Marksman

Varus

The Arrow of Retribution

One of the ancient darkin, Varus was a deadly killer who loved to torment his foes, driving them almost to insanity before delivering the killing arrow. He was imprisoned at the end of the Great Darkin War, but escaped centuries later in the remade flesh of two Ionian hunters—they had unwittingly released him, cursed to bear the bow containing his bound essence.Read the full story on Riot's Universe site

See Varus guides Write a guide for Varus

P
Living Vengeance
Q
Piercing Arrow
W
Blighted Quiver
E
Hail of Arrows
R
Chain of Corruption

Varus

Overview

On patch 16.21, Varus is rated C tier in the bot lane, winning 48% of 2,944 ranked games with a 3% pick rate. The most successful build this patch runs Lethal Tempo with Flash and Barrier and builds Statikk Shiv, Guinsoo's Rageblade, Terminus, and Boots.

Varus struggles most against Sivir (33.3%), Veigar (36.4%), and Smolder (38.7%) and does best against Yunara (62.1%), Samira (57.3%), and Zeri (55.6%).

Ranked solo/duo · patch 16.21 · 2,944 games · updated Nov 1, 2026 · How we calculate

48%

Win rate

Pick rate

2.9K

Games

16.21

Patch

Playing as Varus

An early point in Blighted Quiver helps harass enemy champions and get killing blows on minions.
During short range fights it's sometimes best to fire Piercing Arrow quickly, rather than charging it to full power.
Try to take advantage of Piercing Arrow's very long range to snipe at enemy champions before a fight or as they're trying to flee.

Playing against Varus

If you are affected by Blight, Varus' abilities will deal extra damage to you.
When he gets a kill or assist, Varus temporarily gains Attack Speed and is much more dangerous.
You'll get bound in place if a tendril from Varus' ultimate, Chain of Corruption, reaches you. You can cause the tendril to die however by running far enough away from it.

Guides

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Matchups

All Varus matchups

Strong against

Yunara62.1%58
Samira57.3%124
Zeri55.6%27
Jhin54.1%266
Kai'Sa51.4%259

Weak against

Sivir33.3%21
Veigar36.4%22
Smolder38.7%31
Ashe39.1%92
Kalista40.5%42

Abilities

P
Living Vengeance
On kill or assist, Varus temporarily gains Attack Damage and Ability Power. 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.
Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12Cost: 50/55/60/65/70Range: 925
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.
Cooldown: 40Cost: 0Range: 750
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.
Cooldown: 18/16/14/12/10Cost: 90Range: 925
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.
Cooldown: 100/80/60Cost: 100Range: 1300