Xerath ARAM Build and Guide

Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch; ARAM balance numbers come from the League of Legends Wiki’s champion data.

A Xerath ARAM build starts from a nerf: in ARAM, Xerath deals 93% damage and takes 105% damage. The lane still suits him, because Arcanopulse and Eye of Destruction hit every enemy in a line or an area, and on the Howling Abyss five enemies share one lane. Build Ability Power, Mana and Ability Haste.

The items below are editorial picks, chosen by what each one does in patch 26.21. No win-rate data went into them.

How is Xerath changed in ARAM?

Xerath deals 93% damage and takes 105% damage in ARAM. A nerf on both ends. An Arcanopulse that would deal 1,000 damage on Summoner’s Rift deals 930 on the Howling Abyss (yes, the ultimate is cut the same way), and every hit that lands on him counts for 5% more than it should. Why nerf a mage who already wants to stand as far back as possible? Because his kit is long-range damage that hits groups, and the Abyss hands him five enemies in one lane with nowhere else to go. Honestly, the Xerath ARAM nerf is fair. It doesn’t make him weak, it just means you can’t afford the lazy positioning that a full-damage version might get away with.

Why does Xerath fit the Howling Abyss?

Because almost nothing in his kit is aimed at one person, and ARAM is five players per team in one lane. Here’s what each ability does, according to Riot’s data for patch 26.21:

• Mana Surge (passive): his basic attacks periodically restore Mana, and killing a unit shortens the cooldown on that refund.
• Arcanopulse (Q): a long-range beam of energy that deals magic damage to every target it passes through. Cooldown 9/8/7/6/5 seconds by rank.
• Eye of Destruction (W) calls down a barrage of arcane energy that slows and damages all enemies in the area. Targets in the middle take additional damage and a stronger slow. 14 seconds at rank 1, down to 10 at rank 5.
• Shocking Orb (E): magic damage plus a stun on one enemy, on a 13/12.5/12/11.5/11 second cooldown. The one spell in the kit that stuns.
• His ultimate, Rite of the Arcane (R), immobilizes Xerath himself and gives him numerous long-range barrages. Cooldown 130/115/100 seconds.

Where does it go wrong? Rite of the Arcane immobilizes him, and at 105% damage taken an immobilized Xerath is a soft target for anyone with a gap closer. His attack range is 525, so the passive wants him close enough to auto-attack minions, which also brings him closer to the enemy team. Thing is, both of those are on you. The champion is random, where you stand isn’t.

What should a Xerath ARAM build focus on?

Ability Power first, then Mana and Ability Haste, because he casts constantly and every spell he has sits on a cooldown long enough to notice. Four items from the current patch do that job.

Start with Luden’s Echo, which lines up with his kit better than anything else: 100 Ability Power, 600 Mana and 10 Ability Haste. Its Echo passive makes damaging abilities fire 6 Echoes that deal bonus magic damage to the target and nearby enemies, and remaining Echoes fire on the primary target for 20% damage. Put a beam through three champions or drop a barrage on a clump and you’ll see what those Echoes are for.

Next comes Malignance, an item whose whole point on Xerath is Rite of the Arcane. It brings 90 Ability Power, 600 Mana and 15 Ability Haste. Scorn grants 20 Ultimate Ability Haste, and Hatefog burns the ground beneath any champion your ultimate damages for 3 seconds, dealing magic damage per second and reducing their Magic Resist. Rite of the Arcane sits on a 130/115/100 second cooldown, so haste that applies to it specifically matters on Xerath.

Then Horizon Focus. 75 Ability Power, 25 Ability Haste, and a passive that rewards the way he already plays: Hypershot reveals a champion for 6 seconds when you damage them with an ability from 600 range or greater, and Focus then reveals every other enemy champion within 1400 range of them for 3 seconds. Arcanopulse is a long-range beam, so it can meet that condition as long as you aren’t the one standing forward.

Finish with Rabadon’s Deathcap (the priciest of the four): 130 Ability Power, and Magical Opus increases your total Ability Power by 30%. On a mage who does nothing but magic damage there’s no debate about the last slot.

How do you play Xerath on the Howling Abyss?

• Stun first, then everything else. Shocking Orb is the setup; a stunned enemy can’t step out of the Arcanopulse and the center of Eye of Destruction that follow.
• Aim W at the center. Targets in the middle of Eye of Destruction take additional damage and a stronger slow, so the edges are a consolation prize.
• Ult from the back, never from the front. Rite of the Arcane immobilizes him, and he takes 105% damage while standing there.
• Auto-attack between cooldowns. Mana Surge restores Mana on periodic basic attacks, and kills shorten that cooldown, so hitting the minion wave does more than clear it.
• Max Q. Arcanopulse drops from a 9 second cooldown at rank 1 to 5 at rank 5, which is close to twice as many beams per fight.

How do shopping and Mark change the game on the Howling Abyss?

You can’t recall in ARAM. The shop is only open to you at the fountain, at the start of the game and after every death, and since walking back to base to heal isn’t an option, the health relics scattered along the lane are what restore your health. For a mage who spends Mana on every cooldown, that’s the real reason the first two items both carry 600 Mana (and why Mana Surge is not a throwaway passive here). Plan the next purchase while you’re alive. Deciding at the respawn screen wastes time you’d rather spend walking back.

Then there’s Mark. In ARAM the summoner spell lets you hurl a snowball at an enemy, and landing it unlocks a dash onto whoever it struck. Spells are picked before the game loads and stay fixed all match, so you decide once. On Xerath the snowball is less about chasing and more about the stun: a Mark that lands gives you a dash into Shocking Orb range on someone who was trying to leave, though dashing forward on a champion who takes 105% damage is a decision to make slowly. To be fair, the Mark you should worry about is theirs. Their dash lands on you, not the other way around.

Is Xerath good in ARAM?

Yes, with a condition. Look, the 93% damage and 105% damage taken modifiers are a real nerf, and nothing in his kit moves him out of danger once someone reaches him. What he does have is a kit built for one lane with five enemies in it: the beam hits every target in its path, the barrage damages and slows everyone in its area, and the stun holds one of them (only one, never more). The catch is the ultimate. Rite of the Arcane immobilizes him while he casts it, and cast at the wrong moment it’s a free kill for the other side.

Who gives him trouble? Anyone who reaches the back line fast, since his answers to a dive are one stun on a 13 second cooldown at rank 1 and the slow on Eye of Destruction. Our Xerath counters guide covers the Summoner’s Rift matchups, and the guide to LoL roles is there if you’re not sure where a mage even belongs. Every item above has full stats and patch history in the item database, and his cosmetics are on the Xerath skins page.

So: stun somebody, beam them, drop the barrage, and ult from somewhere they can’t reach you. That’s a good Xerath ARAM game. Then you respawn, buy Luden’s Echo, and do it again.

FAQ

Is he nerfed on the Howling Abyss?

Yes. The League of Legends Wiki’s champion data for patch 26.21 lists Xerath at 93% damage dealt and 105% damage taken in ARAM.

What items does the build use?

Ability Power items with Mana and Ability Haste: Luden’s Echo, Malignance and Horizon Focus, with Rabadon’s Deathcap as the final damage item.

How does Rite of the Arcane work on the Howling Abyss?

Rite of the Arcane immobilizes Xerath and gives him numerous long-range barrages. Its cooldown is 130/115/100 seconds, and the 93% damage dealt modifier applies to it like everything else he does.

Does Xerath run out of Mana in ARAM?

His kit helps with that. His passive, Mana Surge, restores Mana on periodic basic attacks, and killing a unit shortens that cooldown. Luden’s Echo and Malignance each add 600 Mana.

Is this build based on win rates?

No. Everything here is an editorial judgment drawn from what the items and abilities do in patch 26.21. We don’t use win-rate data.