Hey guys, SolareStill here with my second guide that I have made. Some people say Xerath is not worth the 6300IP / 975RP, yet some people think he is. This guide will teach you about Xerath and how to work with him, and will hopefully convince you that Xerath is worth the IP / RP.

The guide will cover:
- Masteries
- Ability Sequence
- Runes
- Items
- Farming
- Summoner Spells
- Summary (Pros / Cons)
- Guide Update Notes

Xerath's masteries are essential mostly to his early game sustainability but can also work with his poking power.

Here are my masteries (9, 3, 18):Edit: Get one point in Cripple instead of Deadliness .
Edit 2: Take off the points of Expanded Mind and put 2 points on Good Hands and two on Quickness .

Here are some questions you may ask about this setup:

Why get Hardiness ?
We get Hardiness because this helps with his early game sustainability and works well with his passive. Please note that you should only use this if you do not have full AP runes, because your passive will do the work for your armor. If you still wish for a little bit more survivability early game, you can still grab Hardiness .

Why not get Utility Mastery ?
This can be useful for Xerath at times, but the mastery set up we have chosen focuses on early game traits, not how the game works out late game. If you think you need Utility Mastery , then I recommend removing two points off Awareness because Xerath can still be a strong farmer.

Why no Greed ?
Xerath is too good of a farmer. Enough said.

Your ability sequence and knowing how to use your abilities is very important at the first 6 levels to your poking power and sustainability.

Arcanopulse
This is our first ability that we rank up to 5 because it's the one that gives the most poking power. Late game your mage chains and Arcane Barrage give the most damage output. Early game it is essential to master this first because it will help you to push the most and poke the most at early levels. This is Xerath's best ability to farm.

locus of powerLocus of Power
This is our next ability that we max out, mainly because we need to reduce the cooldown on it so that it will work well with Arcanopulse. This also helps Arcanopulse to farm.

mage chainsMage Chains
mage chains is the final ability that we max out because it helps out in team fights, catching runners and escaping chasers. Using this with Arcanopulse and locus of power will work great in catching runners. If you are trying to escape don't pop out locus of power unless you know you have enough space and time to get out of locus of power and grab its speed buff.

Arcane Barrage
Your ultimate is very useful in team fights and picking out enemies. Make sure you don't use this to stun your opponent with mage chains, use this after stunning your opponent with Arcanopulse and mage chains. You also might want to pop out locus of power after stunning the enemy, just in case they try to make a break for it.

Runes can have a big influence in your late and early game status.

Why get Greater Mark of Magic Penetration?
This rune is useful to break through tanks early and late game. Also works with locus of power as it gives 25% Magic Penetration when in it's state.

Why get Greater Seal of Armor?
Kind of the same concept as to why we get Hardiness . To give us that extra sustainability against AD champions and works well with the passive.

Why get Greater Glyph of Ability Power and Greater Quintessence of Ability Power?
Xerath's passive.

Why not get greater seal of replenishment?
Starting off with Doran's Ring will give you enough mana regen to work with during early game. Late game you'll ought to have morello's evil tomb or Fiendish Codex to give you extra mana regen. If you think you need this rune, then go ahead and switch it in.

Doran's Ring
This is an essential item for your early game sustainability (+100 health bonus) and your ability to spam your Arcanopulse due to it's extra mana regen.
Note: When I say "spam your Arcanopulse", I don't mean to use it as soon as it's off cooldown. Use it every so often to poke those enemies and to get minions.

Sorcerer's Shoes
These shoes are covered to work with your magic penetration runes and your locus of power. When you have these shoes, you are bound to still deal tonnes of damage to tanks.
Note: When Alistar has his ultimate popped up, your magic penetration will not work against it, only his flat magic resistance.

Needlessly Large Rod
This gives us that extra early game poking ability, and keeps us sustained due to Xerath's passive.

Why not Ionian Boots of Lucidity?
These boots are for people who are new to Xerath and cannot work with his early game cooldowns. If you still need to learn how to play Xerath, or you can't seem to work with Sorcerer's Shoes, try these on.
Note: Really late game, you can always switch Ionian Boots of Lucidity for Sorcerer's Shoes since you'll still have some cooldown reduction due to Morello's Evil Tome.

Blasting Wand and Rabadon's Deathcap
Of course, Blasting Wand is just to build into Rabadon's Deathcap, but it can still give us more of an advantage over our passive while we don't have Rabadon's Deathcap. Once we have Rabadon's Deathcap you'll basically be able to obliterate enemies, especially those who are AD for your passive will block off most of the damage.

Hextech Revolver
This item will be explained more in the late game section where we build this into Will of the Ancients.

Fiendish Codex
Again, this item will be fully explained in the late game section where this builds into Morello's Evil Tome.


Rylai's Crystal Scepter
This item's Unique Passive works really well with mage chains as while the enemy is slowed, it is easier to hit them with your Arcanopulse. Of course, Rylai's Crystal Scepter also gives more survivability (+500 health) and extra Ability Power.

Morello's Evil Tome
We grabbed Fiendish Codex earlier so it's easier to build this item, and to give us that mid game boost. The main reason to get this item is for cooldown reduction since you won't be getting Ionian Boots of Lucidity unless you're new to Xerath. As explained earlier you can always switch those boots in once you have Morello's Evil Tome.

Will of the Ancients
This item will raise a very good question: "Why would you need Spell Vamp if you're going to stay behind the battle?". Well, say for example you might be getting chased. If you combine locus of power with Arcanopulse you'll get a fair amount of health back, at the same time switching out of locus of power will give you an extra speed boost. This item is mainly focused for survivability, but if you think the enemy team has too much AP, then I recommend grabbing a Force of Nature, an Abyssal Mask or a Banshee's Veil.

Zhonya's Hourglass
Gives increased armor and ability power. This is probably the best item that works with your passive. Also useful in battles where you may have to bait using your stasis.

Elixirs
These don't have to be explained much, they're just there to give you that extra boost.

This section won't be too long as it's easy to explain how to farm well with Xerath.
The main way to farm with this champion is based on your locus of power and Arcanopulse but it also depends on how you use it. We'll be using mid lane farming as our guide. Once a minion wave has been cleareed, pop out your locus of power fairly mid way of the lane, and wait for the next minion wave to come. Use your Arcanopulse to hit all the minions in a line and then check out of locus of power. While your Q is on cooldown, try to last hit as many minions as you can. Once Arcanopulse is off cooldown, use it to hit as many minions in a line for a final blow to grab up a good minion wave.

There are many Summoner Spell combinations possible for Xerath.


This is the most basic combination of summoner spells, and it is used in this guide. Flash will help you escape battles if you are being chased, but Exhaust can also help you win battles by exhausting the most harmful champion such as an AD carry. There is not much to explain about this combination, but if you're going to use it, I recommend grabbing Cripple in masteries, as shown in this guide.


This is a great combination for Xerath as sometimes you may not need Flash because you're always going to be hanging back of the battle. If you begin with an Exhaust and then hit with Ignite it's going to be really difficult for them to escape you, as next you can combine mage chains and Arcanopulse for a stun, then finish them off with Arcane Barrage. If you're going to take ignite, I recommend taking the mastery Burning Embers .


This spell combination is rarely required for Xerath as he is mostly chosen as a mid laner. If you think you're going bot or top lane with a mana freak, then I recommend taking Clarity. This can also be useful because you can spam your abilities even more, and pick up your mana with Clarity. If you're going to use this summoner spell, I recommend grabbing the mastery Insight .

Overall Xerath can be a great laner, team fighter and nuker, but can be bad at some times.

Pros:
- Great farmer
- Great laner
- Great team fighter

Cons:
- Early game cooldowns can be a pain
- Arcanopulse is not very useful at it's first few levels

11th October 2011
- Published Incomplete / Public Draft
- Finished sections Masteries and Ability Sequence.

12th October 2011
- Published edited masteries.
- Completed Runes section and published.
- Added Guide Update Notes.

12th October 2011 - 2nd Edit
- Completed Items section and published.
- Completed Farming and published.
- Completed Summoner Spells section and published.
- Completed guide