Hey do you still play it ? May I have your OP GG to see wich stuff you do pls ?
I am on gold and it's pretty broken atm !

I just had to thank you for this guide dillydadally! I have played 3 games in a row with ap mid varus with 2 wins 1 loss and a 5.21 KDA. Granted this is silver elo but i just flat out use the (against heavy burst or assassin) build and its enough damage to full spell rotation 100-0 super tanks. And maxing q first is the best thing ever.

On that note if anyone has any other suggest for me id gladly take them into consideration. I have been doing skills in this order Q, W, E, Max Ult Q W E. Also for those talking about the build needing updated for the mage update the items he has for the defensive build gives you 40% CDR, 13%/p blight stack and just over 400 ap its rather disgusting. 'EDIT' The ROA issue that people have been bringing up yeah its not optimal something i could see going for instead is Liandry's Torment. LT Still gives a little less raw stats than ROA however... It would give you some good sustain damage for when your ult is on CD. Now if you can manage to play as a back line mage and only fully commit for when you have your ult up Id suggest replacing ROA for Rabadon's Deathcap which should put you around 45% which should allow you to out burst any assassin or diver coming at you but hell what do i know im just silver XD

As a Varus main, AP Varus has always escaped me. I couldn't find a good early game on my own. Haden't used MobaFire in a very long time. Even though I'd been running spprt Wu Kong these past couple days I read your guide and transitioned it into to instant AP Varus results. TY! so much. I hope you update the guide soon as all the cooldown on the survivability AP items like Abyssal and Zhonyas add a lot to consider.

So like Awaki said, this build needs a serious update at the moment, since the mage rework, a lot of core items as been changed to balance things out, unfortunately, this is not turning out too well for varus right now :

If there is a point I couldn't agree more, it's that you need resistances on Varus, you need health, you need armor, you need MR. All of it. The question is : how. Awaki did point out that the ROA changes are terrible for varus, as it became a tank item that mostly relies on trading damage with your opponent to sustain mana and consume mana to regain health. This doesn't cut it for Varus where you will poke early and attempt to stay at safe range.

After some testing, despite not being an optimal item, I found that the Rylai's scepter is a very safe first item on Varus : The health is nice and allows you to survive long enough to deal damage while also making it harder for people to get close to you with long range slowing Q. The effect is sort of wasted, but again, it benefits more than ROA.

For early game, buy a simple, yet effective Lost Chapter (Restore 20% of max mana upon leveling up). With it's mana and AP, this is the PERFECT first back item for Varus, solving his mana issues for the rest of the game. You can eventually sell it later on for another mana item such as lich bane or upgrade it into a morello. Talking about lich bane, why not sheen? Because sheen only gives you mana and CDR but no sustain, if you can buy that, it means that you aren't at risk to AA your lane opponent, so mana is a non issues.

Nashor's tooth can be rushed then with rylai's in the same way as an Azir would build. But since you don't have mobility, I found it more effective to rush Rylai's then go into your Nasho's tooth. The rest of the build depends on the game and teamcomp you are facing.

About the new rageblade. DON'T. That's it, and here's why. The new rageblade has the effect to, once you have 8 stacks (so that means 8 AA or spells), you apply your stacks twice. Sounds good, plays terribly. As an AP varus, you must apply your stacks as quickly as possible and the build up time of the passive is the absolute opposite. Just a big no. This is NOT working with Varus stacks. But I will mention that after testing, since it doubles all on-hit effects, your DPS becomes pretty absurd, but at this point of the game, that's the ADC's job to deal DPS, you have to burst, and tanks in particular with your big % health blight.

And final note on Athene's. A good item. Not optimal again (like Rylai and ROA, except you can use on 1 spell the rylai) but definitely a good choice against strong burst AP (i'm looking at you, LeBlanc and Syndra). Right now, it is more of a support item, and like the ROA, one of the passive effect is utterly lost. This is the reason I prefer Rylai's, as the tankier item and strongest option of most of the early game items, you don't completely waste a passive on it.

One last detail, you can put away every runes of CDR now, since most items brings CDR on their own : Zohnya's, Abysal scepter, and a lot more of items that are very important on Varus have received CDR adjustment, making it far easier to reach that tasty 40% CDR. Thanks for reading and remember, your guide is awesome!

This guide is in definite need of updating, especially after the changes to Catalyst/RoA, Rageblade, and Athene's - Catalyst is now almost exclusively a tank item, since it now turns damage taken into mana, and mana consumption into self-healing. It no longer heals on leveling. Rageblade is still the AP/AD hybrid attack speed item it was, but now it ALSO gives you Sated Devo at 6 stacks. 2 autos = 3 stacks of Blight, speeding up the burst combo. Athene's would now be the ideal early game survival item, for the sake of defense and self-sustain - it amplifies your HP/MP regen based on which is higher, % wise, in an attempt to equalize your HP/MP. Plus, MR in mid lane with the only good AD characters in mid now being Zed and Yasuo.

Hello, I'd like to say thank you so much for this guide. Good to know someone mains him as well! I loved playing as him because of his Q range and ability to get champs who try to run. I don't have any criticism, because I'm not used to the items of the game and it could be because I can't play well. xD

I tried him from a weekly free rotation and loved him cos no one else uses him. When I used him I didn't know if I should go AD or AP, I went with recommended builds so AD and never read what his abilities (AD or AP) scaled from. So I played AD Varus till he was lvl 4, but I was never really was able to actually carry, until this one game I had a Tahm Kench as my support, and got 19/2(they surrendered before we even destroyed 3 towers and they were winning by kills).

Anyway at that point I thought AD wasn't working out, though could be becos I can't play well. xD So I found your guide, and I loved the sound of his true power of his W. In the very first game I tried with him, I went bot (like usual) with a Blitzcrank against Miss Fortune and Leona. That game I carried 24/5/5 (they also surrendered). So AP seemed to have better results than AD. c:

Though I honestly think that if I get a good enough support who has stun/snare or just a Blitzcrank(cos of his pull) the kills come to you. (Or if your support is dedicated to dying for you to give you kills cos that's what that Blitzcrank did xD) Honestly I'm new so this might sound really noob, since I have limited knowledge on champs and ways to play, but my opinion.

Though further games where I didn't carry as well, and kept dying was because of bad matchup or I didn't have a supp (or one that works well with Varus) or I coudldn't take the enemy team carry, a few people questioned my AP Varus set. Saying AD was better and I suck cos I keep dying and not getting kills, but they should understand Varus in general relies heavily on his teammates. This what makes me kinda mad, though I try not to bite back.

So cos of this I call ADC instead of APC like I'm supposed to in case they start questioning me, but eventually I just decided to just say APC and let them.

Anyway thank you so much for this guide. I just wanted to say that I'm SO glad someone else' main is Varus.

heyhö,
i read ur guide and started playing him ap in mid. i th1nk the first items are r1ght but try 1 time to build guinsoos as 3rd. 1t böösted me rly up tö k1ll the önes whö wanted gank me. why u think last 1tems have tö be defensiv tö?? i just think the 1st item is enough or not?

Also, what elo are you playing in? Because that can make a big difference as well.

Can you link your summoner name or op.gg stats etc?

Are you being serious? Health isn't good preventing getting burst? I'm pretty sure health is the #1 counter to burst. If you can survive their burst, you can retaliate and put out more sustained damage between their bursts, making you win the trade.

Anyways, amazing guide! I have always had a soft spot in my heart for AP Varus, and would play him to troll in norms on occasion (I say troll, but I'd almost always top damage!). The build and explanations in this guide have made me realize that he can actually be viable. I tried this build last night and had immediate results (9-2 vs a yasuo, and that was with me taking heal and anti-malz runes cuz I didn't expect the malz jungle!).

Thanks for putting so much detail and explanation into the guide! I am especially impressed with your specific and strong arguments for your build choice etc.

The #1 thing that surprised me during my game was how much MORE DAMAGE I could put out in the laning phase WHEN I MAXED Q!!! I always maxed w because, like you said, I was a noob and thought "It is the only ability with AP scaling, so I should max it!" Boy was I wrong. Plus the Doran's Blade start was amazing since the catalyst gave so much mana that regen wasn't an issue.

Do you stream or make youtube videos?? Screenshots are impressive, but full gameplay is even more convincing and I'd love to watch some :)

Thanks! +1+1+1