YOU SHOULD WATCH THAT VIDEO!

“I don’t want to watch it, give me a summary.”

EXPERIENCE RUNES ARE GOOD!

“Wait, really?”

YES, REALLY!

“Why is that?”

BECAUSE THEY LET YOU LEVEL UP SOONER THAN YOUR OPPONENT!

“Well, duh.  That’s not that useful, I’d rather have AP quints.”

THEN LET’S PUT IT THIS WAY:

A champion with Quintessences of Ability Power can clear the first minion wave and get 105 gold.
A champion with Quintessences of Experience can do the same…and level up.

That’s right, the champion who decided he really needed that extra 14.85 Ability Power is severely regretting his decision.  Quintessences of Ability Power don’t mean much when you only have one skill available.  Not to mention, your lane opponent just reached level 2 and is able to spam her Noxious Blast/Twin Fang combo.

The usefulness of being a higher level than your opponent will vary from situation to situation.  However, it would seem that the greatest strength of Experience Quintessences lies in being able to be a level higher than your opponent, one minion wave earlier.

HERE ARE SOME SPREADSHEETS:

(Green = instances where a champion will level up without having to wait for another minion wave to spawn)

Minion deaths needed to level up in a solo-lane:

It would seem that the greatest benefit of having Experience Quintessences in a solo-lane is the ability to reach level 2 after clearing the first minion wave, while your opponent will still be level 1.  Being able to level up one wave earlier at levels 5, 8, 9, etc. can also be beneficial.  However, these instances are less guaranteed, as one will frequently miss the experience from minion waves as the game goes on.

Minion deaths needed to level up in a duo-lane:

The benefits of Experience Quintessences in a duo-lane are apparent at levels 3, 4, and every level from 7 onward.  At every single one of these instances (if the two champions have been splitting the minion experience evenly) the champion(s) with Experience Quintessences will level up one minion wave earlier.

TO SUM IT UP:

There are plenty of champion match-ups where being a single level above your opponent can mean all the difference.  One can take advantage of this by choosing Quintessences of Experience and benefiting from the 6% bonus to incoming EXP. On the other hand, if one fails to make use of their early level advantage, their upper-hand is lost the instant their opponent’s level matches their own. The instances where the level advantage can be granted are vital in determining whether to take Experience Runes or not.  If one is up against a champion with Experience Runes, they should do their best to catch up to their opponent, and keep the following levels in mind:

Experience Quintessences in a solo-lane will let one reach the following levels one minion wave sooner:
2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, and 17.

Experience Quintessences in a duo-lane will let one reach the following levels one minion wave sooner:
3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18.