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What does Xerath give up for his high range?

Unreformed Shaco··2 votes·2,602 views

His weakness is the same as every long range mage, jump and burst.

Except unlike every long range mage, he gets 340 movespeed. (Ziggs 325, Lux 330) He has an infinte mana pool, and also has one of the highest damaging ultimates in the game.

I really can't undertand how to beat him.

I kill him early, but then he just sits at his tower spamming Q to farm, and autoing to get mana back. Then he buys a morellos and because he has higher base damage and higher scaling than most mages, just sits and pokes you out.

You get hit by 1 Q, and thats 50% of your health gone. You dodge his Q and try to engage, he just slows and or stuns you, into another Q.

Early-mid game his Q does more damage than a Lux ultimate.

Short of picking an assassin and just jumping him early, what counterplay does this shitstain have?

**TLDR: You beat him, he hides under tower spamming his free 1400 range Lux ult. You let him get ahead and he sits there zoning your entire enemy team until you decide to surrender. **

19 Comments

TheGoomyGamer6 votes

Counterplay = Dodge the skillshots

Unreformed Shaco2 votes

But that's like all long range mages.

Lyndris1 votes

Exactly, however, kass Q interrupts Xerath Q, if you want something more specific. I seem do do well with kennen vs xerath, but i really don't know why.

archerno14 votes

All abilities are skillshots. If he is sitting at tower, you roam.

Unreformed Shaco1 votes

Then he pushes the wave with his AoE attacks and chases. He only has to go halfway down the lane to provide incredible damage/pressure.

SEKAI4 votes

His abilities are all skillshots, which means it's slightly harder to land as the definitive/guaranteed factors are removed. But that's the minor part.

There's also the fact the range of his primary attack needs charging, so it's delayed and invites counterplay on the opponent's part where they can notice and dodge his skillshots accordingly.

The real drawback of Xerath's range though, imo is his lack of mobility and "saving grace". Because if you jump on him and he missed his E, it's gg for Xerath, or at least he probably has to recall afterwards; sure he has W too, but I wouldn't call that an effective tool against gang-ups considering the delay it's also got, it's probably more useful in teamfights than as an escape mechanism. Meaning, he is quite heavily limited in what he can do to get out of sticky situations if they're right on top of him, justifying him being a long-range artillery mage.

IMHO.

Unreformed Shaco1 votes

Meaning, he is quite heavily limited in what he can do to get out of sticky situations if they're right on top of him, justifying him being a long-range artillery mage.

Same thing for Lux, but she has less movespeed and range.

SEKAI2 votes

{quoted}

Same thing for Lux, but she has less movespeed and range.

We can't just compare them like this because:

Xerath also has higher base HP than Lux (though then again, considering the general toughness of mages). But it also doesn't mean that much because he has much higher mana cost for each spell, and 25 less AA range which he needs to do because that's how he regen mana or else he goes oom the instant he arrives at lane. This means Xerath is more "exposed" at times even if he has mad range in spells, and his damage is also more gated. While Lux has her passive that helps her keeping up the harasses by procing with AA and can also be used to help executing targets with ulti, and this also synergise well with her higher AA range (compared to Xerath anyway).

All in all, Lux and Xerath are not really that similar. It is better to compare Xerath to someone closer to him such as Ziggs, who have arguably better escapes than Xerath when in trouble, though the latter's spell range is not as extreme as Xerath's outside of ulti.

Again, Xerath's general pitfall is that he is very immobile and vulnerable to pick-offs and have very limited means to deal with gang-ups. And as mention in this post, on top of that he is also required to be closer to the danger zone from time to time to invite ganks despite his long range artillery due to his mana/damage gating which introduces another dimension of vulnerability and counterplay options.

I am not saying he's hot garbage or something, not at all. But I wouldn't say he doesn't give up anything for his range, or too less of it really.

The Incubus3 votes
  1. They are all skillshots
  2. He is slowed/immobile when casting
  3. You can see where he is casting for 3/4 of the abilities
Unreformed Shaco2 votes

That's the same advice for Ziggs and Lux, they don't have nearly as much range and they aren't as mobile.

He can hit you from 1400 units, so even if you dodge it, by the time you get close enough to do anything he's moved on or started the next cast.

archerno12 votes

{quoted}

That's the same advice for Ziggs and Lux, they don't have nearly as much range and they aren't as mobile.

He can hit you from 1400 units, so even if you dodge it, by the time you get close enough to do anything he's moved on or started the next cast.

Ziggs has escape. Xerath doesnt. Lux has better burst

Stars Shaper1 votes

Ziggs has blast cone on demand, wave clear and more burst.

Lux has far more efficent CC, wave clear, zoning and burst.

Xerath is the lower tier of the Artillery class and the only reaosn he beats you is a massive outskill in his favor. The only advantage he has is that risking an AA on enemy champions gives him back a lot of mana and then can skip the mana item (unless he eneds Morello to cut self healing).

The Incubus1 votes

Their CD is long, so instead of running away after you get hit, go in on them. They will either have to run or die

Stars Shaper2 votes

6 delayed skillshots.

Dies the moment something gets in melee rnage.

DrCyanide2 votes

He's weaker to dive than the other mages you listed.

All the other mages roots/stuns/knock backs are just as effective on close targets as they are at far away ones. In contrast, Xerath's stun lasts only 0.5 seconds against close targets, barely enough to interrupt an auto attack or two.

He also sacrifices his movement speed for two different abilities, his Q and his Ult. If you can't kill someone on you with QWE, you have to wait for another Q while running away, because they can kill you while you Ult.

Edit:

You beat him, he hides under tower spamming his free 1400 range Lux ult.

You mean that "Lux Ult" that costs more mana than most ultimates in the game? How is that "free"?

Freeze the wave near your tower, make him come out, and you can get on him.

Glory971 votes

If you are bronze and can't dodge skillshots, he gives up nothing.

Shadòw1 votes

really?

Xerath is a problem now?

DarkRitual1 votes

No mobility spells. Literal every ability is a skillshot. He roots himself when he ults, making him unable to defend himself without canceling the ult.

FantasySniper1 votes

Compared to Ziggs and Lux, Xerath is a lot more telegraphed. All of his abilities except for his [E] have clean indicators as to where they'll strike, and his [Q] requires a self-slowing wind-up. Xerath also has high mana costs, so recklessly spamming any of his abilities is difficult to get away with. Pushing into his turret forces him to use mana or else he misses CS. (Obviously this strategy comes with its own risks) The damage you're describing is a gross exaggeration. Xerath usually chunks for one-fourth HP at best until he's at full build + elixir.

Actually, Ziggs and Lux are rather difficult to dive. Xerath is the most vulnerable among them, and finds it difficult to kite if he misses his stun. Malzahar, Anivia, and Zilean counter him because his channel makes him an easy target. Fizz, Akali, and Katarina can all dive him.

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