READ THE GUIDE AND TRY IT BEFORE VOTING!

Hi everyone! This is my first guide ever, and then real post of any sort on mobafire...although I've been checking out the guides here for a while now. I keep seeing various Luxes(?) in game unsure of what to build and ending up not being a threat of any sort or even really able to help their team. Most people think of Lux as a support character, but she can be way more than that, and, GASP! actually carry her team. (After Morello's, her build is situational and up to you! See the Items section for more infomation.)

I have been playing Lux since sometime before I hit level 20...needless to say, it's been a while. A friend of mine originally showed me how he played her, and I've greatly modified her build/runes/masteries and play style since to suit what works for me. This is an original build, after testing almost every magic item that might make sense on Lux.

This guide will hopefully help you farm better, get more kills, and make the enemy team run scared. It will not guarantee you will win every single game you play. Every team is different, every game is different, especially the players. Your own playing will most likely vary from game to game too. :)

Apparently mobafire doesn't factor your masteries into list of stats at the top of the page either, so keep that in mind too.

I also have this posted on SoloMid.net, so check it out there too if you'd like: http://www.solomid.net/guides.php?g=5201

I'm just starting to livestream, so catch me playing Lux (and various other champs) here! http://www.twitch.tv/anatheema
Edit: rebuilt my computer and can now stream much better :)


Coming Soon!
- LoL replay of me using my build in game :)

Pros
+ Bursty-ish
+ Ranged
+ Some crowd control with her snare
+ Can lane or mid easily
+ Late-game, her ulti can half-shot (or more) squishier champs
+ Low cooldowns mid- to late-game
+ Making enemies angry by sniping them with your laser when they think they're safe :)


Cons
- Squishier
- Tends to get focused because of your damage + squishiness
- Long cooldowns early game
- Can only carry so much; requires a decent team behind her
- Does NOT work well if your camera is locked (ability to move your camera lets you aim your ultimate better, less completely blind shots)

Lux does have some glitches that are important to be aware of.

• Snare: just like Morgana, her snare will sometimes appear to go right through the enemy and do no damage or snare them at all, even if they have NO magic resistance items or Banshee's Veil. So they will just keep chasing you. All you can really do is be careful.
  
  
• Ultimate: Sometimes your laser will hit dead-on, and still do zero damage. I do not know if this is a collision glitch or not, but there is a chance of losing kills and assists because of it.

-->These occur approximately 30% of the time<--

Lux's masteries are pretty standard for the most part. AP, cooldown reduction, magic penetration for offense, and some extra damage from Havoc, taking a tip from the masteries I use for Brand.

With these masteries, I think I've found a good balance between cooldown reduction and damage throughout the full length of matches.

However, for utility, I put a point in Summoner's Insight since it benefits both your flash AND your clarity. In farming and harassing, you will eat up mana quickly. Before the season 2 patch, flash/clarity would have eaten two of your mastery points; now they're combined for just 1. Yay!

Thank you to Angelsdecay for discussing and working with me on the Utility tree. The spell vamp via masteries will not really be useful in this sense for a champion like Lux when she can be more speedy and have more early mana regen to help with the laning phase of a match.

Her runes are also pretty standard, or at least I think so.

Greater Quintessence of Potency x3
I prefer three of these quints because they give a really nice base amount of AP, which allows you to do more damage earlier on.

Greater Seal of Clarity x9
Clarity seals are really handy for mana regen, since you should be spamming your skills -- particularly your AoE, Lucent Singularity -- as much as you can early game for farming and harassing. You will run out of mana, it's guaranteed; however, this will make it less annoying, especially mid- to late- game.

Greater Mark of Insight x9
Magic penetration marks are standard for any AP-based champion, from my understanding, so these are a must for Lux.

Greater Glyph of Potency x9
The flat AP glyphs are nice because you start out with more AP early game for the laning phase, arguably one of the most important phases. With Doran's Ring as my starting item, I begin with 45 AP. With more AP, you'll do more damage early game, aiding your farming and harassing abilities. With boots/health potions as starting items, I start with around 30 AP.

Optional:

• Greater Glyphs of Force --> if you'd rather have scaling AP as you level --> leads to a little more AP later on
• Greater Glyphs of Insight --> if you want more magic pen overall

Flash has saved me more times than I can count. I can see Ghost being useful; however, flash will get you over that wall and to safety way easier than Ghost ever could. You can easily flash out of AoE ults, such as Nunu & Willump's or Kennen's, and even Jarvan IV's.

Clarity because you will have mana problems. Clarity will allow you to stay in lane way longer, especially with your mastery point for it. I know I'm not a perfect player, I make mistakes, and sometimes those cost me mana (say, a missed snare). At least one other person on the team will be using mana (usually), and it can help them stay in teamfights longer too, if the sole reason they were going to back out was because of lack of mana.

• Trick for playing with Clarity: When soloing mid, you can lure your enemy into a false sense of security that you're out of mana. Let them push you to tower or out just a little too far. Clarity + snare + AoE + laser. Works best if they're already lower health or a teammate comes to help gank.

After using ignite more, it is a useful skill to secure kills early or to prevent an enemy from healing so much; however, you have to be super careful with your mana. Unlike with clarity, if you get caught without mana, you are most likely dead unless you get lucky. Also, with the changes to Morello's Evil Tome to have its active, you don't really need Ignite to prevent the healing mid/late game (at which point you should have Morello's Evil Tome.

Other Useful Summoner Spells

Teleport can bring you to the other side of the map really quickly, instead of running there. I don't personally use this, but maybe it can help you.

Maybe sacrifice Clarity if you think you don't need it. About to kill an enemy but they suddenly run into the fog of war and now can't aim your awesome, amazing laser? Fear no more! Simply CV where you think they should be to help you aim for the kill.

NOT Useful Summoner Spells

So many people will defend getting this summoner spell to the death. No. Just, no. You are playing an AP carry, not a champion who's primarily support, like Sona or Soraka or an AD carry like Ashe. For it to be most effective for your team, you'd have be closer to the enemies with your team than you want to be. And in the grand scheme of the game, it's only a little extra health that won't really protect you from the other team if you get caught and focused. You are better off picking Flash.

This is another summoner spell you should never be close enough to your enemy to use. Save it for an AD Carry with less overall range than you like Caitlyn or Vayne. (I say less because of your ultimate.)

You want to put points in Lucent Singularity and Finales Funkeln whenever you can, except level 4 to get your Prismatic Barrier. Ideally, you want to max Lucent Singularity first since it will allow you to farm and harass the best. Until your ultimate Finales Funkeln, your E will allow you to do the most damage with an ability. This is why I get it as my first skill. It also allows for a good leash on blue or red buff for your jungler.

I max Prismatic Barrier second since it is considerably one of the stronger shields in the game. It can save yourself, it can save your teammates. Don't forget to shield them and yourself.

I max Light Binding last since it's used more as a utility than damage. Snare an opponent to keep him from going anywhere --> kill --> profit. Or use it as an escape from those one or two enemies chasing you: snare them --> toss your E to slow them --> live!

Illumination: Passive
When you use a spell on a target, your target will be "charged" for 6 seconds. It will show up as a little ball of light on your target when your target is visible. Your next attack on them will automatically deal 20 to 190 magic damage within those 6 seconds.

(Q) Light Binding: Active
You can snare up to two enemies, including minions or neutral monsters. The second target receives 50% of the effect as the first. Players frequently think Light Binding is a stun. So, let's make this clear now: it is NOT a stun; it is only a snare. Enemies can still attack you if you use this on them.

Tips and Tricks:

• When soloing mid, try to let your enemy push you to your tower. Clear some minions, and catch them off-guard by snaring them under the tower. You will either get a very easy kill or your enemy will be set back by having to use their escape + having to recall.
• Example: I had a mirror-match mid, and the other Lux (who brought Ignite and Flash) attempted to snare me under my own tower. I dodged her snare, then snared her instead. She flashed out but didn't go back for whatever reason. But it didn't matter because I followed her into the bush on river. AoE + auto attack = easy first blood after snare under tower.
• Use your bind to protect your teammates! If a teammate is being chased and you're nearby and can get to to them (it helps if they run toward you), you can snare the enemy chasing them and help your teammate get away and survive. This may be used in conjunction with your shield.

(W) Prismatic Barrier: Active
You throw your wand around you and any nearby teammates to create a shield. Use this to potentially save you and your team from death. It could mean the difference between winning and losing a teamfight sometimes. Use with your snare when protecting teammates.


Tips and Tricks:

• Use your shield to save yourself and your teammates. Your shield is one of the best in the game, in my opinion, so use it! Protect yourself and your team from Karthus ultimate, from enemies' Ignite, from damage from Baron and Dragon.

(E) Lucent Singularity: Active
This is your area of effect skill (AoE). You throw out a ball of light, which slows nearby enemies. If you hit your E again, you can choose when to explode it to damage enemies in the area. Very handy for farming and harassing.

Tips and Tricks:

• Throw it out there and leave Lucent Singularity as a slow to help keep enemies from chasing you. Light Binding --> Lucent Singularity usually will give you enough time to get away safely.

Finales Funkeln (R) Finales Funkeln: Active
Also known as the red line, laser, rainbow, or double rainbow while Lux shouts "DEMACIA!!!" Using this build, it will have a cooldown of 28.8 seconds by the time you hit level 16 and have Morello's Evil Tome (with blue buff, it's 24 seconds). Its red line ranges between about the first two mid turrets on either side of the river of Summoner's Rift.

Here is a picture to better show this range, with the red arrow representing your ulti:


Tips and Tricks:

• If the enemy team is pushing a tower and the tower has more than half its health left, using your ulti on the minion wave being used to push it can often save the tower.
• "Blind" shots with your ulti are infinitely easier if your camera is NOT locked. You can move it around and plan it better instead of just guessing.
• Try to anticipate where your enemy is going to be before you shoot for the kill. If you shoot where they are now, particularly if they're moving, you may completely miss them...and your kill.

Items Summary:

Starting:

OR x 3

Core:

, , , , Sight Ward

Survivability:

, ,

Extra Damage:

,

Luxury:

Items Explanation:

Starting Items and Early Game:

Boots and health potions
These give you great mobility early game, the speed to dodge skill shots. They also make it easier to escape ganks than if you didn't have them since you have that extra speed boost from your boots. The health potions allow you to sustain your health more if and when you do trade damage with your enemy.

Doran's Ring
Always start with this if you're not worried about your mobility. It gives a fair bit of health, AP, and mana regen for level 1, until you hit 6. This will help you in laning phases. When I start with Boots and Health Potion, I will still get this item second when I can or want to recall and buy items. Sometimes stacking 2 Doran's Ring can help if you're a little behind where you want to be. Sell this later for another large item, mid to late game, usually late game.

Sight Ward Sight Wards
Warding the bushes along river will give you great vision of what's going on around you. Watch your mini map. This can save you from ganks from other enemy lanes and the enemy jungler. Try to buy 2 wards every time you go back. If not, 1 is fine. Panglot's Guide to Warding is a very informative read: http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/warding-helper-more-than-your-eyes-can-see-54337

Sorcerer's Shoes
If you're earning gold slower than normal because the other team is harassing you a lot and you keep having to go back to base to heal, pick up a set of and some . You'll get your Sorcerer's Shoes soon enough; just keep on farming and get kills if you can, or assists. Assists help too, albeit not as much.

On Boots: Now, I've seen so many Luxes get Ionian Boots of Lucidity. I know what you're thinking: "why not? What's wrong with them? My cooldowns suck early game and later I can spam my laser more. Who wouldn't want that?" But in getting Ionian Boots of Lucidity, you lose crucial magic penetration, which let's you hurt WAY more and makes you the threat you should be if you're going to be an AP carry. The 15% cooldown reduction (CDR) on the other boots isn't really worth losing so much extra damage, since you should be getting Morello's Evil Tome anyway, which has a 20% CDR and some nice AP.

Mid Game Goals:

Rabadon's Deathcap and Morello's Evil Tome
Since the changes to Lux in the Fiora patch, unless I'm doing phenomenally well, i.e. completely dominating my lane early game with some kills and tons of minion farm, I always get Morello's Evil Tome as my first "big item." It gives a fair amount of AP, important mana regen, and that lovely CDR. If not, I feel like I'm auto attacking more when I really should not be at that point in the game. If I am doing fantastic that match, I will get a Needlessly Large Rod before building my Morello's Evil Tome. Rabadon's Deathcap is next, ASAP. With the changes to Morello's Evil Tome for its active ability and that it now builds out of Kage's Lucky Pick instead of Blasting Wand. I tend to get Kage's Lucky Pick first when building it because of the AP and gold per 10.

With Ignite, it is absolutely crucial for your mana issues to have Morello's Evil Tome. Also with Ignite, I will usually get a Tear of the Goddess early to solve any other mana issues and begin charging it for later and when I build it into Archangel's Staff.

At this point in the game (mid to late game), Lux's items are mostly situational.

Optional Items:

Void Staff
I tend to get this if the enemy team is tankier or has more health, or starts building magic resist. If your team is doing pretty well and you're winning, I usually get this right after Morello's Evil Tome/ Rabadon's Deathcap. (I tend to get this anyway, even if the enemy team isn't too tanky. Magic penetration is always nice.)

• Since flat magic penetration is applied before percentage (i.e. magic pen from your boots will be applied first BEFORE the 40% from Void Staff), I recommend selling your Sorcerer's Shoes and buying like Mercury Treads or some other useful boots like that. If not, your Sorcerer's Shoes will lower the damage output you would get from Void Staff because of the way magic pen is applied.

Archangel's Staff
If the other team isn't really building magic resist despite you being there (and they should), I get this next, starting with a Tear of the Goddess so you can work on charging that up. Sometimes I'll get the Void Staff first, then this. I know some AP carry builds say not to get Archangel's Staff because she doesn't need a large mana pool like champions like Anivia; however, if you're stuck out defending a turret against 2 or 3 of the enemy team possibly alone, you're going to be spamming your skills. That eats up a ton of mana. The extra mana is handy for situations like this, or even if you're farming and suddenly an enemy champion runs up to you to try to kill you. I can think of a bunch of situations where this is good. Also, the AP from Archangel's Staff is based on your mana, so large mana pool now = EVEN MORE AP. (This also works well with Lich Bane because of the mana from it.)

Lich Bane
It's overall a handy item and tends to go well with Lux's passive, Illumination, because of its unique passive ability. I tend to get it if the other team has some AP champions who are hurting a bit since it has a bit of magic resist on it, OR if I find myself auto attacking a lot. Why not? It's got AP, extra mana, that awesome passive, and some movement speed.

Banshee's Veil
If you're really having survivability problems, especially with AP-based champions on the enemy team, Banshee's Veil should be a big help to you. More mana, health, magic resist, and the passive that blocks one magical spell on you. This also goes well with Archangel's Staff because of the mana.

Zhonya's Hourglass
If the other team has a lot of AD, you can get this handy item here. The armor helps with your survivability, PLUS you get an extra 100 AP. Who's complaining? In relation to Zhonya's Hourglass's active ability, you could use it if you're about to die from Karthus's ultimate, from Ezreal's ultimate, from Ashe's ultimate...as long as you remember to use it.

Abyssal Scepter
If the other team has a lot of AP and starts building some MR against you, this item is perfect. I've had to use it a number of times. It gives you a nice chunk of AP, some MR for yourself (yay survivability!), and it even lowers your enemies' MR. This + Void Staff and their MR is now relatively useless.

Hextech Revolver
I've seen this used for survivability as well. It has some AP plus the spell vamp. Ulti a line of minions and get most of your health back. (And you can sell it later if you want, or build a Will of the Ancients. Up to you!) Never, ever rush this item first, though. You do not have the consistent damage output like Kennen or Ahri to make it worth getting first.

Why I Never Get Rod of Ages on Lux:

Rod of Ages is a great item, don't get me wrong, but it's just not worth the gold on Lux. She's so squishy that the extra health from it isn't worth it. When building RoA, you usually get Catalyst the Protector first early game (since that's when it's most useful), which is when you really need to be building AP instead. This is because you do not start out with as much early game magic damage, like champions such as Brand and Annie and Anivia. So for you, as Lux, that's 1350 gold for Catalyst the Protector, in the wrong direction. If you get caught, you're going to die with it. You're better off putting that gold toward your Rabadon's Deathcap or your other AP items.

Note: Yes, I have actually tested Rod of Ages on Lux since the last few patches. If you are 1v1 another Lux who does get RoA, then the Lux with RoA will win. However, this is the only time this item is good on her. In real, team matches, if you get RoA, you will not do nearly as much damage as you would have if you did NOT get it.

Mejai's
I also never get Mejai's Soulstealer. You can get a ton of AP from it, but ONLY if you get a ton of kills/assists and never die. But chances are, you're just going to get focused even more. Snowball items like this are too risky in most cases. I would rather put that extra 800 gold or however much it is toward a Void Staff or something else that will hurt more.

However, if your game is going remarkably well, you're not dying, not getting focused, are amazing at escaping and are playing really well overall, then I would recommend it. Just be careful.

Look out for these. They can catch you, burst you down, and overall kick your butt. Remember, your snare is only a snare, it does not stun, and many of these champions can easily catch up to you even if you snare + run, or snare + flash + run.

• Akali
• Blitzcrank
• Dr. Mundo
• Garen
• Malphite
• Master Yi
• Morgana
• Talon
• Riven
• Rumble
• Urgot
• Jax

Solo Mid:

Lux is a fantastic AP mid. Her long range allows her to harass enemies, and she can farm to her heart's content. There are a few champions, however, whom she has a very difficult time soloing:

• Katarina: her shunpo/blink will cause you trouble. It makes it difficult for you to kite since she can just shunpo to you, especially if you need to run away.
• Vladimir: his pool is incredibly frustrating, since he can use it to dodge most of your attacks/spells. His health regen is insane, and he does a decent amount of damage (read: more than you) early game, especially if he runs with Ignite.
• Swain: his snare and pretty much all his spells give him good harassment early on, and once he hits level 6, he can heal and out-damage you very quickly. He will either be able to kill you or zone you out very efficiently at this point.
• Malzahar: clears minion waves incredibly quickly and has high early game damage. He can zone you out efficiently as a result. Avoid his AoE and ultimate as much as possible.

Laning:

If laning, Lux tends to lane well with a support like Sona, Taric, or Soraka, or a tank like Alistar, Singed, or Rammus. Essentially, someone else who you can work with to survive, use some form of crowd control (CC), and get some early kills. This match-up is very variable and will determine which champions you will have a hard time laning against.

• Laning with an awesome Taric once helped me win a 3v5 match with him and our jungler, Lee Sin.

I do not recommend soloing top lane vs. 2 if your team has a jungler and the other team does not. Overall, with Lux's squishiness and comparatively low early damage output vs. most other champions who would solo top (see Irelia and Jax, for example), this would go very poorly very quickly. You are better off soloing mid or laning with a partner at bottom.

Since you got your Lucent Singularity first, you can use it to check the bushes for enemies if you're top or bottom lane...unless you're laning with someone else who's less squishy who can facecheck for you. :)

Early game:
Farm minions as much as possible by last hitting. Pay attention to the minions' health and how much damage your auto attacks do. You can use your Lucent Singularity to farm as well; your passive, Illumination makes it especially useful. You can use this AoE to harass your enemies as well, but try not to spam it terribly much.

If you bring Ignite, you will not be able to get your mana back so easily like you would if you had Clarity. If the enemy is being really aggressive, hug your turret. It's your friend and can protect you if you let it. You will still be able to farm decently from under it, and if you hit level 2+ and the enemy champions get brave, you can snare them under turret and likely get an early kill. At the very least, if they do escape, they will be forced to go back to base and let you farm freely.

Once you hit level 6, use your ulti Finales Funkeln to get low-health stragglers or enemies who are running away when others can't catch up, etc. If later the enemy team is getting Baron, if you have vision, when it gets down to around 500 HP, you can use Finales Funkeln to steal it for your team. Be aware of the exact health left on Baron and how much damage your ultimate does. I've done this before and it's resulted in us being able to push to win after winning a team fight with Baron. It also results in much hilarity. :)

• This also works for Dragon and any buffs. I have used this on Dragon (and gotten a kill on a jungle Lee Sin), as well as numerous enemy blue buffs.

I like to get Rabadon's Deathcap and Morello's Evil Tome around 25 minutes in at the latest. You should have around a kill or two by now, and if not, then assists.

Team Fights:
Stay back! In the back of your team, that is. Keep in mind that you are squishy, and you will die fast if you get in the middle of the fight. Your team should be helping protect you, the tanks in particular. Enjoy your range. Pick off low-health enemies with your ultimate, save it for that if you can. Try not to steal kills, though, however tempting it may be (unless you're messing with a friend who knows you are, of course).

Mid- to Late-Game:
Stay with your team. You are squishy and will be a target. You will get ganked, or at least attempted-ganked. You should not be venturing out alone, except maybe to clear some minion mob from one of your turrets. (If the turret is low on health, still go with someone else.) No matter what, play safely! It will help keep you alive. (But that really goes for any champion.)

Given a team that works well together, this works very well in ranked matches. I've used it a few times in ranked 5v5 team matches, all with successful outcomes.

General Tips

• Map awareness! Paying attention to where your enemies are is incredibly important. You cannot blame your teammates if you're the one not paying attention.
• If the above means you have to buy wards, then do it. Your entire team is responsible for warding. They are very inexpensive for the extra map awareness and visibility they provide.
• Remember your positioning!

I think I've covered everything now for the most part. If I've missed anything or you have any questions or want me to add stuff, please let me know in the comments!

Try the guide before you vote or comment, please! :)

Happy lasering! (Is that a word? Oh well, now it is.)

These 3 matches on December 7th, the enemy team surrendered at 20 minutes in. I had the most magic damage (and most damage overall) in all 3. These were livestreamed.


These are from a recent game from Dynamio:



Screenshot from a recent match:

3v5 match...2 of our people had to leave. Shielded Taric while he tanked the nexus turret, saved him, then we won the final 3v4 teamfight while Yi tried to backdoor our nexus:

- 8/21/11 Separated the Items and Play Style into two sections to make them clearer + added Ranked Play section + switched order of Lich Bane and Void Staff

- 8/22/11 Added section describing Lux's skills + reworded explanation of why I don't get Rod of Ages + general formatting of the guide

- 8/24/11 Added two survivability items to Optional Items + changed point from Greed in masteries to monster buffs

- 8/26/11 Added another con...keeps happening to me: I'm doing just fine, but another lane will feed like no tomorrow and just make overall poor decisions (like running into the entire other team alone), and we lose because of that.

- 9/21/11 Added Abyssal Mask to the items section. Been using it in certain situations, and it's been pretty handy.

- 10/2/11 Edited the main item build you see when you first look at the guide. With these items here in a basic build, you have a bit of defense as well as more AP with a basic item build.

- 10/10/11 Added "not useful summoner spells" and explanations, and some tips & tricks with an example. Also changed some info about her ultimate.

• Also removed Rylai's Crystal Scepter as an optional item. Your AoE already has a slow, the slow from Rylai's won't matter by the time your snare wears off, your shield CAN'T slow an enemy (or do damage), and your ultimate... Well, it's an expensive item for just a little HP and a little AP in comparison to other items (like Zhonya's Hourglass).

- 10/16/11 Link to SoloMid version, rune options.

- 10/19/11 Section summaries for masteries, runes, and skill sequence, as per rhysyo's suggestion.

- 10/25/11 Changed some general wording in various sections. I promise one day I will get a replay/video up here. >.<

- 10/28/11 Added link to livestream.

- 11/10/11 Changed runes to what I was using experimentally, but turns out I like them more for how I play.

- 11/15/11 Masteries updated to reflect the most recent patch for season 2. See the masteries section for more details.

- 11/28/11 Masteries redone again after some experimentation. Also changed some formatting.

- 12/8/11 Added more results. Updated numbers for initial AP and final cooldowns. Updated explanation of Zhonya's Hourglass.

- 12/20/11 Added more results, edited the skill sequence section a little.

- 1/3/12 HAPPY NEW YEAR!! :D Also added new results from another player + general formatting + tips for using your ultimate.

- 1/5/12 Edited Mejai's explanation + added glitches.

- 2/13/12 Small change to masteries.

- 3/3/12 Order of item purchases to account for Lux changes in the Fiora patch.

- 5/5/12 Rune description for starting AP, summoner spells, items for order and other options, game play for overall clarity (no pun intended), skill sequence redone, skill explanation tips, counters, and ranked play.