Varus Build Guide by nlPosIdon

Introduction

This is a guide for one of my favorite AD Carries in League of Legends, Varus, The Arrow of Retribution. This guide is incomplete and I will add to it as I learn more and as I learn how to use the MobaFire guide construction system.

Mechanical Guide

This section of the guide is dedicated to Varus' mechanics. This is where many people have trouble as they forget what his W's passive, Blighted Quiver, actually does. There will be a brief explanation of each spell and then a guide on how you can really use them.

Q: Piercing Arrow: A long range skillshot that goes through targets and drops in damage as it does.

Uses:

Piercing Arrow is an excellent harassment tool as it is your lowest manna cost spell. Whenever you can hit an enemy behind no or few minions (2 or less) use it. Do not use this as your primary damage dealing spell as its channel does not allow you to use basic attacks. Piercing Arrow is a great tool for checking bushes and still keeping yourself at a safe distance because it makes a sound when it hits a target, regardless of vision. With minimum channel time it will do at least 10 more damage than a regular attack making it an excellent tool for taking down lizard elder dragon , or baron nashor .

W: Blighted Quiver: Blighted Quiver is a passive ability that deals additional magic damage with each attack and stacks 3 times. Blight stacks are detonated by other spells and deal magic damage equal to a percentage of the targets maximum health. (This is your primary ability when building AP as it can allow you to instantly knock out up to 8.5%+ of a targets health).

Uses:

Blighted Quiver magic damage allows Varus to burst down targets very quickly. This is what causes him to benefit much more from a Runaan's Hurricane than a Phantom Dancer. Runaan's Hurricane allows you to stack blight to multiple targets in a teamfight and deal massive amounts of damage with a Chain of Corruption or Hail of Arrows. Blight can also be stacked quickly onto fleeing opponents so you can easily pick them off with a Piercing Arrow.

E: Hail of Arrows: Hail of Arrows is your primary blight detonation spell and one of your team utilities. Hail of Arrows deals damage in a fairly large aoe that halves healing effects and slows all units in the area.

Uses:

Hail of Arrows is best used as your main damage output spell as it is more useable as a damage/utility in teamfights with Chain of Corruption and in lane allows you to deal damage without having to worry about minions reducing your damage. When fighting in lane use this spell the moment your target gets out of auto attack range (you should have some Blighted Quiver stacks) and use it to deal a lot of damage and slow the target so you can get back in range, get more blight stacks, and finish with a Piercing Arrow. This spell can also be used immediately if a target is pulled, stunned, or otherwise disabled by your support keeping them there for you to burst down, probably using it again when they try to flee. Do NOT use this spell to harass early on as its cooldown is fairly long and it may not be available when your support makes an opening for you.

R: Chain of Corruption: Chain of corruption is a decent ranged moderate damage nuke that snares the target and chains to 2 additional targets snaring them and dealing the same damage.

Uses:

Chain of Corruption is your primary team utility. This spell is best used immediately after a teamfight has been initiated after you stack Blighted Quiver to targets and then use Chain of Corruption to keep them in a favorable position and deal decent damage. Immediatley stack Blighted Quiver to the ensnared targets and follow up with a Hail of Arrows and clean up the scraps with a Piercing Arrow. This ability has 1 - 1 scaling with AP so if you play AP Varus this ability will nuke everything with proper Blighted Quiver stacks!

Runes, Ahh the Options.

Supports, Which One Is Your Optimal Lane Partner?

If you play AD Carry, you know how important it is to have the ideal support in your lane. This section is dedicated to saying who is the ideal support for Varus.


: Taric is quite possibly one of the best supports for Varus. A good Taric with Dazzle and Exhaust will allow you to easily burst down targets in lane with Blighted Quiver and Hail of Arrows. His Imbue and Shatter also give the normally squishy low escape option Varus able to take a hit and have better chances of getting away. Due to the recent late-game buff to Taric he is advantageous to not only you but to the whole team.

: Soraka is another excellent support for Varus. Due to her mana sustain with Infuse allows you to poke quite easily with Piercing Arrow and even Hail of Arrows. Also Soraka's passive, consecration and the effects of Starcall allow your magic-damage burst with Blighted Quiver to deal exceptional amounts of damage. Also her Astral Blessing and Wish give her excellent sustain options to you and your entire team!

: Thresh is one of my personal favorites for an aggressive lane. His Death Sentence followed with a Flay and The Box allows you you easily burst foes and said spells passive allow him to poke a little extra while you farm. Also Thresh's Dark Passage allow you to tank some some damage as well as pull you out of a tower dive and pull friendly ganks in.

: Leona is an excellent support if you plan on running a very aggressive lane. Leona is amazing with many burst ADC's including Varus. Her passive Sunlight is easily detonated by Varus, and when added with the magic damage from Blighted Quiver you can burst very effectively. Her Zenith Blade is an excellent engage ability when chained with an Eclipse and Shield of Daybreak. This CC combo allows your lane to become an absolute bulldozer once you both hit level 2 with amazing burst capabilities. Leona can also maintain these massive tanking and CC abilties later into the game with her ultimate, Solar Flare, allows for excellent ganks and engages in team fights when followed by Chain of Corruption and other team initiation spells. This lane combination will, under most circumstances, go very well making Leona another one of my favorite supports when playing ADC Varus.

: Blitzcrank is a high crowd control aggressive support that works amazingly with Varus... when he isnt banned. His infamous kit allows you to easily pick up kills and he can hold down the fort while you recall for items.

: Lulu is an interesting support choice due to how her spells work, in a way giving her the ability to be an aggressive or passive lane partner. With Pix, Faerie Companion and Glitterlance allow her to poke easily, and [glitterlance]]'s slow will allow you to close the gap and get off some attacks to be followed by a blight detonating Piercing Arrow or Hail of Arrows if you are still in range. Her primary crowd control is Whimsy, this spell followed by Help, Pix! allow you to easily engage enemies, buff your own dps, give you a shield, and allow her to get another Glitterlance to crowd control the target further for you to seal the deal. Wild Growth is an excellent saving move due to its knockback and health boost. It is also very helpful in teamfights to buff either your tank or brawler. Lulu is by far my personal favorite support when playing ADC Varus.

Mid Lane... Varus?

Bot Lane, Who Do You Counter And Who Counters You?

Team Synergy, What Jungler Do Work Well With?

Team Synergy, What Top Laner Do Work Well With?

Team Synergy, What AP Carry/Caster (If ADC) Do Work Well With?