Varus ADC Build Guides, Runes, Items, and Abilities

Varus – The Arrow of Retribution

Varus, the Arrow of Retribution, is a hybrid marksman capable of dealing substantial burst damage and consistent poke. With abilities that combine crowd control, percent-health damage, and long-range attacks, Varus can dominate both the laning phase and team fights. His versatile build paths and scaling potential make him a flexible choice for players who value adaptability and precision.

1. Strengths:

• High Poke Damage: Piercing Arrow (Q) allows Varus to harass enemies from a safe distance and soften them up before engagements.
• Blight Synergy: Blighted Quiver (W) rewards Varus for chaining abilities with auto-attacks, enabling significant percent-health magic damage against tanky targets.
• Strong Team Fighting: Chain of Corruption (R) provides area-of-effect crowd control, making Varus a valuable asset in coordinated fights.
• Flexible Builds: Varus can adapt to different playstyles, excelling as either a lethality poke champion or a traditional on-hit marksman.
• Utility: Hail of Arrows (E) adds healing reduction and slows, offering strong utility against sustain-heavy compositions.

2. Weaknesses:

• Immobile: Varus lacks innate mobility, making him vulnerable to assassins and crowd control.
• Mana Reliance: His abilities, especially Piercing Arrow (Q), consume significant mana, limiting his poke potential without proper resource management.
• Skillshot-Dependent: Landing Piercing Arrow (Q) and Chain of Corruption (R) is crucial to his damage and utility, requiring good aim and timing.
• Weak Against Hard Engage: Without escape tools, Varus struggles against champions that can dive onto him.
• Reliant on Positioning: Poor positioning can result in Varus being easily burst down, as he lacks defensive abilities.

1. Maximize Blight Detonations: Use basic attacks to apply Blight stacks and detonate them with abilities like Piercing Arrow (Q) or Hail of Arrows (E) for bonus damage.

2. Charge Piercing Arrow Wisely: While charging Piercing Arrow increases its damage and range, overcharging can leave you exposed. Find the right balance based on the situation.

3. Optimize Build Paths:

• For a poke-oriented playstyle, build lethality items like Duskblade of Draktharr and Manamune.
• For sustained damage, prioritize on-hit items such as Guinsoo’s Rageblade and Blade of the Ruined King.

4. Leverage Chain of Corruption: Use Chain of Corruption (R) to initiate fights or peel for yourself and your team. The spreading effect can lock down multiple enemies.

5. Zone with Hail of Arrows: Use Hail of Arrows (E) to control space, reduce enemy healing, and hinder their movement during fights or objectives.

6. Position Safely: Stay at the backline and use Varus’ long-range poke to contribute safely. Be mindful of threats that can dive onto you.

7. Utilize Living Vengeance: Secure minions or assists to trigger Living Vengeance (Passive) and gain temporary attack speed, helping you trade or push more effectively.

• AA + E + AA + AA + Q: High damage trade with AA E, then AA AA Q. Easy
• AA + AA + AA + E + AA: Proc four Blight stacks with AA AA AA E, then quickly AA again.
• E + R + Q: Quickly CC & burst a target using E then R, and Q to finish.
• R + Q + AA + E + AA: Quick burst a target using R then quickly Q. AA E AA to finish.
• R + FLASH + AA + E + AA + AA + AA + AA + W + Q: Extend your engage range by using R then Flashing mid animation. AA E your target, then AA AA AA AA before using your Q to consume W.

1. Early game

• Play safe for the first few levels. You need time to come online and you shouldn’t be fighting unless you have a clear early advantage.
• Constantly push and poke the enemy with your abilities. Once they’re low, you can look for an aggressive all-in. However, while kills are nice, your goal is to poke and not commit to fights.
• After destroying the bottom lane tower, rotate to the mid lane and try to take that tower. This will open up the map and give your team a gold lead.

2. Mid game

• Try and stick with your Support throughout the mid-game. You’re quite vulnerable and easy to kill if you’re on your own. By staying with your Support, your survivability will increase.
• Continue picking up farm in the side lanes when no team fights are occurring, but spend as little time away from your team. You need gold and XP to buy items and if you fall behind, it will be unlikely that you’ll be able to dish out damage in fights.
• Look for picks with your Support/Jungler to get kills and increase your lead. If you kill a key target, you could make the call for Baron.

3. Late game

• Just like in the mid-game, you should stick with your Support throughout the later parts of the game. Do not go around the map alone as you will die easily.
• Do not play super aggressive in team fights. Just kite and auto-attack the nearest enemy champion. If you walk too far forward, the enemy will focus you and take you down.
• Continue to kite in team fights and consistently adapt your positioning. Avoid standing still in fights as you’ll be an easy target.

Varus is a champion that excels in delivering long-range poke and percent-health damage while providing utility and crowd control in fights. Although his immobility and mana dependency pose challenges, careful positioning and precise ability usage can turn him into a dominant force on the Rift. Whether you prefer shredding through tanks with on-hit builds or sniping enemies from afar with lethality, mastering Varus’ kit unlocks a world of potential for players seeking a versatile marksman.

Thanks for Reading! If you want to gain more in-depth knowledge about LOL, check out many helpful articles here!

Good luck to you! – Cheng