Varus

The Arrow of Retribution

Marksman / Mage · Mana · Ranged

About

Varus, the Arrow of Retribution, is a marksman and mage champion who uses Mana as a resource and attacks at range. Their kit focuses on physical damage.

On the official scale, difficulty is 2 out of 10: a champion easy to learn and good for beginners.

Compared with other champions, Varus starts with average HP (600), below average armor (24) and average move speed (330). Attack range is 575 units.

Varus has 15 skins besides the default look.

Difficulty

Attack7

Defense3

Magic4

Difficulty2

Abilities

Passive · 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: 16/15/14/13/12s · Cost: 50/55/60/65/70
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: 40s
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: 18/16/14/12/10s · Cost: 90
R (Ultimate) · 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: 100/80/60s · Cost: 100

Tips for playing 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.

Tips for 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.

Base stats

HP: 600 (+105 per level)
Mana: 320 (+40 per level)
Armor: 24 (+4 per level)
Magic resist: 33 (+1.1 per level)
Attack damage: 59
Attack speed: 0.658 (+3.5 per level)
Move speed: 330
Range: 575

Lore

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. Varus now seeks out those who trapped him, in order to enact his brutal vengeance, but the mortal souls within still resist him every step of the way.