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Lux Build Guide by

Lux - MR... What does it mean?

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Lux Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (189) More Lux Guides

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Ghost

Ability Order

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Introduction

Hello and thank you for spending time to read my guide.

This guide involves getting as much Magic Penetration that's effective as well as quite a bit of AP, so all those enemies stacking MR are wasting their time and money. You might think this is a bad idea, but there's been quite a few times now that i've 3 shotted tanks and 1 shotted that annoying Karthus bastard waiting to use his ult because of this. (Notice that i actually do enjoy playing Karthus, just not fighting against one as you will notice in this guide a few times)

In the Items section i will also talk about Mejai's and it's purpose in this build.

Updates : Jan.18.2011
-Nothing seems to have effected my build yet, will keep tabs on any changes.
Jan.19.2011
-Special thanks to Footyballs, SoupOrJuice and iToasty for reminding me how flat pen works ~_~ guide fixed to support actual usage now.
-Added Laning section
Feb.01.2011
-Added a new optional (abyssal scepter again) due to something that occured in my last match.
-Still haven't found Frozen Heart worth the price when i can get more AP and armor for a bit less...
-Fixed an error with Marks (runes).
Feb.18.2011
-After screwing around in a few matches i found 2 other combinations that seem to be working out real well (though i haven't tested out the new CDR item quite yet, i will be doing so soon.) The Second Guide is for more experienced Lux players who are confident with being a bit more glass cannon than normal. The Third Guide is for more experienced Lux's and is a typical Ranked Game Build for the most part. Builds for ranked will obviously differ but i'd probably play something like that if i did with her. If you do decide to play the third one though be careful of Sheen, if you can't get in those needed auto attacks then it's most likely not for you.
[TL ; DR Added in 2 new builds, more items descriptions for the added items and a few grammatical changes]
March.09.2011
-Added Archangel's Staff in the mentionable because for some reason i forgot to put it there.
March.20.2011
-Added 2 half similar more supportive builds.
March.23.2011
-Few things here, last patch made Lux's shield stronger and reduced her ult damage. Though this does hurt her and make her more supportive, it also doesn't really effect ANY of my current builds at all.
-Added Morello's to lists because i didn't...
-Made a new build for people who run out of mana often, this build involves needed some kills early for funding, or you'll have no AP to output damage midgame, if you can pull it off it can seek benefitial rewards though. Also note that late game you WILL NEED BLUE BUFF (unlike all the other builds which don't need to care about it) IN ORDER TO GET 40% CDR.
March.23.2011
-Added Will of the Ancients to the *Everything Mentioned* Section. Did not add *Deathfire Grasp* though it is a good item for Lux, if it fits your playstyle still switch it for Morello's Evil Tome, if not just ignore this post.
-Fixed Some Grammar.
April.21.2011
Looked through guide, decided Abyssal Scepter would be better than Lich bane on the 2nd support guide. It just seems like a better idea IMO.
June.05.2011
Made a Glass Cannon Lux type (Fourth on left side)
I am not making a description for this one though as most things are already covered.

Summary

Before continuing, This is a summary of what is in this guide and how things works.

Builds

The first build is based on high Magic Penetration, In case you get teams that will most likely have 1 or more MR items bought, it also hits very hard early game and makes people kind of *wtf* since you're hitting hard with little ap early game.

The Second Build is based more around mid lane (works on side lanes) and is a bit more offensive in comparison to the other two which are more stationary. It also seems to be the most popular of all the builds currently made.

The Third Build is more for those people who are like *WTF NO MANA TO CAST OMG* type people who either don't have the runes/masteries, aren't high enough level for those runes/masteries OR just simply cast far too much. It definantly is a build based on getting 1-2 kills early or having a very slow start, but will have an amazing late game because of it.

The Fourth Build and Fifth Build are based more on aura and support items as well as still having a good amount of ap to deal damage and help out your team, depending on what your teams need these also can be useful.

What else you will find in this guide

5 Builds to fit everyone's needs
Multiple effective caster items based on situations where they're more suitable
Laning Descriptions for the basic lane types
Basic fighting tips and how Lux is supposed to be used (to me at least)
Runes/Masteries (which work with most casters out there)
And Core Item Descriptions which explain why i pick certain items and their benefits.

You can find most of these based on the headings of each section, all in all, the main guides are based on quite a bit of Magic Penetration hence the name of the guide. Everyone is entitled to their own personal opinions and styles, and I'm definitely not saying the ones i use are the best, use them to your benefits and try to have fun doing so :)

Everything Mentioned

For those who are too lazy to read the entire thing or don't wish to reread. (Doesn't Include Items in Purchase Order)
If the item is Defensive, you might want to get it after Rod of Ages (Unless another time seems more fitting)
If the item is Offensive then it will most likely just replace one of the mentioned Core items directly.
Some items may not be found in reading this like Will of the Ancients, which is just a great mentionable.

- General good caster item
- Haunting Guise Replacements
- Good first item replacement (Mejai's + Haunting Guise etc.)
- Zhonya's Hourglass Replacement (if the enemy team is stacking alot of MR)
- Supportive Items
- Support Item/Zhonya's Hourglass Replacement (if the enemy team is high AP and it fits the situation)
- Support Item (if it fits your team)
- Optional Survivability (Lich Bane Replacement, Order of buying up to you, Best to get if you need Survivability over Damage until Late Game)
- Optional Boots Replacement
Optional Summoner Spells (Depends on player playstyle)

Runes

The Runes in this build are pretty straight forward for Caster Carries.

Marks - Flat Magic Pen, These give you additional Penetration ontop of the tons you will have in each build, and help you quite a bit early since you don't get much AP until Mid game.
Seals - Mana Per Second/18, These allow you to spam your abilities a bit more safely when Clarity is on Cooldown, Since she still does destroy her mana pool with a build like this
Glyphs - Flat Cooldown, These allow you to use your Q and E abilities more freely, as well as those fun Double Rainbows.
Quints - Flat HP, Since you get boots first with this build the 78 HP is VERY useful early game. These can be replaced for AP quints due to the HP reduction Patch for Masteries and runes.

Masteries and Summoner Skills

9-0-21

In order to get that as much Magic Penetration as possible you need the 9 points in Offensive, this also allows you to get both your summoner ability masteries and both cooldown masteries (including summoner spell cooldown). Expanded Mind is not taken simply because the EXP mastery seems more useful to me just because i can keep up in levels for ganking or taking over a lane for a dead ally.

Ghost and Clarity are taken so you can get away quite easily if focused (Suppress, Slow and the ability to run super quick? Yes please.) and so you can spam your abilities quite freely without having to worry much on your mana. Mid/Late game you should ask your Jungler (or if you don't have one just take) for blue buff. It's very useful on you as long as the enemies don't take it from you.

Other Summoner Abilities that are useful on Lux that can fit your playstyle include
Teleport, Flash, Exhaust, Ignite and Cleanse. Clairvoyance is another option but i'm not a big fan of it.

Items

Core build

Boots of Speed, 2 Health Potions, 1 Mana Potion

Doran's Ring is also a good starting choice, but i enjoy my ability to run quickly early. It allows me to get off those skill shots a bit more effectively and leads right into a core item all together.

Haunting Guise

Haunting Guise can be substituted for Mejai's Soulstealer if it fits how you play, but i personally enjoy the 20 more Penetration, minor Ability power, and hp over it early game. Late game if you have a majority AP team you might want to switch this with Abyssal Scepter.

Sorcerer's Shoes

Sorc Shoes are the average Caster boots and typically won't be switched for anything unless you're REALLY getting destroyed by CC effects and the like. In which case go for Mercury's Treads.

Rod of Ages

Rod of Ages is a very useful item as long as you can get it early. Since you got the Ruby Crystal to this a bit earlier you might want to skip right into the Ability power if you can afford the Blasting Wand. If not go for the Catalyst for Survivability, Mana and it's very nice effect.

Zhonya's Hourglass

One of the higher AP items in the game, this item also gives 50 Armor which is great against enemies like Tryndamere and Garen The effect is really nice also. Timed properly it can completely screw up what you're enemies were planning, can save your life, allow you to kill someone before they DO kill you, just plain allow you to kill someone as well as other things. This item can be replaced with a Void staff if the enemies are stacking alot of MR. It can also be replaced with Abyssal Scepter if the situation is right.

Rabadon's Deathcap

Things just got serious. You've gotten tons of magic penetration, the tanks are crying, and that enemy Karthus has just rage quit from you 2 shotting him. This item puts your AP over 450, add this in with your moves are you're hitting like a truck. Add in Lich Bane and you'll have over 700 with an elixer.

Lich Bane

This can be replaced with MANY things, and if something better is found i will happily replace it. The only reason i picked this is to make her passive that much more powerful, hitting around 1000 damage auto attack late game. Banshee's Veil or Guardian Angel might be much better choices.

Side Build Items

Amplifying Tome
This Item is a great starting item for most casters, other casters also go for Sapphire Crystal as starters as well depending on playstyle and summoner abilities. Amplifying Tome allows you to hit like a truck from the start, and is more of a middle lane item to jump directly into Mejai's Soulstealer or another early AP item.

Sapphire Crystal
Sapphire Crystal is another great starting item, It allows for you to start off with 2 HP Potions with it, and can be thrown right into a main item. It also works great for spamming your moves and is great for running clarity early game depending on preferences.

Tears Of The Goddess
Tears of the Goddess
Now i'm usually skeptical and against this item with Rod of Ages, Especially with someone like Lux who NEEDS some CDR and moderate-high AP to be a good Lux in general... but, if done right this can proceed to be very well. Mana problems? what's that taste like.

Mejai's Soulstealer
This is a great caster item and a must if you think you're going to get kills. If you get it stacked enough though you may want to get some survivability as your enemies will most likely take notice and begin to focus you in order to cut your stacks.

Void Staff
The Setup this item is put into fits pretty well, Since you don't have either of the Spell Penetration items like the first build, you'll need something to help against those pesky tanks and carries with Banshee's Veil and the like, this fills that spot nicely.

Morello's Evil Tome
A New addition to the game, as soon as i saw this i had to make a build or a tweak with this in it. Ability power, Mana Regeneration AND 20% CDR!? This is a perfect item for Lux just from reading it, though i'm still unsure of where to fully place it for now.

Support Build Items

Faerie Charm x2

The reason you get 2 of these is so that one can lead into an early Philosopher's Stone, which gives mana and hp regen, as well as 5 gold every 10 seconds. The other farie Charm leads into a Mana Manipulator, which will help out the fact that you have a puny mana pool with this setup and should help you if you have the Mana Regen Seals for the entire game. You can also go 1 Hp Pot + 1 Ward at the start with these items, but i prefer 3 potions.

Soul Shroud
Soul Shroud Comes first after you get your Mana Manipulator and Philosopher's Stone, main reasons being the more hp and team aura.

Shurelya's Reverie
This item comes later in the game so you can abuse the gold it gives you, the effect Shurelya's Reverie has can help gain your team a kill or get your team out of battle asap and is a quite looked over item. It will also bring your CDR to 39.89% (might as well be 40%) so you can spam fire with high mana regen, support, and show off those pretty laser beams.

Please Note that Abyssal Scepter is a quite viable item in the support item builds.

Skills

Lux's Passive is not to be overlooked. If you can get in one auto attack before they turn around and try to hurt you, do it! (as long as they don't ACTUALLY hit you) This can be great for last hitting minions, annoying enemies, and getting those kills on enemies running away.

Q
Lux's Q Light Binding is very useful, and her main damage move besides her ult. If you hit an enemy with this you can set up perfect ganks, kills, or just scare the hell out of them. Aiming it can be bothersome though as it DOES NOT PASS THROUGH MINIONS so think before you shoot this. Wasting mana on this besides to hit champions is not recommended.

W
Lux's W Prismatic Barrier is quite overlooked though since most team fights don't happen until late game, you typically wont even need to look at this until nessicary. I've killed 2 people before with 400 HP left, ran to heal and saw Karthus's ult coming and have saved myself many many times with this. It can also shield allies as well and can help your team that much more.

E
Lux's E, Lucent Singularity is her main farming move. This can also be used very strategically with Light Binding. You can heavily null an enemy from running, force them to get hit by it or run into a gank, allow yourself to hit your passive 2 times in a row and more.

Finales Funkeln
R
Finales FunkelnFinales Funkeln is not to be taken Lightly, with this build you're hitting for over 1k damage every time you use it to every champion or minion you hit. add that with it's super low cooldown and it's a force to be reckoned with. Combining this with your Light Binding and Lucent Singularity can cause extreme havoc to the enemy team. Also, don't be afraid to use this a little more than you want to because of the cooldown it shouldn't be a hazard if you do.

Laning

Top Solo

Since you're fighting 2 people (or 1 who's doing the same thing as you because of a jungler) you'll be farming better than your bottom counterpart, and will probably be getting harassed a bit. but since you're a Ranged Champion, You shouldn't have much trouble. If your jungler ever decides to gank, get yourself into a non obvious spot (so they don't catch on) and throw your Light Binding first. Unless it's completely necessary NEVER start off any champion fights with another move. your Lucent Singularity can harass and all, but when you're going for a kill, chasing someone, running away or setting up a gank, ALWAYS throw your Light Binding first. Suppresses are more beneficial than Slows when it comes to these situations. Depending on the situation you can throw your Lucent Singularity afterwards in strategic locations. If you're running away from someone, throw it midway so that they need to either waste something to get through it, or have to walk around/through it, giving you time to escape. If you're good at timing you can also just pop it at a safe opportunity in order to do some damage while you're at it. If you're going for a kill/gank of some sort, attempt to throw it ahead of where you believe they might go. A lot of people are stupid and WILL WALK THROUGH IT in order to try to escape to their turret. shooting it like this not only allows you to still be able to do all your fun damage, but can allow your team to get in a few more hits as well.

Middle

Middle plays very similar to soloing top, you call your MIA's, look out for uncalled MIA's and be wary for junglers, etc. Middle is a little more responsible for the team though. When you're middle, you can easily support your sides with your ult. (if needed to, if not just run there and help like a non lazy person) As middle you might want to get a Mejai's Soulstealer over Haunting Guise since you'll most likely be getting more kills. Not much else to say here that i haven't covered already.

Bottom Lane (Duo Lanes)

Being more laid back here, you'll most likely stick right to the core build. You and you're laning buddy will most likely have turns warding the river bush if your jungler doesn't so you can be safe from ganks, and you will most likely leave the lane a few times to support mid or top (unless your partner is more suited for it) Lux has great CC and farming abilities as well, so make sure you aren't hogging them all up! you're laning partner will need some of them to be useful to your team. You won't be much of an early damage dealer, and more of a support like you're supposed to be until mid game. Setting up you and your partner for kills, and keeping them at bay as much as you can without abusing all of your mana.

Conclusion

Pro's

Not that squishy compared to most support/carries
Can deal TONS of damage
I've personally have never NEEDED blue buff to do stuff

Con's

If doing too well, will be focused
Still Pretty Squishy
Can run out of mana and be useless if you're spamming TOO hardcore

In Conclusion, Like my build or hate it, but please at least try it first or explain why before you vote. If you have a suggestion, don't downvote in order to show your point across. Just explain it and i'll include it or explain why i haven't.
Good luck lighting up the sky!

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