Hi! I'm
ifound1dollar, a
Diamond
Vayne main in North America (spoiler: this isn't a
Vayne guide). I really enjoy making in-depth guides, so here's one for
Varus!
This is my in-depth guide to on-hit
Varus. I hope you learn a thing or two!
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This is the standard ability sequence for
Varus. You'll want to start off with a point in either
Hail of Arrows for the Grievous Wounds effect or
Piercing Arrow for the longer range and higher damage. Level 2 you can get either Q or E, depending on which you started. At level 3 you should get a point in W. You should almost always max
Piercing Arrow first, as it's a very strong poke tool and allows you to farm from a distance. If you're building
AD, you'll probably want to max
Hail of Arrows second, but if you're building
AP, it's best to max
Blighted Quiver second instead. Max
Blighted Quiver last if building
AD, and
Hail of Arrows last if building
AP. A point in
Chain of Corruption should be taken at levels 6, 11, and 16.
Passive: Living Vengeance
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Cost: None
Cooldown: None
Range: Self
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On champion kill or assist, Varus gains 30% bonus Attack Speed for 5 seconds.
On minion or monster kill, Varus gains 15% Attack Speed for 5 seconds.
This ability actually plays a big part in Varus' kit when building on-hit. It's what allows him to DPS as much as possible and pop off in a teamfight after getting just one kill or assist.
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Q: Piercing Arrow
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Cost: 70/75/80/85/90 Mana
Cooldown: 20/18/16/14/12s
Range: 925-1625
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Varus starts drawing back his next shot, gradually increasing its range and damage, then he fires it, dealing minimum 10/47/83/120/157 (+1 per Attack Damage) to maximum 15/70/125/180/235 (+1.25/1.3/1.35/1.4/1.45 per Attack Damage) Physical Damage, reduced by 15% per enemy hit (minimum 33%).
While preparing to shoot, Varus cannot auto attack or use abilities, and his Movement Speed is slowed by 20%. After 4 seconds, Piercing Arrow fails but refunds half its Mana cost.
Piercing Arrow’s damage and Blight stacks detonated scale up to 50% bonus damage based on how long the ability is charged.
Piercing Arrow is Varus' long-ranged poke/execute ability, and a tool to farm from a distance. It's very important to land at all stages of the game, as it detonates Blight, even when not charged up to max. It's also a great poke tool - try to hit an enemy champion directly with it in the laning phase, as it'll deal a large chunk of damage to the first target hit.
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W: Blighted Quiver
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Cost: None
Cooldown: 40s
Range: Self
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Passive: Varus' basic attacks deal 7/8/9/10/11 (+0.25 per Ability Power) bonus Magic Damage and apply Blight for 6 seconds (stacks 3 times).
Varus's other abilities detonate Blight, dealing Magic Damage equal to 3/3.5/4/4.5/5% (+2% of Ability Power) of the target's maximum Health per stack. This damage is capped at 360 against monsters. If the target is an enemy champion or epic monster, Varus's basic cooldowns are decreased by 12% per Blight stack detonated.
Active: Varus next Piercing Arrow deals additional damage equal to 6/8/10/12/14% of the target's missing Health. Damage is increased by up to 50% (to 9/12/15/18/21% missing Health) based on charge time. The damage is capped at 360 against monsters.
Blighted Quiver is the most important part of Varus' kit when building on-hit; it's why he synergizes so well with Guinsoo's Rageblade. The double on-hit passive of the item can apply full stacks of the ability on targets in just two auto attacks, and deals more bonus Magic Damage as well. It's important to get as many stacks of this ability on your enemy as possible, as the % max Health damage is quite strong, especially when building AP.
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E: Hail of Arrows
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Cost: 80 Mana
Cooldown: 18/16/14/12/10s
Range: 925
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Varus fires a hail of arrows that deals 60/100/140/180/220 (+0.6 per bonus Attack Damage) Physical Damage and desecrate the ground. Desecrated ground slows enemies' Movement Speed by 25/30/35/40/45% for .25 seconds and reduces their healing and regeneration by 50%. The slow duration is refreshed if enemies stay within the zone.
This ability is Varus' most reliable way to detonate Blight. It has a decently sized hitbox, and a pretty quick travel time, making it near impossible to dodge without using a dash or blink. It's also his source of Grievous Wounds, which can mean the difference between winning or losing a 2v2 in lane. It's important to time this ability well, as you'll want to negate the enemy ADC's Summoner Heal.
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R: Chain of Corruption
RUNE STATS
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OFFENSE
+10% Attack Speed
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FLEX
+9 Adaptive Force (5.4 AD)
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DEFENSE
+6 Armor or +8 Magic Resist
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PRIMARY TREE
PRECISION
Lethal Tempo
Lethal Tempo grants you bonus
Attack Speed for 3-6 seconds after damaging an enemy champion. This synergizes very well with
Varus, as the on-hit build greatly benefits from higher, uncapped
Attack Speed.
Fleet Footwork is another option.
Varus has a relatively weak laning phase, so the sustain from this rune can help him survive in lane, at the cost of a little less damage late game.
Press the Attack can also be useful on occasion, but
Lethal Tempo is much more consistent.
Conqueror is a rune best designed for bruisers, and therefore doesn't really work well with
Varus.
Triumph
Triumph heals you for 12% of your current
Health and grants 20 bonus gold on a takedown. This can be the difference between life and death in skirmishes and teamfights, so it's always a safe option.
Overheal is another option, because can be useful when running
Fleet Footwork or when paired with a healing support like
Soraka.
Presence of Mind is a very niche option, but doesn't really work with most attack-based marskmen.
Legend: Alacrity
Out of the 3 'Legend' options,
Legend: Alacrity is the best option for any marksman, as they rely heavily on
Attack Speed.
Legend: Bloodline can sometimes be useful, but when building
AP it's almost completely useless.
Legend: Tenacity isn't a viable option because as a marksman,
Varus doesn't rely on tenacity.
Coup de Grace
Coup de Grace is a very well-rounded, consistent option for basically any carry, since it deals bonus damage to enemies below 40%
Health. However,
Cut Down is definitely a viable option when facing tanky champions, and can synergize very well with
Blighted Quiver.
Last Stand grants quite a bit of bonus damage, but it's very inconsistent. As a marksman, you shouldn't rely on being low
Health to deal damage.
SECONDARY TREE
INSPIRATION
Magical Footwear
Magical Footwear grants free boots after 12 minutes (reduced by 45s per takedown), and grants a bonus 10
Movement Speed. This is a safe option for any champion who isn't running
Predator, as a free 300g item is always beneficial. However,
Perfect Timing can also be a good option. It can help defend against and pull off dives, or negate a champion like
Zed's burst.
Hextech Flashtraption is designed for playmaking champions, and won't have much use for a marksman.
Biscuit Delivery
Cosmic Insight
The third
Inspiration tree is a little lackluster for most marksmen. While
Cosmic Insight can be slightly beneficial because of the reduced
Summoner Spell cooldowns, it's really not a great option for an attack-based marksman.
Approach Velocity is basically useless, because you won't benefit much from moving faster towards movement impaired units as
Varus.
Time Warp Tonic is another rune that's designed for certain champions and playstyles, and doesn't do much for
Varus.
SORCERY
 Details
Nullifying Orb
Nullifying Orb can really help when facing poke supports and/or heavy Magic Damage comps. It provides a Magic Damage shield when you fall below a Health threshold, which can be the difference between life and death. Manaflow Band doesn't have much use on Varus because he doesn't really rely on Mana. Nimbus Cloak is very situational, and isn't a good option for most marksmen.
Absolute Focus
Absolute Focus can sometimes be useful on Varus because he's able to deal damage while above 70% Health, but it's not at all consistent. Celerity isn't a good option because bonus Movement Speed isn't that useful for Varus. Transcendence isn't a really useful option either, as he doesn't get much benefit from 10% bonus CDR.
Gathering Storm
Gathering Storm is crucial for any late game scaling champion. It grants infinitely stacking adaptive stats, which becomes very strong after 30 minutes. Scorch isn't very useful on any marksman because it's designed for champions that poke with abilities. Waterwalking is a very underwhelming and inconsistent rune, and shouldn't be taken.
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ITEMS WIP
AD On-Hit Build:
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WIP!
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WIP!
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WIP!
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WIP!
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WIP!
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WIP!
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AP On-Hit Build:
I'm extremely greatful for jhoijhoi's
Making A Guide, because without it, I wouldn't have been able to create this guide.
If you liked the guide, feel free to vote and/or leave a comment or suggestion!
Feel free to check out my other guides:
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November 27, 2020 (Patch 10.24)

Spoiler: Click to view
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- Updated 'Abilities' chapter (Q and W change)
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November 11, 2020 (Patch 10.23)

Spoiler: Click to view
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- Updated item build (preseason changes)
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September 30, 2020

Spoiler: Click to view
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- Updated 'Abilities' chapter (updated E and R with patch 10.20 buffs)
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July 13, 2020

Spoiler: Click to view
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- Updated 'Abilities' chapter
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April 30, 2020

Spoiler: Click to view
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- Updated 'Pros/Cons' chapter
- Rewrote 'Abilities' chapter
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- Rewrote 'Runes' chapter
- Updated Item build and Runes
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April 15, 2020

Spoiler: Click to view
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- Updated 'Abilities' chapter
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November 20, 2019

Spoiler: Click to view
August 20, 2019

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- Updated 'Thanks!' chapter
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- Fixed broken icons in 'Runes'
- Adjusted secondary Runes
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June 4, 2019

Spoiler: Click to view
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- Redesigned 'Abilities' chapter
- Adjusted hyperlinks
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- Redesigned 'Runes' chapter
- Adjusted 'Pros/Cons' chapter
- Updated Rune information
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February 6, 2019

Spoiler: Click to view
January 24, 2019

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January 9, 2019

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December 9, 2018

Spoiler: Click to view
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- Created Guide
- Added 'Introduction' chapter
- Added 'Runes' chapter
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- Added 'Pros/Cons' chapter
- Added 'Abilities' chapter
- Added 'Items' chapter
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