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Spells:
Flash
Ignite
Ability Order
Mana Surge (PASSIVE)
Xerath Passive Ability
Recent News (Updates)
-Patch Notes for Xerath
-New Skins for Xerath
-League News
-Additional information that I find important pertaining to AP champions as a whole.
GUIDE UPDATES
10/16/11- Added more color to a few of the sections and streamlined some of the sections by using Icon+link in one (ex: Ascended Form rather than Icon+Link in separate forms.
10/17/11- Added a second item build to the "Item Build" Section
11/17/11- UPDATED MASTERIES
I will be working on more, but I figured this would be the best place to start.
-Past Games,
-Funny moments with Xerath
-Screen Shots
-Videos
-Whatever other content (not relating to sections of this guide) I see fit. IE: Videos of killing sprees/multi-kills/funny kills.
Any and all videos or pictures I make that pertain to a section of this guide IE: Laning phase strategies in action, positioning in team fights, etc. Will be posted in their respective sections to decrease clutter and aid in overall flow of this guide.
My Most Recent Xerath Games
Item Build At Work
Xerath is a long range mage capable of dealing damage from afar. The skill/mechanic that makes positioning with Xerath a key to success is Locus of Power. This guide will emphasize the proper management of Xerath's skill set in relation to a 5v5 game on Summoner's Rift.
Now that I've given you some things to look forward to let's begin, shall we?
Pros:
-Long Range
-Slightly more durable compared to most other AP champs
-Stun
-Strong Farmer
Cons:-Relies entirely on positioning to be the most effective
-Locus of Power leaves you very exposed
-Damage output is solid, but requires a lot of things to go right
-Mid game can be lack luster compared to other APs like Brand or Annie
Caster Masteries
My overall summary is that the traditional 9/0/21 is still superior for AP carries. There needs to be more testing done, but from a purely numbers perspective the damage bonus for putting in an additional 12 points into offense does not overtake the utility that the 9/0/21 set up which has been standard practice for AP champs, for awhile now.
Greater Mark of Insight Magic Pen Marks to make your spells hit harder. Primarily a rune stat which is most noticeable early game. However once you obtain more Magic Pen through items you'll find your damage output to be considerably higher. Greater Seal of Force Though a small amount of AP early game these Seals match the Flat AP provided by Potency Seals by level 9. And improve for the next 9 levels past that. I feel that they provide a better cushion to help strengthen Xerath's mid game. |
_____ |
Greater Glyph of Force Strong AP provided through the entirety of a game. Meant to help aid in buffering Xerath's mid game. Greater Quintessence of Potency A flat ~15 AP to boost Xerath's early game. Paired with a Doran's ring you're looking at roughly 33 AP level 1. Which to me is a great start. It makes your poke with Arcanopulse and the use of Locus of Power all the more beneficial. |
Additional Note: Xerath's passive [Ascended Form]] transforms a percentage of Xerath's AP into armor. The strength of this passive is not as needed early game mainly because you should be mid against another AP champ. This rune setup scales well with his passive making it more useful and more powerful as you need it. Mid and late game is where this passive should really be beneficial. It's not super strong, but it's there.
Ascended Form
This is your main poke, I suggest you learn to bracket your enemy with the attack during the laning phase. It's range and cool down are wonderful for making your lane presence felt right from level 1.
Locus of Power
Mage Chains
Your ultimate is quite nice, long range, and a great radius to hit multiple people. Because of it's relatively short cool down you can be a bit more aggressive and use this skill to push your enemy out of the lane. It's use is what you make of it.
Priority 1A Arcane Barrage
This is our ultimate, gets improved cool downs and damage as we rank it up. We max this when it is available (6/11/16).
Priority 1B Arcanopulse
We max Arcanopulse first because it is our main source of harass/damage. It's range and damage are quite potent.
Priority 2 Locus of Power Locus of Power
We max Locus of Power second because we want to get it's cool down as low as possible. As well the % of penetration increases with each rank. We want this up as often as possible so that we can get better positioning with Xerath and keep his range high. Meaning use it, attack, deactivate it, move, use it, attack. Being able to use it when needed and not wait for it to come off cool down means we can shift our position on the fly during a team fight and within a short amount of time be back to optimal firing range and damage.
Priority 3 Mage Chains Mage Chains
We max this last. Although the damage and cool down get improved with each rank, it has the shortest range of all our skills, the stun duration never increases either. We are much better off having this maxed last as it (at least to me) has less use than Locus of Power. Getting a point in it at level 2 or 4 (at the latest) will tide you over until mid and late game.
My Suggested Build 1
Recommended build 1 sequence:
Build Sequence Note:
-Notice I have Rylai's BEFORE Deathcap, it is not mandatory that you build this way. In fact (depending on the game) I often prefer to build Rabadon's first. However, I feel it important to state that the defensive and utility benefits of health and a slow (respectively) can make up for the lack of damage. It's a strong option that works for MY PLAYSTYLE. I in no way say that Rylai's before Deathcap is better nor will I say that Deathcap before Rylai's is better. It's simply a preferred play style that I've adopted. As long as Rylai's or Deathcap are made or being made by mid game (either one before the other) you're on a rather stable path.
Opening Items:
Core Items:
Build 2 Opening Items
Doran's Ring
Solid opening item. Good AP and MP5 for early game harass during the laning phase.
Mercury's Treads
An item that will last throughout the entirety of a game. Extremely useful against CC comps. This will make you slightly tankier as well, but you miss out on the early game Mpen of Sorc shoes.
Haunting Guise
A very early game item. The health, AP, and Mpen will see you into mid game. Sell it later if you wish.
Catalyst the Protector
Catalyst the Protector
Meant to help build into RoA. Great item for sustaining in lane, also aids in reducing Xerath's late game mana issues (once turned into RoA of course)
Core Items of Build 2
Rod of Ages
Built from Catalyst the Protector, this item stacks overtime adding potency to Xerath's power and survivability. It lacks the utility of Rylai's Crystal Scepter but makes your mid and late game just as strong and durable. I try to get this by 20 minutes into a game, regardless of the champion I am using.
Rabadon's Deathcap
The key to every good AP carry's arsenal. Bad *** amount of AP and a bad *** passive to boot.
Void Staff
Add AP and more percent magic pen to the mix. A solid item that I would consider CORE for THIS version of my build. The strength of Locus of Power and Void Staff comes to a total 58% Magic Pen. The percentage when coupled is slightly higher. However the reasoning for getting Void Staff is because we get the 40% magic pen even when we aren't in LoP (So it makes our skills still hit relatively hard)
Build 2's PURE DEFENSE ITEM
(Suggested by jhoijhoi)
Frozen Heart
It was brought to my attention by jhoijhoi to try adding Frozen Heart to the original build. At first I didn't like the idea, but then decided that, with this item (and Xerath's Passive) my damage output will still be competitive with my first build but my survivability would be even higher. Especially against AD carrys. So I decided to incorporate it into a secondary build. This will bolster Xerath's mana pool and give him some considerable durability. Especially because of Ascended Form thanks jhoi!!!!!!
BUILD 2 NOTES
Situational Items
Zhonya's Hourglass
The reason I consider Zhonya's "Situational" rather than "Core" is due to the fact that Xerath has no real escape mechanism. The move speed he receives from activating Locus of Power is nice, but bogging yourself down with a stasis affect in the midst of a team fight is a great way to end up dead. Ideally you'll be in a position away from the fight and use your attacks from afar as intended. However, Zhonya's has extremely good synergy with Xerath's passive. If the enemy team isn't stacking MR or you're extremely fed I'd suggest grabbing this item just for the additional armor and AP.
Banshee's Veil
Too many people seem to worship this item, I'd consider this if the enemy team had a Karthas or Twisted Fate. Other than that, it's too easily broken by a random poke from the enemy to actually be as much of a life saver as others claim it to be. (it does save lives, but it's not as strong as others make it out to be)
Quicksilver Sash
Some of you may be wondering "QSS on an AP carry?" I recommend this as a situational item for high CC teams, Morganna/ Alistar/ Urgot/ Malzahar/ Warwick/ Skarner/ Nasus are examples of a few champs that QSS can protect you from. It's especially useful if you find your team unable to keep the enemy away from you as you set up to rain down death upon them. (Like a Twisted Fate who simply teleports right to you and isn't stopped by anyone)
What I Choose Not To Build (And Why)
Hextech Revolver
Xerath has a short cool down on his Q. But that does not compensate for the fact that it is a straight-line skill shot. It's not as reliable or spammable as on other high AoE champs like Kennen or Karthas who can use spellvamp because they have more reliable and more consistent sources of damage.
Abyssal Scepter
The whole premise of Xerath is to be at range. If you're getting an Abyssal Mask you're wasting an item slot for something that won't exhibit its full potential when you have proper positioning.
Ionian Boots of Lucidity
15% cool down reduction....It really isn't that much of a benefit over Sorcerer's Shoes or even Mercury's Treads if you get them. The CDR is a waste considering Xerath's cool downs on his MAIN harass are nominal early game. Locus of Power has a decent cool down but it becomes manageable rather quickly. The CDR doesn't pay for itself in anyway. As well with this build we get Morello's Evil Tome which resolves any and all late game cool down issues.
Xerath is an incredibly strong mid laner. His range and early game damage make him an imposing force. You can push your enemy around quite easily. He can 1v1 rather easily, the issue is that at times his mana costs can creep up on you. His MP5 is solid though so you can recoup your losses rather quickly just be patient and wait for opportunities to poke. I wouldn't activate Locus of Power unless they flash away.
Learn to combo your Acranopulse with Mage Chains. As I mentioned earlier not to lead with Mage Chains I maintain that idea here. Early game you should weaken your enemy with Q and then set up when they're about half health. The early game combo should be Q->E->W->Q. This will force them from lane rather quickly.
Utilize your range advantage, it can keep you safe from ganks or enemy harass. It's extremely effective and often can force a lane switch.
Points to being affective in the middle lane:
-Consistent harass
-Last hit as often as possible
-Abuse your range to stay safe
-Always try to force your opponent from the lane rather than just outright kill them. (Although that can be just as useful.)
Learn to rotate your skills in an effective way, late game with enough cool downs you can get a good number of Arcanopulses off within the span of Locus of Power's active duration. Don't hesitate to move around while a fight is going on, the ability to pick up and shift positions in a few moments is another strength that should be exploited with Xerath. Other AP champs like Brand, Casseopiea, and Annie have to get rather close to the action to pull off their damage combos. Doing this can get them easily killed, Xerath is not like them. Your range is a strong defense and offense. However with that said Xerath's Achilles' heel is his lack of an escape mechanism. You need to stay at range, this can be difficult especially with high mobility champs on the opposing team.
Points to being affective in team fights:
-Keep at range
-Learn to rotate your cool downs to maximize your damage.
-Fire, fire, move, fire, fire, move. Do not stay stationary for long.
-Focus the bulk of the enemy team. You're range and AoE potentials are high. Hitting as many targets as possible will make your teams job a lot easier.
As always I appreciate any and all feed back, I'm trying to improve my guide writing abilities overall and if you have any suggestions, or like what I've got so far feel free to comment.
Once again thank you for reading and good luck on The Fields of Justice.
Expect more to be added as I discover more things to do with Xerath.
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