For the 1912–1913 shipbuilding programme for the Royal Navy, the British Admiralty planned to order twenty destroyers to a design based on a modified version of the previous year's Acasta-class destroyer, with the major difference being an increased torpedo armament of four torpedo tubes rather than two.

On 29 March 1913, Parsons received an order for two destroyers, initially to be called Rob Roy and Rocket.

[2] The two destroyers ordered from Parsons were laid down at Hawthorn Leslie's Hebburn, South Tyneside shipyard on 26 October 1912.

At 05:00 on the morning of 22 September, Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt, aboard the light cruiser Lowestoft, led 8 destroyers out of Harwich on course for the Broad Fourteens.

[21][22] On 24 October 1914, Lucifer set out from Harwich as part of the escort for the seaplane carriers Engadine and Empress on a raid against the German airship base at Cuxhaven.

The force reached the launch-off point off Heligoland on the morning of 25 October, but poor weather meant that only two of the six seaplanes managed to take-off, both of which quickly abandoned the mission.

[24][25] On 23 January 1915, German battlecruisers made a sortie to attack British fishing boats on the Dogger Bank.

[31] On 30 January 1915, Lucifer was one of eight destroyers of the Harwich Force[a] that, together with the light cruiser Undaunted were ordered to the Irish Sea in response to a series of attacks by the German submarine U-21 on shipping near Liverpool.

Lucifer, along with the other destroyers, arrived at Milford Haven on 1 February and was soon placed on patrol duty to search for the large number of submarines that were believed to be active in the Irish Sea, but U-21, which in fact was the only submarine involved, had already departed for Germany by the time search operations began.

[34] On 27 March, Lucifer, along with Laurel, Leonidas and Liberty, was ordered to patrol the Hoofden to look for German submarines that had been reported to be threatening steamers on the Harwich–Rotterdam route.

[37] On 11 July 1915, Lucifer, together with Laurel, Leonidas and Liberty, was ordered to patrol off Texel, to attempt to intercept German steamers which were stuck in Rotterdam, and were rumoured to be preparing to make a run for Germany.

[39][40][41][42] On 10 September 1915, Lucifer sailed from Harwich as part of the distant covering force for Operation CY, in which the minelayers Princess Margaret, Angora and Orvieto laid 1450 mines off the Amrum Bank.

[44][45] Four Harwich destroyers, Lucifer, Lance, Linnet and Lookout, were ordered to patrol off the Belgian coast to rescue any seaplanes that ditched, and when returning, they encountered three German torpedo boats, V47, V67 and V68.

[46][47][48] On 3 May 1916, Lucifer and Lark escorted Princess Margaret on Operation XX, a combined minelaying operation by Princess Margaret and the destroyer minelayer Abdiel and air raid by seaplanes from Engadine and Vindex against the German airship base at Tondern.

As Lucifer, together with Lydiard and Mentor, was heading back to Dover, gunfire was observed, and the three destroyers turned towards the firing.

[68] Lucifer left the Dover Patrol on 2 June 1917,[63] joining the 1st Destroyer Flotilla, based at Portsmouth.

[71][72] Lucifer remained part of the Methil Convoy Flotilla when the First World War ended on 11 November 1918.