Hello there! My name is Luca and I play in the EUNE region.

I am currently in Emerald IV elo, but i peaked at Emerald I 87lp at the end of S13, while playing only Varus AP midlane.

Today I still play only Varus and I have personally tried all of the build above. I have a lot of experience on Varus mid lane and I fell entitled to make a build about this.

The AP build is not as good as it used to be right now, so I do not recommend going for that in solo queue.

Please read carefully what I ve presented to you and let me know it the comments if I missed something.

PS: I am an ADC main at my heart( Varus, Jhin, Vayne, Ezreal my most played ones) and if you wanna check out my account (OPGG or otehr such websites) that is Luca195 on EUNE.

Also check out my other builds: this one is a crit varus bot build: https://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/crit-varus-season-16-651463 and this one is Varus top build from last season: https://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/varus-top-s15-korean-challenger-647197 (still good to this day)

Passive : Living Vengeance

On kill or assist, Varus temporarily gains Attack Speed. This bonus is larger if the enemy is a champion.

Q : Piercing Arrow
Varus readies and then fires a powerful shot that gains extra range and damage the longer he spends preparing to fire.

W : Blighted Quiver

Passive: Varus' basic attacks deal bonus magic damage and apply Blight. Varus' other abilities detonate Blight, dealing magic damage based on the target's maximum Health. Active: Varus empowers his next Piercing Arrow.

E : Hail of Arrows

Varus fires a hail of arrows that deal physical damage and desecrate the ground. Desecrated ground slows enemies' Move Speed and reduces their self healing and regeneration.

R : Chain of Corruption

Varus flings out a damaging tendril of corruption that immobilizes the first enemy champion hit and then spreads towards nearby uninfected champions, immobilizing them too on contact.

This one is not really that straightforward to explain. I usually max Q : Piercing Arrow for the poke it provides.

On top lane it is indeed maxing W : Blighted Quiver, which is good against melee range as you can prock more easily the W stacks. So you can max this against the melee mid champions.

But on midlane, there are usually range abusers so I strongly recommend maxing Q : Piercing Arrow against them.

With the locket build(third route) it is mandatory to max your W.

Always max your E : Hail of Arrows at last.

And take your R : Chain of Corruption whenever you can, by that I mean levels 6,11 and 16.

Always take Flash as a summoner spell.

We are going to pair Flash with:

Barrier:

This one is the standard spell, the one I use in my most games.

Teleport:

This one is the standard spell for most mage midlaners and the safest one.

Cleanse:

Take this against heavy CC midlaners or compositions. It can bail you out multiple times during a game.

Ghost:

Take this for more mobility, as Varus is an imobile champion. It helps you escape ganks more easily.

Exhaust:

Take this against powerhouses, champions like: Irelia, Yasuo, Zed etc.

Heal:

This one gives you HP and movement speed, so you can catch enemies easier or escape very bad situations.

Ignite:

Take this for more damage and obviously more kill pressure.

First things first, start Q : Piercing Arrow and poke your enemy with a fully charged Q : Piercing Arrow at level 1. Try to get level 2 first. As you get level 2 immediatly hit your enemy with 3 autos and then hit them with an empowered Q : Piercing Arrow. This way you create an early advantage by getting a kill or burning enemy flash or/and tp. After that simply poke your enemy with 2 or 3 autos( Press the Attack prock) followed by either an E : Hail of Arrows
or Q : Piercing Arrow. Or just poke them with fully charged Q : Piercing Arrow s.

After you get level 6(your R : Chain of Corruption
) you have a big kill threat all the time and even if you are behind you can punish your enemy for their mistakes and kill them.

Varus Passive : Living Vengeance gives him attack speed so make sure that you have it activated when you choose to fight the enemy midlaner. Also don t forget about Bone Plating as some champions can easily burst you if Bone Plating is on cooldown.

This is the best route by far and it is the one I use in my solo/duo games, the rest of them I use it in flex.

RUNES:

Take the first two set of runes I presented above.

I usually go Press the Attack as the primary rune as it is best synergized with Varus and the build you go. You can also choose Lethal Tempo for more attack speed and sustained damage in longer fights, but you can for sure always go with Press the Attack.

On the second line of Precision, choose Triumph for healing during fights, or you can choose Absorb Life for better sustain during laning phase.

On the third line of Precision always go for Legend: Alacrity for the atack speed, as you need to auto in order to prock your W stacks(beside ult).

On the last line of Precision take Last Stand, as most of your damgage comes later in the fight. You can also take Cut Down if they have a lot of tanks.

Secondary runes will belong to Resolve. Take Bone Plating for better trades and Overgrowth for more HP later one, as tankiness is a good trait to have on Varus.

BOOTS:

This is one is complicated. I usually go with defensive boots: against heavy AD with Plated Steelcaps or against heavy CC/AP with Mercury's Treads. For more damage go with Sorcerer's Shoes and for more attack speed (especially if you have lethal tempo) go with Berserker's Greaves.

ITEMS:

Your first item will be Dusk & Dawn. This one gives you all you need for Varus: ability haste,HP,AP and attack speed. Also, it give double effect on hit so with one auto(after you use an ability) it putes two stacks of your W(blight stacks) on the opponent.

The second item will be Nashor's Tooth. This one is a classic on Varus. It gives you 50% attack speed, which is a lot and on hit magic damage to empower your autos.

The third item you have to choose between Zhonya's Hourglass and Riftmaker. The first one gives the 2.5 s stasis which is good on Varus, considering he is an imobile champion, and a lot of armor, which is good against heavy AD compositions. Riftmaker gives you HP instead and increasingly more damage as the fights progresses, which is perfect for Varus as I said above, the damage comes later in the fight and it gives you Omnivamp in order to heal more during the fights.

The fourth item will usually be Rabadon's Deathcap for obvious reasons.

Also don t forget to take Banshee's Veil against heavy AP/CC opponents.

Afterwards you chose between the items presented above, choosing by your own preffernce.

At last if they have lots of magic resist, take Void Staff preferably or Cryptbloom.

This one is currently used by many Varus mains and is very good in game.

RUNES:

Same for the first route:

Take the first two set of runes I presented above.

I usually go Press the Attack as the primary rune as it is best synergized with Varus and the build you go. You can also choose Lethal Tempo for more attack speed and sustained damage in longer fights, but you can for sure always go with Press the Attack.

On the second line of Precision, choose Triumph for healing during fights, or you can choose Absorb Life for better sustain during laning phase.

On the third line of Precision always go for Legend: Alacrity for the atack speed, as you need to auto in order to prock your W stacks(beside ult).

On the last line of Precision take Last Stand, as most of your damgage comes later in the fight. You can also take Cut Down if they have a lot of tanks.

Secondary runes will belong to Resolve. Take Bone Plating for better trades and Overgrowth for more HP later one, as tankiness is a good trait to have on Varus.

BOOTS:

Same for the first route:

This is one is complicated. I usually go with defensive boots: against heavy AD with Plated Steelcaps or against heavy CC/AP with Mercury's Treads. For more damage go with Sorcerer's Shoes and for more attack speed (especially if you have lethal tempo) go with Berserker's Greaves.

ITEMS:

Your first item is going to be Experimental Hexplate. This one gives you plenty of attack speed and cooldown reduction on your R cast and 40 AD plus a lot of HP(remember tankiness is a good trait to have on Varus).

After that, the second item is going to be either Nashor's Tooth or Dusk & Dawn chosen by your own preference. I think the best is Nashor's Tooth, but the other one works as well and it gives you more tankiness.

After that, you can take which ever item you preffer between the ones presented above.

Also don not forget to take Banshee's Veil against heavy AP/CC opponents.

At last if they have lots of magic resist, take Void Staff preferably or Cryptbloom.

This one is insipired by this video( a player from Korea who reached Master by playing with locket first. Play Video
RUNES:

Take the runes presented in the third slot above.

The primary rune is going to be Fleet Footwork for the healing and movement speed.

For even more sustain, on the second line of Precision take Absorb Life.

On the third line of Precision always go for Legend: Alacrity for the atack speed, as you need to auto in order to prock your W stacks(beside ult).

On the last line of Precision take Cut Down for more damage.

Secondary runes belongs to Inspiration. Take Cash Back in order to get your Nashor's Tooth faster, then take Jack of all Trades because it will prock your 10 stacks and get 25 ability power for free and a bit of ability haste.

BOOTS:

This is one is very simple. Always rush Sorcerer's Shoes for the damage it provides.

ITEMS:

Your first item is going to be Locket of the Iron Solari. This one gives you a lot of tankiness: HP, magic resist and armor plus ability haste. Also, it provides you a shield, so don t forget to use it during fights.

The second item is going to be Nashor's Tooth, after that you can go with Malignance and Stormsurge in order to prock your Jack of all Trades.

The fourth item will usually be Rabadon's Deathcap for obvious reasons.

Also don t forget to take Banshee's Veil against heavy AP/CC opponents.

Afterwards you chose between the items presented above, choosing by your own preffernce.

At last if they have lots of magic resist, take Void Staff preferably or Cryptbloom.

This one is the build of the rank 1 Varus on EUNE and it works very well.

RUNES:

Take the runes presented in the fourth slot above.

Take Press the Attack as the primary rune as it is best synergized with Varus and the build you go.

On the second line of Precision, choose Triumph for healing during fights, or you can choose Absorb Life for better sustain during laning phase.

On the third line of Precision always go for Legend: Alacrity for the atack speed, as you need to auto in order to prock your W stacks(beside ult).

On the last line of Precision take Coup de Grace in order to secure kills more easily.

The secondary runes belong to Sorcery. Take Absolute Focus and Gathering Storm for increased damage. Also, don t forget to keep yourself healthy in order for the Absolute Focus to work.

BOOTS:

This is one is complicated. I usually go with defensive boots: against heavy AD with Plated Steelcaps or against heavy CC/AP with Mercury's Treads. For more damage go with Sorcerer's Shoes and for more attack speed (especially if you have lethal tempo) go with Berserker's Greaves.

ITEMS:

Your first item is going to be Hextech Gunblade. It gives you AP and Omnivamp for healing and AD, which helps you poke your enemy laner even more painful. Also don t forget to use your item s passive.

Your second item will be Nashor's Tooth. This one is a classic on Varus. It gives you 50% attack speed, which is a lot and on hit magic damage to empower your autos.


Also don t forget to take Banshee's Veil against heavy AP/CC opponents.

Afterwards you chose between the items presented above, choosing by your own preffernce.

One of your items has to be Rabadon's Deathcap for obvious reasons.

At last if they have lots of magic resist, take Void Staff preferably or Cryptbloom.

This one is an interesting one. First you build a lethality item then build your normal item build.

RUNES:

Take the runes presented in the fifth slot above.

Your primary rune is going to be Arcane Comet as this one is a poke build.

On the second line of Sorcery take Manaflow Band for more mana.

On the third line of Sorcery take Transcendence for cooldown reduction.

On the last line of Sorcery take Scorch more even more poke damage.

Your secondary runes belong to Domination. Take Taste of Blood for the early game healing and Ultimate Hunter for your R ability haste.

BOOTS:

This is one is complicated. I usually go with defensive boots: against heavy AD with Plated Steelcaps or against heavy CC/AP with Mercury's Treads. For more damage go with Sorcerer's Shoes and you can even go with Ionian Boots of Lucidity for the cooldown reduction, in order to poke your enemy even more.

ITEMS:

Your first item is going to be between Axiom Arc and Umbral Glaive. The first one gives you R ultimate cooldown reduction and the second one gives you even more damage.

You can even combine them and get them both as your first two items.

The second/third item will be Nashor's Tooth. This one is a classic on Varus. It gives you 50% attack speed, which is a lot and on hit magic damage to empower your autos.

Afterwards you chose between the items presented above, choosing by your own preffernce.

One of your items has to be Rabadon's Deathcap for obvious reasons.

At last if they have lots of magic resist, take Void Staff preferably or Cryptbloom.

This one is enginered by myself and it is one my favourites.

RUNES:

Take the runes presented in the sixth slot above.

I go with Press the Attack as the primary rune as it is best synergized with Varus and the build you go.

On the second line of Precision, choose Triumph for healing during fights, or you can choose Absorb Life for better sustain during laning phase.

On the third line of Precision always go for Legend: Alacrity for the atack speed, as you need to auto in order to prock your W stacks(beside ult).

On the last line of Precision take Cut Down to maximize your one shot combo.

Your secondary runes belong to Domination. Take Taste of Blood for the early game healing and Ultimate Hunter for your R ability haste.

BOOTS:

This is one is very simple. Always rush Sorcerer's Shoes for the damage it provides.

ITEMS:

Your first item is going to be Malignance as it provides the most damage in the early game for Varus.

The second item will be Nashor's Tooth. This one is a classic on Varus. It gives you 50% attack speed, which is a lot and on hit magic damage to empower your autos.

Your third item is going to be Stormsurge to maximize your damage.

Your fourth has to be Rabadon's Deathcap for obvious reasons.

And the last item, if they have magic resist take Void Staff, if not take Luden's Echo.

This is where the fun begins.

For this one I recommend two sets of runes:

Dark Harvest:

This one deals even more damage than the second one and it is extremely fun to play.

On the second line of Domination take Taste of Blood for the early game healing and on the last line of Domination go with Ultimate Hunter for your R ability haste.

The secondary runes belong to Sorcery. Take Absolute Focus and Gathering Storm for increased damage. Also, don t forget to keep yourself healthy in order for the Absolute Focus to work.

First Strike

This one is procked more easily than the one above and it provides True Damage and a lot of free gold.

On the second line of Inspiration take Cash Back for the gold increase.

On the third line of Inspiration take Triple Tonic and use it wisely.

On the last line of Inspiration take Cosmic Insight.

The secondary runes belong to Sorcery. Take Absolute Focus and Gathering Storm for increased damage. Also, don t forget to keep yourself healthy in order for the Absolute Focus to work.

ROUTES:

Ok now let s discuss which routes are the best to go with this one shot build.

First things first, always take Sorcerer's Shoes for the increased damage.

The first three routes are not that good, altough with the first one you can make it work, but to not go with the second and the third route.

The other three are very good synergyzed with this build. Also you can skip Nashor's Tooth and go for something like Luden's Echo. USe your R to ult them then fully charge your Q for the maximum damage and release it after aprox 3 s.

Varus has no mobility so you can easily die to ganks. Don t forget to ward properly and always pay attention to the map to see where the enemy jungle is situated.

If you are safe from a possible gank you can poke your enemy when your wave crashes the tower but be aware of turret aggro.

From my experience, you can get out of ganks simply by using Ghost(if this is of course one of the spells you chose). You can also use your Ultimate to root your opponent and get away.

There are some situations where you are ahead and you can 1v2 so trust yourself, stand your ground and pick the target you think you can kill easier. Then, because of the Varus Passive : Living Vengeance, you become a lot stronger fighting the second opponent.

Varus is extremely useful in teamfights thanks to his R : Chain of Corruption which can root multiple enemy champions.

So after the laning phase just group with your team in order to secure the objectives.

Sidelaning isn t one of Varus strenghts as you have no mobility so no way you can escape(other than Ghost summoner spell). But since you have Nashor's Tooth you can melt down enemy towers quite easily.