Artillery Mages Specifically Xerath

There's a few things I would like to take the time to discuss, this primarily focuses on the lack of support you have really given to Artillery mages. Primarily that you just target the toxic aspects without really supplementing them in any way. In the original xerath we could see you had made small buffs until you finally decided to scrap the whole concept as seen below.

Xerath was released upon Patch 1.0.0.126

• (Patch Notes 1.0.0.142)
  Locus of Power magic penetration bonus increased to 16 / 22 / 28 / 34 / 40% from 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30% Mage Chains Missile speed increased to 2,100 from 1,700 Ability power ratio increased to 0.8 from 0.7

• (Patch Notes 1.0.0.143) Reduced the delay between casting the spell and the impact to 0.5 seconds from 0.875 seconds.

• Patch Notes (1.0.0.152) Base Movement Speed increased by 25

It is then Xerath is left alone for a while and is targeted with two nerfs in 4.14 and 4.15 (can post if needed) as individuals had started to take him as support. It wasn't until patch 4.2 that xerath had earned a complete overhaul and in your words at least...

"This rework isn’t driven by a concern for power levels. Instead, like a lot of our reworks, it’s focused on delivering a unique, cohesive champion theme. Xerath’s theme has always been the arcane sniper with huge damage potential. Give him time and the right target, and he can precisely pick off his victims. That said, with Xerath’s old kit, he had so much spell penetration and rapid-fire abilities that players would often just dump all of his damage on the nearest target. We believe his new kit delivers on a better champion fantasy."

Part of my issue resides in the scrapping of spell pen that was seen in Xerath's kit, primarily this is what made him that "arcane sniper with huge damage potential". Instead it was shortly removed and previous item slots that could have been used to build raw ap or defensive items had to be used for spell pen to remain competitive. Now I may receive hate for this in general, but to be honest you have to have some form of defense to remain viable. While additionally you have to find the perfect balance of having enough magic pen to do your specified role.

In most cases i find myself presented with 2 sometimes 3 build paths that i need to start immediately, the first being that x individual build some form of mr or are usually the two i encounter the most. The second issues resides in my mana efficiency. Yes I realize his passive comes in with a built in mana restoration, yet this is where sometimes the 3rd build path takes into effect. Due to champions such as (if he builds ), i'm required to try to fully utilize my passive, while having to use my abilities to farm from a distance (due to zoning). The issue with this is its requiring me to immediately have 3 items on hand to remain somewhat competitive in lane. This is not due to sheer skill either but by mechanics working against the individual.

Now I find that a rioter is not happy with the continous casting of spells? I can understand this point of view, but please supplement xerath with some built in magic pen like his old kit used to have. So i don't have 2-3 mechanics soon to be 3-4 working against me. As an xerath main i understand you thought the built in spell pen affected his kit in a negative way when individuals were close. Why not implement a system where if a target is x amount distance away from you a spell pen is added on for xerath's damage. This could be incorporated with his passive, as most champions now days have a dual passive, forcing xerath players... if they wish to utilize the spell pen to play from afar like a true artillery mage.