User blog comment:ClariS/Why Xerath's Passive is Bad/@comment-174.77.37.141-20130317030912/@comment-4881935-20130317033149

1. Even with those long range champions like Jayce or Kha'zix, Xearth still has the range as his main defense against those, just like the far ranged mage I stated before. The further your range, the more distance you can put yourself between the enemy, and with that, the harder it will become for them to hit you. Range is his defense. Also, with your argument, champions like Cait and Brand should also get free defensive stats because long ranged pokes can reached them. It's only fair.

2. You must not understand the point of the 'item change' when I brought it up. Regardless if he has the passive or not, Xearth would build complete glass cannon, with only Zhoyha's Hourglass as his only defense (which just happens to be the exact same build for all far ranged mages). With or without his passive, Xearth will not even think about grabbing defense because any smart player will realize that his range and good positioning are all that are needed to be safe.