Xerath is a high damage mage champion who is really good if used correctly. He is more tanky thanks to his passive so he can be hit by AD champions a bit more than other mages can. He also has amazing range with Locus of Power. I hope this guide helps you. Please remember it is my first guide!

Pros

• Strong nuker
• Can kill champions if they are running away with low health
• Great range
• Acts like a turret
• More tanky than other AP champions
• Fun to play

Cons

• Locus of Power makes him immobile
• Focused a lot
• Very mana dependent

I use Magic Pen marks, Mana Regen seals, AP glyphs + Magic Resist glyphs, and flat AP quints. I use the Magic Pen marks because the more Magic Pen you have on Xerath the better. He will hit extremely high with Magic Pen. I use Mana Regen seals because Xerath is really mana dependent meaning he will run out of mana quickly if you spam to much. I use a combination of AP glyphs and Magic Resist glyphs. I know you are thinking why don't I go full AP or full MR but I will tell you why. Why is because Xerath is tanky so you want to build him kind of like a tank with the Magic Resist but you also want to build him like a mage so he dishes out the damage.

I don't have a lot to say about Masteries just that I use a standard AP build. 21/0/9. This will help you deal out damage and start the game with a bit extra AP. You will want to grab the Mastery in improved buff duration because you will want to get a hold of Blue buff as soon as possible. If you are a new player and don't know what the Blue buff or the "Golem" buff is it is a buff you get after killing the Ancient Golem which gives you Cool down Reduction and Mana/Energy Regeneration.

I use Heal and Flash because I find them more useful for survivability and chasing than Ignite or others. As a AP champion you usually are more squishy so a Heal will really help you survive in lane longer. It is also great for turret diving I have found. Flash is great because it lets you escape and lets you chase. You could use Ignite if you want or not.

Ascended Form
Xerath's passive is really good because it gives him the opportunity to be more tank against AD champions. His passive grants him bonus armor based on his ability power.
Arcanopulse
This is Xerath's main damage spell. After a short channel he deals a far amount of damage in a line in front of him. The range for this is boosted when you have Locus of Power active.
Locus of Power
This spell roots Xerath in place until it ends or until it is deactivated. When you are in Locus of Power you get bonus range and bonus magic penetration. This is really good to harass early game and also to kill people running away.
Mage Chains
This is a short range nuke that is great to finish off close range enemies with really low health. It also starts your stun as your can read in my combo section. You land the stun by marking your enemy with Mage Chains then landing and Arcanopulse.
Arcane Barrage
This is a great ultimate because it lets you use it three times before it goes on cooldown. Arcane Barrage is a skillshot where you have a decent amount of range to fire off three bursts of arcane energy which drop down and do damage to enemies in a small area. It also has a short cooldown of about a minute. This can also be used to proc your stun.

As Xerath you want to max out Arcanopulse first because it is your main damage. Then you want to get a point in Mage Chains because it is your stun then you want a point in Locus of Power for the range and the boost in Magic Penetration. Then of course you want to grab you ultimate every time you can. In summary this is the order for maxing out, Arcanopulse, Mage Chains, Locus of Power, and of course your ultimate. When you are maxing either Mage Chains or Locus of Power you want to be sure you have a point in both at pretty much all the time so you can get range and stuns.

I have two builds because the first one is for a regular game where you won't earn as much gold as needed for the second build which is the better build. The first build is just your standard game build where you earn a decent amount of gold but not as much as the second one. They are both pretty powerful builds just the first one has more Magic Pen and Magic Resist than the second one but less AP, health and mana. This is just a build for a regular game. The second is for a long game.

First Build: 483 AP
Second Build: 545 AP

Ah. The most important part. I start out with a Doran's Ring because it lets me have a bit more health and be able to harass the enemy champion better because of the more AP I get. If you want you can start out with Boots of Speed and a few health potions feel free to do so. After that then I go buy Boots of Speed and after that two more Doran's Rings for the AP and health. Then I start building a Deathcap and then I build a Crystal Scepter. Next I build a Zhonya's Hourglass and then an Evil Tome and next a Void Staff to finish up. This brings me to about 483 AP at 18. You can build differently for situations like building a Rod of Ages. I build a Rod of Ages in my second build.

Xerath has a kind of hard to learn combo or combos. Here are the two I use.

Combo #1: W+E+Q+R+R+R+Q

Combo #2: W+E+R+Q+R+R+Q

These will stun and give you the chance to nuke down the target so he is dead before he gets the chance to run.

Xerath is amazing in team fights. He can pretty much sit back and act like a turret. Just activate Locus of Power and use the combo's and kill everyone. He can also turn the tables in Teamfights with his Arcane Barrage nuking and killing about the whole enemy team if they are placed correctly. Xerath is also very good because pretty much all of his spells are AOE which is great to nuke down more than one enemy.

Xerath has the most amazing range in the game, use it to your advantage. His Locus of Power gives him so much range it is not even funny. Also with his Arcanopulse being able to go through terrain you can shoot through walls, turrets, bushes, and everything else to destroy your enemies. Lets say one of the enemy champions are running away you can just pop Locus of Power then Arcanopulse and finish him/her off. He is an amazing kill finisher.

Also he has a very good escape spell if used correctly. If you have a few seconds when you are getting chased pop Locus of Power then deactivate it right away. This will give you a speed buff for two seconds.

Xerath is a great farmer if used correctly. You can use your Arcanopulse to last hit multiple Creeps at once giving you that extra gold and XP. He is also really good at Dragon and Baron because of his Locus of Power. This increases the amount of damage he deals to Baron and Dragon. Also if you get ganked at Baron or Dragon a good tactic is to go to the back wall and activate Locus of Power. This will make it so when you are shooting at enemies your spells go through Baron or Dragon doing damage to them. This makes it so if you die you will pick up the kill of Dragon or Baron because your spells were dealing damage to Baron or Dragon as you shot at the gankers by making the spells go through the NPC you are trying to kill.

Short summary of "Ganked" Strategy
Hide behind Dragon or Baron so that your Arcanopulse does damage to Dragon or Baron because you are shooting through them to hit your "gankers".

Xerath is a very good champion if played right. He is also really fun and because of his range can pick of the pesky Ashe with 50hp :) In final and quick summary, if you think you have any chance of hitting someone far away for a kill shot take it. Trust me, you will be happy you did.