LoL Lux Support Guide

LoL Lux Support Guide by thresholden

So you want to play Lux as a support. Oh no, I can hear your AD carry groaning already. Support Lux has a bad reputation as the go to for petulant mid lane players who didn’t get their role. They build Mejai’s, abandon their AD carry at the first sign of danger, and kill steal with their ultimate whenever possible. This guide is the opposite of that. This guide focuses on playing Lux as a true support that sets up situations for her team to succeed.

Because this guide is about helping teammates, my skill order for Lux is different from most. Instead of maxing E first as mid Lux does, I max W first and then Q, leaving E as a one point wonder. Look at the scaling of E per level:

Lucent Singularity
RANGE: 1100 COST: 70 / 85 / 100 / 115 / 130 mana

COOLDOWN: 10

Magic Damage: 60 / 105 / 150 / 195 / 240 (+ 60% AP) Slow: 20 / 24 / 28 / 32 / 36%

Unlike W and Q, which scales downward in cooldown per level, E’s cooldown is a static 10 seconds. Furthermore, the mana cost increase per level easily drain’s Lux mana pool, whereas W have static mana cost and Q has a lower base and scaling mana cost. E’s damage is one of the least cost effective spells in the game for its mana costs. Instead, use E as a safe way to proc Spellthief’s stacks and for vision in unwarded bushes. Also use it to help your ADC push waves into their tower when they have left. In teamfights, put your E down but don’t pop it unless you are comboing it with her R. Since its a one point wonder, it will deal minimal damage so its better in teamfights to have it stay as an annoying slow zone which doesn’t impact its cooldown since the count down starts when first cast, not when its detonated.

So why do I max W first? Let’s look at the stats.

Prismatic Barrier
RANGE: 1075 COST: 60 mana COOLDOWN: 14 / 13 / 12 / 11 / 10 Prismatic Barrier

Active: Lux shields herself for up to 3 seconds and throws out her wand in a line, applying the same shield to allied champions in its path. Her wand then returns to her, again shielding allied champions in its path and Lux herself upon return. When reapplied, the shield does not stack, but is refreshed.

Missile Speed: 1400

Shield Strength: 80 / 105 / 130 / 155 / 180 (+ 35% AP)

Let’s compare Lux’s shield to another support’s shield: Janna’s E

Eye of the Storm
RANGE: 800 COST: 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 mana COOLDOWN: 10 Shield Strength: 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 (+ 70% AP) Attack Damage Bonus: 14 / 23 / 32 / 41 / 50 (+ 10% AP)

Lux’s W can provide 120 additional shielding provided that both parts hit. However Janna’s shield has more utility attached to it. The other advantage that Lux’s shield provides is that it can potential shield her entire team. Given that early to mid game teamfights over dragon is much more important in Season 5, getting additional ranks in Lux’s W early can make your teammates deceptively tanky during such fights. Supports tend to stall out in levels between 7 to 13 as laning phase is just ending and they need to establish vision control over the map. Obviously the total 360 amount shielded is under ideal conditions as you will likely not reach that limit due to several reasons:

1. Burst happens faster than the second return of the shield.
2. The shield returning too quickly before the damage bursts through the first shield.
3. Just missing the damn thing because your ally inadvertently jukes you.

Proper use of Lux’s W is the most important part of playing support Lux. First identify which of the situations above is the enemy’s damage. Is it heavy burst as in situation 1? Or is it sustained damage as in situation 2? If its the 1st situation, such as against a Graves, then stand slightly further away from your ADC so that your shield refreshes sooner. If it is the 2nd situation, such as in early game auto-attack trade, then stand closer to your AD carry so that your shield takes longer to return and refresh. As for dealing with missing your W, its sometimes just luck and need for more practice. But similar to aiming your laser, its easier to aim down the lane then it is to aim sideways.

Remember unlike other shields, Lux’s shield is multi-target and shields herself on cast. So in lane trades, you want the enemy bot lane to split their damage between the two of you instead of focusing it on a single target. As you are trading, move forwards when you have the shield and backwards when you don’t. Obviously don’t run too far ahead since Lux still has the 3rd lowest base HP in the game but some mild baiting can make the enemy split their damage.

Lux’s Q

Light Binding
RANGE: 1175

COST: 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 mana

COOLDOWN: 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 / 11

Magic Damage: 60 / 110 / 160 / 210 / 260 (+ 70% AP)

Second Target Magic Damage: 30 / 55 / 80 / 105 / 130 (+ 35% AP)

You max Q second for its reduced cooldown per level. It’s a straightforward spell which only has one gimmicky of being able to bind through a single target but usually such situations are rare. Its easier to do when one side is in full retreat or chase mode. If a jungler is ganking, don’t hesitate to flash bind before the enemy goes into juke mode.

Lux’s R

Final Spark
RANGE: 3340

COST: 100 mana

COOLDOWN: 80 / 65 / 50

Magic Damage: 300 / 400 / 500 (+ 75% AP)

Try to use it early to contribute damage instead of holding it to kill steal. Because you are the support and are in control of the ward coverage, always ward the enemy red and blue buffs closest to you. No one smite secures blue anymore and its a rarity at red. This makes it very easy to snipe those buffs. If the enemy bot lane came late to lane then you know they helped pull and the first buff respawn will be around 7 minutes. If they came early then the jungler started on the opposite side and it’ll spawn around 8 to 9 minutes.

Runes and Masteries:

I don’t use anything fancy. Either 0/9/21 or 0/16/14 depending on how tanky you wish it be. I use Armor Quints, Armor Yellows, MR blues and Hybrid Pen reds. Pots and Lux’s W provide effective health so you want resistances. Lux has the 3rd lowest base HP and 4th lowest base armor in the game at level 1 so I like to shore up this weakness with runes and masteries.

Item build:

Standard Spellthiefs 3 HP pots and 1 mana pot. Get Frostfang and wards if winning or even, Sightstone if losing. Remember to buy pots and pink wards if you have cash and inventory space left over.

I think CDR boots, Mobility boots or Swiftness boots are all fine choices depending on your situation. You tend to have CDR overkill if you buy CDR boots but they are the cheapest source of CDR. Get Frost Queen’s early if your team is far ahead, otherwise leaving it at Frostfang is fine. Get Mikael’s if single target damage is a problem, Aegis if AOE damage is a problem, Aegis’s MR aura is nice as it increases the effectiveness of Lux’s W. I personally like Banner of Command as an upgrade to Aegis over Locket. Promoting a melee minion pushes the fastest, promoting a siege minion gives the most tankiness. If your team has baron, promoting the cannon minion helps end sieges against endless waveclear champions like Ziggs due to promote’s magic immunity and Baron’s buff which increases its range beyond tower range.

Luxury items: Twin Shadows makes it easier to land your bind with its active slow and passive movement speed. Frozen Heart is a decent armor CDR source. And of course, every DPS AP item is a luxury. If you must buy one, then get Morello’s as its cheap, cost effective, and has a great passive.

And for the love of god, don’t facecheck if enemies are missing. Use your E’s massive range to check first.