Click to open network menu
Join or Log In
Mobafire logo

Join the leading League of Legends community. Create and share Champion Guides and Builds.

Create an MFN Account






Or

Lux Build Guide by LuxTheGreyWarden

Middle 13.23 Mid (APC): Light 'Em Up (I'm on fiyaa): Luxeøn Style!

Middle 13.23 Mid (APC): Light 'Em Up (I'm on fiyaa): Luxeøn Style!

Updated on November 23, 2023
10
6038
Votes
233
Vote Vote
League of Legends Build Guide Author LuxTheGreyWarden Build Guide By LuxTheGreyWarden 6038 233 19,847,406 Views 362 Comments
6038 233 19,847,406 Views 362 Comments
League of Legends Build Guide Author LuxTheGreyWarden Lux Build Guide By LuxTheGreyWarden Updated on November 23, 2023
x
Did this guide help you? If so please give them a vote or leave a comment. You can even win prizes by doing so!
Vote
Comment

You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.

I liked this Guide
I didn't like this Guide
Commenting is required to vote!
Would you like to add a comment to your vote?

Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
creating helpful guides for the League of Legends community.

Runes: First Strike Lux

1 2
Inspiration
First Strike
Magical Footwear
Biscuit Delivery
Cosmic Insight

Domination
Cheap Shot
Ultimate Hunter
Bonus:

+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+8 Magic Resist

Spells:

1 2 3 4
Barrier
LoL Summoner Spell: Barrier

Barrier

LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash





General
Introduction
Examples from my experience
Conclusion
Credits
Changelog
Pre-Game
Main Runes
Other Optional Runes
Summoner Spells
Pros and Cons
When is Lux a good choice?
Detailed Matchups
During Game
Lux's Abilities/Tips & Tricks
Combos
Itemization
Laning Phase
Teamfights
Lux Synergy



Hi everyone! My name is Luxeøn, or Drew. I main Lux, and am a Diamond mid/support player. I was the varsity mid laner for University of North Texas's collegiate team for two years, played on a team as ADC, swapped to support, and now I am currently again playing ADC on a team!

I want to start out by saying that this guide is just a guidance! I recommend what I think is the most meta or best runes and build paths for Lux, but do remember that this game has flexibility. Either the meta will change (some runes/items get buffed or nerfed - which I try to update per patch), you might need a specific rune or build path depending on the enemy champions and their own build paths (Build Void Staff earlier on than I recommend or take cut down vs a full team of tanks), or you just have preferences (you prefer a different secondary tree that I don't recommend in my guide)! If you want to discuss if any runes/items/anything that isn't on my guide, feel free to DM me on here, comment on this guide, or even add me on League if you're on the NA server! I am always happy to hear from you and love discussing anything related to Lux, especially when I am able to answer any questions that might not exactly be on this guide or I didn't go into enough detail on!


Lux is such a unique and fun champion- I have been playing her ever since season 3, so I wanted to share the knowledge I have collected from my experience from playing as her.

What is your favorite Lux element from her elemental skin?? Mine is storm since I'm an electric pokemon boy, but I honestly change it depending on my mood that game LOL


This guide is purposeful for the mid lane (or bottom, I play APC Lux quite a bit in ranked). If you need a support guide, see below! I also added a Lux montage I made a bit ago:

Other Guides
AND
Socials


Lux Support Guide Lux Montage




Alright now that all of that is out of the way,
Here we go!



Pros Cons
Easy to learn
Hard to Sidelane/Team Reliant
Lots of Utility
Abilities are easy to dodge
Great Teamfighter
Easy Counterplay: , , , , , etc
E & R gives vision
Long Cooldowns
Long Range
Squishy w/ no mobility
Good poke/burst damage
Mana Issues




PRIMARY

Comet works best for Lux because she has a lot of AOE and poke damage, and this rune adds to it. It's a pretty short cooldown and the cooldown is reduced when you hit your abilities, which is great, especially in teamfights!! Aery is a more supportive choice, or a choice if you're against a melee and want to poke them out a bit more.
Manaflow band is great because Lux has higher mana costs in general, making this rune very valuable, especially later on in extended fights!
Nullifying Orb is a situational alternative if they have a high AP/AP burst team (ex: LB mid, Elise jungle, Syndra APC, etc) and you need to survive. ONLY take this rune in those high AP situations, manaflow band is too valuable otherwise!!

Absolute Focus and Transcendence are the best options here, with Absolute being just a bit better because the free AP is really nice on Lux (Absolute + Gathering Storm + Eyeball is INSANE).
However, if you find yourself wanting to take the CDR since Lux's spells can be kinda long, feel free to take Transcendence to help soak up that Ability Haste you're missing out on.

I personally think Gathering Storm is better in a lot of situations because Lux has a lot of bad matchups and requires her E to clear a wave and keep up with the other mid laner (high elo especially where the enemy knows to stand off on the side and not in position for you to E them and the minions), meaning you won't have HUGE opportunities to use scorch, and so you want GS so you have more AP going to mid-late game!
However, scorch is still a very good rune, especially in those matchups where you are able to poke a lot more often and/or want to snowball early to get ahead.

First slot: Adaptive AP is the most common and will be the best since Lux is hungry for AP with her high AP scalings. However, I like the AH a lot too, especially if your items won't have any AH in them and you want this and/or transcendence for a bit more spellcasting.

Second slot: Tbh this should always be AP unless you want to do a resist + health combo in this and the third slot, but that's ONLY into the most insane matchups.

Third slot: This should be the resistance you're going against - magic resist against AP mids or armor vs AD mids. As mentioned above, you can take health if you want






SECONDARY
Eyeball Collection + Ultimate Hunter: I love taking eyeball collection because it gives 30AP, and if you add Absolute Storm (3-30AP) and Gathering Storm (24AP at 20m), it starts off by giving ~70 extra AP, which will increase with Rabadon's passive and as the game goes on with more AP from Gathering Storm. For ult hunter, some can argue that its too low so you dont need ultimate hunter and thats very valid! I personally like this rune because I think her ultimate is the most important part of her kit and highest damage, so having it up a bit more often is nice, especially if you are using her ultimate to not just burst, but clear waves/steal objectives/etc. So feel free to take it based on preference!

Cheap Shot + Eyeball Collection: This combo is the alternative to not taking ultimate hunter, and is really insane. Cheap shot really helps with the poke Lux is able to do along with comet (and scorch if you choose to take that over Gathering Storm). As mentioned above, Lux has high AP Scalings so eyeball helps her with her damage output - it gives 30AP, 42 with Rabadon's passive. If you add Gathering Storm + Absolute Focus, it gives around 104AP (with Rabadon's passive) JUST from runes, plus more if the game progresses to 30 or 40 minutes! That's the amount of AP as a whole legendary item that you are getting for free in your runes!

Eyeball Collection + Ingenious Hunter: This is specifically ONLY for games you need to buy Crown of the Shattered Queen and Zhonya's Hourglass/ Banshee's Veil because it will reduce these cooldowns, which means even more safety!!







ALT SECONDARY
Presence of Mind is a great rune because Lux can sometimes have mana issues, even with manaflow band. It's really helpful in teamfights especially!
Coup de Grace works well becasue Lux is a burst mage, and the idea is to get them to 0 health. Plus, this rune + Horizon Focus means you're doing 18% more damage to enemies below 40% health!!
Cut Down should NOT be slept on and is amazing as a replacement to coup de grace when you are facing a lot of enemies with more health than you. If they're health stackers especially, this plus Liandrys means they won't have a chance!!





Primary




Secondary


FIRST STRIKE


When is this a good rune to take? As of now, this rune is the only one in competition with comet. I will say that Comet is definitely better just due to the poke and how strong the tree is in general, but the mass amount of gold you get for free in this build is insane! Not only can first strike give you between 500-1500 gold each game depending on how often you proc it, but you get 300 for free boots, up to 550g from treasure hunter once you have all 5 stacks, and futures market on top of this. It gives you incentives to hit your item spikes faster. You also still do great burst damage with the 9% from first strike. Of course the negatives to this build and the reason why its not the #1 rune due to not getting any treasure hunter stacks, having your FS proc'ed so you cant get gold or the extra damage, and having mana issues. It's a bit different playstyle, where you're looking to just combo and snipe from afar while getting power spikes earlier to snowball.


Primary




Secondary


ELECTROCUTE


When is this a good rune to take? I personally never take this rune, but it's definitely preference based and good to mention and only good in lanes where I'm either able to proc it well, or if I'm able and wanting to full burst instead of doing more of a poke oriented style with comet. However, vs an artillery mage where you usually won't be able to get to combo them (you're lucky if you can Q>E with autos pre-6), you look for comet so your E can poke from afar. Feel free to take this rune if you're looking for flat out burst rather than poke. I personally think Precision secondary works best because you're getting more burst potential from Coup De Grace on top of PoM to help you with your mana, but Sorcery with Transcendence/Manaflow band work just as well!






Flash
This spell should be taken 100% of the time! It is VITAL to escape, reposition, dodge a skillshot, flash over a wall, or even be used to catch up to a champion! There should be NO exceptions, if you need to replace a summoner spell, replace barrier.

Barrier
This is the most important and most used spell that every Lux main takes! Lux NEEDS this shield sometimes versus assassins or bursty comps to save her, plus it pairs well with her Prismatic Barrier! Please remember to activate it when they are bursting you, not after they're done. The most common mistake with this spell is they use their barrier after the burst and try to maybe wait it out, but you're going to die and waste your barrier if you use it after. It's a relatively low cooldown so don't be afraid to use it when needed, but remember to be more defensive when it's not available.

Cleanse
Cleanse is situational but is VERY important!! You only want to take it when you need it but when the enemy team has a lot of CC, this is NEEDED! For example, if they have a sejuani jungle and a TF mid, this should be taken because you need cleanse to get rid of the Sejuani ult or TF card! It also reduces all other CC spells by 65% for 3 seconds after, which is really nice just in case they try to stack their CC on you. Also do note that if they have a lot of CC in general, it might be good to invest in mercury's treads as your boot of choice!


Teleport
I personally love teleport in certain situations. It's great if you want more lane dominance since you can make the enemy miss a wave or two since you can teleport back instantly. I also like to take it when you're going vs someone who also takes teleport (or vs someone like taliyah who can get places fast with her ultimate), that way you can match their teleport presence, whether that be back to lane or to another lane. I would take it more often but Lux is very immobile and squishy with some really bad matchups, so she leans more towards defensive options like barrier/cleanse. However, lane presence is also extremely important so if you feel safe enough to not need barrier/that defensive spell, PLEASE take teleport!!

Exhaust
Exhaust is a good spell versus assassins, like Talon, Zed, Fizz, and so forth. Using this spell right BEFORE their combo is EXTREMELY important, so try to time it correctly! If you don't think you can time it correctly, take barrier instead.





Illumination
Your next auto attack against enemies hit by your abilities take extra magic damage.
Lux's offensive abilities mark all affected enemies with light energy for 6 seconds. Her basic attacks and Final Spark consume the mark, dealing 20-190 (based on level).




Light Binding
Roots and damages two enemies.
ACTIVE: Lux releases a sphere of light in a line that deals magic damage to the first two enemies hit and roots them for 2 seconds.



Prismatic Barrier
Shields yourself and your allies with Lux's wand on the way out and back.
ACTIVE: Lux shields herself and throws out her wand in a line, shielding allied champions in its path for 3 seconds. Lux's wand then returns to her, stacking the shield to all allied champions it passes through and herself.



Lucent Singularity
Slows and damages enemies in an AOE bubble.
ACTIVE: Lux sends an anomaly of twisted light to the target area for up to 5 seconds, Slow icon slowing enemies inside and granting a 600 radius Sight icon vision around it. Lucent Singularity can be recast at no delay.

RECAST: Lux detonates Lucent Singularity early. If recast while in flight, the ability will detonate on arrival.

The slow lingers for 1 second after leaving the area. Enemies hit by Lucent Singularity are slowed for 1 second.



Final Spark
Lux fires a laser that deals damage to anything in her path.
ACTIVE: After gathering energy for 0.5 seconds, Lux fires a giant laser in a line that deals magic damage to all enemies hit and briefly reveals them and the surrounding area. Final Spark triggers and refreshes Illumination if the enemy was damaged by Lux's other abilities.



Tips and Tricks



Illumination

This will be a great way to poke in lane. Using your Lucent Singularity and an auto will set this off.

You can also use this to create pressure in lane. If you hit them with your Lucent Singularity and walk up a bit aggressively, they will want to back off since they know your auto beats theirs. Just watch out when you do this, if they have poke or damage back, the auto isn't worth the damage you might take back!

ONLY auto when it is safe. Never run at enemy champions trying to proc this.

Remember that your ultimate procs Illumination AND resets it! Use this to your advantage when using different combos for maximum damage

Light Binding

Level this after you finish leveling Lucent Singularity!

Try to hit two people with your light binding!

Remember that it does hit two enemies, so hitting a minion and an enemy champion behind them is a good way to surprise the enemy with a binding!

Don't just throw this spell out, as you are very vulnerable without it, especially earlier on when you don't have enough AH or levels in for the cooldown to be reduced. If it's on cooldown, remember to be more cautious and defensive unless you know you're safe around allies or the enemy doesn't have any spells to jump on you with.

The only time I get this at level 1 is if I know we are going to invade. Even then, I wait until some action happens (your thresh throws a hook and you can follow up with a bind) or if they need my Q to catch someone out before leveling it. If I level it when I first start and the invade fails, I will have to accept that I will have Q at level 1 instead of E, which isn't a HUGE issue, but you want E first for the small waveclear that happens mid/it's your main poking ability for manaflow band stacks!


Prismatic Barrier

Get one point in this at level 4 but then don't put another point in it until you've maxed out every other ability! Get it at level 3 if it's a harder matchup or a matchup like Fizz who will try to all in you at level 3 and you want the shield for a better trade.

Try to hit all of your allies with this spell in teamfights. If you don't hit them on the way out, try to position yourself to hit them with your wand on the way back!!

If you are using your shield to save yourself and are running away, make sure to throw the wand in the direction you're running away from! The wand will return to you faster, meaning you can block more damage with the second proc from your shield.


Lucent Singularity

This is your main farming and poking tool. Level it up first & whenever possible.

It has a higher mana cost, so try not to spam it early game.

It gives vision, so using it in bushes is way better then facechecking! I also love using this spell in the dragon or baron pit to check and see if the enemy is doing it! Sometimes NOT popping it immediately and keeping it there for the full duration in order to keep vision on the enemies/objectives is crucial and much better than immediately popping it to do like... 200 damage

Also remember that it is a VERY good zoning tool. If you don't need it for the damage specifically in teamfights or when chasing enemies, throw it down but DON'T pop it! Many enemies will not want to walk on it, or they will be forced to and the constant slow means you or your allies can catch up to them and kill them! This is perfect in choke points where the enemies are forced to either walk over it or take a different route. Do remember to pop it right as they're about to get off of it, that way you get the full effect of the spell (slow & damage!)

Also use this spell as a way to escape if you're being chased. Either throw it on yourself or throw it in a nearby choke point where the enemy has to walk through to get to you, and then DON'T pop it! Keep it there so if they do keep chasing you, they're slowed and you can get away. If they do walk over it, feel free to pop it right before they walk off of it to still do damage!


Final Spark

Try to position yourself in teamfights to hit as many enemy champions as you can with this ability.

I usually try to not use this spell unless I or one of my teammates has CC'd someone, but if they're grouped up, a quick E>R in fight will do MASSIVE amounts of damage to 3-5 people! Look for an opening of when you can ult, either through following up with your binding/your allies CC, or by creating massive AOE in the battlefield!

It has a low cooldown, especially once you get AH and levels onto this spell, so don't be afraid to use it!

I love using this spell to steal dragons/barons! You can either ult from far away, or if you're able to get close to the pit, feel free to E>R! Later on in the game, your E>R will do more damage than smite!

This ability has a huge 1.2 AP scaling, meaning you want to get a lot of AP so her ultimate does more damage!

Remember that you are able to Flash during the ult channel casting! Your ultimate will go off still but won't move if you do flash! This is important when someone shoots a CC spell/skillshot at you that you need to dodge, you're able to flash it/over a wall to escape/etc in order to get away or dodge the spell while still being able to shoot your ultimate off.





Lucent Singularity➛ Auto

Spoiler: Click to view



Light Binding➛Auto➛ Lucent Singularity➛Auto

Spoiler: Click to view



Light Binding Lucent Singularity Final Spark

Spoiler: Click to view


Light Binding➛Auto➛ Lucent Singularity Final Spark➛Auto

Spoiler: Click to view



Light Binding Lucent Singularity Final Spark➛Auto➛POP Lucent Singularity➛Auto

Spoiler: Click to view



Light Binding➛DO NOT AUTO➛ Lucent Singularity

Spoiler: Click to view



Lucent Singularity Final Spark

Spoiler: Click to view



Light Binding Flash

Spoiler: Click to view



PS: I love Bjergsen to death, he's my favourite pro player, but don't combo like him ;) RIP BJERG



Starting Items


400G Doran's ring with two Health Potion's is very standard start! It gives you mana regen and rewards you for hitting enemies with spells, which pairs well with manaflow band/presence for mana sustain.
500G With lost chapter being 1100 gold now instead of 1300, many mages can abuse going crystal as the starting item and then getting a cheater off early on to get lost chapter (cheater is where you push your laner in constantly and then when you push and a canon wave is on its way to the lane, you back ASAP to get lost chapter and run back so you don't miss out on that juicy canon gold!). I would only suggest this if you A. are against an enemy where you can even push the wave harder to get a cheater off, or B. you know how to get a cheater off without missing too much XP/Gold.

First Back


1100G Buying a lost chapter is definitely the goal here! Of course sometimes you aren't able to get this item first back if you weren't in lane long enough, but it being 1100 gold now should help to diminish that. This is great because it gives AH, AP, and it helps you with your mana in lane when leveling, and it builds into your Mana/Mythic Item, which is what you want first!

350G I personally buy this item almost every game, if not every game. Not only is it a really good buy when you don't have that 1100G for lost chapter and/or want some free AP from takedowns while you're saving up for that expensive mythic item, but the stats you can get from it are INSANE for 350G. It's already has good raw stats, but an extra 40AP on top of the 15 you already get is possible if you have 10 stacks!

1000G Vs those harder AP matchups, you might need to get some early magic resist. This item is great to just sit on until you want to upgrade into Banshee's later on. OR, if you end up not wanting Banshee's, you can just buy a Null-Magic Mantle if you plan on getting Mercury's Treads as your boot of choice in order to get the early magic resist!

1000G This is going to be a good first buy into those AD matchups where either you need Zhonyas, or you can just sit on seekers and then start building Ludens. The armor mixed with AP makes this an effective defensive buy!

300G Boots are always a good buy since you get to lane faster, you have more speed to dodge skillshots or get places, and so forth. I normally try to save my boots for after mythic, but certain matchups or scenarios might have you getting these or full pen boots earlier (pen boots for snowballing, for example)!

150G I personally like this item in a lot of my games because one bad trade means you have to play passive and you lose SO much lane pressure. Plus, pots are pretty common in mid lane so its good to mirror sustain.

75G Last but not least, NO EXCEPTIONS, buy one every back if possible, ESPECIALLY before objectives! Every person is limited to 1 control ward on the map, meaning it isn't JUST your supports job to put control wards on the map, its YOU and the rest of your team. VISION WINS GAMES!! Plus, theres plenty of times I've gotten a kill just from someone trying to clear my control ward out, or I've been able to snipe someone from far away because they walked near a control ward and I had the vision, or they were killing it and I was able to combo them. They're so so important!! Please buy them when you can!!!!


Mythic Item


LUDEN'S TEMPEST
VS

LIANDRY'S ANGUISH
Luden's Tempest is going to be our main mythic item just because it gives a good mix of AP, mana, magic pen, ability haste, & helps with waveclear. It also gives a bit of movement speed when you proc Luden's, which is really going to help in a lot of situations that require escaping or repositioning!! On top of that, each legendary item gives MPEN, which is amazing on any burst mage!
Liandry's is going to actually be a competitor to Ludens if the enemy team has people who have a lot more health than Lux (Galio Mid, Bruiser top, etc) and/or if it's a team you just WONT be able to burst using Ludens. You want Liandry's to keep a consistent burn instead. It also give ability haste per legendary item, which is always welcome since Lux does well with any type of reduction on her spells!

Boots




-OR-



-OR-


-OR-

Sorcerer's Shoes > MAGIC PENETRATION
Magic Pen is super important on any mage since it causes your enemy to take more damage from you abilities! I buy this item 80% of the time!

Ionian Boots of Lucidity > AH/SS CDR
These boots are becoming MUCH more common to mages just because of the stats they give! 20AH + making your summoner spells up a bit more often can be really important! I personally buy these if either it's a rough game where I need my barrier and flash up more, I'm going Liandrys and won't really need MPEN but would rather want CDR for more burning, or if you just preference it. You do lose out on a bit of upfront burst damage since you're missing MPEN from Sorcs, but these boots can be really good or even better in certain situations!

Mercury's Treads > TENACITY/MR
The main goal of these boots are just replacing Sorcerer's Shoes if they have a lot of CC and you need the tenacity and/or if you need the early magic resist vs those burst champions (ex: Syndra, LB, Veigar). I get these in about 20% of my games, vs those certain champions or when I feel I need the tenacity. ONLY get these if you need them though, as the 18 MPEN from Sorc Boots is too good to pass up!

Plated Steelcaps > ARMOR
You won't be buying these often at all, but there will be games every once in a while where you're vs a full AD comp and you need this, or you're against a lot of champions who use their autos for damage. These boots are very very good in those situations, but remember to only buy it if you feel you need the defensiveness!

Core Items


Rabadon's Deathcap: This is Lux's bread and butter item due to the fact that she has high AP ratios! This item has a 40% AP scaling, which is INSANE!!! This can easily be a second item if you wish, but sometimes you might want or need another item before buying this item. I would always suggest trying to buy this item on Lux when you possibly can because of her very high AP ratios, but also remember to prioritize what items fit the game you're in.

Void Staff: This is a flexible item that only needs to be bought when enemies start stacking magic resist (I have a general rule of if the enemy has ~90MR+ since anything below that, your other MPEN items can help cut some of that off). It’s also still a core item because you want to buy it basically every game (unless there’s a game that has no magic resist stacking, which is rare). The best part about the new items is you can just buy Blighting Jewel if you do need some % magic penetration, and then finish void staff after buying other necessary items! !

Situational Items


Horizon Focus: This item is actually a really great item for Lux and a contendor to Shadowflame/Rabadons for a second item. Lux can proc this on all of her damaging abilities, it gives 100AP, vision, and ability haste, on top of the 10% damage buff! It's also thankfully an item that you can buy at any moment and it's pretty valuable, so if you don't get it second item, just pick it up later on!

Shadowflame: This is the competitor to Horizon Focus and has been prominent just because it has magic pen attached to it, which is rare and so important in any mages build. This item is very valuable if they have some MR and/or they have a lot of shielding, since you can get up to 20 magic pen!! It still can be a great second item if these parameters fit. However, DO try to track the carry's magic resist because you can easily overcap on MPEN. Luden's gives 6+5 (5 per legendary item), Sorcs gives 18, and this gives 10-20, which means you will have 39-49 MPEN. If they have about this much or defintiely less, horizon/rabadons is better!

Cosmic Drive: This item keeps getting changed and I keep going back and forth on it. As of now, it's unfortunately not the best item for Lux unless you need to go the Liandrys route (Liandrys + Cosmic are the dynamic duo for any mage right now). However, if you find yourself wanting a ton of CDR and MS over some burst, feel free to buy this item!

Seraph's Embrace This item I only really recommend either if you're going hard Liandrys burning build bc youre against all tanks, or if the item is just too busted. The issue with Lux is that she is a burst mage who needs high damage items, and Seraph's doesn't do that - on top of being a pretty bad tear stacker. However, until this item gets nerfed, I would say its not a terrible item to recommend just due to the high AP, CDR, and the huge shield you get to work offensively and defensively, and/or if they just have all tanks and you need to go liandrys.

Morellonomicon: With the new Morello changes, this item will still only be bought if the enemies have a lot of healing, but its a MUCH better item now! The 90AP with 10MPEN makes it actually a really nice item to have in your kit. However, I would still recommend only buying Oblivion Orb in a lot of cases and not upgrading this until later on. I used to rave on chemtech but the new changes make it not a good item on Lux anymore and Morellos is the only AP option.

Zhonya's Hourglass: This item is great because not only does it give pretty good stats, but the stasis is SO strong. Syndra or Zed ulting you? Zhonyas! Getting jumped on in a teamfight and need some time for your team to save you? Zhonyas! About to die to ignite? Zhonyas! This item is CRUCIAL to buy after Luden's if you need the survivability (Zed, looking at you!), or if they have a very high AD based team and you want armor for more defensive purposes! Buy it when you need it, but otherwise, don't worry about buying it and buy more damage items ;)

Banshee's Veil: This is the Zhonya's counterpart, if you need magic resist instead of armor (and more AP now, which is really great!). This item can be really nice, especially against teams who use something like an Ashe Arrow/Blitz flash hook to engage! Buy a Verdant Barrier early on if you need it, and then upgrade to Banshee's later on if you don't need it instantly! This item in itself is VERY cost efficient so remember to buy a defensive item ONLY if you need it, but it's very worth when you do!!

Mejai's Soulstealer: Lux is one of the few people that can buy this item more often and get away with it due to her natural playstyle of playing from a far range. It is a very high risk high reward item, so don't buy it every game- if they have a lot of gap closers/people that can kill or assassinate you, your team is not doing well, or you aren't playing your best. You don't want to waste 1600G that can be geared toward other items. However, this item does give you an opportunity for a lot of AP (with movement speed as an added bonus over 10 stacks) on a small amount of gold! I'm a personal huge fan of first backing with a dark seal + refillable if I don't have enough gold for lost chapter, so sitting on dark seal and then upgrading it to this item if I have 8-10 stacks on it or feel I can upgrade it works out!

Quicksilver Sash: This item is really only bought if you're against a Malzahar (or Skarner) since you want to QSS when he ults you! I personally think Lux is very safe and I normally don't get this item until after Ludens/my mana item, or even a bit later if I feel more safe since 1300 gold is a lot and you want at least your waveclear/mana item so you're not far behind. However, I do recommend buying this at some point, especially when Malzahar gets more items and can one shot you if you don't have this. In a later teamfight, one flash ult on you without QSS can mean a win for them, so make sure to purchase it at some point in that matchup! Once it's your sixth item, I would buy Silvermere Dawn, as it gives health rather than critical strike!

Sample Builds


*Please remember that these example builds do NOT have to be the exact order you build them and rely on how each SPECIFIC game is going. These are just examples, but buy items based on what the SPECIFIC game calls for! (ex: I put Ludens as the starter mythic item, but it's always interchangeable with Liandrys or I might have Void Staff as the 6th item, but you might need to buy it earlier than that if they start stacking magic resist. I admire the trust within my guides, but no one should be blindy following it, as even I personally change my build up EVERY game based on what is needed! Here's just some examples of what I do and when)*






My Personal Fav Build
Pros: High damage, one shot and carry potential, high risk high reward
Cons: No defensive item (unless u swap out), no healing reduction, moderate CDR

When do I use this build? This is my personal fav because it makes Lux feel like the true burst mage she is! For a second item option after Ludens - Shadowflame, Rabadon's, and Horizon are all REALLY good contendors. I like Horizon since it gives some CDR and vision, but it will be the weakest burst item out of all 3. Shadowflame is incredibly strong burst wise, but I would suggest tracking the enemies MR because Ludens gives 11MPEN (6 initial + 5 from having 1 legendary item), Sorcs gives 18, and this can give up to 20 for shields/targets health. That's a total of 39-49MPEN, and a lot of mages mid will only have around 35-40 unless they buy a magic resist item. However, the burst is still insane and having it scale based on shields/health is super strong. Rabadon's technically has the most burst out of these two (unless you get the maximum value from Shadowflame), but the build path is weird and it doesn't feel nearly as rewarding until you buy the full item. In these cases, pick which is the best second item and buy the others after! I highly recommend buying Rabadons third item if you don't pick it second, unless you need another item (most likely void staff) earlier on!






Early Defensive Item
Pros: Lots of survivability, a bit more CDR
Cons: Pushing your damage into later stages of the game

When do I use this build? This is the build I love to go vs those pesky assassin players (zed, looking at you... ) or if you need survivability. Swap Zhonyas for Banshees if you need MR instead of Armor. You can totally do Ludens instead of crown if you feel you dont need the full defensive build (or do crown but then not a defensive legendary item) and taking ingenious hunter so your Crown/Defensive items CD's are much shorter can be really beneficial!






Healing Comps
Pros: Great against high healing/shielding comps
Cons: Lower burst

When do I use this build? This build can be a bit tricky to explain because every healing comp is going to be different. Some comps require you to buy the full oblivion orb item, while others you can just sit on oblivion orb and buy the rest of the item later. Either way, this will be the same build as the standard burst build, but swap out horizon focus for your oblivion orb item.







Healthy/Tanky Teams
Pros: Very good vs tanks or people you can't burst/lots of AH, fun to constantly spam spells
Cons: No burst or one shot capabilities

When do I use this build? This build will only really be used if they have a tanky/healthy team like Mundo Top, Sejuani Jungle, Galio Mid, & Braum Support, or something similar to that where every tank you fight against will have 3000+ health with tons of defenses that the regular Luden's build just cant even think about bursting through. This build is niche but will be for those really tanky teams that you just can't burst down because they have so much health and resistances. It's VERY niche and will only be bought in VERY particular situations - Lux is a burst mage and wants more burst based items.









A-E Matchups



F-M Matchups



N-T Matchups



V-Z Matchups



During the laning phase, there are 4 key steps to successfully working your lane:




1. Farming
I can not emphasize how IMPORTANT farming is. The early farming stage is the most important part for how well you will do later on in the game. Killing minions grants gold and XP. Gold grants items to further your damage, and XP gives you an advantage to your spells having better base stats/lower cooldowns. Please do not try to just attack the enemy champion, focus on last hitting while poking when given the chance.



How to last hit?
The basic idea is to wait until you are able to kill the minion with an auto attack. However, this is harder than it seems. For me, farming is one of my biggest downfalls. I get so caught up in the wave pressure and health of the enemy champion that I don't last hit and miss the necessary gold needed.
Something to note: Lux WILL get pushed under tower in a bit of matchups. For the melee minions (with full health), let the turret hit them twice and then auto. For casters, you will need to auto>tower hit>auto to get these. If other minions are hitting the enemy minions too, you might need to just use your spells to try to kill these minions since your autos normally won't be enough.



Should I farm with my spells? (Pros/Cons)
Pro: You will be able to use your spells to kill minions more easy, rather than waiting for the right moment to auto and possibly missing it.

Con: You will push the lane and it can be dangerous. You are more susceptible to either be ganked by the jungler or harassed by the mid laner.

Pro: Your opponent will lose farm due to the fact that he/she has to now auto and use their spells in order to hit the minions under the tower.

Con: Using your spells chunks out a lot of mana for Lux, especially early game when she doesn't have very many items. With no mana, you can't 'farm' more, nor can you poke the enemy champion and trade.

Pro: You could gain a huge advantage by keeping both the zoning of your lane and the ability to roam, meanwhile, your opponent is stuck at their turret trying to farm.

Con: You could actually end up missing on tons of CS yourself. With relying on spells to kill minions, you will be casting your spells instead of autoing. With spell casting, it will also create an unbalance in the wave, causing less CS for you- which then puts you behind.



Conclusion?
There is nothing wrong with using your spells to farm- especially under your OWN tower or to secure that $$$ cannon minion. However, try to keep the minion wave as balanced as possible by either only autoing when necessary, or using spells when you are getting pushed (or using your spells to push a wave before an objective or so you can roam). Remember that your main farming tool besides autoing is your Lucent Singularity, which is also used for poking. Also remember that this spell has a high mana cost and a long cooldown, hence why spamming it is not a good idea. However, using it every once in a while to farm or poke is ideal. Farm as much as possible in order to have a better mid/late game.
If you are like me and have a hard time farming, make a custom game and practice last hitting! This will really help for when you get into a game that actually matters.




2. Zoning/Harassing/Trading
This is another very important aspect during the laning phase. With zoning and harassing, you are causing your enemy to be both miss CS and be scared to go in for CS. Depending on who you are against will determine how this can be done.



When you are against melee opponents
This can be a favorable matchup due to the fact that the opponent has to get in melee range to auto you/the minion for CS. In the beginning of the game, try to auto them as much as you can in order for CS to be denied. The key concept here is to try to freeze the lane to deny CS and put them behind. However, with autoing comes some challenges.
1. Some melee champions have abilities they can use on you. Watch out for those. Their ability will do much more damage than your one auto.
2. When you auto the champion, it can cause the enemy's minions to target you. The minions do little damage, but it adds up so be careful.
3. Remember to auto when given the chance only. One auto is not worth missing CS



When to use your abilities in lane
The first and easiest answer to this is when you see your minion wave being pushed. The downside to Lux is that when she is pushed to the turret, most of the time she will have to use her spells to kill the creeps. With this then results in mana issues, loss of gold, and not to mention- her cooldowns are pretty long. You should also use your spells if you need to get lane priority for a dragon or a roam/jungle fight. Lastly, use your spells to poke! You mostly want to just use your E, but feel free to use your Q if you see a window of opportunity and know where the jungler is, or you know if you can land the Q, you can burst and kill them!




3. Jungle Camps
Jungle camps are always a good idea because killing them grants gold and XP. However, there are appropriate times to take the camps. Lux is slower than other champions in taking these camps, but it is always a good idea to try to take these when possible



What camps should I take?
Most of the time, I take the crimson raptor, along with the other raptors. These are very close to lane and you wont lose out on anything. The idea is to E all the raptors but don't pop your E until it pops on it's own, auto the big raptor, and then shield yourself. When your E is up again, it will kill all the small raptors, and hopefully the big raptor as well. You may need to auto the big raptor a couple more times or use your Q if you don't have enough damage to kill it with this rotation of spells. I just like to only use E, W, E because it uses a little less mana (unless you have blue, then spam your spells :P). However, you also could get to a point in the game where your first E kills all the little raptors, so in that case, E>auto the big raptor>Q>auto a couple times and the big raptor should die. Taking the wolves is also acceptable. I do the same rotation, but might add a Q in there because the big wolf is pretty tanky. If you have the opportunity, even taking the the enemy's jungle camps works in favor for you.



When should I take these camps?
1. When your lane is pushed far and you are able to take these raptors and return to lane in time.
2. I normally try to take a camp before I go back to base if I have enough mana/health. It gives me a little more gold before buying items.
3. WHEN THE JUNGLER SAYS ITS OKAY TO DO SO. PLEASE NEVER TAKE THE CAMPS IF YOUR JUNGLER DOES NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION/(S)HE IS CLOSE TO THE CAMPS. If he is helping bot lane or doing something somewhere else on the map, you may take them because their respawn time is short, but remember that the camps are the junglers farm. You wouldn't want someone coming into your lane and taking all your farm.





4. Roaming
Because you are in the middle of the map, roaming is always an option. I normally wait until I have my Final Spark to start roaming, but if your teammates need help, roaming early has its benefits. The point in roaming is to help other lanes score kills and help your team get ahead. Remember that because you are a solo lane, you will hit level 6 faster than the bottom lane. You can use this to your teams advantage. Also watch how much you are roaming. I have seen too many people roam consistently and get nothing out of it, so they miss out on a ton of XP and gold from their own lane.



When do I roam?
1. The best time to roam is if you look at these things: There are no jungle camps to take, the enemy bottom lane is pushing, and you have your own lane pushed. If your lane is being pushed, never wander.
2. When the enemy mid laner is missing. Unless they are low on health or out of mana, they are normally taking a jungle camp or roaming. Remember to ALWAYS call MIA when your opponent isn't in lane and make sure to have vision! You don't want to try to roam with a Talon without vision, he will just be able to jump on you and burst you easily!
3. Your bot lane is about to start a fight and you want to be there to help win it. Sometimes it's as simple as walking halfway down the river, ulting to help with damage/pick up a kill, and then walking back to lane!


Note: Sometimes it is better to push your lane when the enemy opponent roams. Lux is a very immobile champion, so by the time Lux gets to the lane, the fight will be over. You will be wasting your time and will lose out on that XP/gold. Instead, push your lane and get those turret plates for some more gold!! The other advantage to this is that you will be getting all of the gold and XP from staying in lane, meanwhile, your opponent will lose a wave or two of minions due to you pushing into their tower while they're away. Plus, if they stay bot, they'll be sharing bot's XP and won't gain any gold unless they take the ADC's minions or they get kills. Win/win situation!


Teamfights are my favorite part when it comes to playing Lux because this is when her power really shines. She not only can peel for both your ADC and the rest of your team pretty well, but she has burst/damage + utility with her shield. This is why I love Lux so much, as she is very versatile in all areas. During teamfights, keep these things in mind:



1. Use your Lucent Singularity to poke enemy champions.
Before a teamfight actually occurs, Lux is able to poke some of the squishier champions down. This is very important before engaging a teamfight because Lux has the range and AOE from her Lucent Singularity. The less health the enemy champions have when you engage, the better the teamfight.



2. Stay back and throw your spells at your enemies.
This is the most important concept. As Lux, you are squishy and very vulnerable. Your positioning is key to surviving and dealing the most damage you can in a teamfight. You should be able to catch at least one, if not two, champions with your Light Binding. Your team can then engage and kill the enemy champions. You should ALWAYS throw out your Prismatic Barrier when the enemy team is poking/anyone engages, in order to soak up some damage for your teammates. Remember that this spell comes back to you, so if you miss a couple champions on the throw out, try to position yourself so your wand hits your allies on its way back to you.



3. Always remember to use your ultimate whenever you get the best possible chance
For example, say there is a Malphite on your team. Once he uses his Unstoppable Force and knocks them all up, that is your queue to ult. REMEMBER THAT THE ULTIMATE DOES NOT HAVE TO ONLY BE USED TO FINISH OFF AN ENEMY!! Dealing massive amounts of damage to a group of enemy champions will be way more effective in a teamfight than using your ultimate to finish off a single enemy. I know it's tempting to steal a kill for the gold, but doing 1000 damage to 4-5 people is way more effective then doing maybe 500 or less damage to one enemy who is probably going to die anyways. Of course feel free to use your ultimate on enemies who escaped with less HP and you can snipe them, but my point is to try to use your ultimate as effectively as possible!



4. Bursting down the ADC/Mage
This is something you should ALWAYS be looking for in teamfights. You never want to just combo the first person you hit your Q on, especially if it's a tank. When a teamfight breaks out, you're looking to try to use your combo on the carries. Always take into consideration their items (a mage might have zhonyas to dodge your burst, ADC might have QSS, support might have mikaels) and how strong/how much of a threat they are.


5. Helping your ADC survive
This is another concept that I don't think a lot of people realize. The ADC's role is to do the most damage and carry the team! The downfall is that they are usually very squishy and need some type of peeling. Lux is perfect for this. Especially if the support on your team is that tanky Leona who is jumping into the enemy team, Lux stays back and casts her spells next to the ADC anyways. Here's the perfect example of how you can help your ADC survive:
Say there is an enemy Rengar who keeps trying to jump onto your ally, Lucian. Use your Prismatic Barrier to shield the damage Rengar might inflict on your teammate. Right when he uses his ultimate to jump, you should immediately use your Light Binding and root Rengar in place. This will not only save your Lucian and he can continue to DPS in the fight, but will take one more enemy out of the teamfight who was greedy for the ADC kill.



There are 3 things to look out for before choosing Lux:




1. Look who you are up against
In Draft Pick, look at what your enemy team chooses for their different roles. If they chose a really tanky team with a Braum where you won't be able to burst them, or they pick heavy gapcloser champions like Xin Zhao or Camille who can easily jump on you and one shot you, maybe Lux isn't the best pick this time.
This is even better if you already know who the mid laner is. If they pick Fizz, you might reconsider picking Lux and counterpick as someone else instead. However, if the mid laner is Twisted Fate or Ziggs, you should have no problem picking Lux.



2. Look what what your teammates are choosing
If your teammates are choosing champions like Caitlyn, Sona, Malphite, or Amumu, Lux is a perfect pick! With Caitlyn and Sona's poke or Malphite and Amumu's heavy lockdown, you will be able to poke along with them or use that Final Spark right when one of those strong AOE ultimates come into play!



3. Your own capabilities
As you play Lux more and more, you will really get a feel for her. Once you start learning to master her, some of these counters won't be actual 'counters' to you anymore. Or in those hard situations where you're vs that Fizz or heavy engaging team comp, you learn to position well with her and disengage those engagers/turn team fights!

There are 3 things to consider when looking at synergy with Lux:



1. Poke
Poking is one of the best ways to create an advantage before teamfights. If your team pokes the enemy champions health down, someone may be forced to recall. This will either make it a 4v5, or they will have to stay in the fight with half or low health. Here are some champions who work very well with Lux in poke:





2. Teamfight
Teamfighting is one of the most important parts of the mid/late game. If your team wins teamfights, you are able to freely take objectives like baron, dragon, or turrets/inhibitors. There are some champions who work very well with a teamfight composition (keep in mind that some of these champions are able to go in more than one certain position, I just put them in the position they are normally in; EX: Wukong can go top or jungle but he is normally top so I put him in the top category). Most of these champions have some type of ultimate or other ability that provides utility, such as CC or damage, to the enemy team:

TOP: Cassiopeia, Galio, Gnar, Kennen, Malphite, Rumble, Wukong, Yasuo
JUNGLE: Amumu Fiddlesticks, Hecarim, Jarvan IV, Sejuani, Zac
ADC: Jinx, Twitch, Sivir, Vayne
Support: Alistar, Annie, Bard, Leona, Lulu, Sona



3. Engage
The third thing to look for is champions who engage. Engaging can be more tricky, as each individual champion needs a different set of utility from Lux in order to succeed. For example, you may follow up a Morgana bind with your own bind. From there, your team will be able to jump on that specific enemy champion, kill them, and then make the fight a 4v5. Whereas, with Jhin, you can use your bind from your Light Binding and slow from your Lucent Singularity to help ensure that his four shots hit. Here are champions that are good engagers:


TOP: Irelia, Jax, Lissandra, Maokai, Sion
JUNGLE: Diana, Elise, Gragas, Nocturne, Vi, Volibear, Warwick, Zac
ADC: Ashe, Jhin, Kalista
SUPPORT: Blitzcrank, Morgana, Nami, Nautilus, Pyke




I know that sometimes when people read something, they might want to know both the validification of the information, and the person who wrote it as well. To hopefully soothe those, I screenshotted matches I played as Lux recently in ranked! I try to keep this updated but it's not as important. I also have over 1m mastery points with her and she is the one who got me to diamond! She really does help me climb the ladder in ranked, even though she isn't one of the top picks in the mid lane.
*Edited this to the current season :)


February 2020

February 2020


My conclusion is to just have fun!! Lux is such a fun champion in both the mid lane or as a support (I have a separate support guide for her, go check it out!), and can be used in various ways! She has amazing range and poke, along with a really damaging and fun ultimate! Thank you SO SO much for reading my guide! Feel free to like or comment or message me directly for any questions/concerns/things I can do to improve my guide. I just want this guide to be a way for people to learn and master Lux, so let me know if there is anything else I can do to help! Thank you all for your votes, comments, and likes as well! Being the number 1 guide for Lux and having so many of you view my guide and comment and add me and us becoming friends is just absolutely amazing. Anyways, GL HF summoners and see you on the rift!!
~Happy Lasering

  • I would first like to thank my trusty friend I Like Doggos for all of the reading and helping out he has done. It has really saved me time and given me opinions for how I can make this guide the best for you guys.
  • I would also love love to thank the amazing jhoijhoi for her amazing guide on how to actually create a build. Without the help of her coding, I wouldn't have nearly had as great of a guide!
  • Next, I would like to thank my good friend Cynthia, or Mozume, for the Lux art and the inspiration to make this guide as coded and pretty as I can make it, you rock Cyn and the light 'em up picture is to die for <3
  • I would also like to thank PsiGuard, as he is always giving me tips on how to make my guide better, on top of helping me immediately with any BBC coding or anything else!! He's so helpful and so kind, always!!
  • Finally, I would love to thank all of the viewers and people who upvoted this guide. I've spent wayyyy too much of my time constantly editing this guide every patch and trying to make sure everything is up to date.

    Now go Light 'Em Up!

    -Luxeøn



    I didn't have a changelog when I first made my guide, but I figured why not!


    Long Changelog UWU
Download the Porofessor App for Windows
League of Legends Build Guide Author LuxTheGreyWarden
LuxTheGreyWarden Lux Guide
Vote Vote

League of Legends Champions:

Teamfight Tactics Guide