The Ultimate Ap Varus Guide (Edited For S6, 700+ Games)

I'll approach build options in two ways. First, I'll talk about what the build order you should take is and why. Second, I'll talk about why other options are sub-optimal.

The best build order and why

Before the change to his ult, you had to rush an attack speed item on AP Varus, but now you're free to take something more defensive first. If you're playing against anyone bursty in mid lane, Rod of ages is still your best choice. This wouldn't occur to most people and most people wonder why not Nashor's or Rageblade? The answer is Rod of Ages gives you everything you need at an amazing cost efficient price to make you powerful quicker.

The catalyst you build first gives you good health and mana sustain throughout the laning phase. Since you're maxing Q first and poking is a major part of your early game plan, you need mana sustain - but you don't want to buy something like Morello's because you don't need the sustain past laning phase and it doesn't give you the other thing you desperately need early - help staying alive vs burst mages, assassin's, and champs that will dive you. The flat health and extra healing is highly effective in keeping you healthy and from being burst or assassinated.

Rod of Ages is usually all you need to stay alive through the early and much of the mid game and has the mana sustain you'll need to poke nearly every time your Q comes off cooldown. If you're against a bursty champ, it will help you win more consistently than any other starting item.

The recent changes to the item were great, and it's an extremely strong first item on Varus now since he uses both the AD and AP so well. Now that it heals on your blight, it's also on AP Varus for sustain. It's probably Varus' strongest first item - if you get good at using its active.

My heavy recommendation is whenever you're playing Varus, get used to jumping in the options at the very beginning of the game while still standing on the fountain. Then change your W key to an item slot that you will put Gunblade in. This allows you to treat its active like one of your normal core abilities on the W key (since he doesn't have a W skill). This also frees up whatever you normally use for an item button for something like Zhonya's without getting confused over too many actives.

One other note - Gunblade is a great starting item, but not as great to buy later. It's great as a starting item because it makes your Q's hurt longer and your opponent might buy armor early since you can build the Bilgewater Cutlass first. However, I find it's hard to fit in your build if you don't build it first because later in the game, you'll need to build reactionary with semi-defensive items, magic pen, or a Rabadon's Deathcap once you get enough AP.

Sorcerer's Shoes (more on why below).

5. Build reactively

Last, I build according to the game. Do I need to melt tanks or juggernauts? Get Rabadon's Deathcap and Void Staff. Do I have enough AP damage at the moment but want to improve my teamfighting? Get a Runaan's Hurricane. Do I need to protect myself from getting assassinated? Get Zhonya's Hourglass and Guardian Angel or a different resistance item. Do I need to protect myself from getting burst? Get Abyssal Mask, Banshee's Veil, or even a Maw of Malmortius (you don't have to go all AP after all). Don't be afraid to get a purely defensive item last, especially if you're clearly the largest damage threat on your team and are getting targeted - you'll have enough damage already and it will help you stay in the fight to do more damage overall.

The following notes will help you know what to build when:

Offensive Choices

These items are pure offensive. I get them when I feel I need damage or can get away with not building defensively at all. Always get Void Staff before Deathcap unless it's your 5th or 6th item and you have plenty of AP. Void Staff normally outdamages Deathcap in the short run, but Deathcap outdamages Void Staff late game when you get to full build. Get both if you really need to melt a fed tank.

Runaan's is an amazing item for maximizing your damage in teamfights. I stayed away from it for a while after they lowered the AS and added Crit, but I've been building it again lately and finding it quite effective still. I normally get this 5th if I don't need an immediate defensive item.

I almost never get this item anymore even though it synergizes so well with AP Varus' kit. The reason why is the other 3 pure offensive items on the list will end up giving you a little more damage, and CDR is no longer as hard to come by. I'd only buy a Lich Bane now if I wasn't max CDR and I needed the movement speed, such as against a Juggernaut.

Defensive Choices

Get this when you need armor or its active. Look to see if an AD champ is fed on the other team or if they have someone you need to counter their ult (like a Fizz or a Zed) or to counter their dives (like a Vi).

Get this when the opponent has an AP champ that's fed or you feel threatened by an AP champ.

This is a great item on AP Varus if you can get used to using its active on top of whatever other actives you might have (Gunblade, Zhonya's). Buy this when you need health to counter champs with true damage or mixed damage. The active is also great on immobile Varus and can help you surprise people with a dash ult or jump away from someone that dives you.

Late Game Super Defensive Choices

Get these only as a last item or possibly 5th if you really need it. Don't buy more than one.

Great when you're against champs that you need to block one really important ability (Ashe, Blitz, etc.) or just burst mages in general. If you're finding yourself getting one shot, pick this up late.

Buy this if none of the other defensive items are going to save you and your team is grouping up. It's a great Armor item too if you really need armor and you already have a Zhonya's. You're a pretty bad target for an assassin if you have both a Zhonya's and a GA.

Buy this if you really need the active. You can still use the AD and the active could save your life. You can also buy the Quicksilver Sash early and only upgrade to the Scimitar at the end of the game.

This is an option if you already bought an Abyssal Scepter and feel like you need just that extra bit of defense against a burst mage. You can also buy the Hexdrinker early and only upgrade to the Maw of Malmortius at the end of the game.

What not to build and why

Rageblade is not a bad item on AP Varus. If you want to have some fun and try it, get it first with the pickaxe as your first buy. This will trick the enemy into buying armor and give you better poke early. Rageblade also gives you better waveclear and a little better DPS in teamfights if you can stack it. If you do get it, always get Nashor's immediately afterwards.

So why not buy it? Because it doesn't give you what you need early game to really win the lane (mana sustain for poke, health sustain and health if you need to counter burst and assassins). It leaves you too squishy for too long in the game. There will be times you can get away with it, but you won't be near as consistent and will die much faster in teamfights and to assassins. In addition, it limits your later buys since you filled one of your slots with Rageblade, will need to buy resistances later, and deathcap and void staff would both help you do more damage later, even on your auto attacks.

Also not a bad path, but it has the same weaknesses somewhat as Rageblade - no mana sustain, health sustain, or resistances for laning phase and afterwards. Plus, you'll do more damage with a Hextech Gunblade first. A Nashor's first does at least open your build up a little. You can get a resistance item second for example if you need it.

This is actually what I'd recommend against AP champs if Rod of Ages didn't exist. It gives great damage and resistances. The only reason I don't take it is it doesn't offer the mana or health sustain that really makes your laning phase powerful.

Also what I'd recommend against AD opponents if Rod of Ages didn't exist, but I don't for the same reasons I don't take Abyssal first.

I used to buy this item all the time against AP mids before the change to his ult, when attack speed was more important, but now I almost never do. It does work well with AP Varus. It has a nice defensive aspect to it, attack speed and on-hit damage which is nice, and increases your damage with every auto attack, which you're going to be doing anyway. Things changed though with his ult buff. Now you lead with your ult and do a large portion of your damage before you ever auto attack, meaning it does hardly anything for your damage until at least the teamfight stage where you're going to be auto attacking more. For the most part, there are just better items than Wit's End now, such as an Abyssal Mask, which gives more damage and more defensive stats. If you want to try it, the only time I'd suggest getting it would be as a 6th item if you already purchased an Abyssal Scepter and still felt threatened by an AP champ, but Banshee's Veil might be a better buy then. If you had to go Boots of Swiftness over Berserker's Greaves, you could also consider it as a last item.

Luden's Echo gives you movement speed which is nice, helps with wave clear, and makes your poke hurt longer if you get it first, but it has a couple of major problems. If you don't get it first, there are much better buys at every point of the game, and it doesn't give you any mana sustain or defensive stats, which you need pretty early. The second problem is your damage will not scale near as fast as with smarter starts and games are decided so early now. There are just plain better items for AP Varus in my opinion.

Varus makes pretty good use of this with his movement impairing abilities, but there are better damage and defensive options. The biggest problem is there just isn't room normally in his build, as Rabadon's Deathcap, Void Staff, and Lich Bane will all out damage it. If you're looking to stack health for some reason, it's not a bad pick up in one of your last two slots.

The health is nice, but it's only 100 AP and the passive only adds something to his Q - plus all of his abilities are AoE. Rod of Ages is a much better item for AP Varus and I think there's better defensive options after that. Even Liandry's Anguish I think would be better with more damage and magic pen for tanks, and only 100 less health.

In all honesty, you can have fun and experiment because as long as you take AD runes and max Q first, AP Varus' builds are pretty forgiving, but in my opinion Rod of Ages or Hextech Gunblade first and the build I outlined are just plain your best option and the one you'll win most consistently with.