Guide to playing Varus in League of Legends pre-season 2023

A brief guide for Varus in League of Legends (Image via Riot Games)
A brief guide for Varus in League of Legends (Image via Riot Games)

Varus is one of the stock standard ADC champions that players can pick up in League of Legends pre-season 2023. He is a proper marksman ADC who can deal massive damage but lacks mobility.

While he is easy to play with, newer players might benefit from learning a few aspects of his kit and item build that will give them an added advantage in the summoner's rift. Hence, a brief guide to Varus has been provided in this article that covers every basic aspect of his gameplay in League of Legends.

Varus is a very strong unit, but does rely a lot on getting farm. He is a champion who loves to scale, which means players should always have the late game in mind when it comes to Varus.


Rune Path, Item build, and gameplay tips for Varus in League of Legends pre-season 2023

Varus is what one would call a poke champion in League of Legends. His most important skill is the Q ability that players will spam consistently to deal massive damage.

The Q ability needs to be charged for a second to obtain maximum damage and target penetration. The longer the game goes, the stronger this Q ability becomes.

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If players build full lethality, a maximum charged Q can one shot squishy supports. Obviously, it is not recommended, as going full lethality will be fruitless against compositions that have tanky champions.

In any case, it is time to focus on the rune path and other aspects involving Varus' build in League of Legends.


Rune Path

Varus Rune Path for pre-season 2023 (Image via Riot Games)
Varus Rune Path for pre-season 2023 (Image via Riot Games)

Primary Rune (Precision): Lethal Tempo, Triumph, Legend: Alacrity, Coup de Grace

Secondary Rune (Domination): Taste of Blood, Treasure Hunter

Varus relies a lot on attack speed. He must finish off the enemies while they are stunned under his ultimate. This is something that gets taken care of by Lethal Tempo.

The secondary runes further help to boost his damage by a significant amount.


Item Build

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The item build for Varus in League of Legends pre-season 2023 is as follows:

  • Immortal Shieldbow
  • Guinsoo's Rageblade
  • Runaan's Hurricane
  • Bloodthirster
  • Wit's End
  • Berserker's Greaves

If players notice, the mythic for Varus is a defensive item rather than being offensive. Immortal Shieldbow is extremely important as the shield it provides can come in clutch if he gets jumped on.

Players can go for Kraken Slayer, but it will be very risky and will make Varus glass cannon. The rest of the items enhance his damage potential as much as possible for the late game.

Players can even build a Guardian Angel instead of Wit's End if they feel an extra safety mechanism is necessary.


Gameplay Tips

The idea behind Varus's Q ability was already discussed earlier. However, there is much more to his kit than just that. His W ability deals additional magic damage and creates blight stacks on the enemy in League of Legends.

Those blight stacks can be detonated when another one of Varus's abilities hits the target. If players use the Q ability after activating the W, the former deals even greater damage.

Varus's E ability is a way to harass the enemy. It deals significant damage, especially in the early game. Lastly, his ultimate is a root ability that can catch multiple targets if launched properly.

It is very powerful and can change the course of a fight in an instant. Ideally, players will level up the Q and W first, followed by his E ability. R ability should be leveled up whenever it is available.

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