugg can cover the pull with Swiftslash, which usually used to procs basher with enough guarantee and safety that harpoon won’t provide, and costs slightly less. Both would be overkill, and I dunno if Echo Saber speeds up farming that well.
But I’ll try it. I mean, I think his shard-spin build is dead in the water, and so does Yatoro according to a PainDota video a month ago. His healing ward cd reduction talent is also disgustingly overpowered and has been even before his spin got these nerfs. I think ending early is in the cards and harpoon is definitely way more of a finish early item than Battlefury which is what it would be slotting in to replace. Hmmm. I’ll see how it goes.
