Xerath is the ultimate poke support — a glass cannon who wins lanes by never letting enemies get comfortable. Your Q range at full charge (1400+ units) outranges virtually every enemy threat, letting you deal massive damage with zero risk. The entire game plan is to keep enemies too low to fight and then capitalize with your global ultimate.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Mana Surge
Passive
Xerath's basic attacks periodically restore Mana. Whenever Xerath kills a unit, this cooldown is reduced.
Q
Arcanopulse
Arcanopulse — Long-range charged linear beam, main poke tool
Fires a long-range beam of energy, dealing magic damage to all targets hit.
CD: 9/8/7/6/5 · Cost: 80/90/100/110/120
Charge Q fully from max range for maximum damage and range. Predict enemy movement and fire between minions.
W
Eye of Destruction
Eye of Destruction — AoE slow zone, zone control and damage
Calls down a barrage of arcane energy, slowing and dealing magic damage to all enemies in an area. Targets in the middle receive additional damage and a stronger slow.
CD: 14/13/12/11/10 · Cost: 80/90/100/110/120
Use W to slow enemies for easier E stuns or to zone enemies from CS. The center deals bonus damage.
E
Shocking Orb
Shocking Orb — Stun projectile, crowd control
Deals magic damage to an enemy and stuns them.
CD: 13/12.5/12/11.5/11 · Cost: 60/65/70/75/80
Save E to stun enemies who engage on your ADC or to follow up after W slow.
R
Rite of the Arcane
Rite of the Arcane — Global multi-shot ultimate for picks
Xerath immobilizes himself and gains numerous long-range barrages.
CD: 130/115/100 · Cost: 100
Use R across the map to execute low-health enemies, secure objectives, or poke in teamfights. Aim at immobile targets first.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q first for maximum poke damage, then W for zone control, last E.
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Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter Items
Spellthief's Edge
Procs easily with long-range Q poke — generates consistent gold income without risking melee range.
400g
Health Potion
Sustain in case you get caught out trying to poke.
50g
Core Build
Sorcerer's Shoes
Magic penetration amplifies all your poke damage significantly.
1100g
Luden's Tempest
Echo damage adds burst to your Q poke and provides mana for sustained lane presence.
3200g
Shadowflame
Magic pen that scales with enemy max HP — perfect for chunking squishy ADCs.
3000g
Rabadon's Deathcap
Massive AP amplifier that turns your poke into one-shots at full build.
3800g
Situational
Void Staff
Essential vs teams stacking magic resistance.
2800g
Zhonya's Hourglass
Stasis when caught out — gives your team time to protect you.
3250g
Morellonomicon
Grievous Wounds to neuter healing-heavy comps.
2500g
Stay at max Q range and never stop poking. Your win condition is keeping enemies too low to fight by the time a skirmish breaks out.
Core Build
Sorcerer's Shoes
Magic penetration for consistent poke damage.
1100g
Luden's Tempest
Primary poke item — Echo proc adds burst.
3200g
Morellonomicon
Anti-heal on every Q hit — destroys Soraka, Yuumi, Sona sustain lanes.
2500g
Shadowflame
Magic pen follows up Morello to finish off low-HP targets.
3000g
Situational
Rabadon's Deathcap
AP amplifier when ahead and enemies aren't stacking MR.
3800g
Void Staff
When enemies start building magic resistance.
2800g
Prioritize Morellonomicon second into healing-heavy lanes. Anti-heal on your Q range is devastating.
Runes
Sorcery Primary
Arcane Comet
Procs on every Q hit from range — your sustained poke keeps the comet cooldown low. Massive lane damage vs immobile champions.
Manaflow Band
Xerath is extremely mana-hungry when spamming Q. Manaflow Band solves this permanently after stacking.
Transcendence
Ability haste means more Q pokes, more E stuns, and more R shots. CDR on kills keeps the chain going.
Scorch
Extra burn damage on every Q proc — multiplied over a full poke lane it adds massive total damage.
Domination Secondary
Taste of Blood
Sustain when you do get caught out in close range, keeping you healthy enough to keep poking.
Ultimate Hunter
Reduces R cooldown per unique kill — more charges of Rite of the Arcane to execute targets globally.
Shards
Ability Power · Ability Power · Armor
Gameplay
How to Play Xerath
01
Early Game
Early Phase
- Coming soon.
02
Mid Game
Mid Phase
- Coming soon.
03
Late Game
Late Phase
- Coming soon.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Xerath
Xerath's teamfight role is pure damage at maximum range. You never engage — you position at the back and spam Q while your frontline tanks for you. Your W zones carries, E can interrupt key abilities, and R executes anyone who tries to escape.
1
Pre-Fight — Find Max Range
Before engage
01
Position at maximum Q range (1400 units) behind your frontline. Never stand in the front.
02
Identify the enemy carry. Your full-charge Q should always be aimed at their ADC or APC.
03
Use W to pre-zone the area where enemies will group before the fight starts.
Watch for flanking assassins like Zed or Talon. They will ignore your frontline and dive directly at you. Have Zhonya's Hourglass ready.
2
Mid-Fight — Maximum DPS
During engage
01
Spam fully-charged Q at the enemy backline nonstop. Your Q damage per cast is massive with AP items.
02
Drop W on clustered enemies to slow them and apply the center bonus damage.
03
Use E to interrupt key abilities — Katarina R, Warwick R, or any channeled ultimate that threatens your team.
3
Cleanup — Global R
Post-fight
01
Fire R shots at retreating enemies. Anyone below 30% HP is an easy pick across the entire map.
02
Use remaining R charges to assist allies in other lanes after the main fight ends.
03
Reposition immediately after using R — enemies may have noted your location from the R animation.
Xerath's R casts are instant globally. After winning a teamfight, immediately scan the minimap for low-health enemies recalling in other lanes — free kills.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Xerath.
Intermediate
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Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Xerath's poke dominance collapses against mobile engage supports who can close distance faster than you can react. Flanking assassins are also a death sentence if they reach you.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Rocket Grab completely ignores Xerath's range advantage — one hook from lane bush ends the fight before it starts. Blitzcrank's silence field also prevents your E follow-up.
Never stand near walls or lane brushes. Keep a wide minion wall between you and Blitzcrank at all times.
Leona can close the gap with E+Flash and locks Xerath down with her CC chain before he can kite. Her tankiness means your poke doesn't deter her from engaging.
Watch Leona's E CD carefully — poke aggressively when it's on cooldown and play safe when it's available.
Nautilus anchor hook from range grabs Xerath through minion lines and chains him with multiple CCs before Xerath can react. His ult also follows the target globally.
Stay behind your ADC so Nautilus has to hook through them first. Bait his hook before committing to poke.
Wins Against
Sona has no gap close and her short ability range can't reach Xerath's full Q distance. She gets poked out of lane every wave.
Force Sona off CS with Q every wave. She cannot sustainably heal through your poke damage.
Soraka's heals are completely outpaced by sustained Q poke damage. She has no engage to threaten Xerath and gets bullied off the wave.
Buy Morellonomicon to apply Grievous Wounds on every Q hit, reducing her heal output by 40%.
Lulu cannot reliably engage on Xerath at full Q range. Her shields can't absorb sustained poke and she has no reliable engage to close the gap.
Keep range and don't let her ADC snowball from safe farm. Focus poke on the ADC over Lulu.