Xerath Rank Xerath has the potential to harass online as well as to farm quietly.
Arcane Pulse Arcane Pulse is very useful for stalking, but can also be used to hit entire lines of minions.
The Eye of Destruction Eye of Destruction is also very useful for finishing minions as it has a very high damage.
An early point in Orbital Impact Orbital Impact can help keep you safe from ambushes as you can stun anyone who approaches you, but should generally be maximized last, as it is difficult to hit in a line with minions everywhere.
Despite his abilities, he has a weakness. When playing with Xerath Xerath you will have to occasionally approach enemy minions or champions to auto attack them and maintain your mana with their passive since Xerath's mana costs are very high.
If there are no minions nearby, consider attacking a jungle monster to gain the mana offered by the passive.
Two good combos are:
Use the Orbital Smash Stun Orbital Smash to connect with Eye of Destruction Eye of Destruction and a rapid Arcane Pulse Arcane Pulse. This combo is going to maximize your damage.
Use Eye of Destruction's slow Eye of Destruction to help you connect with Orbital Smash Orbital Smash, then follow up with Arcane Pulse Arcane Pulse. This will cause less damage, but is easier to connect.
Xerath is one of the most damaging mages in the game, along with a great range that allows him to buy high damage items. But it has two major disadvantages.
All of his abilities are skill shots, so they can be avoided.
Xerath Xerath consumes a lot of mana, so his passive forces him to close distances.
In team fights Xerath Xerath causes great damage in AoE and is very effective when the enemy is grouped. .
The Rite of the Arcane Rite of the Arcane has enormous range and massive damage, but its cast time and short area make it easy for free enemies to dodge. This is why it is best used in conjunction with an ally, allowing Xerath Xerath to transform a 1v1 into a 1v2.
It is also very good at stealing targets. You can reach both Dragon and Baron from the center lane.
The immunity to the displacement effects of Rite of the Arcane Rite of the Arcane can be used defensively against the hold of Blitzcrank Blitzcrank or the ultimate of Gragas Gragas.