Lux Build Guide by Zemiazas

Dominating Lux: What's that red line? Oh noes...

Welcome to my Lux - Dominion guide. Please keep in mind that we are talking about -Dominion-, meaning everything happens fast and unexpected build changes could make the difference, so that's why every item on this build is highly situational, but recommended. I'm building Lux as full AP, like most Luxes.

(Btw, english isn't my native language, so forgive my mistakes).

Introduction - Dominion Roles.

I have been playing dominion whenever possible so far and read many stuff about it. One thing is for sure: every champion can be good, and kinda bursty damage ones are quite amazing, like Lux. I've seen pro Morganas, pro Heimerdingers, pro Luxes, pro Anivias, pro Karthuses, and many other casters just owning the entire game, because unlike the dps they have more AoEs.

In the end, everything depends on how well you manage to play.

With time you start to see that some champions get profiles or roles when playing dominion, because their abilities suit. So far, here are my thoughts.

Capturer: has high mobility, increased capture rate (Priscilla's Blessing) and skills that will help them escape, like stealths. They practically don't fight, get tanky as soon as possible, have Cleanse/Ghost/Flash/Revive, always a Quicksilver Sash, and are reaally hard to kill. They just love Shurelya's Reverie and Randuin's Omen, also Zhonya's Hourglass (because they protect themselves from all the incoming damage and charge their enemies Cooldowns, giving them some margin to escape with all their speed) and can work as supports in team fights. ( Evelynn, Rammus, Twitch, Shaco, Janna, Zilean etc)

Defender: has very harassing skills, stuns, and slows, and can get a kill if they are (CP - Capture Point), CP-dived. It is good if they have Zhonya's Hourglass because Takers apply bursty damage on them to get them out of the CP or kill them. If they don't have much CC, they are quite tanky and hard to kill, and can hold their place until their team arrives to secure the spot. ( Heimerdinger ftw!, Alistar!, Cho'Gath, Akali, Galio, etc.)

Disrupter: has an insanely long range or a global skill and can stop fast a capture. They are like "Counter-Capturers", as Takers are "Counter-Defenders". Most Disrupters always stay in the Inside Roads of the Crystal Scar, love the relics, critical%, hence Infinity Edge and can kill quite fast. For summoner spells they prefer Exhaust to secure killing the Always Very Fast capturer, Garrison in case the CP has already been captured (they can easily kill if the CP has been garrisoned, almost no damage from it) and some may take Flash. Hextech Sweeper is as deadly as it gets, so that the capturer doesn't hide easily (once I was Eve and there was a disrupter Karthus with Hextech Sweeper... he did his job more than well). ( Gangplank, Karthus, Lux, Ezreal, Pantheon, Ashe, Nocturne! etc.)

Taker: has means of killing defenders, like fears or taunts, but mainly a veery long range and burst damage. Defenders must be killed fast and without getting very close to them, this role needs many means of damaging to avoid getting fooled by bothersome Zhonya's, or trapped under CP with CC. Garrison is a Must in melee takers, makes the CP almost useless to the defender. Other choices might be Flash, though Ignite seems the best idea. ( Lux ftw!, Brand, Morgana, Annie, Xin Zhao, Poppy, etc.)

According to this, Lux's main role in Dominion is to disrupt with her ult and take CPs that are being defended. Q, E, R, deal tons of damage and she doesn't even has to get close to them. She is also very good at farming and changing the minion tide, getting some support at taking the CP.

This is just some summary, the long version this roles and Dominion team work can be found here. ~

Pros / Cons

spaaaaaaaace

Pros + // Immense AP: kinda bursty damage. + // Double binding with Light Binding + // AoE slow with Lucent Singularity + // HUGE ranged and damaging ultimate. + // VERY low cooldown on ultimate. + // Unique shield that can be placed on full team, twice.

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Finales Funkeln

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Cons - // Hard to use wisely in Dominion. - // Squishy if goes full AP. - // Not damaging enough if it doesn't go full AP. - // High cooldowns on low levels (hence Morello's Evil Tome first. - // Low movement speed, can't reach places fast in Dominion. - // Weak at defending capture points.

Runes

The runes might seem a bit strange for many, because AP/lvl runes aren't used often. Well, Dominion gives their deserved attention back, as it is easy to level up, making them more viable than flat ones.

Also, Dominion's accelerated pace solves many mana issues, so runes can focus on pure damage, that will make the difference (unlike having more or less mana regen). You don't spend many time dead, so survivability doesn't feel like the right choice. It is easy to die, three enemies appear from anywhere, constant ganking, so the one that has more damage, owns.

At high lvls, only the runes give more than 80AP.
Free Needlessly Large Rod ftw!(1600 gold!).

This runes give you 4.89 AP every level, and you start with lvl 3. 20 seconds after starting, you hit lvl 4, so that's 19.56 extra AP at the beginning. Every minute and a half, you will receive approximately 5AP, capping at 88.02 just from the runes!

Runes ftw!

I really think that giving Lux CDR is a bit... redundant, but most Lux players love to. At mid-late game she has some nice low CDrs, and Ionan Boots do the trick if you really want it (also, getting Morello's, more than enough).

This is why I focused on pure AP runes -> Dominion oriented.

Summoner Spells

Flash: // It has to be used to save your life. It's your only chance and must be used wisely (through walls). We could say it's main and only survivability asset if you go full AP.

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Ghost: // Yes, Lux is a taker, but she isn't a melee one so taking Garrison might not help you much. Ghost, unlike Ignite or Exhaust almost always proves useful.

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Ignite: // You have to kill defendes, so any aditional damage to all your CC and on-hit extra damage is welcomed.

Remember that there are speed buffs in the map, so if you want to focus at killing defenders (you should) Ignite might be better than Ghost. It's up to you.

Lux 101: Don't Die. You have awesome range, you don't need to be close, being a good Lux implies learning how to poke poke withouth even being close to them. In case they get ya, Flash out, Q, E.

Masteries

9 Offense for Mpen, AP, CDr and 21 Utility for all the cool stuff. Mainly, Summoner spell CDr, the most important part. We don't have much time, we need them quick.

Flash or Ghost may save your life or get you a CP, so I just can't think of a Real reason that the 15% SPCDR ( Presence of the Master ) isn't the most important mastery that everyone should get for Dominion (at least... casters and capturers).

Skill Sequence.

Items and Strategy.

You can take many paths. As I said, unexpected build changes may make the difference. You could be a pro Lux or an starter with Lux, meaning you know how not to take damage in most situations, how to avoid enemies and always have someone next to you; or you don't yet.

If you consider yourself good enough

~ Aggresive Lux ♀

(displayed above)

Start with the Prospector's Ring and boots (the common ones , then go for Sorcerer's Shoes, Morello's Evil Tome has enough CDR for such a fast game). If cou can avoid getting attacked, Sorcerer's make you fearsome, Ionian's just make you bothersome (but you have to hit every skill you use ;P). The ring was Dominionwise made (?). Having a bit of health at the beginning makes the difference between which team deals the initial damage to the other team's nexus.

Early game Strategy: there are five CPs. Right top, right bot, left top, left bot, and Top. Your team has to send three to Top, the Windmill, is the one that makes the difference. Two of them have to be Melee dps, or kinda tanky; the other one a caster with CC. YOUR role isn't to capture the point, is to prevent harassment. While the other two capture it, you slow and bind the coming enemies, giving them the vital time to make the starting difference.

If you don't go to the windmill, you have to fast capture any of the other ones. After that, if you see that no one is coming to your CP, always, Always, go help top. Many many teams rush top, all five of them, after capturing the ones that are close to their spawning place.

Next items:

Morello's Evil Tome: the CDR you were so crying for. Morello's is Very cost effective, and useful on casters, it's pure evilness (?!). Let me remind you that you will have a bit low hp, so be careful.

Rabadon's Deathcap: prioritizing damage over survivability, again. No better choice than Rabadon's on any kind of caster, but you could also go for Lich's Bane first (auto-attack cool damage), but I've tried it and getting Rabadon's first makes your ult to be more than useful.

Mid-Late game Strategy: NEVER, EVER GO ALONE! You are not a capturer, your role is to go with someone to a defended CP and take it. If they are not defending and they are attacking you, get there ASAP. As soon as you have your ult, always keep an eye on the minimap. If you see that bothersome Eve showing up from nowhere, ping her, ult her, and CP secured. You are also a disrupter, your ult Finales Funkeln saves Many, Maaany CPs from being taken. And you just can't imagine how fun it is xD. Because they know you've seen them, they know your team is going, so they usually don't try the recapture and flee, but die anyways.

Always go through the speed buffs, and ping your tanks and melees to take the relic. You shouldn't take it as you don't get (or shouldn't get) close to your enemies in battles, and the shield kinda wastes on you.

Next Items:

Situtional: Thornmail, Odyn's Veil or Rylai's Crystal Scepter. By this time you should have noticed that your squishyness is overwhelming. You have to choice in between these three: Thornmail if the enemy team has 4 DPS champions, Odyn's Veil if they have high AP casters (item that will also give you another interesting source of damage), or Rylai's Crystal Scepter if you manage quite well at surviving and some nice amounts of HP can already do the trick for you.

Lich Bane: purely for the on-hit effect. Remember not to just throw your skills ftw, always use your passive whenever possible, sometimes it deals more damage than the skill itself. If you know how to use well a Lich Bane, guess what? You have a higher damage output with it than with Rabadon's Deathcap.

If time is enough, after those, do not doubt in picking Rabadon's to continue.

The

I'm-new-to-Lux-100% way ~

Strategies remain the same, maybe you would like not going to the windmill because things get kinda tough up there, and take the ones that are near to you and push your enemie's. If you are new to Lux, you still have to learn how to totally and completely avoid getting in your enemies range, always. So you will need HP.

There are two viable options: get the Rod of Aages first after the Ionian Boots (though... maybe the Sorcerer's go better with the build), and then Morello's; or get the Catalyst the Protector, then Morello's, then the rest of RoA. Having the catalyst is quite effective when you level up every 2 or 3 minutes, so it's a constant hp and mana healing (plus max hp, plus max mana).

After those two, Rabadon's, then Lich's. Get Rabadon's if you are not very used with the skill sequence (attack always after every skillshot), or Lich's first if you can manage well with this. RoA is the "big difference", buut, it is still kinda not recommended. Remember that RoA gets stronger every minute... and we don't have muuch time, so we don't get many extra HP nor mana. Keep this in mind when you choose.

The Lazer!

Your Finales Funkeln is what makes Lux so much fun. Normally people don't get away weak from a Lux. People don't capture when a Lux is... far from them. People can't run in a straight line when Lux is around.

You can use your R to start a taking, to weaken them all. Then your E, to weaken them more. Garrison the CP, and let your melees do their job while you Q those fleeing ones.

Your R has 3000 range, so that's... kinda... long. Just walk towards where you want to disrupt something until the huge arrow of where the skill is going to take effect is over your enemy and enjoy clicking.

Just like when I was playing as capturer Eve...

That Lux was excellent at that, gave me lots of headaches. And as a finishing touch, they also had a Gangplank -_-! I ended up second, we won, quite fun ~

Summary

Before finishing, let me remind you something:

*Team Work has never been so important.
*You are ranged, don't get close, always have someone next to you to do that.
*Disrupt!
*Remember: it's Dominion, it's about killing and taking, not about staying alive a lot and *
trying to kill lots and don't die. KILL, and take.
*You have a Very cool and misunderstood shield. Use it.

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I hope you liked the build ~ I am a very receptive person, I'd love to know all your points of view, please comment.

Again, sorry about the bad english.

Updates.

24/9 - Build published.
24/9 - Added Aggresive and New-to-Lux choices. Added Malady as a very recommended choice.
26/9 - Made the guide more visual and changed Garrison for Ghost or Ignite as Lux isn't a melee taker. Thanks to jhojhoi for her amazing Making a Guide Guide, and to Willard for his summoner spell observation.