He is definitely not good but I dont see him as evil either. I just wanna know what people think. Let's vote and make a discussion about it.
I hope they dont make Xerath a totally bad guy in his new bio. I want bigger reasons.
LordHippoman3 votesXerath is a person who had a just cause, a good reason to strike out against some bad people, and some really, really, shit luck combined with a willingness to go way too far.
Xerath did what he did because Shurima was an empire with slavery. They had kept him and countless others enslaved for years, and he knew the only way to fix that was with something drastic. So he sabotages the Ascension ritual of his master and gets ready to attain power, something he never had. I don't think it's fully clarified if he knew how big the blowback from his sabotage would be (He killed a TON of innocent people), but maybe he didn't really care. That's the taking it too far bit.
The real tragedy with Xerath's story is that he was convinced he was alone, ignored, and hated because he was a slave. He never realized how much Azir cared about him, that he really thought of him as a friend, and that he thought slavery was as barbaric as Xerath did. He never got a chance to say it, and he waited too long to do something about it.
If we're talking current Xerath, I think all that remorse is washed away in both of them from millenia of imprisonment on Xerath's part and...death on Azir's. It doesn't sound like there's any friendship left, just revenge.
That's why I think Azir/Xerath's dynamic is sorely underrated, probably because it's a retcon of his original story and still from around that time when Lore was super tumultuous. There's a whole lot of the classic "If someone had just said SOMETHING" in there.
Ralanr1 votesBut those are the best tragedies, the ones that could have been avoided oh so easily, only to have been invisible to the obvious eye until it happens.
The two of them need a third person to get them to stop fighting and freaking talk to each other. I vote 
, who will be busy looting the treasury while they do this.
Fasmodey1 votesXerath is a person who had a just cause, a good reason to strike out against some bad people, and some really, really, shit luck combined with a willingness to go way too far.
Xerath did what he did because Shurima was an empire with slavery. They had kept him and countless others enslaved for years, and he knew the only way to fix that was with something drastic. So he sabotages the Ascension ritual of his master and gets ready to attain power, something he never had. I don't think it's fully clarified if he knew how big the blowback from his sabotage would be (He killed a TON of innocent people), but maybe he didn't really care. That's the taking it too far bit.
The real tragedy with Xerath's story is that he was convinced he was alone, ignored, and hated because he was a slave. He never realized how much Azir cared about him, that he really thought of him as a friend, and that he thought slavery was as barbaric as Xerath did. He never got a chance to say it, and he waited too long to do something about it.
If we're talking current Xerath, I think all that remorse is washed away in both of them from millenia of imprisonment on Xerath's part and...death on Azir's. It doesn't sound like there's any friendship left, just revenge.
That's why I think Azir/Xerath's dynamic is sorely underrated, probably because it's a retcon of his original story and still from around that time when Lore was super tumultuous. There's a whole lot of the classic "If someone had just said SOMETHING" in there.
Xerath knew the Shurima's Fall. He knew the tragedy of killing innocent people but it didn't stop him.
And you probably know, one of his quotes is "Sacrifices must be made."
He thought they had to die for a better future. That's why I can't seem him as evil or good. He thought he was doing the best for humanity. Also when Azir freed him and his people, he felt guilty but it was too late and there can be no other choice.
Ethereal3112 votesIn his original state, I wrote Xerath as someone seeking retribution for his sins and worked in the IoW in order to find it. Despite him reducing an empire to ash, there were other champions who hated themselves for their comparatively minute sins and I was planning on that being a major theme to the story.
Then Azir came along and fucked EVERYTHING up for me. First there was another entity that I had to deal with, and that would take some serious rewriting to work around. Then they turned Xerath into a joke of his possibly more human self. And I'm not letting that slide so easily even after 1.5 years of this shit.
GreenLore1 votesIn his original state, I wrote Xerath as someone seeking retribution for his sins and worked in the IoW in order to find it. Despite him reducing an empire to ash, there were other champions who hated themselves for their comparatively minute sins and I was planning on that being a major theme to the story.
I think you misinterpreted his judgement You probably based that on this part of his league judgement:
"Why do you want to join the League, Xerath?"
At this, Xerath paused. "The burden of my prison was brought about because the mages of Shurima could not comprehend what it was I pursued. I will not allow my goals to be misunderstood again. Consider my work with your League, summoner, a show of good faith."
The summoner regarded him quietly for a moment before giving a curt nod. "As you say. How does it feel, exposing your mind?"
The thing is that Xerath lied to the IoW about having misunderstood goals,all he wanted was to join the league so that he could feed off the power of the nexuses.
he was drawn to the magic of Valoran's nexuses and found he could absorb their power. Yet the nexuses had gatekeepers: petty mages known as summoners. Xerath knew his key to true freedom from his prison lay in gaining their trust, and he offered his power to the League of Legends.
Thats why Xerath paused a bit in his Judgement when he was asked why he joined and why the summoner looks at him for a moment silently,because Xerath lied to the summoner and the summoner probably suspected Xerath
Ethereal3111 votesI was fully aware of it and I specifically decided to write him like that since it felt more realistic and only amplifies the trauma he felt as a result of his Ascension. It makes for interesting stories from a first person view beyond 'MORE POWER'. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to reach out to other champions in the guise of a scientist/researcher to tell more stories about Runeterra. Riot and your suggestions are that he will only reach out through cold interests as opposed to the dynamic mix of calculation and relations. Besides, the whole 'gaining trust' is done to shit and back and back to shit and back again that I didn't want one of my favorite champions to end up as yet another cliche.
Oh wait that's exactly what happened.
GreenLore1 votesI understand your point,since I myself always thought that it would be interesting if he did regret what he has done to some extent.
However in the end it was clear that this interpretation was more headcanon than anything else and I'd say that new Xerath actually offers quite some possibilities in terms of moral ambiguity(old xerath did his ritual simply for the sake of power,but new xeraths motifs are currently still unknown,he might have good intentions)
Ethereal3111 votesUnknown because Riot hasn't been bothered. It's their job to say otherwise and they haven't been doing said job well enough. I'm a salty fuck when it comes to Xerath, so allow me to say "lol@moralambiguity. such an excuse for shitty and bored writers. Try writing 100k+ word stories on the matter and then I might actually accept your opinion." /salt
GreenLore1 votesFor some reason i can't vote in the poll,however I'd say he is(and always was) neutral evil.
In both his old and new lore,he caused a lot of destruction with his ritual,that probably killed thousands,if not millions(the sheer size of destruction was left unclear,but it was said to cause destruction throughout the whole country).
He could be seen as a more neutral guy if he did it for some noble reason or if he didn't know that this would happen,but thats not the case. His old lore said that the mages feared his disregard for life,so he knew what his ritual would cause(this is also the case in the new one,where he says its too late for them all). And while his goal is unknown in the new lore(so it might turn out that he had good intentions in the new lore),it was simply power in the old lore,he didn't want to help anyone,he just wanted to fullfill his desire for more magical power,regardless if he had to sacrifice others for it.
Sure he did betray Azir in the new lore,but honestly that betrayal fades in comparison to the death and destruction that was caused by his ritual.(though in the old lore there was the point where he said that he had no regrets about what he has done,which included the death of his loved one)
Stars Shaper1 votesHe is surely angry at Shurima but he is chaotic neutral for sure.