Who is better?
I can play Ziggs decently but Xerath looks like a much cooler champion and I'd like to play him as well. But is it redundant to learn both?
What are the pros and cons of Xerath over Ziggs?
Ziggs Ult is easier to land and he can push towers. Is Xerath good in this meta?
warpenguin5552 votesImo Ziggs is always a better Xerath.
WitchQueen Annie1 votesbecause Ziggs has an escape (W), tower push and his Ult is easier to land (one shot, large radius, and it instantly hits multiple targets at once)?
DrCyanide2 votesThe two have different pros and cons, so it's not bad to learn both and have them in your arsenal.
Q is fire and forget. You keep moving the same as before you fired, you just hope the enemy is close enough for it to hit them right away or it doesn't bounce over them.
Q is more deliberate. You slow down as you build up the range, which can make you vulnerable to a counter attack while prepping (or a silence stopping the attack), but it goes further and travels instantly. Doing all of the damage at the same time means it's not a projectile, so it can't be stopped by 
or 
W can be fantastic for safety, thanks to its ability to knock himself away or enemies away, or both in a pinch. That makes him safer against threats that want to close the gap on you. It's execute on towers also makes him the best mage for taking towers, bar none. However it can send targets the wrong way if you're not careful, and it sucks when you think it'll finish someone off but it just pushes them to safety.
E is his hard CC ability, but it has a distinct weakness against in-your-face champions. It is only 0.25 seconds at close range, which means once someone gets to Xerath he's in a world of trouble. However, it's slightly better for getting a catch on a target than Ziggs hard CC, since they won't shift around and it lasts longer at further ranges.
E is his zoning tool. He can make enemies really not want to walk in a certain area, but it's less common to see it used offensively. The arming time of the mines seems to take a while too.
W is his AoE Slow. Landing it dead center on a target can slow them 80% (compared to the 40% of Ziggs's mines), but it's less useful at zone denial and more useful for instant damage or retreating. Also can't be stopped by or
ult is an AoE bomb has increased travel time based on the range, so if you're too far away it's entirely likely you'll miss your target. Much like his Q though, it's fire and forget, so you can throw it on yourself should some pesky assassin be trying to end you and keep running away/firing back at them.
can snipe targets from half way across the map. The more I've used this ultimate the more I've realize how much utility it has. You can participate in teamfights that you were too far away to contribute to otherwise with accuracy, you can snipe fleeing targets, you can peel for fleeing allies by forcing enemies to decide if they actually want to take 5 ult shots getting a kill, you can use it to try and secure objectives, firing at the enemy team taking it to get vision before trying for the killing blow, etc.
If you're just looking for a steady stream of poke, a little bit more safety against assassins, and some tower threat, then Ziggs is your man. If you're looking to stop fights before they get started, or to make sure your team finishes a fight, then Xerath is your man.
WitchQueen Annie1 votesInteresting, but shouldn't Xerath have better (and more continuous) poke since his Q can't blocked (will go through all targets in siege), is "easier" to land (since its instantaneous), and he has near infinite mana to work with once he get Morello + his passive? He can also poke with his W Eye whereas its hard to imagine Ziggs safely poking with minefield.
Also, I suppose another pro of Xerath is his large regenerating mana pool? W and E can chunk his pool but you can keep firing Qs for a LONG time.
DrCyanide1 votesI tend to skip a mana item all together on Xerath if I can in favor of a stronger early power spike (NLR into Luden's), relying on the passive to get me though. If you can land autos on the enemy laner it's pretty manageable, if not it's pretty tricky. Obviously I'm an odd ball in that regard, but Lost Chapter just feels so weak next to that start.
The two have very different costs on their poke. Ziggs Q costs 70 mana max an has a CD of 4 seconds, while Xerath Q costs 120 mana max with 5 second CD plus the charge up time (not reduced by CDR). That results in Ziggs having better poke on closer targets, while Xerath's poke is less frequent but reaches further (and potentially more targets).
Handy Sandy 1 votesXerath has way better poke, since it's a larger AOE and instant. He also has better waveclear since it's just 1 ability to clear a wave. He has his mana passive for sustain in the laning phase, lategame he can chunk the adc for 50% of their health with a Q from the fog of war while ziggs must wait for the bomb to actually land. Often a EWQ is enough to kill a squishy.
Ziggs has higher burst and has an escape, he isn't as good long range as Xerath is though.
Fasmodey1 votesXerath has much higher burst, wth. Did you ever get obliterated by E-W-Q combo of Xerath? Or did you die to 3 arcane barrages ever as ADC?
Handy Sandy 1 votesI said Ziggs because unlike Xerath he can use his ultimate in his burst combo.
Fasmodey1 votesHe can use it in 1v1 though. E-W-Q-R.
His ultimate has so much damage, more than rest of his kit combined.
Asayake 5150glow1 votesZiggs is also spammier, and his W is more reliable (whichever minefield is)
lightdragoon881 votesI like Xerath more because I can hit better (and more targets) with his Q than with Ziggs Q.
aqours fanboy1 votesZiggs is safer than Xerath. Once you get close to Xerath he is straight up dead unless you got summs.
WitchQueen Annie1 votesAfter some playing yesterday, I'm leaning towards Ziggs being better.
Xerath's spells feels very clunky and awkward while Ziggs is super smooth to play. Meanwhile, I don't see many worthwhile pros to playing Xerath. His Q (which has to charge) is super awkward to move and aim (compared to Ziggs' simple fire and forget mechanics); Xerath's Ultimate is very very counter intuitive to use and the self-root is very annoying.
Here's what Ziggs has that Xerath doesn't have:
If Xerath got A LOT more reliable damage and range, it might just make up for it but he doesn't. If you're looking to execute people who are running away from fights or snipe them from afar, Ziggs' single cast AOE mega bomb is good enough for that purpose. I see no reason to work around an awkward (even though its super range) multi-cast mess.
If Ziggs is caught, he can drop an Ultimate on himself and maybe take the enemy down with him (or W away). Xerath? He can't fire out his awkward spells fast enough so its not an option.
Overall Xerath just feels inferior...
The Q of Xerath is THEORETICALLY better (if played by a perfect and practiced player) then Ziggs' Qs but if you're going to play 20 games of each and then take one to Ranked... there's no question its Ziggs.
Even after hundreds of games theoretically, its doubtful Xerath's kit has anything that can override Ziggs' massive advantages in reliability, versatility, and straightforward burst.