Varus is one of the best rangers—if not the best ranger—in Teamfight Tactics. His ultimate ability allows him to do incredible amounts of damage to not just one but several enemy champions, and because of that any items that allow him to use his ability more regularly are OP. Give the items below a try on Varus and you’ll see what I mean:
Although we say Rapid Firecannon, Spear of Shojin, and Guinsoo’s Rageblade are the best items for Varus, that doesn’t mean that the other items aren’t any good. Almost any items that increase attack speed or damage are good as well as some mana items.
Let’s take a look at each item in more detail:
Rapid Firecannon: When equipped this will provide Varus with double attack range (which is essentially the whole board), un-dodgeable attacks (is that even a word?), and 40% attack speed.
Guinsoo’s Rageblade: When equipped it provides 20% attack speed, 20% spell damage, and an extra 5% attack speed per attack (stacks indefinitely).
Spear of Shojin: When equipped it provides Varus with +20 attack damage, +20 mana, and also grants 15% of the max mana back when Varus’s ability is used.
Combining these three items means Varus increases his attack speed by 60%, + 5% per attack, his attack damage by 20%, and his mana by 20. The end product will mean Varus gains his first ability quickly and subsequent abilities even quicker thanks to the Spear of Shojin buff, which means only one thing for the other team – death.
Other Items
Although these items would be nice to get every time, they’re not guaranteed so it’s always good to have a backup plan. Varus also performs well when you stack him with damage (and a little attack speed/mana) and the items below provide just that:
Statikk Shiv: This is a good replacement for the Spear of Shojin as it provides attack speed plus mana (this will be your mana item), it also hits all enemies for 100 damage on every third attack which is useful.
Infinity Edge: Although this item doesn’t provide attack speed it does provide a hell of a lot of damage (+40 increase). It also increases the power of your critical hits from 150% to 200% so if you’re going a damage build rather than a speed build this item is key.
Bloodthirster: Everyone’s favourite LoL AD item is just as good in Teamfight Tactics. As with LoL, it provides attack damage (+20), magic resist (+20) and also heals Varus for 40% of damage dealt, which adds quite a bit of sustainability especially when you’re putting together attack damage.
Hextech Gunblade: This is another good item for a damage build, but instead of just increasing attack damage (+20) it also increases spell power by 20% which is perfect for Varus as his ability is a beast. The Gunblade also heals for 25% of damage done which adds some sustainability. This is a bit less then the Bloodthirster, but the Gunblade provides spell power over magic resist, which is better for a ranger.
Zeke’s Herald: This is a strange pick because it’s usually used on support or tank champions, but if you’re running a ranger build (which is my favourite) you’ll usually have your tanks at the front with rangers bringing up the rear, which means this item wouldn’t buff your rangers should you put it on one of your tanks. The reason it can be a good item for Varus is because you can either choose to stack your Vayne or Varus; if you choose to stack Vayne then you should put this on to Varus and vice versa. So, to really max out Varus, get this on one of your other rangers and plonk it right in the middle so it buffs Varus and another ranger (it provides 15% attack speed to champions to the left and right of the wearer).
So, there we have it, how to build an OP Varus. Have you tried it yet? Think you have a better build? Let us know in the comments.
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