Hello, MOBAers! I'm here today to present you with my Xerath guide!
Xerath is one of the newer champions, and I saved up my IP little by little until I could afford this beast. Through experimenting and concluding, I can say that my build does work very well, or at least for me.

Note that this build works for ME but may not work for you. It all depends on your playstyle.

Pretty self explanatory. Armor seals are nice because there's always that Tristana or Talon who jumps after you while you're in Locus of Power, and you want to survive long enough to stun them and GTFO. I like to have penetration marks, for late game damage, and scaling AP glyphs for the decent boost midgame and lategame. Quints are self explanatory as well.

21-0-9, because of the amazing offensive spell masteries. Extra damage and ability power help with this build. 9 is for less death time, less cooldowns, and a tiny bit of spell vamp. That tiny bit can still prevent you from having to port late game; just hit a wave of minions and watch your health trickle back into your shell of arcane energy.

Starting Item: Doran's Ring
Doran's provides a really decent start. With the AP bonus, you'll be hitting a little harder, and will have a little armor, and it provides some decent mana regen and health, just for the sustainability.

Core:
Boots of Swiftness
I like these boots because Xerath is slow and has no escape. With Enhanced movement 3, he can outrun some champions.
Will of the Ancients
Your main source of spellvamp. This item gives a significant boost in spell vamp, and a decent 80 AP, which isn't bad early-mid game, since that's when this item should be done.
Rabadon's Deathcap
A must on any caster. Your damage will soar, and you will be able to kill someone without even stunning them. Melts through squishies like a knife through hot butter.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter
Great addition to your build. A little tankiness, but the important part is the SLOW. It becomes so much easier to land your Locus of Power, Mage Chains, Arcanopulse combo, and it is also easier to hit all three Arcane Barrages.
Archangel's Staff
Just do it. You won't believe how much that Tear of the Goddess comes in handy. With Rabadon's and this, your AP will be beyond amazing, and your damage output will match that squishy Annie's. ;)

Situational Items:
Banshee's Veil
Great spell shield, small health/mana boost. The passive from Catalyst is somewhat useful midgame, but gets really useless late game. If Annie tries to blast you with Pyromania and Summon: Tibbers combo, have Banshee's on and laugh, then blast her face in with your combo.
Thornmail
If that Tristana or Tryndamere is oneshotting your whole team, then you know you need one of these. If that Tryndamere keeps slashing you to pieces, or if that Tristana slings 9001 damage at you in 10 seconds, then just grab a Thornmail and watch as they kill themselves. :P

R>Q>E=W
or
Arcane Barrage> Arcanopulse> Mage Chains= Locus of Power
This is your midgame formula.
Lategame:
W>R=Q>E
or
Locus of Power> Arcane Barrage= Arcanopulse> Mage Chains

Our amazing skillset is:
[pAscended Form][
AMAZING passive. Xerath utilizes this armor very well, leading to him surviving teamfights almost every time. With you hanging back and stunning anyone who comes close, well, you'll never be accused of feeding.

Arcanopulse
Our main poke, and source of damage. The short cooldown really helps you pew pew that enemy to shreds. With its decent AP ratio (60%) you'll be doing quite a bit of damage. Use this to proc your stun if you can.

Locus of Power
When someone says Xerath, this should be the first thing that pops into your mind. Xerath is the LONGEST ranged AP carry, besides [Kog'Maw] with his [Bio-Arcane Barrage] on. You can poke your enemies at their tower from the brush by the river, you can poke them from the Wraith camp all the way up to their stairs...there are so many uses for this. The only downside is the immobilization effect, but that is made up by the movement speed bonus. Be aware of pouncing [Cho'Gath]'s, as [Rupture] just utterly destroys your bonus. Ready up a [Flash] before you head into a teamfight.

Mage Chains
Your decent damage ball of magic. This does quite a bit of damage, and can be used to start a combo, but the best part is the stun. Blast em with a Chains, and set up an Arcanopulse and watch that cage appear around them. Use this effectively, lock their carries, and you will win every fight.

Arcane Barrage
Decent ultimate, with nice damage and the ability to use it three times before it goes on CD. If you can't land your Arcanopulse for the stun, use this, as it's much easier to hit with. Make sure you're safe, though, as this ultimate leaves you open with the casting time. Don't get too excited and rush into a tower - Xerath has no escape mechanism!

Your combo should be:
Early game: Q or E>Q
Mid game: W>E>Q>R>R>R>Q
Late game: W>E>Q>R>W'>R>Q>W>E>R>Q
where W' means get out of Locus.
Early game is fairly simple. Last hit as much as you can, but be sure not to push the lane until you're ready. Harass with Q or land an E and proc the stun with Q. AA them a few times, and you'll eventually force them to back or hopefully kill them.
Mid game is when the fun starts. You should get into Locus to start, land a Chains and an Arcanopulse to proc. While they're stunned, you barrage them until they're low, and you Arcanopulse for the win.
Late game, you are pulling off those big combos! Locus, proc your chains, and barrage. This time, get out of Locus, chase, all the while barraging them again, and shoot em with an Arcanopulse. Get back into Locus, snag em with a chains, proc that with your last R, and Q them until they die.

Flash
Teleport
Flash is a no-brainer, especially on Xerath. Xerath has NO escape mechanism - I can't tell you how many times Flash has saved my *** on the battlefield.
Teleport is made for Xerath. Tele to your minion next to the teamfight, barrage for the win. Tele to your Baron ward, steal Baron, win. Tele to your 2v1 lane, gank, win. There are so many uses for this that it's not even funny. You can even use it as a recall, although this is not recommended, as recall has no cooldown.

Other alternatives are [Ghost], for yet another escape mechanism;[Ignite], for the true damage (although I don't recommend it as its range is TINY);[Exhaust], a decent summoner spell for chasing and escaping; and possibly even [Surge], for the AP and AS boost. With the AS, your AA harass will be just that much better.

Thank your for reading my [Xerath] guide. I hope that you have success with my build, and pwn your enemies :D

Please comment and vote!

MiniPhoenix