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State of Xerath

cino·4/16/2016, 5:59:55 AM·2 votes·1,112 views

Well it's 2016 and is back in the absolute bottom of the play rate charts. Has it become apparent that his rework was a failure to riot yet? He no longer accomplishes anything better than any other mid laner. He can't focus squishy targets like he used to, and he can't melt tanks like he used to. Xerath currently is a generic mage who simply possesses nothing but straightforward long range damage and lacks all the tools necessary to succeed in any form this season. Want more CC to go along with the damage? Play lux. Want to melt tanks better? Play Malz or Brand. Wan't zoning potential and raw damage? Play Veigar or Anivia. All xerath has is poke, and he can't accomplish enough with just that

I'm glad the Mage Update looks to be addressing issues with malzahar, but I'm extremely disappointed that Riot did not immediately feel that Xerath should have been included in the update. I'll say what I've been saying for 2 seasons now

His ult feels weak, broadcasted, and is essentially useless in teamfights and absolutely pales in comparison to it's old form
He is completely immobile in every aspect of his kit
His Passive is now generic and uninteresting, as well as inherently bad for his long range kit as it's auto attack based
Stun is unimpressive and cannot target backline enemies as it's no longer a point and click

Xerath simply lacks all the tools he needs to do anything as well as he used to, and this season he is really feeling the pain. Desperately hoping riot can return this amazing champion to his former glory at some point. He was once my favourite champion yet now there's literally no reason to play him [zombie-nunu-bummed]

15 Comments

Kuronok24/16/2016, 6:15:09 AM3 votes

He is still very good. Stop complaining about a champion being immobile, not all champions should be mobile. I think Xerath doesn't have a good keystone to use. I don't think TD is very good on him and the others are worse so he just goes with the less bad.

SnackieCakes4/16/2016, 7:41:19 AM2 votes

I went to Plat in Season 4 playing mostly Xerath (post rework). I really, really liked him, and felt that he had a lot of strengths. I stopped playing him so much after they nerfed his stun duration (from 2.25 to 1.75, always based on range, so it's a ministun on melee), and after a period wherein I encountered only Zed and Yasuo as lane opponents.

Xerath's ult does look and feel pretty lame, but I think the rest of his kit pumps out enough damage on reasonably CDs that it feels fair. His passive is actually pretty great - probably the best mana passive out there, since it feels like it helps Xerath, but also puts him at risk, which is a good tension.

I think Xerath can still be good, he just has to be on a poke oriented team. That said I think that he's basically right with all the other mages right now in that AP items feel prohibitively expensive, and AD mids like Zed/Yasuo/Jhin (my current main) just feel so much stronger.

I do think they could put some more power back into his E duration, because it's already so much lower at close range. I'd be very open to changing his ult, but not necessarily in a way that gives him obviously more power - maybe just something more interesting.

LostFr0st4/16/2016, 6:03:51 AM1 votes

He is in the mage update though and is set to receive tweaks, just not Malz-level tweaks.

ModWulf Helhammer4/16/2016, 7:23:56 AM1 votes

His ult feels weak, broadcasted, and is essentially useless in teamfights and absolutely pales in comparison to it's old form

While visuals may not be the best, his ult packs a punch. And yes, it isn't so great for teamfights (although you will still do a lot of damage if you just dump all 3 shots on the clumped enemy), it's more for sniping or picking of escaping targets.

He is completely immobile in every aspect of his kit

That's an intended weakness

His Passive is now generic and uninteresting, as well as inherently bad for his long range kit as it's auto attack based

That's the point. Notice how all the long range mages have auto attack focused passives? It't to encourage/make them to actually interact with the enemy laner, so that the enemy has a window of opportunity or retaliation.

Stun is unimpressive and cannot target backline enemies as it's no longer a point and click

His stun is amazing at catching people out. You don't need to be targeting back line opponents with it, you have more then enough range on your other abilities to just damage the back line through everyone.

Additionally, he was never entirely focused on teamfights; he's the poke siege mage. If he was also an amazing teamfighter, that would be completely unbalanced. You want a mage that's good in teamfights? You pick someone like Zyra, Brand, or Viktor.

The Last Ballad4/16/2016, 8:34:50 AM1 votes

"but I'm extremely disappointed that Riot did not immediately feel that Xerath should have been included in the update."

What are you talking about? They are updating Xerath to an extent "Xerath

What we’re happy with:

Keepaway. Xerath has a lot of tension built-in to wanting to be just far away to poke, but never close enough to be in threat range. What we’re less happy with:

For a mage that feels like he’s ascending to ultimate power, Rite of the Arcane can feel really lackluster. Playing against Xerath can feel like some of his abilities cheat in his favor What we hope to see coming out of the update:

Reinforce the use of his abilities at long-range while making them more fair to play against Make Rite of the Arcane feel like a meaningful crescendo for Xerath’s poke-pattern"

"His ult feels weak, broadcasted, and is essentially useless in teamfights and absolutely pales in comparison to it's old form" "Make Rite of the Arcane feel like a meaningful crescendo for Xerath’s poke-pattern" is one of their goals

"He is completely immobile in every aspect of his kit" Is that why he is called a "immobile mage"? Just a thought...

"Stun is unimpressive and cannot target backline enemies as it's no longer a point and click" Well it needs some form of counterplay that isn't "don't be targeted" or "use item 3157 or have Morgana on your team"