General
- When Xerath dies, his body quickly becomes unstable and overly shiny, just to blow up a moment later, much like a nuclear-powered machine.
- The icon for Xerath's ability, Blast. is slightly similar to that of the Season 3 mastery
- Xerath's dance is a reference "industrial dancing", which is evident in the song Pong by Eisenfunk.
- A side-by-side comparison can be seen here.
- Xerath himself can be seen when he performs his taunt. As he disarms the parts of his sarcophagus, a person made of pure energy or electricity can be briefly seen.
- When he dies this "person" disappears, what remains on the ground are the shattered remains of his sarcophagus.
- It's likely that that form was his actual look before he got locked away.
- Some speculate that Xerath is ambidextrous as he uses both left and right hands for different attacks and abilities, unlike most champions who almost always use their dominant hand (usually their right one).
- Xerath is, along with crowd control on themselves.
- Xerath's ethereal form imprisoned in a human-shapen sarcophagus also resembles Battle Realms' Master Warlock, consisting of an ethereal warlock inside another warlock's skeletal remains.
, , , , , , , and , one of the few champions that can apply
Lore
- Based on the timeline in Realms of Runeterra and his lore, Xerath is between 3000 - 3050 years old.
- Based on his human appearance, Xerath was between his late 20s and early 30s when Shurima fell, similar age as human .
- Xerath is basically a Baccai, a unique aberration. [1]
- Xerath means "one who shares" in Ancient Shuriman.
- Since the destruction of the Sun Empire, Xerath's original name and meaning has changed over time. Associated now with what he did, it stands for something far more pejorative and negative in its modernized connotations.[2] It's possible that this change in meaning lead to the origin of the name of species, the Xer'Sai (meaning "little devil" in Shuriman).
- He was the son of captured scholars but whether he was born in captivity or taken as a child is unknown except by Xerath and Azir.
- Xerath is one of several entities presented as (nearly) omnipotent in the League of Legends universe.
- has been speculated to be or have the potential to become godlike, much like Xerath. However much like Syndra, he is severely limited at the moment.
- is potentially more powerful than Xerath, a being seemingly outside regular time and space. However, he does not show off his power as much as Xerath does.
- The magic Xerath uses is a blend of the dark magic he found in his researches, combined with the power he stole from the Ascension ritual, blending the different strands of arcane energy into raw power.
- With his subsequent return Xerath has proclaimed himself the new Emperor of Shurima and made the ruins of Nerimazeth, his birth home, the capital for his new empire.
Development
- Xerath is voiced by Michael McConnohie.
- Xerath was designed by David 'Volty' Abecassis with RiotRunaan and Ironstylus providing his original creative concept and art, respectively.
- Xerath was indirectly referenced in the Journal of Justice (Issue 29: Powerful Magical Disturbance in Shurima) prior to his release.
- He was called Xarin during development:
- with the name planned to sound a little Ra's al Ghul" (رأس الغول, literally "Head of the Ghoul" (sg.) (the intended meaning is "The Chief Demon")
- or even a little Xanatos from Gargoyles.[3]
Quotes
- Xerath joke is a reference to the LARPing Lightning Bolt! video.
- A previous joke (removed during his latest rework) was a reference to the Power Thirst video.
- A side-by-side comparison can be seen here.
- His newest joke added as of his latest re-work may be a reference to Genie referring to the lamp ("Phenomenal Cosmic powers: itty bitty living space").
- A previous joke (removed during his latest rework) was a reference to the Power Thirst video.
- He has an exclusive joke for the Japanese server, referencing Dio Brando/DIO's "MudaMudaMuda (Useless! Useless! Useless!)" cry from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series as seen in the official Japanese VO here.
- He has an exclusive joke for the Brazilian server, inspired by a Windy of Tenebra (a Tibia player) conversation in TeamSpeak. A comparison can be seen here.
- He shares a quote with : "I will show you true power!"
- He shares a quote with : "Sacrifices must be made."
Skins
- He resembles an Archon from Starcraft.
- Due to the community's popular demand, both and were reworked. They both received new particle effects and colors due to them being too similar to the Classic skin before the rework. has red particles and has green particles.
- If
- The reason for this is because his body is a visual effect and not an actual model.
ultimate, , is on Xerath when he dies, the neon coloration of the skin will still be on the ghost. Classic skin will be blue, Battlecast will be red, Runeborn will be green, and Scorched Earth will have a lava texture, this is entirely unique for Xerath as all other champions lose all color and become grey and transparent while they are ghosts.
- This skin shares the Battlecast theme with:
- ...and others
- In Xerath's champion spotlight, he was called "Lockdown Xerath" and was called "Runeforge Xerath".
- The particles for this skin are colored red, they were colored blue before the rework.
- Additionally, his splash art was also updated to match the new particles.
- He was the first Battlecast skin ever made, though was the first Battlecast machine made in-universe.
- This skin shares the Legacy theme with:
- ...and others
- The particles for this skin are colored green, they were colored blue before the rework.
- Additionally, his splash art was also updated to match the new particles.
- This skin shares the Infernal theme with:
- ...and others
- It might be a reference to the military doctrine of Scorched Earth, in which anything deemed useful to the enemy is destroyed.
- His appearance and armor bears a similarity to Pyroviles, a volcanic alien species featuring in the fourth series of Doctor Who - "The Fires of Pompeii" episode. The Skin's splash art features a volcano in the background that shares a resemblance to Vesuvius.
- This skin shares the Guardian of the Sands theme with:
- ...and others
- This skin may represent Xerath in his fully Ascended form.
- The skin may be a reference to something out of Ahn'Qiraj from World of Warcraft.
Relations
- Shurima, but the had to trap with him.
- Xerath is allied with as they spent millennia together trapped in a tomb. He drove Renekton mad over the ages and turned him into a relentless creature of pure anger.
- Xerath does not see Renekton as a noble hero, he represents power being granted to the few by a corrupt society. In Xerath's eyes, Renekton helped to guard a city of subjugation.[4]
- Xerath later fought when The Curator of the Sands was trying to protect , and the citizens of Vekaura from Xerath.
and imprisoned Xerath after the fall of - Everything Xerath had done prior to Ascension- heinous as his acts of murder were - were all done out of a twisted sense of loyalty to
- Xerath is hunting down since her inheriting royal bloodline may prove a threat to him.
has returned ascended himself, and is a threat to Xerath.
. When that went unsatisfied Xerath sought the power to free himself from being a slave and tear down the decadent society built on the backs of slaves. From his perspective, Xerath was punishing an injustice against the man who had promised him freedom, but had never given it to him.
- According to , Xerath is an 'abomination of magic' and that his hold over the magical powers he wields is 'feeble'.
- Xerath has fought Rakkor soldiers. and dozens of
- He is being hunted by for betraying Azir's trust.
- In Xerath's outdated League Judgement, it was revealed that he had a friend called Tabia. The two of them seemed to have romantic feelings for each other. Tabia tried to interrupt Xerath's transformation, who envisioned himself living a normal human life and dying as a mortal with her, and truly decided to cancel the ritual. Tabia was however killed by a falling statue, violently leaving Xerath with nothing left to turn to, but his ascension (he did consider just letting the magic kill him, but the ambition won him over). Whether or not Xerath still grieves for her is open for interpretation.