League of Legends S12: Xerath Mid Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Xerath in the midlane in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Luden's Tempest

3200 Gold

Horizon Focus

3000 Gold

Build

Luden's Tempest is a pretty standard item on midlane mages, offering tons of damage and good mobility. 

Horizon Focus is great on champions with a lot of range, such as Xerath. 

Other good items include Mejai's Soulstealer, Zhonya's Hourglass, Shadowflame, and Rabadon's Deathcap.

Starting Item & Boots

Health Potion

50 Gold

Doran's Ring

400 Gold

Sorcerer's Shoes

1100 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Xerath skill priority is:

R > Q > W > E

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Xerath in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Xerath is a great zoning midlaner, thanks to the huge range of his spells. His job will be to poke the enemy champion as much as possible and try to zone them away from resources. You should press this range advantage in the early game, so that you don't fall behind. However, he is rather immobile and easily caught out in a gank, so play patiently and sensibly. When he gets to level 6, start looking for opportunities to help out in the sidelanes. 

• Level 1 - Take Q - Arcanopulse, for the waveclear and poke.
• Level 2 - Take W - Eye of Destruction, so you can continue to zone your opponent and look to trade.
• First Back - Start building towards your Luden's with a Lost Chapter, which will help with mana management.

Tips & Tricks

• If Xerath doesn't release the Arcanopulse, it refunds half the mana cost. 
• The duration of Shocking Orb increases with the distance travelled by the Orb, up to two seconds.
• If Xerath doesn't launch Eye of Destruction, the cooldown of Rite of the Arcane is halved. Be mindful of this is you don't have the range to reach a target.