Xerath is one of the most annoying artillery mages to deal with since he is able to throw out a lot of high-damage skillshots in a short amount of time. His range is insane and the crowd control from his abilities makes it even more difficult to deal with him during the laning phase and even in the middle stages of the game. Let’s take a look at how to properly utilize his kit in this Xerath tips and tricks guide to help beginners.
The Best Xerath Tips and Tricks
Xerath is an artillery mage that is usually played in the mid lane but also makes appearances in the support role as well. The highlight of his kit is the short cooldown and long-range poke abilities that can blast the enemy before they even make a move. Xerath is usually dubbed as one of the champions that works extremely well for one-tricks and highly skilled players since they are able to showcase this champ’s full capabilities. We’ll be talking about it more in this Xerath tips and tricks guide.

Xerath has a lot of weaknesses, notably his lack of defensive tools and mobility make him an easy takedown for full-dive comps. He is extremely fragile and has one of the highest skill ceilings in the game. Even though he is one of the most difficult champions to use, that doesn’t mean you should start practicing how to use this champion as soon as possible. That’s why we’ll be talking more about this in our Xerath tips and tricks guide.
Blast Your Enemies Off the Lane
The strongest part about Xerath’s champion kit is his ability to bully the enemy laner. Whether you’re playing him as a mid laner or a support champion, your priority during the laning phase should always be to push the enemy champions off the lane as much as possible by forcing them to recall. This is done by constantly landing skill shots on enemies and auto-attacking them to replenish your mana so you can continue harassing them endlessly.

Throwing out skill shots purely to hit enemy champions is one of the most common beginner mistakes. Players can use Xerath’s Q and W ability to hit both the wave and their enemy laners. This means that even though you miss on the enemy champion, the ability will still accomplish its goal of clearing the wave quickly. Remember that Xerath’s passive ability allows him to restore mana whenever he lands an auto-attack on an enemy champion (while it’s off cooldown), so make sure to auto-attack your enemies.
Don’t Overcharge Your Q Ability
The biggest mistake that beginners do when playing Xerath is overcharging their Q ability. Holding the Q out for too long might give you an advantage in predicting the enemy’s movement but it also leaves you extremely vulnerable and prevents you from clearing the wave quickly. Sometimes, it’s better to charge Xerath’s Q ability just enough so that it reaches the enemy champion and leaves them without enough time to react.

The only time you should do long-casting is when you’re trying to poke down enemy champions before a teamfight or when you’re protected by an allied champion. You can also clear the wave by max channeling your Q ability when the enemy is not threatening to get a takedown on you. As long as your target is within range, don’t be afraid to release your cast so that the chances of hitting the enemy is increased significantly.
Make Sure to Clear the Wave Quickly
We’ve talked a lot about how Xerath needs to clear the wave quickly in this Xerath tips and tricks guide but players might be confused as to why it’s such a pressing issue that needs to be repeated. As a mid laner, you generally want to clear the wave as fast as possible so that you can roam the map freely without losing resources. Having a clear lane also prevents the enemy mid laner from roaming the map without getting severely punished in EXP and gold.

As we’ve mentioned already, the best way to clear the wave is to throw out your abilities at the wave with the intention of harassing the enemy champion. Replenish your mana by auto-attacking enemy champions then throw out your abilities to last hit minions. Be smart about throwing out your abilities though because improper planning can cause you to miss more minions. Remember that your priority should be to gain as much gold as possible to build your items and be a massive threat in the lane.
Manage Your Crowd Control Combo
Xerath has two crowd control abilities which are his W and E abilities. The W ability – Eye of Destruction – hits a small area and slows down all enemies hit. Xerath’s E ability – Shocking Orb – throws a ball of mana in a line that stuns the first enemy hit with the duration based on the distance it took for the orb to travel. The E ability is extremely difficult to land since it has a relatively slow animation that most veterans can easily dodge.

The best way to make sure that your E ability hits is to throw out a W ability to slow enemies, making it difficult for them to dodge your stun. There isn’t any point in throwing out your E ability randomly since it’s a huge waste of mana. Instead, try using your W ability to land a slow on your target enemy champion and follow up immediately with a stun. You can use the E ability if you have a clear idea of the enemy’s movement or if they are choked in a spot where they only have limited mobility.
Read Your Opponent’s Movements
The best Xerath tips and tricks that you can get from veteran players is to learn how to predict an enemy’s movement. League of Legends is a game of habit and repetition so players will always move a certain way according to their current actions. For example, enemies will always try to get the last hit on a low-health Cannon minion so you know they will either try to walk up to that unit or cast a long-range ability to secure it. Use these types of information to your knowledge.

Reading your opponent’s movement is just one way to ensure that your abilities hit. Forcing your opponents to move a certain way is also a good way to land your skills shots on an enemy. For example, if you force them to dodge one ability, make sure your next ability is in a direction where you expect them to move. This works especially well with your ultimate ability on Xerath.