Varus Build Guide by

[14.7] | The Arrow of Retribution [In Depth Guide - AP/Letha/On Hit Builds]

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Varus Build Guide By Updated on

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Choose Champion Build:

On hit | Attack Speed
Burst | Lethality
Burst / Magic On-Hit| AP

Runes: Lethal Tempo | Laning

1 2 3

Precision

Lethal Tempo

Triumph

Legend: Alacrity

Coup de Grace

Inspiration

Magical Footwear

Cosmic Insight

Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor

Spells:

1 2 3

Standard Choice

Flash

Heal

Items

Starter Items

VS. 2 Ranged Bot

VS. Melee Supp

Boots

Basic Choice

1st Item

Lifesteal + Attack speed

2nd Item

On-Hit + Attack Speed

3rd Item

On-Hit + Tankiness

4th Item

If you need AOE damage

VS. Bruiser / Burst

5ft Item

AOE Damage + Health

Tenacity + Tankiness

VS. AP damage

VS. All In + Extra AD

Full build example

Basic Varus

AOE Monster

Ability Order On Hit Skill Order

Varus Passive Ability

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Draven

Extreme

| STRENGTHS - Strong early / Huge snowball potential / Good mobility / Outdamage you every state of the game / Presure in lane / Can comeback easily | WEAKNESSES - Easy to preshot abilities due to axes pattern / Weak to CC / Easy to abuse | WHAT TO DO ? - Play EXTREMELY safe in early game. Preshot his axes and charge your Q to make him lose them. Mid/late game is pretty much the same, don't get too close to him otherwise he will destroy you in 3 or 4 auto attacks. Very favorable matchup for LETHALITY Varus. Harder for ON-HIT / AP.

Leona

Ideal

LETHA / AP / ON-HIT

Synergies

Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Leona

Ideal

LETHA / AP / ON-HIT

Champion Build Guide

Hey everyone. My name is Tyspect and i'm a French diamond ADC.

I've started playing League 7 years ago and focused on ADC's 4 years ago.
I do play most of the ADC's but some of them are my little favorites, like , or .
is one of the champion I love the most in the game because of his high versatility and his spell/auto attack playstyle.

My peak elo is Diamond 1 but I do want to achieve Master rank in the end of the year.
I am French so if there's any mistake or error in the guide, don't hesitate to mention it in the comments, i'll check them as fast as possible !!

I'm also streaming on Twitch occasionnaly and creating content on Youtube so if you want to join me there, you are welcome !

PROS

+ Super versatile in builds/runes
+ Great teamfight potential
+ Really good in 1v1/1v2
+ Has no bad matchup in lane
+ Strong in early/mid/late game
+ High carry potential

is one of the if not THE most versatile AD Carry of the game. You can literally build any sort of damage on him, it would be great. Ap , léthality , on-hit are all viable options that can give you an advantage in your games. Most of the other adc's can only build 1 or 2 builds, but you, as , you can build so much more than that. It is his main strengh.
Your kill pressure in lane is massive due to your Q maxed with your W . The reset of your spells with passiv is a key factor allowing you to take more trades in lane and outburst the ennemies.
Your ultimate will create a lot of chaos during teamfights. You will stun one person and then, most of the time, the entire team !

CONS

- Lack of mobility
- Skillshot dependant
- Hard to play and harder to master
- Hard to comeback when behind
- Weak to all in
- Requires game knowledge

Despite his very strong lanning phase, fighting potential and utility, is an immobile ADC that lose a lot of strengh if he's being rushed at by any champions such as , or even . You need to stay in the backlane and be carefull about everything that is surrounding you. Be ready to someone that is a bit too close to you. You are VERY reliable on your abilities, meaning that if you miss a Q or a E will result on you being useless for the rest of the fight.
Lastly, remember that you need a lot of game knowledge to know what to build or when to build it in order to be usefull during the game, it's very important !

HOW TO CHOSE ?
-

FLASH: Basic summoner that just fits perfectly with any ADCs. Without his low mobility and lack of escape, it's basically only tool to get out of hard situations. Chose wisely when to use your flash !

GHOST: Ghost as been the most efficient summoner on most ADCs for his kite power and mobility during fights. Heal isn't a popular summoner at the moment (patch 13.14) so don't bother taking it. is a mid/late game summoner, it's efficient only if you know when and how to use it. After the recent changes, ghost is staying a strong ADC tool but you have to use it properly.

CLEANSE: As written in the notes on top of the summonners tab, cleanse is really specific. Against champions like , or .

HEAL: Heal is the standard summoner spell for ADC's,good for 2v2 situations. It's a good choice if you're learning ADC and botlane in general !

TELEPORT: Teleport is the safer option to take. Ifyou're playing lethality or AP AND ennemies are applying pressure on you such as pokers like or , then can be a great option.

LETHALITY

| When ? |

Lethality is the best option if you want to deal massive damage to squishy target while staying really far from everything. The build rely on your skillshots, if you miss one, you'll be useless until you get your cooldowns back !

Example : / / / /

ATTACK SPEED (ON-HIT)

| When ? |

On-hit is a great option if you have to deal with tanks or bruiser but you also want to keep a high survavibility. It is less skillshot dependant than the other builds making it a bit easier if you want to learn .

Example : / / / /

MAGIC DAMAGE (AP)

| When ? |

AP is a build that allows you to burst a lot of champions in the game in one simple shot. The whole build turns arround your W passiv marks and activ damage on Q .

Example : / / / /

ARCANE COMET

| When ? |

If you're getting outranged by ennemies AND you will play LETHALITY.

Example : / / / /

LETHAL TEMPO

| When ? |

It is THE best rune to go on Varus to get range and attack speed if you're planning to go ON-HIT

Example : / / / /

PRESS THE ATTACK

| When ? |

If you're playing AP Varus top. It had been nerfed in 13.13 but it's still a "fun" build to play so I'll leave it here for now.

Example : / / / ect..

HAIL OF BLADES

| When ? |

If your support is aggro and you can take trades in lane AND if you're going LETHALITY .

Example : / or / with or

SECOND TREE

allow to stay more in lane and sustain trades or poke. Since he has no bad matchup in lane, it's a reliable option but not the best.
is a great rune for because you want to take a lead in early game, reducing the cooldown of your + it allows you to keep 300 golds of boots for free. Super usefull.
is an amazing rune on due to the high CDR the rune is giving you. Summonner Spell CDR and base CDR is trully outrageous for this champion.

is a great option if you're playing with an enchanter supp and your goal is to reach lategame. Will grant you more AD since you're building mostly attack speed items.
is great as I mentionned just right above it, if you have an enchanter support that can provide you great survavibility during fights and in general.

is insane if you want to increase your survavibility by just adding more hp to your build. You wont even notice it in game the first time, but in most games, you'll gain a huge 200 or 300hp from it and sometimes, it can do the difference.
has it's utilities espacially if you're facing lots of CC or All-In champions such as / or /. Very situationnal but good to consider.

LIVING VENGEANCE

INNATE: When kills a unit (minion, ward, turret ect..), he gains bonus Attack speed for a short period of time. The Attack Speed bonus is increased by 40% upon scoring an enemy Champion takedown.

TIPS: passiv allow him to win multiple trades in early game due to the attack seed buff you get every time you last it a minion. But it can be usefull in many other situations. If you're hitting a turret, don't hesitate to kill a minion right before you hit the turret, and do it again when your passiv fade away, giving you the opportunity to hit the turret more than you would originnally done.

AP: Usefull in early game. - LETHALITY: Usefull in early game. - ON-HIT: Important part of the kit !

PIERCING ARROW

ACTIVE: charges a powerfull arrow, slowing himself for up to 4 seconds. The more you charge the arrow, the more range and damage the arrow will have.
(You can cancel this process by keeping the arrow more than 4 seconds, canceling the spell, refunding 50% of the mana cost)

RECAST: fires a in the target directtion, dealing physical damage AND detonating every BLIGHT effects dealing bonus AD/AP damage.

TIPS: is his main source of damage in any builds possible. Most of the time you will want to use it to detonate every BLIGHT stacks possible on the ennemy team, but if you're playing LETHALITYyou'll be able to poke for a huge ammount of damage. This ability is a skillshot so you'll have to get used to it if you want to land as much as you want. Learn ennemies movement and try to figure out where they will dodge as soon as you will charge your .

AP: Important part of the kit ! - LETHALITY: Important part of the kit ! - ON-HIT: Usefull in most stages on the game.

BLIGHTED QUIVER

PASSIV: 's basic attacks deals bonus magic damage and applies stack of BLIGHT up to 3 staying for 6 seconds. Q and E can detonate ALL the stacks to deal bonus damage.

BLIGHT: For each stack of BLIGHT consumed, the target is dealt bonus magic damage. Against champions or Epic Monsters, consumming the BLIGHT effect will also result on reducing basic abilities cooldown by 12% up to 36% for 3 stacks of BLIGHT on a target.

ACTIVE: next Q(within 5,5 seconds) is EMPOWERED to deal a percentage of the target missing health as bonus magic damage increasing depending of the amount of time you kept charged.(Maximum damage if you charge at maximum.

RECAST: end and places it on a 1-second cooldown.

TIPS: This ability is bread and butter. The champion itself is fixed arround it. Dealing bonus damage with BLIGHT effect makes his trades in early game way more relevant and on top of that you can refresh your cooldowns, allowing you to burst your opponents even more. Empowering your next is also a huge part of the trading pattern during laning phase AND during teamfights.

AP ACTIVE : Important part of the kit ! - LETHALITY ACTIVE : Important part of the kit ! - ON-HIT PASSIVE : Important part of the kit !

HAIL OF ARROWS

ACTIVE: fires a at the target location that lands after 0,5 seconds, dealing physical damage.
The area of stays for 4 seconds, slowing and inflicting Girevous Wounds to ennemies inside of it.

TIPS: This ability is main early trade. Being able to slow ennemies AND inflict grievous wounds is massiv. It has a low cooldown as well so you can spam it as much as you want but keep in mind that it also detonate BLIGHT stacks, allowing you to refresh your other abilities.

AP: Usefull in early game. - LETHALITY: Important part of the kit ! - ON-HIT: Usefull in early game.

CHAIN OF CORRUPTION

ACTIVE: unleashes a tendril of corruption in the target direction that roots the first champion hit for 2 seconds, revealing it. Every 0,5 seconds, champions that are rooted by this ability are inflicted by BLIGHT effect over 1,5 seconds to the maximum stacks.

Upon impact, the tendril roots of the ground and root any champion that would be stuck inside of it for more than 2 seconds. They subsequently become infected as well, taking the damage and effects of the base
The tendril can keep spreading as long as there is new champions to corrupt.(champions that as already been corupted can't be corrupted again).

TIPS: is your most usefull ability in your entire kit, making even a bad being able to reverse an entire teamfight. The ability to root an entire team is massive, and applying BLIGHT effects to any champion struck by it can allow you to deal massiv damage with your abilities without risking to die putting some stacks with your auto attacks.

AP: Important part of the kit ! - LETHALITY: Important part of the kit ! - ON-HIT: Important part of the kit !

This skill order is focusing on W . It gives bonus On-Hit damage (based on AP] on every auto attack, making it a very good option for ON-HIT builds. Combine with a and both dealing AP damage, you got an insane machine gun dealing bonus damage every 3rd auto AND every auto basically.

On the other hand, it's activ ability is a HUGE AP Damage buff that will obliterate most of the champions. If you have 3 stacks of BLIGHT on the ennemy, then the damage will increase for each stack you're explosing and deal magic damage based on missing health. If you combine the passiv of the W and the activ, you gain a spell that deals damage based on the max health of your ennemy AND his missing health. Cool. Really decent skill order for AP builds aswel.

This skill order is mostly focused on ADdamage sources of kit. Since W has a lot of AP ratios and damage, we focus our attention on witch has the AD ratios that we need for LETHALITY build.

This section will be the most complete part of the guide, explaining every items for every build existing, wich means

AP,LETHALITY and finally ON-HIT.

Please be aware that this entire section is subject to changes due to buff and nerfs that or the Items could suffer !

Let's start with Mythic Item first. As a Lethality , there is no better option than . It has decent stats, making you a really scary carry even after only 1 item, a price of 3100 golds wich is less than or and has an active ability that will help you to go back in lane, move on the map or navigate during teamfights. I used to be a enjoyer when the item got reworked, but the nerf broke it a bit too much.

Second mythic for . Duskblade is an interesting item espacially against all-in comps such as , or . It allows you to reposition yourself with it's passiv and make yourself safer. Really great item if you DO NEED safety during fights.

If you want mana AND damage, then is THE item you'll need. With an easy start allowing you to stack mana early in the game and upgrade your for a arround 15/20 minutes into the game. Once it's upgraded, will trully feel way stronger. It's a huge powerspike.

is an amazing item in general but espacially against tanks. The slow from your abilities will help you and your allies to chase down the survivors of your devastating and combos. It's a must have item if there is at least 2 tanky champions in the ennemy team, because of the 30 bonus armor penetration it's giving.

Problematic CC's such as or can be such a bother for ,so, why not buy an ? As long as you stay behind your team and you keep it active, your life will be way safer and you will focus more on your skillshots and damage than on your own survavibility.

If you are REALLY ahead and there is only squeeshi targets against you, then you should consider taking . It itn't a choice that I would recommend since you're building Crit Chances that are used for nothing at all because your build isn't focused on auto attacks. Yes the execute is interesting if you lack a bit of damage, but it is really situationnal, keep this in mind.

is the default choice of final item. Gives you an extra life, AD, Armor and the possibility to build a before finishing your is super strong espacially if you're being focused really often.

I don't have a lot to add to this section since there is really no other option for LETHALITY since these boots give the most Haste in the entire game. AND on top of that they are super cheap. Really good deal, stick with it.

Mythic first ! From all the ADC items, there isn't a lot of choice of . We're playing ON-HIT so we need a mythic that helps us with that, and is the best item for that. Guinsoo's passiv is MASSIV for cause it combines with his W , making him a strong auto-attacker. The mythic passiv is also really great. Having 5% armor pen and 6% magic pen on every single items you buy is insane since you're playing ON-HIT to fight bruisers and/or tanks.

as been a really common item to make on Varus now, because of the strong start and the damage you get from every 3 auto attacks. Being able to out dps any ADC in the game AND to deal great damage to tanks this early in the game feels like you're cheating. It's also a good thing that it's not a mythic item anymore because it gives you the opportunity to play it with and get the synergy of both items together.

What any on-hit champion is building because it's broken ? of course ! is no exception. The damage, the lifesteal, the passiv, everything is just perfect for any on-hit champion. It's good to mention that this item will be the only lifesteal item you will be buying so it's a super important one ! Rembember, you're building on-hit cause you are facing bruiser and/or tanks. What is the passiv of BOTRK ? Yes, damage based on max health, an other great reason to buy it. Nah but, BOTRK is just too good on Varus. Always build it.

A great way to deal damage to multiple targets if you know you're gonna take huge teamfights is to build a . The item is giving you attack speed and critical chance (wich will be converted into on-hit damage by ). projectiles also applies your BLIGHT effects, so keep this in mind ! That's more target to shoot at and your E in a teamfight can do the difference on multiple targets since it's a healing debuff AND a slow !

Too much AP can be a problem for ON-HIT since he has to be in range to deal damage with his auto attacks. Since most of the AP dealer of the game are mages or assassins, is a great option to counter their damage and deal more damage with your auto-attacks. Win some, win some.

Playing ON-HIT makes you a glasscanon AD Carry for your first items since , and are damage/attack speed items. If you need some survavibility in your build because there is some assassins such as , or gap close champions like or .

is the default choice of final item. Gives you an extra life, AD, Armor and the possibility to build a before finishing your is super strong espacially if you're being focused really often.

Need more attack speed for your build ? Nahh, just kidding. Yes you do. Anyway, are the best for ON-HIT . or are also an option but always prioritize .

Finally, the last section of this itemization guide, APitems ! First, the Mythic that is actually the reason WHY AP exists, . With his incredible AP stats, haste, health and insane mythic passiv value of 2% omnivamp and 8 AP per items, it is with no hesitation THE best item to go. His passiv is also MASSIV, converting every single AP damage into TRUE damage, making it THE best option to deal with tanks !

Let's talk about the second star of this build, . Attack speed is a value that you wont find a lot in this build, due to the use of other AP items. will be your first item to buy if you want to trade with your opponents. It synergize really well with your W 's passiv and activ and is just perfect for the early game since you'll mostly fight with your auto attacks more than your R .

I don't really have a lot to say about , it increases ability to one-shot people and his AP in general, really good item to get early on ! Be aware that it's still 3600 golds, so it's a huge investement to deal with.

Really great option to consider if there is all-in such as , or more recently . Gives you AP, Armor and CDR wich are really good for AP !

Tanks are such a bother right ? Then you're at the good place. As I said before, AP is a nightmare for tanks, but, if they manage to build MR to counter you, then is your friend ! With his 65 AP and 40 magic penetration, you'll have more than enough magic penetration to deal with those tanks.

, or are giving you some trouble ? You can't one-shot all of these peasants with your abilites because of their shields ? Oh don't worry, I have the perfect item for you, let me introduce . With it's ability to increase your Magic Penetration if an enemy as been shielded, is definitly a great item in term of damage and shield breaker.

is naturally a great item for . It's passiv allows you to deal more damage to target you hit from 700 range or you root with your R , increasing the damage taken by the target of 10% for 6 seconds. Now just imagine hitting a carry like with your Ultimate, charging your empowered Q with your W and shooting it with your activated AND 3 marks of BLIGHT. Yes. It will be OBLIGHTERATED(i'm sorry.)

An other great defensive option is . Same as , having a spell shield to cover your back is really good espacially if there is some special abilities that you want or need to avoid !

To increase your ability to one-shot people, having to get more Magic Penetration is even more exciting. It's also the only interesting boots you'll get from all the existing ones, so don't bother with the others !

This section will be talking about the few combos has. Why "the few" ? Because isn't a super hard character to master and to utilize as it's full potential. He actually is kinda easy when you understand the abilities and the connection they have with each others. I hope this will help you understand more about him and will guide you trough the process of mastering !

This combo is an early game combo, allowing you to burst out your opponent during a trade or to reduce your W or Q cooldown.

IMPORTANT NOTE : As you can see during the video, even if you auto attack right after your E fall on the ground, the mark will still explode, deal the damage AND refund your cooldowns. Wich means, yes, E as a 1 second of being activated on the ground, allowing you to proc your marks during this time, meaning that if you do 3 auto attacks into E into Auto attack, the last auto attack will proc an additionnal BLIGHT stack, really good for you during a trade !

This is the most basic combo. With this one, you will be able to outburst most of your opponents. You can get the most damage out of your W and your Q . Nothing too complicated.

Want to surprise the ennemy ? Or you're too far away to hit your R ? Then you should consider using R and then flashing to increase it's range. As you can see in the clip, not only it increase the range of your R, but its travel time is also greatly reduced ! Don't use it too often tought. Always remember that your is your only way to escape in most situations.

Don't mind the flash in the begining.Please.

This is the most complete combo on . Nothing too complicated, just remember to use your abilities between every 3 auto attacks to maximize your damage and your utility.

Here you go, those are the most IMPORTANT combos for . You can experience those by yourself and try things ! isn't that hard to master so try it yourself !

LETHALITY

| How do I play ? |

Try to poke your opponents with your E and one you have it, your Q . Farm at the same time. Trading pattern is not so dependant of your support since you're either playing or , making you more on your own. Back when you get enough golds for , 1 or 2 or . The easy part with LETHALITYtimer is his ease to build only and being able to build his main items anyway, giving him lot of ad.

ATTACK SPEED (ON-HIT)

| How do I play ? |

Your items are expensive. Stick to farming for the first 10 minutes of game. You can obviously trade since you're but it's really support dependant. Having an engage support like or is an amazing thing because it gives you the time to stack your during trades and BLIGHT marks on the ennemy. If you're playing with , or , play passiv until you get ganked or your opponents does a mistake.

MAGIC DAMAGE (AP)

| How do I play ? |

SOLO LANE : You have one of the strongest early game in term of range, damage and trading. Either toplane or midlane, you excel in those early fights, allowing you to outburst most matchups and take a strong advantage for the rest of your laning phase.
DUO LANE : Same as ON-HIT you have to be reliant on your support for the early game. Your damage arn't here yet and you'll have to wait for your in order to be usefull. Farm safelly and watch carefully what your support and opponents are doing so you get catch in a delicate situation.

LETHALITY

| How do I play ? |

Now that botlane turret is gone, you can go toward midlane and stick here for the rest of the game. Your ability to spam your ult due to your rune and your huge CDR, allows you to create catch on 1 or several people. Those catch will be really important for the rest of the game, since you can play create a numerical advantage before huge objectives like or . You are really fragile and need to stay several meters away from the fights. Don't be too far thought, champions like , or could take advantage of that.

ATTACK SPEED (ON-HIT)

| How do I play ? |

Botlane turret is done ? Time to go midlane. Keep up the good work and keep killing those minions. If the early game went well, you should now have your and your . If it's not the case, you can farm midlane minions and and/or . Just ask your jungler before, of course. Keep an eye on what is happening between toplane and botlane, in case you need to join a fight in a hurry. Your DPS will be warmly welcomed and your utility as well. Play safe and wait for your team to engage any objectives or figts. You're a "short" range carry, don't get greedy.

MAGIC DAMAGE (AP)

| How do I play ? |

SOLO LANE : Keep up the presure you built in the early game. Now you're a strong side laner that wants to presure and split push but don't forget to watch your map to check if your teammates needs help. A little R can deffinitly do the job.
DUO LANE : AP is a mix beteween ON-HIT and LETHALITYtimer playstyle. Play behind your teammates and wait for good opportunities to use your ultimate and shoot an empowered Q with . The difference with LETHALITYtimer is that your Q deals no damage. All of your AP damage are comming from your and your . Be SUPER CAREFULL with those abilites, use them VERY wiselly.

LETHALITY

| How do I play ? |

Stick with your team and try to play obejctives like or /. Play carefully, remember that you are a long range assassin that has to burst out people. But in order to burst, you need to stay alive . You're full build now so any , W Q should one shot any squishy champion. Remember, at this point of the game, you have something like 30 seconds cooldown on your R, wich is ridiculous. Try to use it as often as you can, but still wisely.
Tou have 2 ways of playing . You can play for picks
and catch, or play with a cc already popped by your own team. If you play for picks, ping your team that you are gonna R and ping them back if you miss it. If you play with your team, then you can't miss your R, come on.

ATTACK SPEED (ON-HIT)

| How do I play ? |

Stick with your team and wait for them to do the job. You're a turret now. Stay with the tankier unit of your team and use your only to follow up moves or to prevent an assassin/bruiser to jump on you. Don't use it to catch anyone, this isn't your job. Your dps will be gadly appreciated if you stay alive. Be patient and remember ! You put a LOT of auto-attacks, so remember using your E or Q sometimes to maximise your utility and dps ! A good E in the middle of a fight can be such a pain in the *** due to it's grievious wounds ! Missing your abilities is ok since you're playing ON-HIT. Most of your damage will be on your autos and this is why learning to kite is something super important, espacially with high attack speed !

MAGIC DAMAGE (AP)

| How do I play ? |

SOLO LANE : Play with your team , you're their highest AP damage dealer of the game, a high range mage that has the power to one-shot anyone he can, IF you land your skillshot ! You can still push some waves on the side lane to give your team and advantage but ask your jungler to shadow you since you're really squeeshy.
DUO LANE : Same as mid game, play with your team and try not to miss your abilities. They are the key of your victory. You can pretty much everything, even tanks, so try to hit anything with your R and use everything you can, then back off and wait for your cooldowns. This is your main weakness. You can still go in and put some autos but be SURE to leave after it or to have a protection with you.

There it is, here comes the end of the guide !

To conclude, Varus is a super cool champion that just need a bit of game knowledge to be played at his full potential !

Hope you liked reading it, it was my first in depth guide, tell me if you need anything else !

Thank you so much and remember, The guilty will know AGONY !