Xerath has a very big potential in game, but unfortunately, many players don't know how to build him...
I own Xerath about 2 years now and I think he is one of the hardest champions to learn in the league.
I lost all hope on him several times. It costed me 6300 IP and I was totaly pissed off, when I failed him time after time. Luckily I may have found a way to succes this time and I want to share my experiences with other players, because I rarely see him in game and I want to inspire others to play him too.

While reading, you should listen to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVBAeS5t5nc ;)




PS: I'm not from England or USA, so don't give me hard time at spelling and other english grammar stuff. You can send me P.M. if you found a mistake, but DO NOT spam my comment section about this!

Pros Locus of Power + Longest range in game + Has a stun + Can bombard enemies from safe distance + Can turn a game into a win + Best basic skin ever + You can kill enemy who is going B under turret + Great passive

Cons - Vulnerable to gap closers - Vulnerable to CC - You are being focused as hell - When enemy comes close to you, you are dead for sure - Very hard to learn - Squishy

Extra AP for better early game damage

No other Marks are viable +they help you deal a bit more damage

You desperately need some mana regen for better early game performance and these runes fit Xerath perfectly

I was using for long time, but I realized, its better to boost my late game, since Xerath is APC and he should be maxing his damage output in first place.


Calculation:
9x = 27 AP
9x = 11 AP
You get 3x more AP with Scaling AP Glyphs at lvl 18!

If you master item choices, you master Xerath!

First items

Doran's Ring can be an option to start with Xerath, since it gives you all the needed stats for early game. You get 15 AP, 60 hp, 3 mana regen and good passive.


2X Faerie Charm + 2X Health Potion + Mana Potion
You get 6 mana regen, 300 active hp and 100 active mana.
Extra Health Potions come in handy, if you get poked alot and Mana Potion for being able to kill an enemy if he is low hp.


Comparison
Personally I totaly prefer second starting items, because you can stay longer in lane and you don't have to sell your items, which means you don't have to waste money for items you can't upgrade.

Going to base first time

After you go back for the first time, you should always adapt your build to your enemy. Usualy he is an AP champ, but you can also be countered with Talon or Zed for example...
Chalice of Harmony is a MUST buy item, not regarding on the enemy champ, because it gives you great mana regen, so you can stay longer in lane and spam spells more.
Only thing I would adapt to enemy is either buying Boots or Amplifying Tome first. The best choice is to buy both items right away, but sometimes that's not possible, because you don't farm good enough or you get countered too much.

Buy Boots= If enemy uses skillshots to poke you
Buy Amplifying Tome= If enemy is melee and you are good at poking him

Mid game options

When to buy option #1 ( Athene's Unholy Grail + Sorcerer's Shoes + Rabadon's Deathcap):
-you are good at poking enemy
-enemy is melee champion
-you are showoff and you just can't resist the extra damage :P

When to buy option #2 ( Athene's Unholy Grail + Sorcerer's Shoes + Zhonya's Hourglass):
-your enemy is AD champion
-you get focused alot

When to buy option #3 ( Athene's Unholy Grail + Sorcerer's Shoes + Rylai's Crystal Scepter):
-you get ganked alot
-you get focused alot
-you get poked from enemy team

When to buy option #4 ( Athene's Unholy Grail + Sorcerer's Shoes + Abyssal Mask):
-don't buy it :D
-enemy team has 3/5 or more AP champs
-enemy AP carry is focusing you
-this is very rare option to buy, 1 out of 100 games aproximatelly

Late game item choices

Take it, when you want to max out your damage output, otherwise choose a Defensive-Agressive item, like Zhonya's Hourglass or Rylai's Crystal Scepter. I would always buy this item eventually... Reason to buy other items first is just because I counter enemy team.



When your enemy team has gap closers or tanky champions, buy this item. You will be able to kill your threat easier with its active spell. If you still get killed, tell your team to protect you more, otherwise you will soon be on the path to DEFEAT! Gap closers are the most dangerous threat for Xerath and its better for you if you don't even pick Xerath in the case enemies got 3 or more gap closers. If you still pick him, I just advise you to be very very careful!!



This item is one of the best items for Xerath... Gives you nice AP damage, and Active spell, which will make enemies lose their nerves :)



Buy it if you need durability in teamfights... It's also useful as an escape mechanism. I don't really recommend you to buy it early, unless it's really necessary! Otherwise it's still very good item for begginers, because they can land Arcanopulse easier, after they already hit enemy with Mage Chains. Comes quite in handy, belive me... :)



If you run out of mana and you want to spam spells to its max, buy this! I recommend this item especially for beginners. When playing Xerath, this item and Athene's Unholy Grail, gives you max CD reduction and so much mana regen, you will never become OOM :)



Rare item to use in game. Its Aura isn't really useful, unless enemy comes closer to you and when he does its usualy already too late. Only good thing about this item is its balace between amount of AP and amount of magic resist it gives you. Buy it when enemy team has lots of AP-champs in team or if you are mainly focused by enemy AP carry.



I don't know why, but I just hate to use this item. It's similair to Rylai's Crystal Scepter, but you get same amount of AP, only after 20 minutes of game +it doesn't have a slow, like Rylai does... If you don't buy this item early, then don't even buy it, because you will never get full stacks and thats why it's not worth it.
If you still have that damn inner need to buy this, than you will have to find out some new build options. This item doesn't fit very well with other items, which I use most of the time, so its up to you to figure out a new balanced build... Good luck! :)



If you buy this item during game, many will disagree with your choice. I think it can be good option, if you know how to use it and when to use it! Only buy this item with combination of Rylai's Crystal Scepter! Reson for this is, because it synergizes well with Rylai's slow. You usualy use your Mage Chains first and then Arcanopulse. Rylai comes in handy, because it slows enemy when you hit him with Mage Chains and then you also land Arcanopulse easier! Meanwhile Liandry's Torment already burns enemy and your damage amplification really gets effective. This is viable item, but use it wisely!

Skill sequence may seem hard to learn, but in fact it is really simple:
First you upgrade Arcanopulse, so you can poke enemy and farm. Second you upgrade Mage Chains, so you can stun enemy on mid, or jungler when he ganks you.
You give only one upgrade point early on Locus of Power, since it doesn't make your damage as high as other spells do. It's very vital that you get one point early, because you can kill your enemies alot easier with your range.

In general, this is rule for upgrading spells:
Arcane Barrage > Arcanopulse > Mage Chains > Locus of Power

IP= Influence Points
CC= Crowd Control
Gap Closers= Jumps and other tools to get closer to enemies
Squishy= Very low max health points, Example: 1500 Hp is Squishy
AP= Ability Power
APC= Ability Power Carry (usualy ranged champion)
Hp/HP/hp= Health points
Active Spell= Some items can be activated same way as Health Potion, sometimes you even have to press on enemy, so the item Activates and even does damage
CD= Cooldown
CDR= Cooldown Reduction
lvl= Level
OOM= Out of Mana

Za Slovenske bralce tega Builda:
Če rabte program za prevajanje: http://presis.amebis.si/prevajanje/
Če rabte iskat besede, ki jih prevajalnik ne prevede: http://www.urbandictionary.com/
Če mate še vedno kakšna vprašanja, mi pošljite sporočilo na Mobafire, ali pa me kar direkt dodajte za frenda na LOL-u:
Chemical2408 (EU North-East) (Main acc.)
ChemicalSLO (EU West)

Če je kdo zainteresiran, lahko naredimo celo kakšno ranked ekipo... :)

Spamming my comment section is prohibited. You can downvote, but please give exact explanation of what you didn't like in this guide, so I can fix it!

Any comments which will be offensive to me or others, will be reported.

Before any commenting and voting, please try out the build first and then report your likes and dislikes.

If you fail in-game with my guide, I'm not responsible for your failure, because you probably didn't stick to the rules or you are simply not skilled enough.

Report me any grammar mistakes, but please, send me P.M. for this, because I don't want my comment section to get spammed.


I wish you lots of luck and have fun with playing Xerath!