Varus vs Olaf
Hard matchup
You are stronger late game. Farm safe and avoid early trades.
Build vs Olaf
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Varus: Experimental Hexplate, Dusk and Dawn, Riftmaker, Plated Steelcaps, Zhonya's Hourglass, Nashor's Tooth, Statikk Shiv, Terminus.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Olaf's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Olaf gains Attack Speed and Life Steal based on his missing Health.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 9s | 16s | 11s | – |
| 6 | 9s | 16s | 11s | 1m40 |
| 9 | 9s | 15s | 11s | 1m40 |
| 11 | 9s | 14s | 11s | 1m30 |
| 16 | 9s | 12s | 9s | 1m20 |
| 18 | 9s | 12s | 7s | 1m20 |
Playing as Varus
Tips to maximize your impact
- Apply Blight, then a spell
Apply Blight with your autos through Blighted Quiver (W), then detonate it with a spell: each stack deals damage based on max health and, on a champion, lowers your cooldowns.
- Fire early at close range
Against a close target, fire Piercing Arrow (Q) without waiting for a full charge: charging adds damage, but it slows you in the meantime.
- Cut their healing with your hail
Cast Hail of Arrows (E) on enemies who are healing or charging at you: the desecrated ground slows them and applies Grievous Wounds.
- Target an enemy near their team
Cast Chain of Corruption (R) on a champion close to their allies: the corruption then spreads to nearby champions and roots them too.
Playing against Olaf
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Dodge his axe
Dodge Undertow (Q): it's his only slow, and without a dash, he can only reach you on foot.
- Trade while his axe is away
Take a trade when his axe has landed far from him: until he picks it up, Undertow (Q) keeps its 9-second cooldown.
- No long trades when he's low
Avoid long trades when he's low on health: Berserker Rage (passive) gives him attack speed and life steal based on his missing health.
- Save your CC for after Ragnarok
If you have CC, save it for after Ragnarok (R): while it lasts, no CC stops him, and it has a 100 to 80 second cooldown.
Other Varus matchups
Patch 16.21.1