By GamGem ResearchLast updated 20 Aug 2026 · 00:00
Varus
the Arrow of Retribution
MarksmanMage
League of LegendsPatch 26.16BotRanked Solo/DuoEmerald+NA7,685 gamesSample data
Role snapshot (Bot)
- 48.8%
- Win Rate
- 1.5%
- Pick Rate
- 14.3%
- Ban Rate
7,685
Games
Low
Confidence
Matchup map (Bot) — level 1–18
Conditional build matrix
| vs AP Burst | vs AD Assassins | vs Tanks | vs Sustain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mythic / Core |   |   |   |   |
| Core 2 |   | |  |   |
| Core 3 |   |   |   |  |
| Boots |  |  |  |  |
| Situational |   |   |   |  |
Popular build
3,535 games49.2%Win Rate
Flash
IgniteReliable build
2,536 games47.9%Win Rate
Flash
TeleportHigh observed win rate
922 games51.3%Win Rate
Flash
ExhaustRunes
Primary: Sorcery
Deathfire Touch
Axiom Arcanist
Absolute Focus
Gathering Storm
Secondary: Inspiration
Cash Back
Triple Tonic
Shards
+9 Adaptive Force
+9 Adaptive Force
+10-180 Health (based on level)
Skill order
| Q | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| E | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| R | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
Ability details
Living Vengeance
On kill or assist, Varus temporarily gains Attack Damage and Ability Power. This bonus is larger if the enemy is a champion.
Passive — never cast
Piercing Arrow
Varus readies and then fires a powerful shot that gains extra range and damage the longer he spends preparing to fire.
Cost 50/55/60/65/70 ManaCooldown 16/15/14/13/12sRange 925
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.
Cost 0 ManaCooldown 40sRange 750
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.
Cost 90 ManaCooldown 18/16/14/12/10sRange 925
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.
Cost 100 ManaCooldown 100/80/60sRange 1300
Scaling — level 1–18
VarusBot average
1918
1918
1918
Counter plan — how to beat Varus
Close the gap early — it wins at range and at three items — neither before ten minutes
Dodge the primary — its rotation is one skillshot; sidestep it and the rest is chip
Punish the cooldown — Varus is exposed while its rotation is down
Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one
Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 2/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average
ARAM performance
- 53.7%
- Win Rate ▲ 0.2%
- 7.4%
- Pick Rate ▲ 4.8%
- 0.4%
- Ban Rate ▲ 3.0%
- Damage dealt
- 90.6%
- Damage taken
- 106.0%
- Healing
- 102.6%
- Shielding
- 95.5%
- Ability Haste
- +19
Best ARAM build
Patch timeline
We hold the rates, not the balance log. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.
- 26.16Live now-0.6
- 26.14Sample win rate across this patch+0.9
- 26.11Sample win rate across this patch-0.1
- 26.08Sample win rate across this patch+0.5
- 26.05Sample win rate across this patch+0.8
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Methodology
- Data window
- 512,340 games on patch 26.16, Ranked Solo/Duo, NA. Last refreshed 20 Aug 2026.
- Rank aggregation
- Emerald+ and above, pooled. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
- Role assignment
- A champion is filed under the lanes it actually plays, not the one class it belongs to — which is why several appear in two.
- Counters
- A matchup, not a tier gap: how this champion does into that one specifically, over that pairing’s own games.
- Minimum sample
- The confidence indicator beside every rate is driven by how much of the window this champion appears in. A low reading means read the figure loosely, not that it is wrong.
- Why a build is not a cause
- The best-scoring build is the one the best-placed players happened to take. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying those items caused the wins.
- Where the numbers come from
- Names, classes, lanes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates are derived samples — Riot publishes none of them, and nothing on this page presents one as measured.