Radiant Virtue Varus: An Off-Meta Top Lane Guide
There is a new build in the top lane, and some high elo people are already complaining. We're talking about Tank Varus top lane. WTF? Yes.
Ranged top laners have been a thing for a long time and can be really annoying to face. The good news, though, is that they are usually quite squishy and don't handle situations like a bruiser Flash All-In or jungle ganks very well, for example.
But wouldn't it be frustrating if there were now a tank in the top lane with the range and damage output similar to that of an ADC, right?
Well, that's the case now, and Tank Varus is gaining popularity in High Elo, thanks in large part to the player Kerberos.
Now, let me explain how this whole setup works.
Radiant Virtue Varus Top: Build And Runes
Main Rune Path
Press The Attack has already been seen on AP Varus top lane, which was also a thing in the top lane. Ultimately, Press the Attack allows you to increase your damage output and synergizes very well with Varus's 3-hit passive.
Since your damage mainly comes from your auto attacks rather than your abilities, you won't be using much mana. Triumph also scales well with bonus HP, making it the best choice here. However, if you're having trouble managing your mana, you should go for Presence of Mind.
Legend: Alacrity is an absolute must and significantly increases your damage output.
Last Stand is also essential. Thanks to the Radiant Virtue heal and tankiness, you still have a trump card to turn the fight in your favor even when you're at low health.
Secondary Runes
Bone Plating gives you extreme tankiness during an all-in against enemy bruisers like Riven or Camille. Generally, opponents have a hard time escaping once they're engaged in a fight with you, so Bone Plating provides a significant advantage.
Overgrowth makes you even tankier and synergizes well with your items.
Top Lane Varus Items
As your first item, you want to build Radiant Virtue. For the low price of 2700 gold, Radiant Virtue offers you an incredible power spike. You can hardly lose a 1v1 as long as you have your ultimate up.
For boots, you should always go for Berserker's Greaves. I'll explain why further down in the article... so for now, just trust me bro.
The core build continues with Wits End, which gives you both tankiness and on-hit damage, and is then completed with Titanic Hydra, which also provides you with HP, on-hit damage, and waveclear.
For the last two items, you should go for Sterak's Gage and Randuin's Omen.
Radiant Virtue Varus Top: How Does It Work
Top 5 New High Noon Skins
The tank items might sound a bit unusual because you're an ADC and, therefore, don't have much damage, right? Well, not exactly. Varus's W was buffed in Patch 13.21. Thanks to this on-hit damage from W, you can achieve a normal scaling damage potential. With this build, you should definitely max W.
And that's the secret of Tank Varus: You maintain a stable damage output with your on-hit damage while being incredibly tanky. That's why we need the attack speed.
For the laning phase, start by buying a Doran's Blade and constantly harassing the opponent with auto attacks as soon as they go for a last hit. On the top lane, always move into a bush to drop minion aggro.
Also, you should only touch the wave for last-hitting. This will create a slow push towards the opponent. Once you have the wave under the enemy tower, you can punish your opponent there for every single CS. However, be cautious of potential ganks.
Once you reach level 6, the game becomes even easier for you. The enemy jungler can hardly gank you because you can simply keep the important target out of the fight with your ultimate.
Furthermore, the enemy now always runs the risk of being killed by you in the lane.
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