Patch 23.0
Overpower can now trigger multiple times per Parry. Now also increases the damage of the next Heroic Strike by 25%.

Patch 22.6
Charge Cooldown reduced from 16 to 14 seconds. Mana cost reduced from 50 to 45.
Warbringer Cooldown reduction decreased from 8 to 6 seconds.

Patch 22.2
Heroic Strike Damage type changed from physical to spell. Benefits from Ability Power but no longer heals from Second Wind.
Lion's Fang Mana cost reduced from 60 to 50. Slow amount increased from 30 to 35%.
Parry Cooldown decreased from 10 to 8 seconds.
Taunt Health bonus increased from 50 to 60%. Mana cost reduced from 40 to 20. No longer reduces Basic Attack Speed.
Lion's Maw Slow amount increased from 50 to 60%.
Warbringer Cooldown reduction decreased from 10 to 8 seconds.
Live by the Sword Duration bonus increased from 20 to 40%. Cooldown reduction decreased from 3 to 2 seconds.
Vigilance Cooldown reduction increased from 0.75 to 1 second per Heroic Basic Attack.

Before I go into any detail about Varian's different builds and how to use them, I want to address a question I see about Varian as a whole: why play him? Varian is one of the mot versatile Heroes in the game currently. His Talent diversity is one of the best, and his flexibility to fill either the Warrior role or the Assassin role makes him an unpredictable pick in almost any match. His survivability in the Protection build is equal to most other Warriors and his damage in the Arms and Fury builds are equal to some of the best melee Assassins. It is true that Varian's early game is lack-luster to say the least. His survivability is lacking - he has no self-healing until Level 7 and he has next-to-no escape available - and his damage is sub-par. However, Varian's power in the late game is just as good as other competitors in both the roles he can fill. So if you want to play a little bit of mind games, trust in your end game, or want the flexibility to fill a role your team needs, then Varian is the perfect choice for you!

I do want to add another note here: please do not pick Varian with one build and only one build in mind. Varian is meant to adapt to both what your team needs and to counter what the opposing team has.

Pros
+ Great survivability (Protection), high burst damage (Arms), and high sustain damage (Fury).
+ Flexibility in Talent and build choices.
+ Complements team with Banner choice.
+ Great chasing potential.
+ Counter to Basic Attack Heroes.

Cons
- Reliant on weak early game for late game potential.
- Highly susceptible to early game ganks.
- Almost no escape options.
- No self-healing until Level 7.
- Weak wave clear (Arms and Fury) or next-to-no wave clear (Protection).

Trait [D]

Heroic Strike
Cooldown: 18 seconds

Every 18 seconds, Varian's next Basic Attack deals 144.9 (+3.5% per level) bonus Spell Damage. Basic Attacks reduce this cooldown by 2 seconds.

A boost to Varian's Ability Damage output and gains benefit from Ability Power. More beneficial to the Arms build now and for the Fury build with Banner of Dalaran.

Ability 1 [Q]

Lion's Fang
Mana: 50
Cooldown: 8 seconds

Create a shockwave that travels in a straight line, dealing 156 (+4% per level) damage and slowing enemies by 35% for 1.5 seconds.

Straight-line skill-shot for damage and a Slow. Nice for Slowing targets to keep up with, and can hit multiple enemies. Not that great for wave-clear, but still a boost to it.

Ability 2 [W]

Parry
Mana: 15
Charge Cooldown: 8 seconds, maximum 2 Charges

Parry all incoming Basic Attacks for 1.25 seconds, reducing their damage by 100%.

No Basic Attack Damage taken for 1.25 seconds, countering those Basic Attack Heroes. You can still attack and use Abilities while it is active, too.

Ability 3 [E]

Charge
Mana: 50
Cooldown: 16 seconds

Charge to the target enemy, dealing 52 (+4% per level) damage and slowing them by 75% for 1 second.

Primary Ability for initiating fights. Also perfect for punishing enemies out of position.

Heroic 1 [R]

Taunt
Mana: 20
Cooldown: 16 seconds

Force the target Hero to attack Varian for 1.25 seconds.
Passive: Maximum Health increased by 60%.

The Warrior Heroic. Sort of like a hook or drag, but not quite. The 1.25 second window lines up perfectly with Parry, so always save a charge for this Heroic.

Heroic 2 [R]

Colossus Smash

Mana: 40
Cooldown: 20 seconds

Smash a target enemy, dealing 166.4 (+4% per level) damage and making them Vulnerable for 3 seconds.
Passive: Base Attack Damage increased by 75%.
Passive: Maximum Health reduced by 10%.

The burst damage Assassin Heroic. Perfect when all your cooldowns are lined up and ready to go. Colossus Smash has a bit of a range, too, so yet another tool to initiate fights with.

Heroic 3 [R]

Twin Blades of Fury

Basic Attacks reduce Heroic Strike's cooldown by 9 seconds, and increase Varian's Movement Speed by 30% for 2 seconds.
Passive: Attack Speed increased by 100%.
Passive: Base Attack Damage reduced by 25%.

The sustain damage Assassin Heroic. Not much to say since it is only true passive bonus to Varian, but the Attack Speed and Heroic Strike cooldown reduction is a huge damage gain even with the reduced Attack Damage.

Play-Style and Strategy
Varian's average Health and damage makes him fairly weak in the early game. This is amplified by his lack of self-healing and escape. Play cautiously and try not to overextend. While Varian's chase is excellent and can help secure kills in a lane or from a gank, he is very susceptible to these same tactics. Varian's role in the early game is more of a supporting damage dealer, Slowing enemy targets while dealing okay-ish damage. Until you get your choice of Heroics, Varian is rather lack-luster. My primary goal in the early game as Varian is to help secure kills while not overstepping my boundaries and working on my Level 1 Quest Talent, either by hitting enemy Heroes with Lion's Fang or hitting enemy Heroes with Basic Attacks, participating in Hero Takedowns, and gathering Regeneration Globes.

This build focuses on Varian's Taunt Heroic, and picks Talents to maximize his survivability.

Talent Discussion
Level 1

Lion's Maw
While Overpower and High King's Quest are great Talents in their own regard, neither help Varian's tankiness. The Quest Reward for Lion's Maw increases the Slow amount and duration on Lion's Fang, which helps with peeling for your teammates, chasing down enemies, escaping from danger yourself.

Level 4

Shield Wall
I LOVE this Talent! Empowering Varian's Basic Attack negation into a full damage reduction is just too good to pass up when focusing on survivability. While the Stun on Warbringer can be great in some situations, Taunt will do just as well of a job.

Level 7

Live by the Sword
Again, the goal with this build is to keep Varian alive as long as possible. While this tier is great for just that, Live by the Sword is the best option in conjunction with Shield Wall. Not only is Varian Protected for Parry's duration, the duration is increased and blocking two Basic Attacks reduces the cooldown. This bonus is almost always guaranteed when paired with Taunt. However, if you find yourself needing a heal here and there then Victory Rush is a fine choice. Second Wind is not even worth considering with this build.

Level 10

Taunt
An obvious choice, since Varian's Heroic Ability defines his role and in this case Varian is built to be a Warrior.

Level 13

Banner of Ironforge
Another easy choice, as not only do you take 25% less damage while in the banner's range, but also your teammates. If you find yourself not needing the damage reduction this banner provides, then Banner of Stormwind could be a good option to help chase down enemies or run away from a bad situation. Banner of Dalaran can be great with a burst damage-oriented team.

Level 16

Mortal Strike
This tier is really flexible depending on what the enemy team consists of. My default choice is Mortal Strike as makes it harder for enemy healers to keep priority targets alive. Shattering Throw is great against a team reliant on Shields. And Juggernaut is fine against multiple high-Health enemies.

Level 20

Glory to the Alliance
GLORY TO THE ALLIANCE! In addition to the banner's effects, yours and allies' Health Regeneration and healing received is increased by 50% AND the banner's cooldown is reduced by 20 seconds! A great Talent as the banner is already a massive momentum swing in a teamfight. Now, it gets even better. Demoralizing Shout is another option if you are facing multiple Basic Attack-focused Heroes, but generally Glory to the Alliance is going to be a better option. Vigilance is simply not worth taking in my opinion.

Play-Style and Strategy
During the early game, Varian plays more like a bruiser than an actual tank. Focus on completing your Lion's Maw Quest Talent by hitting enemy Heroes with Lion's Fang. Even summoned units that are to appear as enemy Heroes like Nova's and Samuro's clones count towards completing the Quest. You get tankier with each Talent, but not until level 10 with Taunt is Varian tanky enough to be a solo Warrior. Taunt targets that are focusing down your teammates, especially those with a lot of Abilities (since Taunt forces them to only Basic Attack) or those with the highest damage output (to keep the damage on you rather than your squishy teammates). Remember to save a charge of Parry to use with Taunt for the guaranteed bonus from Live by the Sword. Drop the Banner of Ironforge at the start of teamfights, but remember that it has a low amount of Health so place it carefully. Varian is great at catching enemies out of position and punishing them for it, but make sure your team is behind you when you engage. You do not do enough damage to kill most Heroes alone, and while your tankiness and survivability is high your escape is almost non-existent.

Gameplay
Section coming soon(TM)!

This build focuses on Varian's Colossus Smash Heroic, and picks Talents to maximize his burst damage.

Talent Discussion
Level 1

Lion's Maw
The bonus damage granted to Lion's Fang through this Quest Talent counts as Ability Damage, and therefore increases your burst damage potential. If you feel like you need a bit more sustained damage however, High King's Quest, while long to complete, is a great alternative.

Level 4

Warbringer
I initially counted out Warbringer from the Arms build, but the Stun and the reduced cooldown on Charge keeps the Ability in the Colossus Smash window even if you use Charge to initiate a fight without using the standard burst combo. If you find yourself diving in but focused down too easily, then the added survivability of Shield Wall is a great option.

Level 7

Victory Rush
Victory Rush is my go-to choice in this tier for the Arms build. The burst healing it provides is great for when you are ready to rush head-long into an engagement - just sit in a lane for a little bit to refresh the cooldown. Second Wind and Live by the Sword are also decent choices if you need more consistent survivability instead of burst healing.

Level 10

Colossus Smash
I said it in the Protection build, and I will say it here: the Heroic Ability is the defining Talent for each build.

Level 13

Banner of Dalaran
The go-to banner for the Arms build, Banner of Dalaran increases Colossus Smash's, Charge's, and Lion's Fang's damage, and used in this order allows Varian to pump a huge amount of damage in a short amount of time. The standard combo for the Colossus Smash / burst window is Banner of Dalaran > Colossus Smash > Charge > Lion's Fang. If you find your enemies dying quickly without this banner, the Banner of Ironforge is an alternative choice to help out your team and especially your Support or Banner of Stormwind for the bonus Movement Speed to catch your fleeing enemies.

Level 16

Juggernaut
While at first glance this Talent may seem to be an odd choice, it provides the highest damage boost. In combination with Banner of Dalaran's Ability Power bonus and Colossus Smash's Vulnerable status, an extra 6% maximum Health damage on Charge is a lot more damage during your burst window. I do recommend taking Shattering Throw over Juggernaut if you are up against a Shield-heavy team, as your burst damage against large Shields will not mean much.

Level 20

Master at Arms
Vulnerable to all enemies near your Colossus Smash target? I can see a great vision of a Sonya Leap with Arreat Crater locking in three or more enemy Heroes, Varian leaping in with a Colossus Smash, topped off with a Jaina Blizzard and Cone of Cold. The dream... However if you find the enemy team is cautious about grouping up, then Glory to the Alliance to help out your team and Support(s) or Demoralizing Shout to slow down Basic Attack-oriented enemies is a fine choice just as well.

Play-Style and Strategy
As I stated in the Protection Play-Style and Strategy section, Varian is a great ganker and opportunist but lacks escape and self-healing, so always play cautiously in the early game. Focus on hitting enemy Heroes with Lion's Fang to complete the Lion's Maw Quest Talent as soon as possible. Shield Wall at Level 4 helps increase your survivability, but not by from Slows, Roots, and Stuns as they can still affect you even while in the Protected state. Victory Rush furthers your survivability at Level 7, making it easier to skirmish with enemy Heroes and in teamfights, especially when near lanes. Once you pick up Colossus Smash at Level 10, Varian is all about the one-on-one engagements and quickly eliminating an enemy player from the fight. Focus down squishy targets with the standard opener of Colossus Smash into Charge into Lion's Fang. The burst from this Ability rotation is quite high and likely to kill off weaker Heroes. But do not forget to keep in range of your teammates! While you can deal incredible amounts of burst damage with okay damage in-between Colossus Smash windows, you are fairly squishy yourself with no true escape. Just because you can dive the backline and get a single kill does not always mean you should! At Level 13, Varian's burst damage potential just gets better with Banner of Dalaran. Make sure to drop it down before engaging in a Colossus Smash rotation to get your full burst potential, and make sure to place the banner in a spot that will not only survive long enough for your burst window but also stay in range of you to receive the bonus Ability Damage.

Gameplay
Section coming soon(TM)!

This build focuses on Varian's Twin Blades of Fury Heroic, and picks Talents maximize his sustained damage.

Talent Discussion
Level 1

High King's Quest
This definitely is a LONG quest to complete, but very rewarding at the end game. 60 bonus Attack Damage per hit is huge for Twin Blades of Fury, especially at level 10 and beyond when Varian's Attack is greatly increased. The Quest Reward for Lion's Maw is okay, but not worth it in comparison to 60 bonus damage per attack.

Level 4

Warbringer
Once again, the Stun and reduced cooldown on Charge is a great help. In particular to this build, the Stun can help you lock down priority targets as your Basic Attacks shred into them, and the reduced cooldown helps you initiate fights more often and keep up with your targets.

Level 7

Second Wind
This is the one build I will gladly take Second Wind as Varian. His Attack Speed gets a huge boost in just three levels so the healing per hit, especially below 50% maximum Health, is just great. Even with Heroic Strike not triggering the heal from Second Wind, two out of every three attacks still heal for a decent amount. Victory Rush cannot compete, not even in a laning-focused Battlegrounds.

Level 10

Twin Blades of Fury
This is self-explanatory by now.

Level 13

Banner of Dalaran
With the change in Heroic Strike's damage type, Banner of Dalaran is the default and almost only choice now. With one out of every three attacks Varian does being a Heroic Strike, Banner of Dalaran amplifies its damage along with Lion's Fang and Charge. Still keep in mind Banner of Ironforge if you or your team takes a lot of damage and need the 25% damage reduction and Banner of Stormwind for a quick Movement Speed bonus to either escape or chase, but usually Banner of Dalaran's damage bonus to not only your Trait and Abilities but also your teammates' will be superior to the other two Banner choices.

Level 16

Mortal Strike
This Talent is amazing with Twin Blades of Fury, as nearly every third Basic Attack is a Heroic Strike meaning the healing received reduction is almost always up on your kill target. Once again, do consider taking Juggernaut against multiple high-Health enemy Heroes and Shattering Throw against large Shields.

Level 20

Frenzy
More Attack Speed and more Movement Speed? Yes please! This translates to more damage from High King's Quest and Mortal Strike AND more healing from Second Wind. However do consider glory to the Alliance to help out your teammates and Support(s) and Demoralizing Shout against multiple Basic Attack-focused Heroes.

Play-Style and Strategy
While for the other two builds I advocate for safe play until your Heroic is chosen, with the Fury build you have to play a little more aggressively. I am not saying dive into any engagement that presents itself, but rather really capitalize on opportunities and in some cases force the opportunities yourself. To complete the High King's Quest Quest Talent (I never thought I would have to type the same word back to back like that...), you should look to roam between lanes to gather Regeneration Globes (you need 20), gank enemy Heroes (you need 5 Takedowns), and engage in more skirmishes and fights than you probably normally would (you need 50 Basic Attacks on enemy Heroes). Shield Wall at Level 4 will help you stay alive longer while you attempt to complete this long Quest, and Second Wind at Level 7 provides some self-healing that is great when you are below half Health. But Level 10 and the Twin Blades of Fury is the targeted goal. Just like with the Protection for survivability and the Arms for burst builds, this is the point Varian switches from being an average Hero into a high sustained damage-dealer. Varian is able to Charge on in, deal a lot of damage, heal himself for quite a bit of his damage done, and stick to his target exceptionally well. However, Varian is still very susceptible to hard crowd control so be a little cautious.

Gameplay
Section coming soon(TM)!

The power of Varian is his unpredictability in both his play-style and his build. Varian is meant to be played flexibly, bending to the needs of your team over entering a match with a single mind-set. Need a frontline defender? Take Taunt with survivability Talents. Need a burst damage dealer? Take Colossus Smash with comboing Talents. Need sustained damage? Take Twin Blades of Fury with increased Attack Speed and Damage Talents.

Build to the strengths of your team and cover their weaknesses. In the most obvious of situations, take Taunt when your team lacks a Warrior, take Colossus Smash when your team has high burst damage potential or no burst damage at all, and take Twin Blades of Fury when your team can increase your Attack Speed and Damage or when teamfights seem to drag on too long. However, there are many exceptions to these general guidelines that is up to the player at hand to decide which build is the best course of actual for the coming match.

As you learn how each build play, synergies with, and counters other Heroes, it will become clear which build is right for each situation. Because of the high variance in Varian's play-style and position within a team, I recommend playing all three of these builds and get comfortable with how they play. Knowing which Talent build path is the best can mean the difference between a crushing Defeat or a satisfying Victory.

I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback, so if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or etc. please feel free to leave them in a reply below. I will make sure to get back to each and every one of you as soon as I am able.

[Jan 17] Thanks for the continued support of the Guide! Officially at 100% with 21 votes!!!