2011-10-14:
Today i took away Clairvoyance as summoner spell from build 2 since it brought confusion for people just looking at the build and not the actual guide. I also changed my first build a little so you get a faster damage early on but less CDR.

2011-10-12:
Here I created my guide, edited some and overall made the basic look of it.

Hi and welcome to my Xerath build. I got 2 of them and I like them both very much. So, just to make some points clear to all.

• None of my builds are made as support Xerath, personally I think t's stupid...
• I always max Arcanopulse and ofc Arcane Barrage but the rest is up to you.
• I feel that Xerath is long range so Exhaust or ignite is wasted since ur an artillery not a range dps.
• I like to spam since your Q is easy to dodge. Plus, your ulti is amazing and you want to be able to use it freely.

Those are the basics. Let's look for some details.

Pros

• Extreme range
• High burst
• Tripple AOE ulti
• High ratios
• Lots of AOE=good fram
• Nice sustain thanks to passive
• Great ganker

Cons

• Low dmg early on with build 2
• Only 2 dmg spells until level 6 so can't really go one on one with anyone
• Takes some positioning to master his potential
• Can be counterd by Morgana or Maltzahar.

I go with a standard rune set:

That said here's how I choose them.

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration These mark is standard for any mage and I se no reason why they not fit Xerath. Boost the early dmg basically.

Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration When you get to seals you feel like so many would fit so damn good so this is what I prefer but think that Xerath has good mana sustain but I spam much hence the mana reg seals!

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist Glyphs, well this was easy for me. MGres fits so well since almost all mid champions deal magic dmg. So better sustain in lane and since you are an artillery you will be in the back and therefor the casters might focus you the most.

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power Well, these just work but if you feel like going for Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed or maybe Greater Quintessence of Health that works to.

Well here we go, I have 2 different builds and both work fine. But let's make this a little fun! Here is MY core for Xerath:

• Ionian Boots of Lucidity
• Rabadon's Deathcap
• Rylai's Crystal Scepter

The rest is personal preference! Below I'm gonna show some good items for Xerath:

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Here we go:

• Morello's Evil Tome Good CDR and mana reg, well needed!!
• Zhonya's Hourglass Lots of ap and the armor combined with Ascended Form is crazy. Also good active.
• Banshee's Veil Hp, Mp and MGres is great and now you block a negative spell every 45 seconds!
• Archangel's Staff Mana/manareg plus ap, perfect!!
• Frozen Heart Recommended in build width an Archangel's Staff
• Guardian Angel great item but Xerath should't take much dmg.
• Rod of Ages Great item but Xerath is in the baaaaaaack so wont take much dmg.
• Will of the Ancients A very nice equip but Xerath aint in need.
• Void Staff Can be good if they build LOTS of MGres. But with level 5 in W and mastery's you will only get around 21% penetration!
• Sight Ward Obligatory as hell! Always carry at lest 2 around :D
• Vision Ward Always!
• Oracle's Elixir Always good and obligatory when against Teemo/Eve/Twitch/Akali/Talon and maybe Vayne.

Well well, these items are all viable, some more and some less but remember that you should choose items depending what the other nine players in every game chooses.

Xerath has like MOST champions 5 spells. Here they are:

Ascended Form
This is Xerath's passive, it's not great but give's a little sustain and thats always nice.


This is the bread and butter of Xerath, with this you will farm and deal lot's of dmg. Together with Locus of Power you got CRAZY range!

Locus of Power
Some says that this ability suck and I could't be more surprised because this is really op! With this and Rylais you can gank like crazy and get great results! Well, thanks to the high CDR with this build you should be able to use it freely at all times. Remember, this does not cost so use it as much as possible!

Mage Chains
This spell comes in handy at almost all times, could be use in defense and offense but it takes some time to actually proc the stun so maybe the defense part is a little hard but the offense is really easy. One thing to remember is that you should go like this-> Since it is easier to stun with Arcane Barrage then it is with Arcanopulse.
This combo should result in a heavy burst and a dead carry!

This is a GREAT ulti, I can't stress this enough! This ulti will be nurft since it is op! It got HUGE range and can be activated 3 times. The base damage is not so great but okey and scaling is a little low but since you can pop that badass 3 times is cause huge damage.
To make it easy, it scales great since you can activate it 3 times so the actually scaling would be 6*3 resulting in a heavy 1.8 of your ap.
This spell should be used to finish off escaping enemys or use the aoe effect when you can hit multiple targets!
I feel that you should let the rain hit many targets each time and cause a great change in teamfights!

Now let's look to different sequences:

Early Farming:
Q casters and harass at the same time and AA fighter minons.

Farming mid game:
Q on all and last hit fighters till CD is over on Q and do it again on casters.

Ganking:
Go to edge of brush when no ward, active Locus of Power then Mage Chains and fast proc the stun with or if it is on CD pop and hope that they don't flash. Removing Locus of Power and either rush forward and AA or rush mid and protect you turret.

Zoning
This is what makes Xerath good, he can zone like hell! It is fairly easy with him as well, just build CDR and mana and then rabadons. Hold in the back and use
Locus of Power-> Arcanopulse-> Arcanopulse on your enemy, just hold and eye on your minons so you can predict where your opponent wants to go then blast Arcanopulse in the way and force them to not farm.

Teamfights
This is where it becomes tricky with Xerath since you'r team will complain that you don't deal damage and that you'r not helping. But in reality you deal tons of damage and maybe won the teamfight for your team. You are a ap carry, but unlike maltzahar and brand you'r not in the fight. You'r in the far back utilizing you'r abilities. Here is what you should do:
Go like a regular ap carry with you'r team, when the fight breaks out (you should have harassed *** much as possible before this moment) you active Locus of power and start by finding their squishy carry, now use Mage Chains then Arcane Barrage+ Arcanopulse and then just continue with the Arcane Barrage on as many targets possible. Remeber focusing the one dealing most dmg (being the biggest threat) and follow you'r team with deactivating Locus of power so you get MVSpeed buff.

Now, their aint many more combos to utilize but you will only learn them by playing lot's of Xerath!

Now, Flash is what I use cause it is OP!
but what for number two?

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• Ghost
• Teleport
• Ignite

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• Fortify You'r not a tank
• Exhaust You'r not a AD/Ignite is better vs most AP champions
• Promote Becuase you'r not a pusher in dominon
• Smite You'r not a jungler/roamer
• Heal You'r not a support so non-viable unless ARAM
• Clarity Should't need it unless ARAM
• Cleanse Since you'r in the back there are more viable options
• Clairvoyance Great for Xeraths ulti but support should have it otherwise good.
• Rally Easy cause there are more viable spells
• Revive Unlesss trolling, no. It got a very high CD and better to have something to save you'r life then regaining it.
• Garrison Good but are you a defender in dominon?

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Well, so in my opinion

• Ghost
• Teleport
• Ignite

only these are viable but, you should be in the back and therefor to far away to use ignite! But it's personal preference.

In short, Xerath is an either over rated or under rated champion, he is very balanced except for his ulti that is a little op. But else than that he is a VERY fun AP carry and I recommend it for someone who wants to try something new but like AP carry's!

In short, I play him like this and I might change things if I find ways that seems better, I'm around 1400 rating so I'm a pro but at least know what I'm doing.
I wish you all luck trying this out and if you don't like it it's fine, this is my way and how I find a way for him to work in a team.

Lets rape some mid! :D GL&HF!