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Lux Build Guide by

[MID] Lux - DEMACIA!

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59 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author fashionablellama

Lux Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (59) More Lux Guides

Spells:

Ignite

Flash

Items

START

START #2

START #3

START #4

START #5

CHOOSE ONE

THEN GET

PICK ONE

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

ENCHANTMENTS

CONSUMABLES

FULL BUILD EXAMPLE

Ability Order

Lux Passive Ability

More Lux Counters

SPACETable of ContentsSPACE

Guide in short
Introduction
Pros and cons

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Set-up
Abilities
Items

SPACESPACE

Gameplay
Team fights
Conclusion

kage's lucky pick

Ability Sequence
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18

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About me

Hello people, this is your very own fashionablellama here with my first guide on Mobafire! has been my favorite mid lane champion for quite a while now, playing her first as a support, and then as a carry in mid lane, where I am most comfortable with .

Why play Lux?

Lux is an extremely long ranged champion that can be played in the mid laner as a carry, or at the bottom lane as a support. She brings very strong poke and significant amounts of burst and DPS to a team composition. She is extremely versatile as her skill set can compliment both aggresive and defensive plays and strategies.

What can you expect with this guide?

With this guide I will include all of the knowledge that i've gained with playing lux, commenting on her skill set, suitable summoner spells, viable runes and masteries. I will tell you about what itemization you should be achieving as a Lux, as well as some replacement for situational games. Also, i'll teach you about her generic gameplay. However, I will only talk about Lux as an AP carry.

SYNERGIES

>> Lux generally works well in poke team compositions. This is a team who can deal damage from far away before a scrim starts, by which time they will have a distinct advantage, due to the relentless poke coming from the team. Also, people who can disengage and PEEL for if she were caught, also do well with her. Therefore, champions such as and are optimal in a team composition with in it. Other synergies are champions with CC. Chaining CC can keep enemies locked for a large amount of time, usually long enough for the rest of your skills to demolish them.

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COUNTERS

>> There are a few general counters to . Champions with lots of mobility do well against lux, as they can dodge many of 's skill shots solely with their in-built mobility. Champions such as fall into this category. Anyone who can catch and keep up with lux also counters her. This will usually be stealthed champions. Mobility champions who can keep up with counter her, because she has no true escape, so it makes it harder to kite. Champions that are assassins, such as fall into this category. Also, with and with counters you as they can move through all of your CC. Speaking of crowd control, enemies who have this can also counter , and can make her extremely vulnerable. If she is CC'd and caught out, she will die because she is very squishy.

Extra stuff!

Lux's Lore

filler
+ Very long range
+ Area of Effect spells
+ Great damage during the early and mid-game
+ Excellent poke with 3 spells
+ 2 Amazing vision spells

filler
- Very squishy
- Higher learning curve
- Mana-hungry early game
- Can be blue dependant
- No real escape mechanism
- Long cooldowns

Lux has a higher learning curve than most champions. All of her skills are skillshots, meaning that you can miss ALL of your skills, deeming you useless for a long time, due to her long cooldowns. This can be overlooked with cool down reduction. However, skillshots that land can change the tide in a team fight. Her ultimate, does tons of damage, which is attributed nicely with her passive. Lux's will control the battlefield with that amazing slow and sight. Her can save your allies countless times, as well as providing just that little bonus bit of health for the tank, and her can put those pesky kiting squishys in place for demolition.

Lux has a decent laning phase because she cannot get countered that well, due to the fact that she outranges almost anyone. She is a high tier AP mid, due to her high damage output as well as her numerous CC. Though she lacks hard CC, her snare is very effective all game.

SPAC

Pretty self explanatory. Provides with 15 AP. This means you'll be doing loads of damage early game. Most games I go with these quints, though are just as good, especially since Lux's base movement speed is very low. MS quints can be very effective against skill shotty champions.

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Magic penetration is extremely effective. It basically allows your abilities to swim through any magic resist that the enemy laner/team has, and paired with and , makes Lux deal tons of damage, even to the front line tanks.

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I get these glyphs because they are very useful. Having magic resist means that you are more survivable against your enemy laner if they scale with AP. Of course, if against an AD champion, switch it out for a . Another switch you can make is , which gives you lots of early game damage, especially if you are against a lower range/lower mobility champion. You can also get if you know you are against an AP carry that scales well into the late game but isn't as much of a threat earlier on.

>>

You should get if you want to counter early auto attack harass. These runes can also benefit against champions that scale with AD, such as . This also provides some protection from early game ganks from champions such as .

I like to run 21/0/9 masteries on

OFFENSE

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I get summoner's wrath because the AP is great for that extra damage early game. Sorcery's cooldown reduction means that you can spam skills more often in all stages of the game. Blast's scaling AP is extremely helpful late game. Arcane knowledge offers us a respectable 8% magic penetration, which, though nerfed from 10%, is still viable on all AP casters who want to dish out early damage. Mental force gives you a 6 AP bonus: who wouldn't want that? Again, it means you do loads of damage early on. Spellsword synergizes well with your passive, , as well as making farming easier for you.

Q: Why don't you take ?
I simply don't get on lux because butcher is just better. I mean sure, it can synergize with your passive, but think about it. Say you hit 100 with your basic attacks, and you have maxed out. With havoc, that means you hit an extra 2 (2% of 100). That means you hit 102 in total. Not really attractive is it? You could argue that it helps you cs, but just does that much better. In conclusion, get .

UTILITY

Summoner's insight is a no brainer. Want to flash more? Get it. The mana regeneration from means early game mana can be controlled, along with mana regeneration seals. basically does what it says on the tin. Improves your recall, by making it much faster. The amount of times i have escaped because of this extra one second recall is uncountable, and is much underestimated: you never know when it may come in handy. I absolutely love the mastery . It basically reduces your summoner spell cooldowns. Always helpful to get that / when we need it. With , you can keep your buff for 30 seconds longer, and who wouldn't want to keep that buff for a bit longer?

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>> Flash.

An absolute must-have on Lux, as she does not have a true escape. Let's you pursue and retreat easily. Use it to finish off that enemy with the killing blow. Use it to position yourself better in a teamfight if you are caught. Also, flash has the ability to jump over walls. Use it to dodge skill shot spells too. I always take this summoner spell on lux, but if you are too low level to get this spell, you can switch it out for .

>> Ignite.

Another great spell on lux. Ignite provides lux with a bunch of true damage which can be used to chop healing effects by 50% as well as providing extra damage in a combo to secure a kill. Some people may argue that you shouldn't be in range to use this spell in teamfights, so should not be taken, but it is extremely helpful to net the kill that would not have been possible without ignite during the laning phase.

>> Teleport.

This summoners has the potential to be amazing, though should only be taken if you know you can have enough wards on the map. With enough map awareness, you can set up ganks for other lanes. Use it to apply global pressure. Use it to get to lane faster after a recall. This should be substituted for ignite if taken, and I recommend getting this summoners if you think you cannot kill the enemy laner.

>> Exhaust.

This may seem confusing on an ap caster but it can be decent. Only take this summoner spell if you KNOW that you will be facing an AD champion. The damage and attack speed reduction can be crucial between your life and death, but can also make it easier to land your skillshots. I suggest you to only get this in draft/ranked games, when you are sure of your opponents.

>> Barrier.

Use this summoner if you want to negate some of the enemy's damage. The shield stacks with the shield from your , and can be used to negate burst, delayed attacks and damage over time abilities.

SUGGESTED SEQUENCE

SPACES

I prefer to start off with E because it means that you can hit much harder straight from level 1. You can provide pressure as soon as you are in lane if you start with E, due to the high hit radius which allows you to harass the enemy easily. It also means you are able to scout the fog of war from a safe distance at level 1. However, you may decide to start with Q if you are invading the enemy jungle. A two second snare can mean first blood for you or one of your allies, so is definitely worth taking in these kinds of situations.

At level two you have a decision to make. If you are against a heavy burst enemy (e.g ), you can choose to put a point into W. If not, go for your Q, as that will give you both of your pre-6 damaging spells at your disposal to harass.

You will usually want to max your E as that will be your main harassing ability. This is because the hit radius is much bigger on E than Q, so is more reliable. You may want to sink a few points into your W if you are struggling against the enemy's harass/burst. However, do not max your W first as you will do significantly less damage. Then you will want to max your Q next, again for damage's sake. Lastly, max W.

Obviously level up your R whenever you can, at levels 6, 11 and 16.

SPACES

EXPLANATION

>>An amazing passive. Provides for massive DPS, especially during the early game, when you land a skill. Great to provide extra damage during harass and trades during the laning phase and onwards.

>>When the enemy is illuminated, there is a small yellow dot a little under it's head.
>>Detonate the mark with a basic attack or with her ultimate, .
>>Try to only use your ultimate, when you have an illumination mark on the enemy, so that you provide maximum damage output.
>>You should be abusing this passive all game, but do not go into range of the enemy just to detonate the mark, as that may lead to you being poked/killed by the enemy.

See the yellow dot on Annie's head (circled)? This signals that the target is illuminated.

>>Lux's Q skill. A 2 second skill shot that snares the first two enemy units it hits. However, the second target only receives half of the effects (damage and duration).

>>Remember that you can be super sneaky and snare them even when they are behind a minion.
>>Be careful when using to harass as it has a high cooldown and is usually relied on to stop enemy junglers when they gank.
>>Remember that light binding is a SNARE, so will not stop channeled ultimates such as .
>>Predict and aim where they are going, not where they are in the moment you use it.

light binding info

>>Lux's W skill. A great skill shot shield that has the potential to shield all 5 of your teamfights from any sort of damage. has no affect on enemy units. The projectile goes out and comes back like 's .

>>Use prismatic barrier to soak up some damage from high burst champions such as .
>>Protect yourself and your allies from delayed attacks such as karthus' .
>>Use to negate damage over time attacks such as and .
>>Throw the shield out towards where you are moving, as that will mean you will get two shields a bit quicker.

prismatic barrier info

>>Lux's E skill. An AoE spell that can be manually detonated, or automatically detonated after 5 seconds. It also applies a significant slow around the AoE area.

>>An amazing skill for harassing the enemy champion. The hit radius is big so is more reliable than
>>Aim the behind the enemy as they will want to create distance from it, but will instead walk into the anyway!
>>When harassing, you will want to detonate the as fast as possible so that the enemy won't have time to react.
>>Throw the shield out towards where you are moving, as that will mean you will get two shields a bit quicker.

lucent singularity info

>>Lux's R skill. Her signature skill. Fires a laser in a straight line after channeling for half a second. The channel cannot be stopped and the range is not global.

>>Guarantee that you will land by landing first.
>>See any form of CC coming your way? Use so you're still dealing damage while you are CC'd.
>> consumes and refreshes an illumination mark.
>>Aim where you think the enemy will be going, not where they are when you start channeling the ultimate.
>>Make sure you are in a safe position before channeling the ultimate, as you cant stop channeling it.

Look at the minimap for the true range of Final Spark

final spark info

STARTING OPTIONS

x5, x1, sight wardx1

This is my personal favorite start. It has a mixture of mana regen, as well as sustain from potions and vision for oncoming ganks from a sight ward. Get this if you want to rush a .

x4, OR x2, sight wardx1

This is quite a good start against skill-shot oriented champion. This item can be very good on because her base movement speed is very low. You can get this if you want to rush .

x3 OR x1, sight wardx1

Get this start if you want pure sustain. You get good amounts of mana and health from the crystalline flask, and you can also choose to have a ward with this item. It is a very cost efficient item as you will not have to buy potions.

SPACE

Take this start if you want to have more protection against AD caster champions, such as . This gives you a decent chunk of armor, which compliments your 's, and you also get good sustain from your health potions.

SPACESPACE

's new price of 400 means you can now get 2 health potions, which means that you can now get a good amount of health sustain, along with health, ability power and mana regeneration, which can all benefit you during your laning phase.

CHOOSE ONE

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MR, MANA REGEN

Take this item if your enemy is AP and hurts. The mana regeneration is extremely helpful in solving her early game mana pool problems, allowing her to spam her spells, and the passive just adds to that a lot. Also, the magic resist is significant and extremely helpful against the enemy if they are an AP caster.

SPAcORPACE

kage's lucky pick

AP, GP10

Quite a decent item on . The GP10 that comes from kage's lucky pick means you get a lot of gold that you can snowball with per 10 seconds. The item gives decent ability power (25) and builds itself into a , which is absolutely great on . Get yourself into the lead in a gold with this item.

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ARMOR

Early game armor to mitigate damage from AD casters? Yes please. Building from a , gives a decent amount of armor as well as some AP, to give you a good amount of damage aswell.

THEN GET

MS, MPen

Great choice of second tier boots on any AP caster. Swim through the enemy's magic resist with this item. Along with your and other magic penetration items that you will be building, it is a great asset to your item build.

FIRST MAJOR ITEM

SPSP

CHOOSE DEPENDING ON PREVIOUS DECISION

Get this item if you want some magic resist, as well as a LOT of mana regeneration, which comes from the item and the two unique passives also. However, the ability power can be a bit lacking, especially for the price. Build this from an early .

A good item giving you ability power and a decent amount of mana regeneration. Similar to , but lacking the magic resist. However, the item is much cheaper and builds from an early kage's lucky pick, which is a GP10 item, making it cost efficient.

You take this when you are against an AD champion. The armor is extremely useful against these certain match-ups, and the active can also save you multiple times. The ability power given is very good too. The active is also good against some anti-mage situations. Builds from an early .

OFFENSIVE OPTIONS

Is the enemy laner/team stacking magic resist against you? Buy void staff and ignore 35% of the enemy's magic resist, which means that you increase the amount of damage you put out to the enemy, even front-line tanks.

The item that is heaven for any champion that scales with ability power. Alone, it gives a massive boost of 160 ability power, the most in the game by any single item, due to its unique passive which grants an extra 30% of ability power to your current ability power. Along with your other ability power items, this can up your AP significantly in the game and allow you to put out lots more damage with each of your spells. Rabadon's should be your first major item in many cases as going other items will hinge your early to mid game damage output significantly. The passive bonus stacks with the 5% ability power bonus from .

At max stacks (20), mejai's gives you 160 AP. Because you are a very long ranged AP carry, you won't be dying as much as other champions because you will be further away from the enemy team. This means that you won't lose the stacks that often, which is why mejai's is such an appealing item on . Buy it if you want to carry and snowball.

DEFENSIVE OPTIONS

Against someone who can someone who can keep up with you, even with your range, such as a ? Buy this item. The active, which makes you untargetable, can mean the difference between you living and dying. Remember that you cannot move while you are untargetable, so you may not be able to get out if your teammates aren't around to PEEL for you afterwards. You can also get during the laning phase which builds into this item if you are against an AD caster such as .

Cats have 9 lives. Well, now you have two. After you die, you revive after a few seconds with 30% of your health. This can mean the difference between the teamfight's win and loss, but if you are surrounded by the whole enemy team, you may still die, meaning the revive will be useless.

ENCHANTMENTS

This enchantment just means that you can walk even faster. Get this if you want to move around the map a bit quicker. Useful for roaming and also for more mobility against skill shot oriented champions.

This enchantment is useful when you want to get back to lane faster, or when you are in a base defence situation. It also means you can surprise people with your speed when they are in the base.

Get this enchantment when you want to use your summoner spells more. Getting this enchantment can be crucial, as it means you can flash more, and can mean the difference between life and death.

CONSUMABLES

Buy this enchantment if you think a team fight will erupt soon (e.g, you are going to do a dragon), or you are in super late-game and you have nothing else to buy. The extra ability power can mean the difference between a win and loss on that team fight. However, the CDR from this item is wasted as you should already have 40% CDR before the super late-game stage.

Only buy this item once you have no space left. The AD is pretty useless on , but the health might come in useful.

Not really that great on again, but when you have full items, you may choose to get oracle's. Use it to destroy wards and detect stealthed enemies.

EARLY GAME

Before the game has even started, you should be looking to see what enemy you will be facing. What summoners have they taken? If they have taken something such as when you have ignite, you know that you have a slight advantage. Also, by looking at what champion you are against, you can justify what options will be best for the itemization.

If your team has a jungler, you will be wanting to protect your jungle from invasions. This is so that your jungler may take his first jungle camp without interruptions. There are two main spots on each side that you can choose from to scout.

scouting locations

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LAST HITTING
The most important thing you should be doing during the early game is farming. Getting more CS (creep score) than your enemy can get you in the lead, as you can buy more items and level up. Farming is the act of killing a minion and receiving gold from it. The easiest way to do this is to let the minions fight until one is low health, and then finishing it off with a basic attack by you. This results in the lane not being pushed, meaning that you are not as susceptible to ganks by the enemy jungler. You should avoid farming with your abilities, as they can hit multiple minions, which means that the lane can push unintentionally. However, you may be forced to farm under your turret, as she is bad at doing so. What you are aiming to do is to freeze the lane.

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FREEZING
This is a very effective technique that allows you to farm while denying the enemy of gold and exp, as they will be in threat of the enemy jungler. You can freeze your lane by allowing the enemy laner to push. After the enemy creep wave is pushed to your turret, you need to tank the minions out of your turret's range until your next wave of minions come. You can use to make you lose minimal damage. Then, the enemy creep wave will be just out of turret range, and you can deny exp as they will be scared to over extend to kill the minions, as this will mean that they are susceptible to ganks. However, this leaves the enemy laner to roam freely/do objectives like dragon, so call them MIA's!

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HARASSING/KILLING
When the minions are not low health, you can and should harass the enemy as much as you can, using your skills and utilizing the passive. However, you should be careful not to push your lane unintentionally. There are many harassing and killing combos that you can use, pre and post level 6. However, keep in mind that FARMING > HARASSING. Around 3 waves of creeps are worth a kill, so if you're going to miss a creep for some harass, go for the creep. However, if you did manage to net a kill, you should push the lane to their turret as fast as possible and return back to base to buy more items. This is so that the enemy laner misses out on creeps and exp as they die to the turret.

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HARASS

EXPLANATION

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PRE-6 KILLS

EXPLANATION

+ + + + +
KILL COMBO POST-6.

EXPLANATION

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YOU'RE BEING WATCHED
Remember that playing too aggressively against your enemy laner can mean that you unintentionally push the lane to their turret. This will leave you susceptible to ganks, so always be careful. If you see the jungler top, it might mean that he might be on his/her way mid. Always keep your eyes out and use your common sense.

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LOSING?
Getting crushed by your enemy? Don't get frustrated! Everyone loses their lane once in a while. Ask for assistance from either your jungler or top lane. If you want help, you should keep track of whether or not your enemy has bought wards or not, and to what side of the lane they have put the ward(s) on. You will also want to play more passively. This does not mean cower under your turret - it means to play safely, wait for a mistake from the enemy, upon which you can capitalize, and last-hit without getting in danger.

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PUSHED?
When the lane is pushed, there are many things you can do, but one thing you should not do is over extend or stay idle. Take your own jungle camps, preferably wolves or wraiths as they are the most closest to mid lane. To minimize damage taken from the jungle camps, use the "pre-6 kill combo". (ask your allied jungler for permission first!). You should also consider roaming to other lanes. However, you should only gank when you see opportunities. Are the enemy laners pushing and over extending? If so, go set up a gank! Remember to still call MIA's, as the enemy mid laner may consider counter ganking.

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PRESS THAT TAB KEY
Always check for your enemy's items. Are they buliding magic resist against you? Do they have more ability power than you? Build against your enemy. Be smart. If they build magic resist, build magic penetration to counter them, by buying items like .

sight ward

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VISION
Vision is absolutely necessary. People who think that only the support wards are, well, stupid. You need to be warding at least one side of the lane (preferably both sides). This is so that you get some warning against enemy ganks, and so that you can see movement from your enemy to other lanes. When the enemy is missing, call MIA's a few times and make sure your ally has heard. A MIA that no one has seen is useless, so make yourself heard. Picking up the five second rule can be useful too. The five second rule is where you look at the minimap every 5 seconds to check for allied and enemy movement. There's no point setting a ward if you don't see them walk straight past it. You need to be buying wards throughout the game.

The white arrows represent enemy movement. You will generally want to ward further up or down so that you get early warning when they are coming for ganks. Both of these wards also protects a jungle entrance.

MID GAME

Mid-game is generally when turrets start falling and people start roaming and grouping to gain objectives like dragon and turrets. It starts to become dangerous to lane further than the river. Mid-game is also when you shine, as you will usually be building for your first core item, .

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STILL LOSING?
If you are still losing from the early game, you should let your turret fall. Then, you can freeze your lane to your side of the map, and make it unsafe for the other laner to to farm. Freezing the lane to your side of the lane can keep enemy creeps on your side of the map for a long time, and allows you to catch up in exp and creep score. However, a disadvantage is that the enemy laner is allowed to do objectives like dragon and to roam to other lanes, so call those MIA's!

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WINNING?
If you are winning, there are a few things that you can do. Firstly, ou can destroy the enemy mid tower (you can ask for jungler assistance for this, since your attack damage is very low and you will not damage the turret much on your own). Another option is to continue to lane, so that you can continue to apply pressure to your lane opponent and other enemies, by harassing and pushing. You can also roam around to other lanes. is placed in mid because she will be able to roam to top or bot easily. Abuse this to your advantage and get yourself or your other laners fed with kills.

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OBJECTIVES
The most important objective that you should be getting as a team during the mid game are turrets. Turrets give 150 gold to each person in your team, resulting in a 750 gold lead on your opponents per turret. Destroying turrets means that you are one step closer to opening up the enemy's base and destroying their nexus. The second objective that you should be focusing on is dragon. This gives 180 gold to everyone on your team, because it gives 190 gold to everyone on your team, and one person getting an extra 25 gold, resulting in a 975 gold lead on your oponnents. There is usually a scrim or some sort of contest for dragon, so buying an can be useful if your team is aiming to kill the dragon. Remember to buy or ask your support to buy a to clear any wards that are in the dragon pit, so that they cannot steal the dragon, as they will have no vision.

LATE GAME

During the late game, you should always be with your teammates, as it starts to become dangerous to roam on your own. Getting caught can mean the loss of the next team fight as you will not be there, due to the longer death timers. This can mean that turrets and inhibitors can be destroyed, just because you, or your teammate was caught out. Late game is also when AD carries will generally do lots of damage.

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OBJECTIVES
Baron is the most important objective that can be gained on summoner's rift. Giving 300 gold to each member of your team, and a great buff which gives lots of heatlh and mana regeneration, as well as attack damage and ability power, meaning in the next team fight, you will have a significant advantage over the enemy team. Remember to the baron pit, as it may get stolen.

TEAMFIGHTS

As , you should be staying at the back of your teammates, behind your front line tanks, doing three main things:

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KEEL
Dealing damage using and is the first thing you should be doing. You should aim to hit as many people as possible from a safe distance with your abilities, so fighting in a cramped area such as the jungle can be very optimal. You should also use to slow down targets that are either trying to chase you, or are trying to run away.

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PROTECT
The second thing you should be doing is protecting your allies. This, primarily, means using on as many of your allies as possible, so that they have "more health". This can also mean using to PEEL for you and your allies. PEELing means disengaging for your allies, and a two second snare and a 36% slow does just that.

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CAPITALIZE
The third thing you should be doing is capitalizing on out of position targets. If you see an opportunity to catch enemies off guard, using , take it. Landing it means your team can easily capitalize on them, and render them useless for the next minute or so, meaning you can take objectives with less contest for it.

I hope you enjoyed my first ever guide, which is on my favorite mid-lane champion, . I am open to criticism so if you have any, please do comment!

Special thanks:

Jhoijhoi for the how to make a guide guide, as well as the chapter headers.
Tinystar for the icons.
The_Nameless_Bard for the banner.
Vynertje for all of his helpful criticism.