Bloodthirster vs. Hydra: Which is better?

[quote=Sir Wellington]They're like the two ultimate lifesteal items, but it's not clear at first when you should buy one or the other (let's just assume we're talking about melee champs, otherwise there's no comparison.) I used to think [[the bloodthirster]] was the superior item because of the extra 5 AD, 8% lifesteal, and the shield. But spamming [[ravenous hydra]] in the past 10-15 games or so changed my mind. Here's some thoughts and numbers: - Bloodthirster is actually geared towards ranged champions because they can use their range to avoid damage and stack up the shield. On the other hand, if you're up in someone's face you WILL be taking damage, so you can't really benefit from the shield. - The extra 8% lifesteal is marginalized by the 100% base regen and AOE lifesteal Hydra provides, and if there's a lot of enemies like a minion wave or Raptors then Hydra actually heals you more. - Hydra's active is kind of like an extra spell which deals 100-60% of your AD, which is easily worth giving up 5 AD for. - Hydra's a little cheaper and has a much easier build path. - Hydra lets you farm way faster. Maybe this was obvious when BT got changed earlier in S4, or maybe I'm the last guy making this connection, but I can't think of any reason to ever buy BT again with melee champs. So if you're playing a melee champion and you usually get [[the bloodthirster]], try something different and get [[ravenous hydra]] instead. What are your thoughts?[/quote]

[quote=emoriam]Would you mind sharing a list of the champions you've built [[Ravenous Hydra]] instead of [[The Bloodthirster]] on? Honestly, I think that [[The Bloodthirster]] suits ranged AD Carries the best and I hardly seeing it picked up on melee AD Carries such as [[Yasuo]] or [[Zed]] anyway. Therefore I'd assume that [[Ravenous Hydra]] is the obvious pick on melee characters being suitable for this kind of item.[/quote]

[quote=Embracing]The easier build path coupled with the active which you can combo to cancel some of your animations as an extra spell and better waveclear are what make Hydra so much better on melees Can't remember the last time I bought a BT on a melee aside from yasuo[/quote]

[quote=PsiGuard]I can't think of a melee champion off the top of my head that benefits more from [[the bloodthirster]]. That 5 AD will never outdamage the Hydra active, so you'd basically have to justify it with the extra lifesteal. As far as I know all melee champions use Hydra better than BT.[/quote]

[quote=parrot6632]how about... BOTH[/quote]

[quote=windmills]Get neither. Why would you even need to lifesteal if you can just delete enemies without taking damage? That's why I play [[Mordekaiser]]. You just use all your abilities and the enemies are gone before you take damage. No need to lifesteal. Pointless debate.[/quote]

[quote=z0mgitspie]I'd say you are kind of neglecting Botrk. Champions like Jax, Trundle, Irelia, and Poppy will be better off with Blade of the Ruin King because of the percent health damage, attack speed, and movement speed manipulation.[/quote]

[quote=The Giratina]If I get super fed as 'Trox, I usually buy both plus Blade. I can keep my Blood Price on indefinitely since the huge lifesteal I get quickly replaces the hp lost. Get a spirit visage and Ninja tabi and call your self an unstoppable 1v2/1v3 killer, ESPECIALLY with Sated Devourer.[/quote]

[quote=H4xDefender]BT is better on yasuo for shield stack and the fact that u rarely get time to use hydra active on him. BT is also probably better on Xin, Yi, and Tryn as well, but you can make a case for all of them that bork is better than both. (the same goes for yasuo too I suppose, but thats build dependent.)[/quote]

[quote=NicknameMy]BotRK is better on anyone that gets [[enchantment: Devourer]] tho. Hydra as well. But, on Xin, you shouldn't get more than BotRK + [[enchantment: Devourer]] as pure damage item anyway.[/quote]