So you want to play Taric in Arena huh? Well I’ve got good news for you: you can pull most things off with him. Taric is a very versatile champ and a great support that excels in 2vs2 fights, and Arena’s systems and items can push him to the next level.
Before we get into the specifics of what’s the most optimal build (spoiler: there’s not just one), let me introduce you to some numbers that might help you understand what’s best when playing Taric.
Taric’s passive has a 100% Attack Speed scaling in his passive, this applies to the 2 AAs that follow any of his abilities. This makes any AS item, augment or anvils (virtually) have double the normal value on him, keep this in mind. Taric also scales with Armor in his passive (for +15% bonus Armor damage in his empowered AAs), +50% bA damage in his E and gives up to 10% his total Armor to his ally when linked with his W (which should be most of the time). This gives you a lead against heavy AD comps (which in my case have been more common than heavy AP comps). He also scales with AP (though I don’t recommend a full AP build, but just so you know it isn’t wasted on him), for +15% AP added healing to each charge of his Q (up to 75%, but most of the time you’ll be getting 4 charges, not 5, so 60%) and 50% AP damage on his E. Lastly, Taric scales extremely well with Ability Haste, since having lower cooldowns will allow you to refresh your abilities faster, and not get screwed up if you miss a passive empowered AA, also allowing you to perma stun your enemies if you have enough AH and AS.

TL;DR: Taric is a versatile champion with which you can adapt to most match ups in Arena, and most items and augments that give you a mix of Armor, Attack Speed, Ability Haste, Ability Power, Health and Healing and Shielding Power will work just well

This guide is a work in progress! I want to polish it but it might take some time until it’s in an optimal state, and time do we have since Arena is staying semi-permanent for the foreseeable future (finally a good decision by our beloved game’s company).
If you have any suggestions or if you’ve found a hidden op strat, let me know.

Details mostly included for S and A tiers. B tier augments are overall decent but not the best (but you might want one to supplement your build, so keep that in mind). C tier is mostly unprocc-able or close-to-zero value for Taric (except for very specific situations), and D is straight up a no for me.

Prismatic Augments



Gold Augments


S Tier:
All for you: a no brainer
Bread and cheese: the only bread you should get, it sets your permastun.
Critical healing: IMO one of the (if not THE) best augments for Taric. Add Rite of Ruin and Moonstone Renewer for insane shielding and healing.
Dark Blessing: very easy to stack and you get free AH from healing. Most value if paired with more curses
Deathtouch: Slightly less valuable than Dark Blessing but you get twice the damage it offers. Also stack it twice as fast. Should be paired with another curse
Die another day: allows you to combo with your ult for ~6.5 seconds of invulnerability while also giving you a window to attack your enemies and heal. Requires a good timing though (You should ult halfway through Die Another Day for a seamless transition)
Impassable: Great rune combo for taric
It’s critical: sets up for Rite of Ruin and any crit augment.
Parasitic relationship: Can set up an (almost) infinite healing chain with Knight’s Vow and Moonstone Renewer.
Quest: Angel of Retribution: Virtually you get x4 the original value of the augment (, and it combos great with Blossoming Dawn
We’ll Be Right Back: similar to Die another day, just in this case you use this after your ult. Allows you to reposition while enemies are invulnerable so you can set up your stun.

A tier
Apex inventor: Useful for shaping your build with certain items such as Fimbulwinter, Sheen items, some specific Prismatic items, maybe even Heartseel
Banner of command: great buff for early if your ally’s lacking. Overall useful
Celestial body: fine
Combo master: you could use phase rush for E > 2AA procs then run away
Defensive maneuvers: safe pick
Demon’s dance: Allows you to stack health and improves your kiting.
Divine Intervention: A less optimal version of die another day, still worth it.
Flashy: More mobility and also allows you to set up a stun for squishy mobile targets.
Holy fire: great against champs that outtank you, overall good for providing extra damage (that can be insane with the right supp set up)
Perseverance: Sustain is never a bad option
Rabble Rousing: Free healing (that you can amplify with multiple, stacking augments and items)
Recursion: 60 AH can help you get closer to perma stun, specially if your build is focusing on other stats.
Shrink Ray: no need to explain
Willing Sacrifice: great with support and tanky builds along squishy allies.
Demon’s dance: decent
Die another day: Great for setting up your own R, giving you extra invul time
Ethereal weapon: if your build has onhit effects sure
Firebrand: only if you’re having a tough time against heavy tanks
Holy fire: also easy to stack, my favorite curse
Impassable: great for cc
It’s critical: if you wanna go navori’s + the ap crit item
Oathsworn: good for setting up you ally
Parasitic relationships: good if your ally has lots of damage, better if you already have something like spirit link or knight’s vow
Perseverance: not bad, not the best
Angel of retribution: a great pick for attack speed based builds, you can pair this with Sword of blossoming etc for insane healing
Rabble rousing: fine
Scopier weapons: see scoopiest weapons
Willing sacrifice: good for squishy allies


Silver Augments


S Tier
Buff buddies: Blue buff alone is worth one item slot for Taric with his heavy mana usage. Forget about rushing mana and go straight to your build
Deft: 120% attack speed lol
Desecrator: Most Curse augments work great with Taric’s kit spammability, get them all if you have the change. This one is perfect for a perma stun build
First aid kid: logic pick for healer builds
Guilty Pleasure: obvious synergy with Taric
Mind to matter: free health, better if you’re stacking mana (which you might most of the time)
Numb to pain: Become unkillable
Ocean Soul: Great but slightly below buff buddies
Snowball fight: ARAM mode
Sonic Boom: supplementary damage, great with stacking heals (moonstone, blossoming dawn, rite of ruin)
Tormentor: Similar to sonic boom but for perma stun builds
Typhoon: Extra damage from your on-hit passive, you can stack more effects on top of it like Iceborn Gauntlet, Blossoming Dawn or the On-hit curse. Great but supplemental

A Tier
Contract Killer: good for getting an early lead
Erosion: Easily proccable, if your ally needs more damage (or you’re the damage)
Frost Wraith: great for high mobility or invisible enemies. Overall good for ensuring your e hits.
Homeguard: speed
Light ‘em up: you procc it every two autos most of the times.
Mountain soul: shield
Slap Around: Easily stackable, great for perma stun builds
Slime Time: makes sense to me
Tank Engine: early pick
Tank it or Leave it: Insanely good but dependant on whether you’re going crit.
Witchful Thinking: +70 AP WILL help you.

Prismatic Items

Cloak of Starry Night
Good against heavy AP and strong spell spammers (Ryze, Cassiopeia, Corki, etc)

Cruelty
Good choice if your teammate lacks damage, this item does numbers.

Empyrean Promise
I only recommend this item if you're going as a healing tank and your teammate is tanky/a healer as well, such as a "survive the fire ring" composition (ex: Karma, Poppy, Alistar).

Eleisa's Miracle
A great item for sustain and a more heal-oriented build. Best paired with Fimbulwinter, Moonstone and Blossoming Dawn.

Darksteel Talons
Great agaisnt AD compositions, and pretty good overall, since all its stats benefit Taric. Can be used for both on-hit and tanky builds.

Flesheater
Not bad if enemies are stacking resistances and paired with on-hit multipliers, although other items are better.

Force of Entropy

Great item for when you want to be annoying and not let the enemy move. Pair this with Fimbulwinter, Navori and Rite of Ruin for maximun fun (and a perma-stun)

Gambler's Blade
If you're feeling lucky, sure. I've made over 6k a couple of games with this item, but it's pretty unreliable since this lacks the resistances other prismatics offer you. Better used when your teammate is stronger during early so you can scale safely and get a second prismatic.

Hamstringer

Only use this if you can weave auto attacks and kite. Works well with crit items and AA area extensions.

Innervating Locket

If the enemies are heavy on sustained DPS and lack immediate burst, it's a solid choice for surviving very extended fights, plus the AP amplifies your healing.

Lightning Rod

This is basically Volibear's W. Tried it once and it worked pretty well, but it's a bit hard to time well your E stun with when the item procs, so it's a bit unreliable.


Moonflair Spellblade

The bug between Taric and the trascendence passive has been partly fixed and now this item's passive correctly refreshes Taric's Q cooldown, so this is now a good choice. Best paired with Fimbulwinter so you can spam your spells for longer.

Reality Fracture

Not the worst, not the best either. Only go this if there are no better items.

Reverberation

A perfect item for Taric, it synergises with all of his best items. Build Fimbulwinter, Blossoming Dawnn and Guinsoos for on-hit healing, perma-cc and constant shielding, becoming practically immortal. The AS to HP ratio is great as well.

Runecarver

A worse version of Cruelty for Taric. Still decent for a more damage-oriented build.

Sanguine Gift

Decent pick for a Moonstone build.

Shield of Molten Stone

Great for heavy AD and auto atacker enemies. Good for tanky builds, since Taric has an armor multiplier that can also be applied to his ally. Build with stacking resistances (Iceborn, Thornmail, Jak'Sho)

Other Items

Anathema's Chain

Good pick if you're getting focused and the enemy has absurd damage.

Hellfire Hatchet

A weird but effective item if you're going on-hit. Specially good against unkillable tanks and Heartsteel stackers. Goes well paired with Death's Dance.

Sundered Sky

Not the best stat wise, but provides nice sustain during longer fights.

Sword of Blossoming Dawn

A great item for Taric. It allows you to heal on hit, which doubles your healing power and allows you to keep squishier allies alive for longer. You can further amplify your healing with Moonstone for self-healing on hit as well. This is my go-to third item most games.

The Golden Spatula

Sure, why not.

Heartsteel

Do not buy Heartsteel.

It's okay if you're impressed. The Protector was too.

Hello, I'm a League player since Season 6, specifically since Taric's rework was launched. His outrageouness caught me and I'm a Taric main ever since. I have played him in support, top and jungle throughout the different seasons and metas, and I think I have adquired a pretty decent understanding of the champion. Arena allows Taric's unique playstyle to shine both in the way the game works and also thanks to the new items it adds. I have been playing Taric in Arena a lot, and I currently hold a 63% winrate with him.

This guide is a work in progress. It is my first ever guide so bear with me while I perfect it, and as all things in League it is subject to change. Any and all suggestions are welcome.