What is the Shocking Orb & how to use it in League of Legends
Shocking Orb is an incredible utility ability in Xerath's kit, here is what you need to know about it.
League of Legends has a long list of Champions with individual abilities, and Xerath is among the oldest. Shocking Orb is a very useful ability that helps Xerath go from good to great. Here is everything you need to know about the Shocking Orb.
How does the Shocking Orb work?
As mentioned, Shocking Orb is part of Xerath's ability set, and is his E ability, firing in a straight line. Shocking Orb affects the first enemy it hits, dealing damage and stunning them for a length of time dependent on the distance the move travelled.
This can range from being stunned for 0.75 seconds, up to 2.25 seconds at maximum range. The mana cost, cooldown time, and damage done by Shocking Orb all change as you upgrade the ability. The mana cost range from level one to five is 60/65/70/75/80.
The cooldown time of the ability is 13/12.5/12/11.5/11 as you go from level one to five. Damage goes from 80/110/140/170/200, with an added 45% of your ability power.
How to use the Shocking Orb
Shocking Orb is a utility move that locks enemies in place. It is extremely useful both for you and your teammates, but it has a drawback.
Shocking Orb, as mentioned, only affects the first enemy it hits, and it can hit minions. This means that hitting enemy Champions with the move can be difficult, even impossible if they are hiding behind their mobs.
As such, you need to pick your shots wisely. Use the move to single out an enemy, make them vulnerable to high-damage attacks, and prevent them from retreating.
An excellent time to use this is in a team fight when an enemy attempts to disengage and head back to base. Preventing a fleeing opponent from leaving the battle is about as close to a guaranteed kill as you can get.
A perfect follow-up to Shocking Orb is Xerath's own ultimate ability, Rite of the Arcane. This move does a lot of damage but it fires like a mortar and can be hard to hit on moving targets. Lock your enemy down first, and bombard them with your ultimate to absolutely decimate them.
For more mid-lane tips, check out League of Legends: Best Mid Champions for Season 13.
About The Author
Dave McAdam
Dave is a Senior Guides Writer at GGRecon, after several years of freelancing across the industry. He covers a wide range of games, with particular focus on shooters like Destiny 2, RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, and fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.
