Welcome to the my build for the master of sniping. For this build i focus mainly around going for Magic Penetration and AP to take enemies down fast. I will be highlighting his major points and expanding on his kit. I do not consider my self a good Xerath but hopefully this will help you guys to understand him. So lets dive right in!

Pros:

High Dps
EXTREMELY far range
2 CC abilities
Almost Global Ult

Cons

Squishy
Very little escape
Bad in close combat
Hard to master

For marks I like to take magic penetration to help due more damage and to scale better late game. These runes could be substituted for Ap if you like but i would stick to magic penetration.

For Seals I like to stick to Armor to help against any ad mids or junglers. The Only two runes i would say to replaces for seals would be mana regen or health seals.

For Glyphs There is only one set of runes i would take and that would be Scaling Magic Resistance Runes. If you really want to replace theme Ap Runes wouldnt be bad but i wouldnt suggest anything else.

For Quintessences I would stick to only 3 options either just flat Ap quints or health if you wish to be able tank more or you could go for spell vamp to help you heal more in lane.

Masteries are pretty self explanatory built around doing damage while keeping up your health and mana.

Here I will be explaining different items and what situations to get them.

Sorceress Shoes: These I take on him Only i don't switch this around I try other boots but I don't see any reason for Mercury Treads.

Seekers Armguard: This item is a good start for champions who use AD like Zed, Talon, and ect.

Chalice of Harmonies: This is a good first back item against any Ap mids I usually capitalize on taking this item on first back and going for boots.

Haunting Guise: I would take Haunting Guise first for any tanky mids such as Diana or Galio so you can do more damage and the health is helpful as well.

Void Staff: This is an amazing item for Xerath if you want to hurt tanks. I would get this after having at least boots chalice and Haunting Guise to maximize the damage you do at this point.

Rabadon Deathcap: This is a must get on almost any AP carry and it doesn't change at all for Xerath. Get this item after you get Void Staff for you will do have a much higher damage output from this.

Zhonya's Hourglass: Another amazing item for Xerath it helps to replace for his old passive and the passive can help you out of many bad situations. Build early against any AD mids I would build before Void Staff if its an AD mid.

Laindry's Torment: This is a great Item For you range I would try and get this if there tanky it will help destroy there health. This item can wait because getting it early will burn very little health to start with.

Athene's Unholy Grail:This is a nice item due to its stats passive and cooldown. This item I dont really finish till later on but its still a nice item if ahead. Get it if you having mana problems but you have your passive.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter: Very good item due to the slow it gives plus the health and AP stats are amazing to.

Other Items:

Lichbane: Ok I understand his passive is nice but this is a waste cause you should be in the back doing damage not front line.

Will of the Ancients: This is a bad item for Xerath all of his abilities are AoE so you heal less by default so I would not get it.

Deathfire Grasp: No... You are not a melee champions and your range is to far for this DO NOT GET THIS ITEM ON XERATH! :3

Morellonomicon: This actually isn't that bad of a choice against some people mostly sustain I would replace Haunting Guise with item if they have a ton of sustain.

Mejai's Soulstealer: This is an ok item if you can get fed and keep it but I wouldn't build it just to much to worry about.

Tear of the Goddess: You have to long cooldowns charging this isn't worth it.

Primary

Flash: This is great for champions without escapes *cough cough Xerath* I would take this no matter what nothing beats this spell on Xerath.

Ignite: Another great summoner now this one isn't as required due to Xerath's range but I usually use it I will try others.

Others:

Barrier: I haven't tried this one but it seems ok for him I would take it against very mobile Champions.

Heal: It got nerfed and its not really worth it to take.

Clarity: -_- Your passive that is enough with a chalice.

Ghost: Ok hard to use to escape.

Teleport: if you want to be more of a global threat then this is ok but your ult makes you a global threat.

All others I wouldn't bother even trying.

Ok I understand this is the least used trinket but this is basically made for Xerath. His ult and this synergist with each other so well. Trust me if you think you know where they are use it to scout it out then if one is low you have vision on them to ult!

Always Max Q first and get ult when you can
Get W at level 3 to make sure you have more Damage
Get early point in E but dont max till last
Ult Always get when you can.

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Skill 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Arcanopulse: X X X X X
Eye of Dustruction: X X X X X
Shocking Orb: X X X X X
Rite of the Arcane: X X X

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Mana Surge: This is a amazing passive for any heavy mana mid and that goes for Xerath his mana cost are kinda high so when this gets off cooldown try to use it if you know you wont be harassed at all.

Arcanopulse: This is Xerath's main source of damage use this to poke down the enemies. This is a great spell due to its range you can bait people out by charging it but the charge takes a while to get to max. Its range helps you stay safe but still poke. Also good for picking up kill from a far.

Try and use this while there pinned in between the turret and wall or if in jungle.

Eye of Destruction: This is a ok form of CC but the only problem with using it as CC is that it is easy to dodge and if it hits them just on the edge then it slows less. Another great harassing spell once you hit this Archanopulse will be easy to line up to maximize damage.

Try to use when they have no other roots of escape.

Shocking Orb: His biggest CC and only form of escape but still not very good to rely on. It helps to secure kills and if you need to keep away from enemies. This is a great way to line up your Eye of Destruction then you can lead into Archanopulse and if squishy enough you should be able to use Rite of the Arcane to finish them.

Use when they have to use something to avoid or wide in the open and they are walking in a straight line.

Rite of the Arcane: His ultimate is amazing for its range its great for stealing buffs or securing kills. Remember you are rooted during his ult so if you even try to move it will cancel. Use this at the end of fights to finish carries that may have escaped.

Try lining this up either on them or in there path.


Burst:
Shocking orb
Arcanopulse
Eye of Dustruction
Arcanopulse
Rite of the Arcane

Running:
Shocking Orb
Eye of Dustruction
Arcanopulse
Shocking Orb

Farming is quiet easy as Xerath Your Q is amazing for farming the cooldown is low and your passive makes it more spam able. Your W isnt bad either but longer cooldown then Q so effective late game but try not to use it to CS early. Remember using mana to CS isnt bad missing CS for mana you can regain is bad.

So For this Being my first build I will try and make more and update this as i find better play styles.