Lux is one of my favourite champions and my first preference when it comes to playing mid or ap carry and have found great success with her against any champions such as Brand and Vladimir who are strong mids. Of course I'm just your regular guy, nothing like Hotshot or Jiji so you don't have to agree with everything i say but maybe take bits from here and there and mix it into your own build to surpass this guide. The build of items on the top of the page is in actual fact just one of the many viable Lux builds I present, it is not a representation of what I use every game. In the "Items" section you will find different builds that suit different situations and I hope that they will be helpful. Also I've added extra details such as teamwork and farming notes in various sections of the guide instead of creating new chapters. These sections don't require as much detail and integrate well into the Early Game, Mid Game and Late Game chapters hence I put the details together.

Now about Lux, underplayed but viable. Remember despite being labelled a support, I don't see Lux to be one, in actual fact to me she's an ap carry with an insane range. hence I believe she is a good pick when it comes to an AP carry. She also has long cooldowns but we'll go into how we'll solve that problem later, most likely in the items section ;) Without any further ado, I shall present to you my guide for the mistress of the wtdbbq pwn double rainbow.

My runes are overall fairly standard.

Marks- Greater Mark of Magic Penetration
Magic Penetration, staple runes right there. Allows you to run through the enemy's magic resistance

Seals- Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration
Mana Regen per level seals, they don't shine early game obviously(and yes we'll go over how we'll solve that problem...in items once again xP) but boy do they scale into mid/late game.

Glyphs- Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power
Heres where people start disagreeing with me, I go for AP per level. I don't go for the standard cdr runes because we'll be reaching the 40% cap without them anyway and early game i don't find her cdr to be a problem but if you do by all means play my secondary, the flat cdr runes. In my opinion if I don't go for cdr, I might as well go for AP. Another problem I would like to mention is that I find that Lux doesn't have much mana at the beginning and the seals suggested only truly shine when Lux's level gets higher. The flat cdr runes are used to mainly get an early game advantage but if Lux doesn't have the mana to sustain the spell casting then why get cooldown?

Quintessence- Greater Quintessence of Ability Power
Flat AP or AP per level, I prefer flat here. It gives me some good burst early game, just enough to cs and harass well.

9/0/21 not much to say here really. Standard. 9 in offense for the magic pen and the rest into utility for various things such as CDR and regen. Sometimes I add to the Mystical Vision if I'm playing Clairvoyance, which brings me to my next point...

+

Other considerations:

Flash is pretty standard in any game, it can be used defensively and offensively in conjunction with Ignite which is my other spell of choice. I don't know how many times I wish to stress to you that Ignite has gotten me first blood and Flash has saved my ***. Even better, when you kill with Ignite, your opponent often calls you an ignite noob and such, the more mentally unstable they are, the more you win in lane.

Now Clairvoyance or CV in actual fact is my favourite of all summoner spells. Admittedly that may be because i enjoy playing support more than anything else but on Lux it is also viable. It is unexpectedly amusing when in a gank fight, those one or two low opponents hide in the brush and you Clarivoyance then ulti them for kills and lols. Of course CV is besides that an overall excellent map control spell.

Clarity is an early game lane sustainability spell. To me it's not needed that much as I believe it does not scale well into late game but I have known people to play and succeed with this spell because they have such an overwhelmingly strong early game scaling into late game. For me it is simply that I prefer to get the first blood with Ignite and I'm also more used to it. If you can play well with Clarity, do it! It is by all means a great summoner spell.

For those who have not reached level 12, replace Flash with Ghost. Ghost is that other spell that can be used aggressively or defensively, chasing down enemies or legging it from a gank.

Lots of people start losing me here, but please stay with me, this is how i win, how i manage to get kills and have overwhelming lane sustainability. Most of the time, my opponent would b a lot more than me. I don't give you stats cause 87% of stats are made up on the spot anyway ;3

Start with Amplifying Tome and a Health Potion. Health Potion is for the sustainability while the tome gives you some good starting ap for cs and effective harassment and is VERY flexible. Why? Lets find out.

First trip back, if you're rocking and think you can totally dominate your lane, one of my personal favourites is the starting Amplifying Tome build into the Mejai's Soulstealer(only for experienced players) but generally i build Amplifying Tome into Kage's Lucky Pick plus get my Boots and some Health Potion for more sustainability.

Next, I personally find mana to be a problem, if you don't ignore this part and get a Needlessly Large Rod or something. For those who won't flame me for this, Tear of the Goddess. This should be an easy get with Kage's Lucky Pick and Lux's Lucent Singularity. Of course build this into an Archangel's Staff later.

After that the laning phase should nearly be over, focus on getting AP, lots and lots of AP. Don't forget to get your tier 2 boots, which i recommend Ionian Boots of Lucidity. After that, i prefer this order of item, Archangel's Staff(if you haven't got it) -> Rabadon's Deathcap -> Build Kage's Lucky Pick into Deathfire Grasp -> Void Staff -> Whatever item that seems to suit the situation(defensive or offensive). However, I do recommend instead of buying the Deathfire to sell Kage's instead and buy Morello's Evil Tome.

So why these items.
Archangel's Staff- Good mana and AP, many people disagree with me here because they reckon Lux doesn't need the mana, I believe she needs it, and if you don't like this, don't use this part of the guide. Take other parts, remember its your choice, I can't tell you what to do nor can other people.

Rabadon's Deathcap- Staple, sexy Ap right there. Not much to explain, wicked AP to fuel your Finales Funkeln.

Mejai's Soulstealer- To thoroughly explore this item requires a lot of discussion so I give you short version today :P. Mejai's is a gamble. If you choose to buy it then it makes or breaks you. It is very situational and I suggest it only if you have a lot of experience as a player and you're doing well in your early laning phase. Also to gain the full potential of Mejai's requires you to not just stay at mid and go afk farm mode. You have to do what every good solo mid does and that is to gank lanes. Well-planned ganks means more kills, more money, more stacks but it is also important to not constantly gank for no reason as you will lose experience and cs to the tower so be very mindful of that. Gank the lane which is suffering and the lane with an enemy champion at low to medium hp, not the full hp Phoenix Udyr top. If you play well with Mejai's and gain 20 stacks, you will gain a total of 180 AP and 15% CDR which is pretty sweet and rewarding, provided that you do the work to deserve such a reward. Overall for those who can use Mejai's, there's no real reason not to as it gives you a significant advantage throughout a majority of the game.

Deathfire Grasp-Nice active and stats, gives you some AP and 15% CDR, the cdr is a key part of this item. But if you don't get Kage's Lucky Pick because you went for Mejai's just go for another cdr item like Morello's Evil Tome (assuming you don't consistently have 20 stacks on Mejai's).

Void Staff- Staple magic pen item. Self explanatory really, 70 AP with 40 magic penetration, at this point in the game your opponents would have gotten magic resist so Void Staff is a must.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity- 15% CDR, this adds to the 15% cdr from Deathfire Grasp, giving 30%, just 10% short of the cap. At this point get blue, if another member of your team needs blue or you are unable to get it for whatever reason, buy the blue elixir which will give you the final 10% cdr and some extra AP. That's how I reach the 40% cap CDR. Alternatively however you could get..

Sorcerer's Boots- These give you extra magic penetration for that extra damage in mid game that will scale well into late game in combination with the Void Staff. Whether it is the CDR you prefer or magic pen is entirely up to you, its not like you won't be able to get 40% CDR cap without Ionian Botos of Lucidity anyway, especially considering if you choose to not build a Deathfire Grasp but instead sell the Kage's Lucky Pick for...

Morello's Evil Tome- This is a great item for AP carries. It gives a greater amount of AP and CDR than Deathfire Grasp and even some mana regen. The reason you would choose Deathfire Grasp instead, however is for its active. Many people find this active difficult to use or redundant when playing as Lux but personally I quite like the active and hence choose Deathfire Grasp over Morello's Evil Tome. I do however sometimes run a Morello when I find the enemy champions hard to approach and therefore hard to cast Deathfire on.

Zhonya's Hourglass- This may be a potential 6th item, good ap and sometimes life saving active.

Abyssal Scepter- Another potential 6th item. Protect yourself from enemy AP champions and have their team suffer from lowered magic resistance while you release your finales funkeln
over and over and over again.

Lich Bane- The final potential item in terms of offense. As Illumination's effectiveness drops more and more in late game Lich Bane will make up for it due to its unique passive. Of course uou get extra mana, AP, why not?

Banshee's Veil- This is a great defensive item against opponent Ap carries and cc. It allows you to block an opponent's ability every 45 seconds and gives you extra Hp, mana and magic resistance making it a great end game item worth every gold.

Quicksilver Sash- A somewhat under-appreciated item that is perfect against enemy cc. Provided you remember to use that active, this can get you away from Galio's Idol of Durand or Annie's stun. On top of that you get extra magic resistance so this is a very good and cheap defensive item.

So here are some playable builds:

My Build: or pr +
-A somewhat hard build to play and only works if it suits your style. It suits my style because I enjoy running in and landing that Deathfire Grasp active but many people will have trouble with this, I did when I first started palying this build but virtually, if you can land that active then Light Binding followed by Finales Funkeln, it is very gg late game.

Glass Cannon Build: +
-This is the extremely fragile but very ZOMG LAZORZ build. Not only will your spells hurt but thanks to Lich Bane working in conjunction with Illumination even your auto attacks will hurt. If you are a good glass cannon you can consider getting an early Mejai's Soulstealer instead and replace whichever item you feel to be obsolete. The reason behind this had already previously been discussed when explaining the items under Mejai's Soulstealer. In this build, such items to substitute can include Archangel's Staff, Lich Bane or Morello's Evil Tome. I play this build about as much as I play the above "My Build" so it is recommended. Some argue why not Zhonya's>Morello for more AP, well I say why not as well. Personally I believe the CDR is important as blue isn't up 24/7 and even if it is, there's no guarantee of you having blue control, therefore Morello is a good choice. Zhonya's Active is fearsome, those 2 seconds of stasis can make you the bait of the year and of course you get armor and lots of AP. So regarding the Morello, your choice really, personal preference.

Common Beginner's Lux Build: +
-I suggest this build if you're a starting Lux player but you could also tweak it a bit to suit your style. This build gives you a decent amount of damage and good survivability. I do not recommend this build once you get used to playing Lux as Rod of Ages is not worth its cost in my opinion. Others would say instead the Archangel's Staff in my build is not worth it but once again it comes down to personal choice. Don't get me wrong, I've seen many pro Rod of Ages players. In this build you also don't get enough damage as a Lux player.
Experienced Players Lux Build: or +
-This build doesn't exactly apply to experienced players but in general if you're having a good early game. The Mejai's Soulstealer is what I believe to be one of the strongest AP item in game. It offers the chance at early game of "high risk for high return". If you are able to gain a full 20 stacks on the item, you are not only given a total of 180 AP but also 15% cdr! If you have 20 stacks that is. Of course having simply around 10+ stacks on this item is already very strong so feel free to use it. Just be aware that if you are ever killed late game, it is very hard to bounce back as you lose a third of your stacks when you die. All in all, this item is strong throughout the game as long as you dont step into the middle of a battle for no reason as Lux does have great range and also remember to gank to get your stacks. Archangel's Staff is not included in this build as I completely trust candidates of this build to be able to manage their mana at all points of the game while being able to play a great part of the team and not be oom in teamfights. I play this build from time to time. This build offers those who can control Mejai's a great advantage.

R>E>Q>W

Passive: Illumination
Lux's damaging spells charge the target with energy for 6 seconds. Lux's next attack ignites the energy, dealing 20-190 (depending Lux's level) magic damage to the target.

This is a very decent passive in my opinion. Early game it helps you farm CS due to Lucent Singularity then proc Illumination with an auto attack. Late game as everyone gets more hp, if you want to make good use of Illumination still, get a Lich Bane but I believe Lux functions fine late game without Illumination anyway. All in all a good passive though.

Q: Light Binding
Lux releases a sphere of light that binds and deals 60/110/160/210/260 (+70% ap) damage to up to two enemy units, dealing 50% effect to the 2nd unit struck.

Cooldown 16 / 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 seconds

Cost 60 / 75 / 90 / 105 / 120 mana

Range 1000

I love this skill. Not only can it root two targets, it has a ridiculous range just like any other skills of Lux. Your Light Binding can be used both defensively and offensively, as a defense you can root targets attempting to gank you or those who are chasing low allies from gank fights. In other times, it can be used to initiate a gank fight for those opponents caught to the side of the rest of the team or slighty overextend. Personally I like to use this skill to root my enemy then immediately cast [Finales Funkeln]] on them. This way they can't dodge, an 100% accuracy ulti seems quite valuable especially early game when you Q, R then Ignite, most opponents are toast. Max this skill third.

W: Prismatic Barrier

Lux throws her wand to a target location and back, bending the light around herself and any friendly Champions it touches, protecting them from 60 / 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 (+30% ap) damage for 3 seconds.

Cooldown 14 / 13 / 12 / 11 / 10 seconds

Cost 75 mana

Range 1000

Not the most useful skill of Lux. Sure it absorbs damage, but not much at all and the ap ratio is not anything special. The positive side to this skill however is when you use a Mejai's Soulstealer. In gank fights just throw it into the crowd after initiation and if your team is good, you'll get a good amount of stacks because this skill would give you your assists. Also firing your Finales Funkeln during gank fights would help as well, its low cooldown and you can get more stacks if you get some kills in. All in all an alright support skill but the verdict...max this last.

E: Lucent Singularity

Fires an anomaly of twisted light to an area, which slows nearby enemies. Lux can detonate it to deal 60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 (+0.6 per ability power) damage to enemies in the area of effect.

Cooldown 11 seconds after the area has been detonated

Cost 70 / 85 / 100 / 115 / 130 mana

Range 1100

Wicked stuff. This is basically what you're using throughout the whole game, a cc slow with a decent burst, this can help your team chase down opponents and at early game farms creeps like theres no tomorrow. Not only is this a slow cc and damage output, when Lux shoots the ball out, it creates a mini Clairvoyance, allowing vision of its aurroundings. This can be especially useful when your team's wards are down and if you suspect the enemy team is planning a gank or doing Baron. In fact timing Finales Funkeln after gaining vision through Lucent Singularity can give you a potential baron steal. True story. The skill is also quite a good poke due to its long range and aoe nature. By now you may have figured out, I love this skill. Max this second.

Just a recap of this skills pros:
-Creep farmer
-High(well high enough) Damage
-AOE
-Slow
-Mini Clairvoyance
-Long range poke

Finales FunkelnR: Finales Funkeln

After gathering energy, Lux fires a beam of light that deals 300/400/500 (+75% ap) damage to all targets in the area.

Cooldown 80 / 60 / 40 seconds

Cost 100 / 150 / 200 mana

Range 3000

If you haven't by now read that range. Real. This is the skill that makes Lux famous and a threat from a huge part of the map. Its not Karthus ulti so it requires some coordination and a good mouse but hey, its wicked. Feel free to frequently use this skill as it is on a relatively short cooldown especially when its at max level. Since the build I use give you 40% CDR as explained in the items section, the 40 second cooldown at level 16 is actually reduced to 24 seconds. If you followed through with the Archangel's Staff early and have the seals i suggested, mana shouldn't be a problem. Feel free to abuse just for the lolz :)

In gank fights some people like to wait til someone is low to cast this skill, don't to that... Please don't. Whats the point of waiting for that to happen if your team doesn't win the gank fight because you're not contributing but simply standing back waiting to ks. Cast it frequently but strategically. Like I said, if you can catch someone with Light Binding then you have a sure hit or if you are sure you'll hit someone, fire into the crowd. Just make sure you do use it and it does land a good hit. But if enemies do get away, be a good sniper. This is also where Clairvoyance does come into use at its full potential, theres no hiding from that 3000 range.

Also note, this skill is ultra deadly early game. Often I would catch my opponents underestimating Lux's Light Binding range and at that moment i root them then ulti and Ignite. This combo brings many enemies down. Don't forget also to proc Illumination and throw in Lucent Singularity if you're facing a durable opponent. There is also the option of Flash in then Ignite if your opponent is a bit far but why waste the Flash. This first blood combo is also why i prefer Ignite over Clairvoyance but I must say i run them fairly equally. I also like to cast this to clear creep waves everytime before I recall to make sure my lane can last til my return, even in side lanes. Obvious enough, max this first. Its her ultimate after all.

Just sit tight, a starting 300mp is well...its just not good, not good. Its ok but its not good. Especially because your skills have such a high mana cost. Focus largely on last hitting creeps and use your Lucent Singularity to achieve that while harassing at the same time. Don't overuse your skills. That 300 mp is very precious. Like...precious. Take points in Lucent Singularity whenever possible while investing a point into Light Binding at level 2 and one in Prismatic Barrier at level 4. Don't just spam your E, creep with it wisely and if you can harass and creep at the same time with it.

Once you hit level 6, you become a much greater threat. If your opponent is at around half hp because they aren't Vladimir, you can look for a chance to use that combo i mentioned earlier. Light Bind into Finales Funkeln into Ignite, remember if you want to be sure you can throw in a Lucent Singularity. Also to be noted, Light Binding hits TWO targets, not one. You can bind them through a minion, just bear in mind that this of course reduces the duration they are rooted by a half. Which is actually still more than enough time to cast your ultimate. Also remember a good solo mid ganks. Do so. Especially if you took a Mejai's Soulstealer over a Kage's Lucky Pick, this is especially important because you need the stacks! Also if your jungler doesn't need the blue at any point in the game, claim it for yourself. Early blue will make you very hard to lane against.

Laning phase ended, and I sure do hope it was you who ended it with those beautifully planned ganks followed by taking towers ^^ It would be very useful to have the blue at this point because this is where gank fights start and the mana and cdr is particularly precious so ward up. River control gives your team a good upperhand in any part of the game. In fact plant a Sight Ward near the opposing team's golem and see if its a good idea to get it. Note, if its a good idea. You can also steal it via Finales Funkeln just like how you can steal Dragon or later on Baron with it. Stealing through Lux is wicked and this can be more effectively done through Sight Wards and Lucent Singularity as scouts if you didn't choose Clairvoyance as a summoner spell. Also what Karthus' ulti can't do but what Lux's ulti can do. I know I keep refering back to Karthus, I just find him awesome too :)

Remember in gank fights to NOT save your ulti, use it as frequently as possible to get your AD carry that pentakill or just scare off opponents from a potentially bad situation(e.g. saving a turret). Just for the record, sometimes the Prismatic Barrier boomerang can scare of opponents too if you just chuck it out of the blue. Oh yeah, cast your W on allies before the fights also and if you see them suffering during the fight. I know it doesn't seem to do much but it saved myself once from Brand because I cast this spell. After everything was chucked at me by Brand(after I cast Prismatic Barrier) I had 8 HP left, so it does do something. Mid Game is not where Lux shines the most, shes still farming for her items and does not have ridiculous damage yet but she is still very helpful if you just play smart. If you took the Mejai's, however, you should have pretty decent damage. If you failed your Mejai's, personally I wouldn't give it up just yet because mid-game is where gank fights to start to happen and they will give Lux a fair few stacks as she can gain them either through damaging or just shielding allies with her W. Remember, patience is a virtue.

Also if you want to roam to bring down out of position champions or that persistently pushing Sivir, bring someone with you. If the enemy tank appears while roaming, you can't bring him down yourself and if its Singed, even escaping will be a problem even with Light Binding and Lucent Singularity. Play smart. Also once again, the blue, always nice to have it.

Here we are, 24 second a pop of Finales Funkeln. ABUSE IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT. Your 6th item, if your opponents have heavy cc, Quicksilver Sash or Banshee's Veil, your choice. If survivability is an issue, i do suggest Zhonya's Hourglass, those 2 seconds can actually save your life, I didn't believe it before but...OP! Just remember to use your active, the difference between ranked players and unranked players, high elo and low elo are those who remember to use their actives. Pretty interesting story but yeah, remember. As I mentioned, Abyssal Mask is also viable against the opposing Ap carry because of the AP and the Resistance. Finally Lich Bane is viable as it brings the passive Illumination to good use again and is a good surprise as opponents do not expect it after so many minutes of intense action that your auto attack can actually do something useful all of a sudden. Of course, mana, AP, resistance, all there in that item. I really recommend Lich Bane if it helps you make up your mind :P Also buy your Elixir of Brilliance! Now I don't want to sound stingy...but once again, the blue! Take the blue :)

Remember, while your allies are busy in a fight, you are the burst cannon that will have to destroy the opponents AD and AP carries as soon as possible. Also supports like Soraka with that heal. Please don't aim the tank. I know its hard especially with something as big as a 6 stack Cho'Gath but remember, aim Caitlyn, aim Brand, aim Sona. Destroy the carries and the rest of the team falls apart and this is why you build up all that AP. Use your ultimate as frequently as possible to force the carries out of battle and take down the support. Play smart, play fast. Root them then ulti, chuck in your cc and proc your Illumination to deal great damage with Lich Bane. Abuse your range and don't get yourself killed for no reason. You're the Large Hadron Collider, not a tank. Also if you took it, don't forget that your Deathfire Grasp has an active and can considerably hurt any isolated member of the other team and also take a huge chunk if the enemy tank is too massive.

Lux is a fun and viable champion, especially when you are able to abuse your ult. I'm not the best player in the world so if you got any tippers for improvement, please comment below. I hope this helped and that you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. I'd be glad if you took away just some little things useful from this guide.If you have anything questions, as usual just below. Remember, take it easy, chill, and just enjoy the game o3o Regards,
Fuuga

P.S. in the future I'm considering adding screenshots but this will take some time before I can provide it. Thanks all.