In League of Legends, artillery mages are champions that have a long-range and deal AP damage.
These mages can use their abilities to deal damage to enemies while being at a safe distance. This can be used to either poke the enemy and force them to run or kill them without getting in harm’s way. Since these mages have a long range, you need to be able to land their skill shots properly or you won’t deal damage. That is why this guide will show you the top 5 best artillery mages in League of Legends.
Also read: Top burst mages in League of Legends
The top 5 best Artillery Maages in League of Legends are:
- Xerath
- Ziggs
- Vel’Koz
- Varus
- Ezreal
While you might not agree with all of our picks, these champions are on this list for a good reason. They are extremely strong and can deal tons of damage while staying at a safe distance. With that said, let’s dive right in and take a look at the top 5 best artillery mages in League of Legends.
Xerath
When talking about artillery mages, you cannot ignore Xerath. He is the best artillery mage thanks to his massive range and insane damage output. During the early game, you might run into some mana problems. However, after one or two items, you will notice that mana is no longer an issue for you. Plus, his passive allows you to restore some of your mana after hitting a minion or any enemy.
All of Xerath’s spells have a lone range. Some of them – like his Q – can be hit while being completely out of the enemy’s line of sight. The more you charge this ability, the longer you can fire it and the more damage it will deal.
If that wasn’t enough, you can also use your W to slow any enemies that are hit by it. This ability also deals a lot of damage and allows you to hit your other abilities. The best part is that it isn’t that difficult to hit.
Your E allows you to stun the enemy that is hit by it. This is mostly used when you are being ganked and the enemy gets too close to you. Stun them and use your combo on them while running away to either kill them or safely get away.
Finally, Xerath’s ultimate allows him to fire three or more spells that deal damage to the enemy. It has a massive range and you can fire anywhere in the radius. This is a great ultimate to use against enemy champions that are running away with low HP. Plus, you can even use it to gank your bot lane without being there.
Also read: Top roaming mages in LoL
Ziggs
Ziggs is one of the most annoying champions once he gets a few of his items. After getting his main items, he will rarely run out of mana and always spam his abilities. The best part is that his abilities deal a lot of damage as well. Your Q is the main poking spell that allows Ziggs to throw a bomb that bounces three times. It explodes after it has bounced three times or if it hits any enemy. You can either use this to clear the wave or poke the enemy behind minions since you can throw it over them.
Plus, you can use your W to throw small bombs in an area that will slow and damage any enemy that tries to walk over them. This forces the enemy to walk around them and waste their time trying to dodge this spell.
Ziggs’ E is a great ability that can knock back any enemy hit by it. Plus, you can use it on yourself to cause Ziggs to jump in the given direction. On top of that, you can even use this spell on turrets to destroy them immediately if they are below a certain HP threshold.
Finally, your ultimate is a long-range spell that deals a lot of damage. Ziggs throws a large bomb that has a massive radius – much like Gangplank’s R. The enemies that are in the center of this will take more damage as compared to the enemies standing at the edge.
Vel’Koz
Vel’Koz is a great champion that can be used in multiple roles. Primarily, you can play him in the mid-lane and be the AP carry for your team. On the other hand, you can also pick him as a viable support without your ADC thinking that you are trolling the game. Regardless of which role you pick him at, Vel’Koz is a solid artillery mage that can deal tons of damage.
The best part is that you can shred through enemy tanks thanks to your passive. After applying your stacks on the enemy champions, your abilities will start dealing true damage to them. If you do not know what true damage is, it ignores all armor or magic resistance and deals the full damage to them.
On top of that, you can poke the enemy laner by using all three of your abilities. This gives you a lot of lane control and forces the enemy to be careful. They will mostly be dodging your attacks since they will worry that you can kill them easily. Plus, your E allows you to knock up any enemy in the area if you hit them. This allows you to attack them without any worries.
Finally, your ultimate is one of the main reasons why Vel’Koz is on this list–the laser beam. The best part is that this laser beam builds up the stacks and it will eventually deal true damage to all enemies. However, the best way to use this is to hit the enemy with all of your abilities and use your ultimate to execute them.
Plus, your R goes through any projectile blocking spells like Yasuo’s wind wall or Samira’s W as well. So, you can use it without any worries. However, you need to stand still and the laser moves around relatively slowly. This means that if the enemy has a lot of dashes or they get behind you, they can kill you.
Varus
While Varus is usually an AD champion, players started building AP items on him. Thanks to his blight stacks, you can destroy the enemy champions from a long range. AP Varus in the mid-lane is surprisingly quite strong and he can deal a lot of damage. However, your attack speed will be quite low and it will take you longer to apply the blight stacks.
Once you apply all of them, your Q will deal an insane amount of damage. On top of that, you can activate your W to increase the damage of your arrow for additional burst potential. I have seen AP Varus almost one shot the enemy Darius without any issues.
The best way to apply blight stacks on an enemy champion is to use your ultimate on them so that they cannot move for a few seconds. After that, hit them with your E and start auto attacking them. When your ultimate is about to finish, activate your W and fire your charged Q at the enemy. This will cause all of your stacks to explode and deal a lot of damage to the enemy.
With that said though, I would still not suggest that you play AP Varus in ranked games. There are better options other than him and his auto attacks do not deal any damage with this build.
Ezreal
The best part about Ezreal is that you can build either AP or AD on him depending on what you want to play. While I think that AD is much better since it is more consistent and deals more damage, building AP on him isn’t considering trolling at all. You can make a viable build to deal tons of damage while staying out of the enemy’s range thanks to your poke abilities and the potential to run away.
Ezreal’s Q allows him to shoot a projectile in a given direction. This does a good amount of damage and is your main source of poke. You can use this to either get minions from a safe distance or damage the enemy while they struggle to get close to you.
Your W allows you to throw a projectile in a straight line that attaches to the first enemy champion or turret it hits. When it hits them, they are marked and will take bonus damage from your auto attacks or your abilities. This is a great way to burst them down by hitting them with your Q or even using your E near them.
Ezreal’s E lets him flash in any direction and deal damage to the nearest enemy target. This ability can be used to run away from the fight, chase the enemy, and reposition yourself over walls. Depending on what the situation is, you can use your E however you want. This makes it extremely difficult to catch Ezreal.
Finally, his R allows him to throw a large projectile that travels across the map. It damages any enemy it passes through and it cannot be stopped. You can use this to either clear the wave or damage the enemy in the top lane.
