Champion Guide

Volibear Guide

By LoLSuggest

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Volibear is a sustained-damage bruiser who dives and bullies lanes. The Relentless Storm stacks attack speed as he hits enemies and, at full stacks, makes his attacks chain lightning to nearby enemies. Thundering Smash speeds him toward enemies and makes his next attack stun, Frenzied Maul mauls a target and heals him when he bites one he already marked, Sky Splitter calls down a lightning bolt that damages, slows and shields him if he stands inside it, and Stormbringer leaps to a location, grants bonus health and disables enemy towers he lands near. He is strongest in the mid game and wins 2v1s and dives.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Volibear build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Start Doran's Blade or Doran's Ring and a Health Potion depending on the enemy laner's defensive runes, or Doran's Shield for a safer lane. The best all-around build is Cosmic Drive, Dusk and Dawn, Navori Flickerblade, Plated Steelcaps, Spirit Visage and Sterak's Gage, giving high tankiness and lots of damage. An extremely consistent alternative is Black Cleaver, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Riftmaker, Sterak's Gage, Spirit Visage and Zhonya's Hourglass, and an AD bruiser build takes Black Cleaver, Spear of Shojin and Overlord's Bloodmail. Navori Flickerblade gives insane dueling power by cycling your spells quickly, and Dead Man's Plate helps you escape thanks to its slow resist. Run Grasp of the Undying with Shield Bash, Second Wind and Revitalize, plus Manaflow Band and Transcendence; Press the Attack with Triumph, Legend: Haste and Last Stand is the second-best page, Conqueror suits long drain-tanking fights, and Lethal Tempo fits AP or Rod of Ages builds. Take Flash with Ignite, Ghost, Teleport in hard lanes, or Exhaust into ranged champions. Max Q, then W, then E.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

High early pressure and strong 2v1 potential when played correctly.
Sustained damage that lets him fight for a very long time, with amazing dive setups.
Surprisingly fast when maxing Thundering Smash, and great at stonewalling snowballing lanes.

Weaknesses

Weak level 1 unless you start with Frenzied Maul and Doran's Blade.
Does not scale well; he wants to end games before 25 to 28 minutes.
Easy to burst late once enemies build penetration, and crushed in 3v1s.

Laning Phase

Volibear's level 1 is weak, so wait for level 2 with Thundering Smash and Sky Splitter for smoother trades. The main trade is to run at the enemy with Thundering Smash, cast Sky Splitter just before contact, stun with the attack, then attack and Frenzied Maul and back off; against squishy laners two of these trades usually set up a kill on the third. From level 3 you can 2v1 a chunked laner or the enemy jungler with your burst combo. In most melee matchups you can hold priority, follow your jungler's invades and rotate to the Voidgrubs while the enemy is under their tower. At level 6, Sky Splitter, an attack, Thundering Smash and an instant Stormbringer guarantees the ultimate's damage on targets without tenacity, letting you dive from full health.

Mid & Late Game

The mid game is Volibear's strongest point: with two or three items, split push and draw enemies to you, 2v1ing them if they are not fed, while tracking how many enemies you can take on. Around 20 to 25 minutes, group with your team and force plays; Stormbringer disables enemy towers for a while, making dives safer. Late game, play as a damage sponge and disruptor, burst a squishy with your ultimate or use your stun to peel divers such as Zed or Kha'Zix off your carries.

Key Tips

Thundering Smash's speed stays for its full duration even if crowd control interrupts it.
Sky Splitter has no cast time and does not turn your model when cast behind you, which can trick opponents.
Stormbringer's bonus health arrives after a short delay and adds range to your attacks and abilities.
Careful with your passive near an enemy tower: the lightning can bounce to a champion and draw tower aggro.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.