Varus/Trivia

		This article is a compilation of the trivia sections found across Varus' articles and is provided as a courtesy for readers who enjoyed our previously dedicated champion-trivia articles. The information found on this page cannot be edited from here - please follow the provided links to the source articles. This page will automatically reflect changes made elsewhere.

Development

Main article: Varus (Development)

Varus, Valmar, and Kai are voiced by Gavin Hammon, who also voices them in Legends of Runeterra and Empyrean Varus.^[1]
- Hammon also provides the voices for Pantheon, the Artisan of War and Blood Lord Vladimir in League of Legends and 3 Dawnspeakers in Legends of Runeterra.
During development he was called Jubei.
Varus' Piercing Arrow is a rework of Tristana's old Draw a Bead ability which (while active) would reduce her movement speed to increase range.
The League of Legends art team worked with Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade to make a "special edition" champion sneak peek for Varus.^[2]
Riot wanted to deliver some of the creepy, fluid feeling of the corruption, it was important to give Varus a forceful, solid, strong weapon that you could identify him with instead of feeling like (as you do for instance with the T1000 from Terminator 2) the bow was just one piece of a big bag of tricks. Also, the visual impact of his animations with a sturdy bow was extremely satisfying.^[3]
The visual effects designer for Varus' log-in screen was Anthony Possobon.

Universe

Main article: Varus (Character)

Varus, the Arrow of Retribution

Varus means "bent outwards, bow-legged" in Latin, in contrast with valgus "bent inwards, knock-kneed";^[4]
- Ancient Romans used this adjective as a cognomen to describe persons with the anatomical deformity that bent their legs outwards like bows.
Varus is implied to be ambidextrous, as evidenced by having two skin arts that have him holding his bow in his left hand and the other two having it in his right.
- However, Varus is most likely right eye dominant, since archers traditionally wield their bow according to their eye-dominance rather than their hand-dominance, due to the fact that he only holds his bow in his left hand in-game.
Varus is around 3496 years old as he Ascended during the Icathian uprising against Shurima.
The Pallas temple references the epithet Παλλάς, meaning "youth, girl", of Pre-Greek goddess Athena.^[5]
- Later Greek writers re-identified Pallas as a Titan killed by Athena, interpreting Pallas as "brandisher", from πάλλω pállō.
Kai is a common Navorian name with many variants, so Irelia's deceased brother Kye is not the same Kai living within Varus.^[6]
After the release of Twilight of the Gods, fans speculated that the brother of Valeeva mentioned in the story might be Varus. Later Riot Scathlocke confirmed that Valeeva is Varus' "sister", implying that they're not blood related, just "brothers-in-arms."^[7] This was later reinforced by Varus' voice-line where he refers to Naafiri, Xolaani, and Valeeva as sisters.

Varus, the Arrow of Retribution (Old Lore)

His namesake might be the infamous Roman general Publius Quinctilius Varus, who foolishly led three Roman legions to their demise during the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. While League of Legends' Varus defends his charge but loses everything to the Noxian invaders, to which he vows revenge.
Varus is in a state of transformation. He made a decision to sacrifice his humanity (in fact his very self) to gain the means to achieve revenge. The pants are the manifestation of the corruption overtaking him. He only has so much time before it will overtake him.^[8]
His pale appearance is of a man whose life is slipping away or being drained. As far as his face, you could find people with many different appearances in all the respective regions of Valoran.^[9]
The Owl insignia on his chest has been passed down through generations of "watchers".^[10]
- In Greek mythology, Greek goddess Athena is associated with the little owl.
His lore bears some similarities with the blighted Archers from Samurai Jack.
The Talisman he has on his chest is a memento from his family.
His headdress is an ornament of his office.
Varus would be considered Lawful Neutral, or Lawful Anti-Noxian Invader.^[11]

League of Legends

Gameplay

Main article: Varus (League of Legends)

Varus was the first champion to be released in Season Two (2012) with only one alternative skin, with subsequent champions following this pattern.
Varus' title "The Arrow of Retribution" strongly resembles Kalista's title "The Spear of Vengeance".
Varus is, along with Blitzcrank, Caitlyn, Lissandra, Rumble, Sion, Vi, Xerath, and Ziggs, one of the few champions that can apply crowd control on themselves.
Varus' body style is similar to the one of Solus, the T'Lan leader from the game Breakdown.
Varus is the first of three dark-themed champions with a light-themed skin, the second being Syndra and the third being Aatrox.
- Of these three, Varus' skin is the only one not of the Justicar theme.
Varus is the only Darkin champion whose abilities currently have ability power ratios.
- This is most likely because Varus was retconned into being a Darkin in 2017, 5 years after his release in 2012.
- Prior to Aatrox's rework in V8.13, his then-ultimate Massacre also had an ability power ratio.

Audio

Main article: Varus (League of Legends Audio)

Varus, the Arrow of Retribution

Varus' encounter quotes with Aatrox, Rhaast, and Naafiri — all of whom are Darkin — each feature one humorous line and one line relevant to their roles and lore as Darkin. These lines have an equal chance of triggering.
Some of Varus' previous voicelines were kept with his voice update, either as the same or similar:
- His pick quote "The guilty will know agony." from
- "Face oblivion." from
- "My work is not done." from
- "Pain... My gift to you." from "Pain is my gift to you."
- "No mercy, no forgiveness. Mortal or monster, all will fall." from "No forgiveness."
- "Again. Only cowards flee their fate." from "Only cowards flee their fate."
- "I give not salvation!" from "There is no salvation."
- "All who cross me will be made my targets." from "Pity those who cross me."

Empyrean Varus

Skins

Main article: Varus (Collection)

Original Varus

His look and ability animations were inspired by the Princess Mononoke anime movie.

Blight Crystal Varus

This skin shares the Legacy theme with:

He might be a reference to the World of Warcraft MMORPG, where the undead would use Blight Crystals alike to the ones in the splash art to corrupt other creatures.
- "I am forsaken." is also spoken by the undead from the same MMORPG.

Arclight Varus

This skin shares the Arclight theme with:

In the old lore, this skin may be a nod towards his pre-corrupted life.
It is the second light-themed skin for dark Ionian Champions, the first being Justicar Syndra.
Varus' bow in this skin is similar to the Bow of Light from The Legend of Zelda game series.
The arc on his back resembles the arc of The Savior from Devil May Cry 4 videogame.

Arctic Ops Varus

This skin shares the Arctic Ops theme with:

He has a similar design to soldiers in the Battlefield video game series.

Heartseeker Varus

This skin shares the Heartbreakers theme with:

He was released in celebration of Valentine's Day 2015 along with:
- Sweetheart Annie
This skin is directly inspired by Eros, Greek god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection; among whose paraphernalia were the bow & arrows. His Roman counterpart is Cupid.
This skin was proposed by SuperKusoKao from deviantART.

Varus Swiftbolt

This skin shares the Rift Quest theme with:

He was released along with:
He references a traditional tabletop role-playing game.
Varus has the B. F. Sword tied to his quiver.
His appearance resembles somewhat of the Night elves from the "Warcraft" series.
Also bears a strong resemblance to Drizzt Do'Urden: Ranger of the North from the world of The Forgotten Realms in the Dungeons of Dragons series.

Dark Star Varus
Chromas: Antimatter

This skin shares the Dark Star theme with:

- Dark Star Rhaast
His splash composition slightly mirrors that of Cosmic Hunter Varus.
In lore, Cosmic Hunter Varus was created in the image of Dark Star Varus to hunt the latter down, so they are not the same entity.

Conqueror Varus
Chromas: Golden

This skin shares the Conqueror theme with:

Infernal Varus
Chromas: Catseye, Pearl, Peridot, Rose Quartz, Ruby

This skin shares the Infernal theme with:

Cosmic Hunter Varus
Chromas: Catseye, Emerald, Obsidian, Pearl, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Turquoise

This skin shares the Cosmic theme with:

His splash composition slightly mirrors that of Dark Star Varus.
In lore, Cosmic Hunter Varus was created in the image of Dark Star Varus to hunt the latter down, so they are not the same entity.
In the background of his splash, a planet can be seen having been sniped by Dark Star Varus' Piercing Arrow, implying they are fighting.
He was inspired by the Orion constellation.