Combos · ADC

Varus combos

the Arrow of Retribution

3 Varus combos explained key by key: in which order to cast the abilities, when to use them and what each step does. The main combo is W › AA › AA › Q. Further down: every ability's cooldown, cost and range, and the skill max order measured over ranked games.

Varus combos

Harassment

W › AA AA › AA AA › Q

When: An enemy is within range.

Blighted Quiver empowers your next Piercing Arrow and your attacks apply Blight; abilities trigger Blight for damage based on max health.

The blighted zone

E › Q › AA AA

When: Enemies are near a chokepoint.

Hail of Arrows deals physical damage and blights the ground: movement speed, healing and regeneration are reduced.

The team engage

R › E › Q › W

When: An enemy carry is visible.

Chain of Corruption damages and roots the first champion hit and spreads to nearby uninfected champions, rooting them too.

Common mistakes

• Releasing Piercing Arrow with no charge: damage and range increase with charge.
• Not using Blight: it makes up a large part of your damage.
• Casting the ultimate without its nearby targets being caught.

Cooldowns, costs and ranges

A combo only comes back once its abilities are off cooldown: these values (rank 1 to max rank, in seconds) tell how long to wait between two combos. Source: Data Dragon 16.19.1.

Ability	Cooldown (s)	Cost	Range
Q · Piercing Arrow	16/15/14/13/12	50/55/60/65/70 Mana	925
W · Blighted Quiver	40	—	750
E · Hail of Arrows	18/16/14/12/10	90 Mana	925
R · Chain of Corruption	100/80/60	100 Mana	1300

Official ability descriptions

PassiveLiving Vengeance

On kill or assist, Varus temporarily gains Attack Damage and Ability Power. This bonus is larger if the enemy is a champion.

QPiercing Arrow

Varus readies and then fires a powerful shot that gains extra range and damage the longer he spends preparing to fire.

WBlighted 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.

EHail 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.

RChain 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.

Skill order

Max order: Q > W > E54.5% · 33 games

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Q			●	●	●		●		●
W		●						●		●		●	●
E	●													●	●
R						●					●

The order shows which abilities reach rank 5 first; the grid shows the most-played level-up sequence with that order (measured over 68 games).

Riot's official 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.

How to play around Varus's combos

• 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.

Frequently asked questions

Build, runes and counters: full Varus guide · every champion's combos · tier list