League of Legends best Xayah build guide: Itemization, Counters, Strategy, and more 

Xayah has enjoyed a stable pick-and-ban in the recent meta with her best build options helping her scale well in League of Legends season 14. She is one of the simpler ADC champions to climb rank with and has a low barrier of mastery.

Xayah’s playstyle revolves around making the most of her feathers. She has a good bit of burst damage with Bladecaller and her DPS gets more consistent the more items she has under her belt.

She scales extremely well into the Late Game, however, she is not a hyper-carry. There are better Late Game ADC options who can out-damage her the longer a game goes. But she still remains a viable option in ranked and in the right hands she can canny any teamfight.

Contents:

• Best Xayah build
• Pros and cons of playing Xayah
• Xayah tips and tricks for Early Game, Mid Game, and Late Game
• Xayah counters, matchups, and ADC synergy

Best Xayah build

Runes 

Itemization

Spells

• Flash
• Heal/Cleanse/Barrier/Ghost

Skill Unlock Priority

Q: Double Daggers	1													14	15		17	18
W: Deadly Plumage			3					8		10		12	13
E: Bladecaller		2		4	5		7		9
R: Featherstorm						6					11					16

Xayah Pros and Cons in League of Legends Season 14

Pros:

• Xayah is one of the more consistent ADCs in Riot’s MOBA. She has good AOE CC and burst damage which can delete the enemy backline if she places her feathers right. This also makes it very difficult to dive her under the tower. Bladecaller helps her have kill pressure from very early on in the laning phase.
• Xayah has good scaling and her core items give her enough options to chip out the enemy frontline in extended fights. Featherstorm keeps her safe against a dive comp, and if used right she can completely turn a fight around. This makes her very strong during teamfights and skirmishes.
• Xayah fits most team compositions because of her simple kit. She pairs exceptionally well with engage  Supports, especially Rakan, with whom she shares a special synergy. Their abilities complement each other rather well. So to make the most of her kit make sure your bot duo picks him.

Cons:

• While Xayah has a strong laning phase, she can very easily be out-poked if up against champions that have more range than her. She can be bullied into farming under the tower which will oftentimes force you to lose out on Gold and XP. If Xayah falls behind on her best build path, you will not be having a good time in the Mid Game.
• Xayah has a simple kit, but you can easily mess up her execution if you are not placing her feathers correctly. If you can’t make the most of her Bladecaller, her effectiveness in fights will reduce drastically.
• While she scales well into the Late Game, Xayah can be out-damaged by other hyper-carries even if her best build options are complete. Hence, depending on the composition she is up against, she might have to rely on setup to be effective in skirmishes.

How to play Xayah: Tips and Tricks for League of Legends Season 14

Early Game:

• In the Early Game, your goal with Xayah will be to get early advantages and complete her best build as soon as possible. If you are in a winning matchup, then you will be able to push in the lane and secure a few Tower Plates. Harass the enemy with a Q+E combo to make it difficult for them to walk up and CS.
• If you are in a losing match-up where you are out-ranged, you will need to farm under the tower. Try to stay relevant in Gold and XP, and freeze the wave when the opportunity presents itself. Xayah has a great gank setup with Bladecaller, and you can help your Jungler get some early advantages by baiting the enemy Bot Lane to push up.
• Make sure you ward around your lane to spot out th enemy Jungler pathing. While Featherstorm and Bladecaller will be able to keep you safe, survival will not be a guarantee if the enemy has more than one CC tool at their disposal.

Mid Game:

• Xayah will be a bit more relevant in teamfights once she gets a few items under her belt. So in the Mid Game, rotate to the Mid Lane and look to gain priority there. This will help you contest neutral objectives like the Rift Heral and the Dragon. 
• Once some of Xayah’s core items of her best build are done she will be able to melt through most neutral objectives. So if you see that you are enemy is positioning for a Drake or Baron take, make sure you join them. Your Feather placement and Bladecaller will make it hard for the enemy to contest the objective.
• During a skirmish make sure you are positioning well around a teamfight. Xayah is squishy and can be taken down if she is hit with enemy CC. So kite around a fight and make sure to constantly stay behind your frontline.

Late Game:

• Xayah has a good deal of burst once her best build is done. She will be able to melt through most enemy frontlines, however, her DPS output is not as great as some of the other hyper-carries in the game. Depending on the enemy team comp you might struggle a fair bit.
• Featherstorm into Bladecaller can be a game-changer if you time them perfectly. Even if the enemy has a numbers advantage during a teamfight, Xayah’s kit will help her melt through the backline if she gets access. One single rotation of abilities will let her shut down multiple targets.
• If you are finding it hard to survive longer in a fight, make sure you start building some defensive items. Options like Guardian Angel, Maw of Malmortius, and Mercurial Scimitar will let you have a much easier time in a skirmish if the enemy gets on top of you.

Xayah counters, matchups, and Support synergy

Countered by:

• Caitlyn
• Kalista
• Leona
• Tristana
• Draven
• Lucian
• Senna

Xayah struggles in lane against picks that can bully her into the tower.

Favorable machups:

• Samira
• Kai’Sa
• Nilah
• Ashe
• Aphelios
• Jinx

Xayah has a much easier time scaling if she is up against the above ADC picks.

Support synergy:

• Rakan
• Rell
• Leona
• Nautilus
• Thresh
• Pyke
• Blitzcrank

Xayah pairs well with Supports that have a lot of engage.