Why Varus might need a buff

Arch Mage Magnus·Oct 21, 2014·24 votes·3,870 views

No mobility
Q has a 70 mana drain with a 16 second, to 14 second cooldown levels 1 and 2 - pretty high.
Ult practically does no damage, has a smaller hitbox than Morgana's Q, shorter range, and roots for a shorter duration than Morgana's Q when fully upgraded.
Ult isn't even a true root, Wu Kong can still ult and move when hit with Varus' ult for example.
His passive kicks in when a champion is dead. Instead a passive should be needed that helps get a first kill, rather than a 2nd.
Passive can basically be bought from the shop for 900 gold (Recurve Bow).

50 Comments

KingsgraveOct 21, 201415 votes

Give him a new W and move his current one onto his passive.

iMaB3ASTOct 22, 20141 votes

No that will give him big advantage in the early game like he be able to push u out of lane at lvl 1 using autoattacks and 1 q. They will have to nerf his w if it were to become his new passive which will probably weak.

Remlap1223Oct 22, 20141 votes

So how would that work again? I think I'm confusing Varus' W with his E.

BlazingSalvoOct 21, 201410 votes

His problem is mostly his base mana regen imo. Run the numbers against Graves, Lucian, Corki, Ezreal, Jayce, Sivir, Urgot, etc.

He has lower base mp5, mp5/lvl, and mana pool size than basically all of them. Yet he relies on skills just as much, if not more.

I also personally think E should have more damage late game, maybe with a small ratio buff or scaling ratio. .8 Bonus AD or something to reward the caster builds vs. AS/crit.

iMaB3ASTOct 21, 20141 votes

His problem is mostly his base mana regen imo. Run the numbers against Graves, Lucian, Corki, Ezreal, Jayce, Sivir, Urgot, etc.

He has lower base mp5, mp5/lvl, and mana pool size than basically all of them. Yet he relies on skills just as much, if not more.

Ikr his mana is the problem thats why he is a underrated champ plus his ult which is hard to land.

Variks the LoyalOct 21, 201410 votes

Slightly buff the hitbox for his ult.

Make him regen a percentage of his mana when he triggers Blight stacks, increasing based on how many Blight stacks consumed. This rewards Varus players for using his abilities properly and landing harass.

Change his passive to not rely on enemies dying first. My suggestion:

Living Vengeance

Gain 10% attack speed when an nearby ally takes damage.

Gain 25% attack speed and 40 movement speed when he takes damage himself.

Now the passive fits better both in gameplay and in thematics.

Maybe buffing his range a little more would help too, but not to Caitlyn levels.

iMaB3ASTOct 22, 20141 votes

U have to b insane to think that passive would be good. His enemies would be buffing him every time they poke him and his allies. Everything else is a good idea though. One thought on the w mana regen thing, how bout when he triggers 3 stacks he gets a flat mana like 2-6 mana per enemy he triggers the 3 stack of blight. It will solve his mana problems.

OnegarionOct 22, 20141 votes

What if his passive was and increase of AS for every enemy champion nearby. Similar to Wukongs with resistances. It would maybe scale the same numbers, but would of course only be max if there were enemies nearby for a 5v5 or give him a buff that ramps up his AS like jinx. I think these are better fixes even though I'm not to big of a fan of changing really.

I think they for sure need to get some QOL changes in at the least to bring him in line with other ADCs. Right now he just can't stand toe to toe with others. Last season I played him as my main adc. This season you can't bring him out without getting your face beat in.

NeroUSOct 22, 20141 votes

I just want a larger hitbox for his ult and better scaling for his magic damage on his basic attacks.

His ultimate is one of the easiest ultimates to whiff in the game. There are videos of pro players missing his ult at close range.

The5lackerOct 22, 20147 votes

Curious as to what you think a "true root" is, because there isn't a single form of CC that can stop Wukong's ult.

Arch Mage MagnusOct 22, 20142 votes

Curious as to what you think a "true root" is, because there isn't a single form of CC that can stop Wukong's ult.

I've seen Morgana Q Wukong and freeze him in place.

VesarixxOct 22, 20141 votes

Wukongs ult is a channeled ability I believe, a root will not stop it, Kassadins Q may be able to though. He can be frozen in place by Morgana's Q, but he will still spin.

GiraffieOct 22, 20141 votes

Impossible, skarners ult doesnt stop him from spinning so im pretty sure morgana's bind would even be less likely.

iMaB3ASTOct 21, 20145 votes

Old Living Vengeance On a minion or monster kill, Varus gains 20% attack speed for 3 seconds. On a champion kill or assist, Varus gains 40% attack speed for 6 seconds. These bonuses do not stack with themselves. New Distribution (idk wat for the name) When Varus damages an enemy champion with one of his skill shots (q,e,r), he gains 20% attack speed for 3 seconds. On a champion kill or assist, Varus gains 40% attack speed for 6 seconds. The will does not refresh or stack with each other. The kill or assist buff takes precedence over the landing the skill shots buff.

HayaishiOct 21, 20145 votes

He has alot of horrible stuff.

After his E nerfs, the ability does no damage and has mediocre utility. Either buff it's utility or it's damage.

His passive needs to give him more bonuses. (Why the hell doesn't it gives bonus AD on champion kill? it even fits his lore)

He has huge mana costs and cooldowns in lane, it's really tough to trade anyone when their spells are 10 second cooldown while yours are on 15+.

His Q and R are the only awesome abilities he has, W is fine but it's not worth it taking a whole ability slot without an active (why not give it a second passive where it gives Varus movement speed whenever he procs stacks, maybe 5% per stack), and E is mediocre for both utility and damage

His movement speed was nerfed to 330 from 335, as an immobile ADC. Yet Lucian gets 335.

DrukyulOct 21, 20145 votes

His movement speed was nerfed to 330 from 335, as an immobile ADC. Yet Lucian gets 335.

I will never stop bitching about this. No idea wtf Riot was thinking.

VesarixxOct 22, 20141 votes

Riot tends to put the move speed of any champion with a slow a bit lower.

DaCushOct 22, 20141 votes

He just needs a rework on his kit with keeping his identity. You know you're out if date when one of your abilities is a passive with no active in league of legends(kinda like twisted fate except worse). He also needs some sort of mobility/escape like every champ that is viable has or makeup with it with a lit more damage like Kog. I would live a rework on him. He was my first champion that I really loved to play when I first started.

Kuroi86Oct 21, 20144 votes

He's utility, not mobility.

Morg' may be longer, but his deals more damage and goes a lot faster. 1200 vs 2000

Varus could stand some tweaking, but I don't think he's really in need of much. Maybe some passive buffs.

ChimeiTekinaNasuOct 22, 20141 votes

Morg' may be longer, but his deals more damage and goes a lot faster.

You can't say his deals more when Morgana builds AP and ADC Varus doesn't build AP. He only beats her by, what, 60 base damage?? Put Athene's or Deathcap or whatever on Morgana, and it does a chunk more damage than non-AP Varus ult will ever do. Unless you're AP Varus mid or something, ADC Varus bot lane will never match Morgana's Q damage.

Kuroi86Oct 22, 20141 votes

Depends on the situation, if the enemy team is unable or doesn't bother to move out of the infection range, they will also take damage and be rooted. 5x 350 isn't a bad number. Of course I've even considered taking Zhonya's as a sixth on him just for shits and giggles. But even so, I am willing to admit he needs tweaking.

What I'd love to see is some love to his passive and W. While Blighted Quiver is a good ability, it can be tricky to really make use of without getting yourself in trouble. Maybe make the passive stacks last longer so you can back off and not be in a threat zone for most champs. As for his passive, I really wish there was something more than just attack speed on kills. It's good for helping you CS, especially under tower, but outside of that?

JustMyBassCannonOct 22, 20141 votes

Can Morgana tag two champions with one snare?

No? Well, look who has more damage potential. Toss Varus' ultimate when teammates are using their CC, and watch the magic. Hell, it's not hard to get two targets if you throw your E and ult on a pair.

h0bb1tOct 22, 20143 votes

I posted this before in another Varus thread. Some ideas I had for him.

New Passive: With each spell hit, Varus gains X auto attack range for y seconds. -Varus should be able to capitalize on the "spell-casting marksman" idea. Landing his spells would make him safer to use, especially important since he has no escape. New Q (option 1): Deals reduced damage to minions. Now no longer deals reduced damage for each enemy hit. -Now able to hit enemies behind minion lanes more easily. Last-hitting in lane would matter. New Q (option 2): Now explodes into a cone of arrows after the first target hit. -Just felt like this would be an interesting option, though I do prefer the first more.

103percentOct 22, 20143 votes

still better than sivir =(

ItsStoutOct 22, 20143 votes

What the fuck is a "True Root". Like, wat.

Wukong isn't stopped by stuns, Knock-ups, even suppresses in his ult.

LeaverBusterOct 21, 20142 votes

The stun time shouldn't be raised on the ult, after all it can root an entire team from range. The damage raised though and hitbox should be widened . It practically does nothing in a 1v1, and shouldn't be harder to aim than Morg's stun. The Q is actually alright in my books, as it is one of the most powerful harass' in game it would be tricky to buff it without making it OP.

iMaB3ASTOct 22, 20141 votes

The fact that it can be a 5 man root, is pretty OP. But in 1v1 or 2v2? It doesnt matter if they get rooted they are still able to attack they just cant move. How to make Varus better (my opinion)

Increase damage on ult Old MAGIC DAMAGE: 150 / 250 / 350 (+ 100% AP) New MAGIC DAMAGE: 170 / 270 / 370 (40% Bonus AD)
Passive Rework
More Mana Efficient

OnegarionOct 22, 20141 votes

I think the root should increase, but increase based on the number of new roots. This way you reward a good team ult since the basic root really is crap.

Trading AcesOct 21, 20142 votes

I much prefer how he's played in ARAM - like an AD Caster. Building CDR, ARM Pen, and AD whilst forgoing attack speed. He does an excessive amount of damage there. The proccing of the stacks just feels a lil counter intuitive. You don't get the most out of your Q for it and you waste your self peel for it.

AmightyTOct 22, 20142 votes

Varus is fine, its all the other ADCs that need nerfs

Knight DevoutOct 22, 20142 votes

Passive gets bonus AS when proccing Blight Quiver. Also, restores mana for each stack popped.

ZyorhistOct 22, 20142 votes

I don't think varus is completely out of the meta right now, though I don't think he is comparatively as strong as the other adc's that are in. His E is a terrible escape tool as the cast time WILL get him caught any time he uses it. Realistically it shoul be able to be fired while moving, much like jinx's chompers. The abilities are pretty balanced, and you have to be careful when spamming abilities, which is fine. I think his base AA should be slightly increased because doing anything with his base AA speed is ridiculous.

SpirangleOct 22, 20142 votes

As a Varus main, I'd like to add my two cents. Varus is in an interesting spot balance-wise because he is pretty balanced, but he's also a jack-of-all-trades as a caster ADC hybrid. He can destroy the other team if he's having a good game but just as easily be the load if he falls behind at any point. I think what he needs is some quality of life buffs so that he can be even more fun to play as and still be fun to play against.

On the topic of mobility, I think Varus is good as an immobile ADC. It fits his identity and he has some nice cc to make up for it.

His Ult definitely needs a wider hitbox. It's infuriating when it looks like you hit your enemy but then it turns out you somehow missed. It would also be nice if the damage was higher, but I feel that his ult is used more for the cc.

His Q was supposed to be a more dominant part of his kit, and I feel like its a core part of his identity. It needs some tweaks to be more forgiving if you miss. I think it needs a lower cooldown. Someone here posted an idea that kills and assists should refresh the cooldown.

His passive lets him clear through waves quickly, which is great. I think it could use a couple tweaks to help fit in with his identity and help Varus out if he had a weak early game. This may be overpowered, but here's my idea:

Living Vengeance On a minion or monster kill, Varus gains 20% attack speed for 3 seconds. On a champion kill or assist, Varus gains 40% attack speed for 6 seconds. These bonuses do not stack with themselves. Every minute Varus gains 1 AD.

The concept is that Varus wastes no time killing things once he's gotten his target and that the corruption is making him more powerful as time goes on.

apuigOct 22, 20142 votes

he can't beat any ADC 1v1 even when ahead...

103percentOct 22, 20141 votes

heSivir can't beat any ADC 1v1 even when ahead...

ftfy

ObjectOct 21, 20141 votes

It would be hard without a large damage buff to make him strong... And even then, hes a poke adc with no excapes makes him poor adc in the current meta

Lt CuddlesOct 21, 20141 votes

His E and ult can both be used to slow/lock-down escaping targets, and as ways to self-peel when you're being attacked. To fix his mana issues, just buy mana pots, or purchase and build up to this: item 3042 , or better yet, get one of these: item 3508 . The point of his ult is to lock targets down so you can auto attack/combo them to death, not to be some high-damage attack: that's what Q is for, besides you're an AD carry, all you need the ult for is locking your enemy down for a good sec so you can drop your Q + E + x amount of AAs on them, and with your passive in use after you kill a minion, it should be a breeze to snowball that passive in a teamfight. If you decide to buy more attack speed, it will stack with your passive once that kicks in from kills, decreasing your opponent's escape window, allowing you to eat through teams.

GunpointOct 21, 20141 votes

He's better mid as an AD caster, in fact, he really kills anyone. I just build Essence Reaver first for mana costs, than anything that gives me the highest damage possible. Late game he can duel alot of enemies, mostly ADC's and APC's in addition to tanks thanks to his blighted quiver. Bot lane it's harder to play him with supports like Braum who block his damage and Thresh who hooks him whenever Varus casts Q because he's too immobile to dodge it.

zwi3trachtOct 21, 20141 votes

He is fine. He just needs a better fitting item. With the Old BT + LW build he would still have his perfect niche.

KillzerzOct 22, 20141 votes

I think some of you are missing the point. What makes Varus, well, Varus?

Is it his passive? No... Is it his W magic damage? While interesting, that's not why I'm picking Varus. What about his Hail of Arrows? Something I should be good with, but ultimately no.

Q and R is why you pick Varus. This is where the buffs should be! Q helps him clear waves quickly and safely, while poking pretty darn well. R is unique to an AD carry: the capability of hard CC on multiple units. IMO this means that Q needs a mana cost reduction and CDR reduction, while his R should have a larger hitbox and more range, albeit missile speed tapers off later.

Is his passive a tad clunky? Yes, but you don't play Kog'Maw for his passive now, do you? In other words, his passive could use work but I'd rather they buff the reason why people pick Varus instead of just a buff any ADC would be happy to have.

YOU BEEN WARNEDOct 22, 20141 votes

No, he's actually balanced and most other ADCs need nerfs. Darius

jQueryOct 22, 20141 votes

NO! NO!

If he gets buffed Its over between me and ARAM!

hOrnnOct 22, 20141 votes

varus has no mobility because he has a long range snipe and a slow, plus that ult, maybe hes just not your play style, he needs no buff though.

DollaMenunaireOct 22, 20141 votes

The problem is his lack of mobility isn't compensated for enough.

I don't want him to be turned into a poor man's lucian, but something needs to be done

JustMyBassCannonOct 22, 20141 votes

No mobility

Ashe

Q has a 70 mana drain with a 16 second, to 14 second cooldown levels 1 and 2 - pretty high.

Makes you wonder why it's better to start with E, doesn't it?

Ult practically does no damage, has a smaller hitbox than Morgana's Q, shorter range, and roots for a shorter duration than Morgana's Q when fully upgraded.

It does no damage if you're built on AD, but then you're using the root so you can land more attacks/Blight stacks and deal more damage. If his ultimate had a high base, Varus would need nerfs elsewhere. And then, if you're building AP Varus, it's better than Morgana's Q for damage, more reliable because it has almost twice the travel speed, and it's multi-target

Ult isn't even a true root, Wu Kong can still ult and move when hit with Varus' ult for example.

There isn't a single CC in the game that stops Wukong's ultimate when he has already started, and no snare will keep him from casting it either.

His passive kicks in when a champion is dead. Instead a passive should be needed that helps get a first kill, rather than a 2nd.

Passive can basically be bought from the shop for 900 gold (Recurve Bow).

I agree that Varus' passive is pretty underwhelming. You at least have a point there.

I'd definitely like to see Varus buffs, but most of your reasoning is questionable.

doubleguacOct 22, 20141 votes

I've always thought Varus is a pretty cool champion. I think his biggest problem right now is that he doesn't really have a niche. If you want a lane bully, there are much better options. If you want raw, late game carrying potential, there are much better options. If you want safety, there are much better options. And if you want utility on your ADC, there is a better option. People rag on Ashe a lot, and she does deserve a buff, but at least she has a clear niche--she's the utility marksmen. Regardless of what you're looking for, there is always a better option than Varus.

If Riot is going to buff him, I think they should look at his Q. It's a really cool ability on paper, and it seems like it should be the defining aspect of his kit in lane, but it's just not good enough. Sure, it does a lot of damage when it lands, but it's heavily broadcasted, easy to dodge, and deals pretty low damage if it passes through a minion on the way to its target.

I mean, hell, when he saw a brief spike in popularity back in S3, people weren't even leveling his Q first. As I recall, they were leveling his E (? could have been his W) first for burst during trades.

Some buff to his Q (either its reliability, or its power when it does actually land on a champion first) would help give him the niche he needs.

Kowe The EwokOct 22, 20141 votes

I feel like his Q is his biggest weakness:

Long cooldown
Extremely predictable
High mana cost
Even if you land a Q enemies will have had enough time to hide behind creeps, significantly reducing his damage.

Kowe The EwokOct 22, 20142 votes

I feel like his Q is his biggest weakness:

Long cooldown

Extremely predictable

High mana cost

Even if you land a Q enemies will have had enough time to hide behind creeps, significantly reducing his damage.

An idea for another Q:

Piercing Arrow: Auto attack modifier: Varus next attack gains 125 / 250 / 375 / 500 range and pierces through units. Kills or Assists refresh this ability.

Cooldown: 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3

Solidair3Oct 22, 20141 votes

I feel like all he needs is like 5 more movespeed and more of his damage focused on his abilities, since that's his niche, being more of a caster marksman.

Plus it sucks that mikael's can so easily shut him down. His abilities are all he has and without mobility, he just comes off as over all a poor pick

deadlychuckOct 22, 20141 votes

I don't know what you guys are talking about. Considering just yesterday i got a penta kill and a triple kill (which could have easily been a penta if the lucian didn't run at the start of the fight) in one game.

Yes he has a few quarks which don't fit in perfectly with the meta, but as a champion he doesn't lack power. The only thing i would argue is that thanks to the addition of Braum and Yasuo , his projectiles are far to easy to read and block.

Also i don't totally mind his passive only giving him post kill benefits. The reason is that in a well coordinated team, a single target should die fairly quickly, and if you are fighting in lane, not only does it make last hitting much easier, but it also means that if you are farming correctly then you should have an attack speed advantage if you or the enemy initiates.

I don't like the idea of moving his W to his passive, because that would most likely remove the scaling. I don't play it a lot, but AP varus is enjoyable if not practical. It's like AP poppy, except if you half health the whole enemy team with a few auto attacks and and E.