Varus: The Rising Star of League of Legends
Varus has become increasingly popular in recent months in both ranked play and professional matches on Summoner’s Rift. According to Games of Legends, he was picked 19 times at the 2022 World Championship, making him the third most-picked ADC at the tournament.
One of Varus’ biggest strengths is his safe laning phase. With his long-range spells and strong scaling into the late game, he can deal both physical and magical damage, making it difficult for enemies to itemize effectively against him.
One of the key advantages of playing Varus is his flexible itemization. Depending on the enemy team composition, you can build him with different items and rune setups. Understanding when to choose one build over another is crucial for success on the Rift.
Best Varus Builds in League
Runes
Lethal Tempo Varus
With this rune setup, you want to maximize attack speed to quickly stack Varus’ W passive. Lethal Tempo provides strong early-game trading and teamfighting ability.
Precision
– Lethal Tempo: This rune is ideal for Varus when he can attack freely.
– Triumph: Grants Varus extra sustain after a successful takedown.
– Legend: Alacrity: Increases Varus’ attack speed for better scaling.
– Last Stand: Amplifies Varus’ damage when he’s low on health.
Domination
– Taste of Blood: Provides sustain in the early game.
– Treasure Hunter: Accelerates Varus’ item buildup by granting bonus gold.
Hail of Blades AP Varus
This rune setup is focused on bursting down single targets. Hail of Blades allows Varus to quickly stack his passive and burst down enemies.
Domination
– Hail of Blades: Enables Varus to quickly apply three stacks and burst down enemies.
– Taste of Blood: Provides sustain in the early game.
– Eyeball Collection: Grants bonus attack damage or ability power based on takedowns.
– Ultimate Hunter: Reduces the cooldown of Varus’ ultimate for more frequent use.
Sorcery
– Absolute Focus: Increases Varus’ damage when above 70% health.
– Gathering Storm: Compensates for late-game damage with additional adaptive force.
Poke Lethality Varus
This build focuses on lethality and armor penetration to deal damage from a distance.
Sorcery
– Arcane Comet: Adds extra damage to Varus’ Q ability.
– Manaflow Band: Grants Varus additional mana to sustain his poke.
– Transcendence: Increases Varus’ ability haste for more spell rotations.
– Scorch: Deals extra damage in the early game.
Inspiration
– Magical Footwear: Saves gold and grants movement speed to the immobile Varus.
– Cosmic Insight: Reduces the cooldowns of Varus’ summoner spells and items.
Items
Lethal Tempo – Hail of Blades Varus
Doran’s Blade is the most common starting item for attack speed Varus. It provides attack damage and sustain for trades in lane. Rush the Noonquiver on your first recall.
The core items for Varus include Immortal Shieldbow for lifesteal and survivability and Guinsoo’s Rageblade for increased damage output. Runaan’s Hurricane is valuable for teamfighting.
Off-meta build: AP Varus
AP Varus is a new and unconventional build that utilizes ability power scaling. Rush Nashor’s Tooth for attack speed and ability power, and pair it with Sorcerer’s Shoes for magic penetration. Consider Zhonya’s Hourglass for defense.
Finish the build with Rabadon’s Deathcap for maximum burst damage or Shadowflame for faster burst on squishy targets. Guardian Angel can be situationally useful for survival.
Conclusion
Varus is a versatile champion in League of Legends, offering multiple build options to adapt to different situations. Whether you prefer attack speed, lethality, or AP, Varus can be a powerful pick on the Rift.
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