How is Xerath?

Faded Lich·Sep 4, 2015·1 votes·847 views

Looking to buy a new mage. He looks fun, but I've not seen much of him and I've never seen him mentioned around here...which means he's either yorick amounts of bad or he is some what balanced. So yeah, how is he currently?

26 Comments

GreenLoreSep 4, 20157 votes

From what I've heard he is in a rather decent spot,even though he isn't played that often.

Xeraths range is pretty much unmatched among mages(I guess Azir is his biggest rival in that regard,kinda fitting storywise...),but your mana is going to hold you back from time to time(you can refill it with you passive though). He is immobile,so you have to be extra careful for ganks(his W and E can help you against those of course)

His ult is rather hard to land,but not impossible and good for kiling low-health opponents that are far away.

Faded LichSep 4, 20151 votes

{quoted}

From what I've heard he is in a rather decent spot,even though he isn't played that often.

Xeraths range is pretty much unmatched among mages(I guess Azir is his biggest rival in that regard,kinda fitting storywise...),but your mana is going to hold you back from time to time(you can refill it with you passive though). He is immobile,so you have to be extra careful for ganks(his W and E can help you against those of course)

His ult is rather hard to land,but not impossible and good for kiling low-health opponents that are far away.

Sounds good, thanks for the info. Open to any other opinions of course but if this is the case then I'll get him. Someone who isn't picked/ban all the time but still in a pretty good spot is pretty much what I am looking for.

Stars ShaperSep 4, 20151 votes

Also funny that Xerath eats Azir like breakfast xD

9001Sep 4, 20151 votes

{quoted}

From what I've heard he is in a rather decent spot,even though he isn't played that often.

Xeraths range is pretty much unmatched among mages(I guess Azir is his biggest rival in that regard,kinda fitting storywise...),but your mana is going to hold you back from time to time(you can refill it with you passive though). He is immobile,so you have to be extra careful for ganks(his W and E can help you against those of course)

His ult is rather hard to land,but not impossible and good for kiling low-health opponents that are far away.

Here is my opinion on Xerath as a Xerath main:

PROS:

-Long range on all abilities -Q, W, E are hard to dodge -Mana sustain through passive -Good burst damage -Godly poke damage -Decent self peel with E and W -Good map presence late game with rank 3 ult -Amazing wave clear -Very high damage with 4 damaging abilities -Good amount of CC

CONS:

-Immobile -Entirely skill shot reliant -Squishy like a mage -Ultimate is difficult to land multiple shots -Ult feels like a basic ability (Pew pew) -Easily counter picked by Ahri Fizz Zed Yasuo

So why pick Xerath???

Because he is a literal god if you get fed and can land skill shots reliably. Because all of his abilities are skill shots, he has ridiculous AP scaling and high high damage. Full build your Q will be on roughly a 3 second cooldown and dealing 800+ damage at long range. His mid and late game E, W, Q combo WILL one-shot squishy targets. In the right team comp, he really can shine and carry hard. Your team will win every team fight if you are able to hang back and get good poke off first.

BONUS

The reworked item 3116 , I am finding, is extremely strong on Xerath as a second or 3rd item. Xerath's poke is already pretty easy to land but this just makes it flat out impossible to dodge his abilities if he tags you with just one. This will make landing 3 shots of the ult "EZ-MODE". Not only does it add utility with the slow, but also the health really helps to give you some much needed survive-ability so you don't insta-die when anyone gets to you.

TL;DR

is my ace-in-the-hole for soloque. With good positioning, skill shot landing skills, and an understanding of your own power spikes, can carry really hard and is fun to play at the same time.

GreenLoreSep 4, 20152 votes

Something fun however I'd like to add about Yasuo: Only Xeraths E can be blocked by his windwall.

I've had quite some fun meeting yasuos who thought they could block my Q with their wind wall only to get killed by it.

More experienced Yasuos will knwo about this for sure,but it is still entertaining xD

Archon XSep 4, 20154 votes

I miss old Xerath when his W rooted you and gave you hella mpen and range. He was the first champ I ever bought.. I own all now but one love rasta to Xerath

Faded LichSep 4, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Archon X,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=HpJRjAQm,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2015-09-04T09:35:44.212+0000)

I miss old Xerath when his W rooted you and gave you hella mpen and range. He was the first champ I ever bought.. I own all now but one love rasta to

I remember those days but never got around to getting him. Haven't played him since the re-work. He just looks really enticing all of a sudden as weird as that sounds but I don't want to spend IP on someone that is pointless to use due to being severely under-tuned, yah know? I'm not looking for something super OP to destroy everyone with but I don't wanna get something unusable bad xP.

CatastropSep 4, 20152 votes

He's great. He tends to run out of mana easily, but that can be fixed with a item 3028 and your passive. The only thing you'll really have a problem with, is landing his ult but with some practice you'll get better at predicting movement.

Faded LichSep 4, 20151 votes

I am actually falling in love with his ult. IT's good once you figure out the small delay, a death sentence or summoner force if you have item 3116 to slow them on top of everything. That said I've not tried chalice yet but I have found myself a fan of item 3165 . Any build suggestions? I am really loving him. I just got to carry a 4v5 (us the 4) to victory with him and am seriously considering putting a lot of time into him.

CatastropSep 4, 20151 votes

I also like item 3165 but it's a situational item for me because I use Scaling CDR Glyphs so item 3174 helps with that little MR boost. I will however forgo Chalice in favour of Nomicon if I'm up against an AD champion or the enemy team doesn't have meaningful magic damage. That aside, I'm a fan of item 1311 item 3089 item 3157 item 3135 item 3285 / item 3116 , the toss up between Rylai's and Luden's is because there times when I find that added burst or increased HP and utility outweigh one another in certain situations.

HolyCrapItsMeSep 5, 20151 votes

I agree that morello is the better choice (except against other AP), Ive never had a problem with his mana thanks to his amazing passive. also I found that because your ult stays for 10 seconds, enemies expect it less if you are patiant. the first 3 seconds they are all like "nothings gonna hit me" after that they seem to forget that your ult is on and pretty much go into "lazy dodging" mode, im rambling but maybe it can help you xD

HolyCrapItsMeSep 4, 20151 votes

Xerath is very comp dependant, a lot of currently-meta picks counter him.

HolyCrapItsMeSep 4, 20151 votes

In my opinion.

Faded LichSep 4, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Xerath is very comp dependant, a lot of currently-meta picks counter him.

Thanks for the info :) just got him/played him. Good first game, happy with the buy. I can see how he would hard to play vs certain comps but considering the lower level people I am currently playing against, I think I can safely spam him and just out play the enemy, at least for now. The amount of damage he can output though is truly impressive...and terrifying o_o.

Stars ShaperSep 4, 20151 votes

From a Xerath main, you have chance to win against any1 in lane if you manage to make them play defensive but any good Talon, Fizz, Zed and Akali will be a pain in the ass so position well and always keep the team near for safety.

Faded LichSep 4, 20151 votes

Gotcha, thanks for the advice. I can't speak for most of them yet but I've faced a Talon already. I pretty much just Q poked him as much as I could and just farmed under tower or while he was away. Did a quick E+W if he jumped on me and put distance between us before Q'ing him if he jumped on me, ended up winning the lane. Owe alot of it to the fact I took barrier as my secondary summoner spell. Has been proving really useful.

HolyCrapItsMeSep 5, 20151 votes

Glad you like him, I remember buying him, I just saw his kit (never actually seen him in a game, just the ability descriptions) and I said to myself "THIS, this is the champion for me.) so I bought him and hes proven reliable and fun. also tought me to hate fizz more than anything in this goddamned world. I hope your luck with him continues :D

EDIT: also notice he has amazing AD stats (somewhat long range and a a base AD that rivals AD carries) so dont forget to throw in a few AAs even if your passive is on CD :)

Kat HeadSep 4, 20151 votes

He was so much fun before his rework, although not nearly as viable.

Now he is not very fun to play, but he is pretty good.

Some trades offs are not worth it, this one included to be honest.

Faded LichSep 4, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Kat Head,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=HpJRjAQm,comment-id=0003,timestamp=2015-09-04T11:31:38.966+0000)

He was so much fun before his rework, although not nearly as viable.

Now he is not very fun to play, but he is pretty good.

Some trades offs are not worth it, this one included to be honest.

To each there own. Now that I've played him I find him rather fun personally :)

Kat HeadSep 4, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Faded Lich,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=HpJRjAQm,comment-id=00030000,timestamp=2015-09-04T11:53:35.466+0000)

To each there own. Now that I've played him I find him rather fun personally :)

You did not get to play the old version though, that makes it much easier for you to like him.

Faded LichSep 4, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Kat Head,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=HpJRjAQm,comment-id=000300000000,timestamp=2015-09-04T11:56:55.559+0000)

You did not get to play the old version though, that makes it much easier for you to like him.

Actually I did. I've had this account for years, I've just played league on and off due to being a dota 2 buff. I've only recently started playing league heavily. When I first joined on my first account (which got banned before the creation of this one, long time ago now.) Wukong was JUST released.

So trust me, I remember Xerath's release and I did enjoy him xP.

Stars ShaperSep 4, 20151 votes

I did play both and I like 'em both.

I surely miss how game changing was his stun but hey, we traded it for a character that fits more into the "morìdern" LoL so I'm no mad. He is probably the best rework after Sion.

DecritSep 4, 20151 votes

Honestly i did not like the old version. I mean it was strong, but spamming R on a target afflicted by old E from uber range and getting armor by getting AP wasn' t that exciting.

Basically, he could say "fuck all the items that are not AP, and fuck Void Staff too!". i did not play him much, but gave to me this feel...

HeimerchinaSep 4, 20151 votes

I personally hate Xerath because he is commonly played with script with 100% on target and 100% dodge.

Faded LichSep 4, 20151 votes

{quoted}

I personally hate Xerath because he is commonly played with script with 100% on target and 100% dodge.

You know, I find this extremely suspect. From my knowledge of scripts, that isn't something they can do xP.

Shroom JunkieSep 4, 20151 votes

Depends on your playstyle, Faded. Do you like to poke people to death in an AOE from 1400 units away? Do you like to have an AOE damaging as well, with an 80% slow for no cost at all if you buy now!? Do you like to be able to toss out stuns all game until you land them to get a free kill on anyone with mana regen for every AA you do?!? THEN YES XERATH IS FOR YOU!™