Volibear Build Guide by

Cookiemanman's CHALLENGER VOLIBEAR Jungle Guide! [Rank 1 NA] [14.8 Updated]

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League of Legends Build Guide Author Cookiemanman

Volibear Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (2) More Volibear Guides

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Runes: STANDARD PAGE

1 2

Precision

Press the Attack

Triumph

Legend: Tenacity

Coup de Grace

Sorcery

Celerity

Waterwalking

Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+10% Tenacity/Slow Resist

Spells:

1 2

Flash

Gustwalker Smite

Items

VOLIBEAR'S ITEM OPTIONS (FULL BUILD BELOW)

JUNGLE START

EARLY ITEMS

STANDARD CORE BUILD:

DAMAGE SITUATIONALS:

AGAINST AD (CHOOSE 1-2):

AGAINST AP (CHOOSE 1-2):

VS MIXED DAMAGE

STANDARD VOLIBEAR BUILD

MAIN BUILD

#2 EARLY LEAD / CARRY BUILD

#3 VS HEAVY AD

#4 VS HEAVY AP

#5 FULL TANK BUILD

#6 AP Off-Tank

Ability Order

Volibear Passive Ability

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Lillia

Extreme

Lillia's biggest threat to Volibear is her ability to kite and ignore much of his damage later into the game. I would try to fight her in the early stages of the game and use my R to negate her ultimate ability.

Udyr

Ideal

If you have seen Trick2g & I play duo before then you know how strong this duo can be together. Udyr and Volibear are both fairly tanky and apply large amounts of damage very quickly.

Synergies

Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Udyr

Ideal

If you have seen Trick2g & I play duo before then you know how strong this duo can be together. Udyr and Volibear are both fairly tanky and apply large amounts of damage very quickly.

GUIDE FORMATTED BY ARTHEO BEAR

Hey everyone! I am Cookiemanman and I have been A One Trick Pony Volibear main since Season 5 with thousands of games on the Champion.

I am currently a Challenger Volibear 1 Trick and am the #1 Volibear Jungle in the World. I stream almost all of my games on Twitch 6x a week starting around 8pm PST.

I wanted to make this guide to help new and experienced players better understand Volibear and his playstyle in the Jungle.

This page is an in-depth guide on how to play Volibear, including what items to build and info about the different playstyles surrounding the builds. I have also included a wide variety of different match-up explanations, jungle clear path videos, runes and more.

I will be updating this guide throughout the season. If there are any major changes to the builds etc. I will include that in the patch note changes at the bottom. Be sure to follow on Twitch and Subscribe on YouTube for the best Volibear content.

Press the Attack is Volibear's best Keystone rune in the Jungle. PTA makes Volibear's early-game damage output very high and is great at helping him snowball early leads.

Triumph is a great rune to take for Volibear. It helps keep Volibear healthy during extended fights and is great for getting that extra bit of HP to survive tower dives.

Legend: Tenacity is a helpful rune to keep Volibear out of Crowd Control. Typically, I see if the enemy team-comp has a large amount of slows / stuns prior to taking the rune.

Coup de Grace is very helpful at giving Volibear that extra bit of damage to finish off kills against low HP targets.

Celerity works very well with Volibear's kit. While using Thundering Smash you gain a large amount of bonus move speed to catch up to enemies.

Waterwalking is another movement speed enhancement rune that works well with Volibear's kit. It is very strong during fights around objectives and scuttle crab.

Legend: Alacrity is a rune that I find myself taking often on Volibear if they enemy team is lacking Crowd Control (Stuns & slows). It helps Volibear auto attack faster which gives him better use of Titanic Hydra.

Last Stand is a great rune for the later stages of the game when Volibear is lower HP. I typically prefer Coup de Grace,but Last Stand is another solid option.

Lethal Tempo is a keystone that some Volibear players prefer to take in the Jungle. This rune is effective when playing the AP-off tank build. I very rarely, if ever run this keystone in the Jungle.

Magical Footwear and Cosmic Insight are strong runes in the Inspiration tree. Getting free boots allows Volibear to build his core items faster. Cosmic Insight allows Volibear to have his summoners spells up more often for ganks and fights.

If you prefer to play the tank Volibear build these runes can help make you tankier throughout the game. I personally don't run these runes when I play.

For the minor runes, I always take Attack Speed, Adaptive Force, and 10% Tenacity / Slow Resist.

Movement

Quick Play

Speed

Flash is very strong for Volibear's early-game. It allows him to instantly get on top of targets during his early ganks. I find myself preferring flash to ensure I can snowball kills and get early leads.

Ghost is a strong summoner spell to help Volibear catch up and stay on top of his enemies. I find myself taking this rune if the enemy team has many movement abilities to distance themselves from Volibear.

ABILITY
SEQUENCE

1

E

2

W

3

Q

4

Q

5

Q

6

R

7

Q

8

W

9

Q

10

W

11

R

12

W

13

W

14

E

15

E

16

R

17

E

18

E

Starting E Sky Splitter is best for Volibear's jungle clear which is shown off later in the guide. For Volibear's abilities you will be maxing Q Thundering Smash every single game. This ability is great at allowing Volibear to reach enemies during his ganks. It also does a high amount of damage during the early stages of the game.

I don't find myself maxing Frenzied Maul first because you typically are unable to get 2 W's off during early stage fights and it is better to reach the enemy in the first place. You will max W Frenzied Maul second and E Sky Splitter third.

+PROS

+ Fast early Jungle clear
+ Very high early game damage
+ High snowball potential due to his Ultimate
+ Strong at taking Grubs and Dragons
+ Strong sustain in the Jungle
+ Great at Tower Diving
+ Can dive onto backline targets

-CONS

- Falls off hard in later stages of the game
- Very reliant on early kills and gold
- Struggles against highly mobile champions
- Can be invaded and punished early
- If you fall behind early you are relying on team to carry
- Easily kited by good players

Volibear has one of the strongest early-game Jungle clears in the game. I have attached two different clear videos that show off how to efficiently clear on the champ. One of the main key's is keeping your passive The Relentless Storm active in between camps. This is done by kiting the camps towards the next camp you will be clearing.

It is important to ensure that you don't let the camp reset and lose valuable time during your clear. Something to keep note of is its not the end of the world if your passive goes down between camps. Even though I have done this clear thousands of times there are still moments when I mess up. It is much better to ensure that you kill the camp and lose a few seconds than to mess up & let the camp reset entirely.

Typically you can finish your jungle clear around 3 minutes and 10 seconds without a leash and you can save your second smite for scuttle. I prefer that my teammates don't leash so the enemy team has less of an idea where I am on the map.

There is nothing too different with the Red Start Jungle clear. You are still looking to keep your passive The Relentless Storm up between camps. If you want to practice go to the Practice Tool in the client and have this guide up on the side while you clear the Jungle. After enough practice you should be able to do this with no stress at all!

Gustwalker Hatchling is my preferred Jungle starting item on Volibear. This item is great at allowing Volibear to be everywhere around the map. Upon completion you gain additional movement speed when walking through bushes. You can use this to your advantage when looking for ganks or for chasing enemies around objectives. Mosstomper Seedling is another viable starting item if you prefer to be more tanky.

I typically don't buy a Health Potion at the start of the game. However, if you find yourself getting low HP on your jungle clears you can buy one while you learn.

These early items are the main key components to the typical first item Sundered Sky. Depending on the amount of gold on your first back you will buy a different variety of these items pictures above.

If you back with 850 gold, which you typically have after your first clear. I would suggest buying one Long Sword, Boots, and a Control Ward. If you back at around 1100 gold, I would suggest buying Ionian Boots of Lucidity,and a Control Ward.

At 1500 gold, I would suggest you buy Ionian Boots of Lucidity, a Long Sword, and a Control Ward. Ionian Boots of Lucidity are great for keeping Volibear's tempo up around the map. It allows you to clear faster, have stronger ganks, and have your abilities such as Stormbringer on a lower Cooldown.

Sundered Sky is going to be the standard core build for 95% percent of my games. It is currently a very strong item on Volibear and is a big spike in his early-game. When activated it empowers Volibears next basic attack. The activation also works on Volibear's Q Thundering Smash and W Frenzied Maul.

Sundered Sky was a new item added in Season 14. As I mentioned earlier it's unique passive allows your next basic attack to critically strike and it heals you for 140% base AD and 6% of your missing health. This is great on Volibear because you already have great damage and sustainability due to your 2nd Frenzied Maul cast. Sundered Sky allows you to live longer in fights and do a ton of damage to squishy targets.

In this clip I showcase the strengths of Sundered Sky.

There are some cases in game where you may feel that you are lacking damage as Volibear. These three items are great options if you are looking to be the main carry of your team and deal more damage overall.

Sundered Sky is my favorite damage option to build on Volibear. It works great with your Q Thundering Smash as it makes your next basic attack critically strike. Since Volibear's abilities count as basic attacks this creates a strong synergy between the two.

Iceborn Gauntlet is a good damage item due to having Sheen built into it. The slow effect is very nice for Volibear to stay on top of enemies. It also gives Volibear some tankiness due to the armor the item gives.

Sterak's Gage is a good item against heavy CC team comps. It will also give you some more damage and a nice shield to stay alive longer.

Nashor's Tooth is a strong AP item that works well with Volibear's passive The Relentless Storm. It also helps increase the damage of your ultimate Stormbringer and E Sky Splitter.

Riftmaker is a strong AP Item that keeps Volibear alive longer in extended fights. It is a great option if you are looking for additional damage and sustain.

Titanic Hydra is a great AD / Health item that works amazingly with Volibear's kit. You can use the items activation to do an auto attack reset. An auto attack reset is when your next basic attack is fired out immediately and is not limited by your champions attack speed. Since, Volibear's Q & W skills are already auto attack resets, Titanic Hydra now allows your champion to have 3 auto resets. When done correctly this allows Volibear to auto attack 6 times in a very short amount of time.

Against HEAVY AD teamp comps these armor items are some of the most effective on Volibear. Frozen Heart is one of the best armor items on Volibear. It is a low-cost item and gives Volibear armor and Cooldown Reduction. It is very effective against High Attack Speed champions.

Thornmail is an item I commonly build against champions that heal consistently such as Aatrox and Warwick.

Dead Man's Plate used to be one of my favorite items to build on Volibear due to it giving large amounts of movement speed. However, I have found myself building it less and less over the years. I do still think it can be a strong item when you need more catch potential.

Randuin's Omen is an item I very rarely buy and I only typically build it when the enemy team comp has AD Critical Strike items.

Against HEAVY AP these are some of the MR items I would look to purchase. Kaenic Rookern is a very strong item against burst mages. It gives a ton of Magic Resist & HP from its components. It also gives you a Magic Resist shield that typically blocks 600+ HP worth of Magic Damage.

Spirit Visage is currently my favorite item to build against AP champions. Spirit Visage works well with Volibear's kit because it makes shields and heals 25% stronger. If there is another shielding / healing champion on the team such as Seraphine, I would recommend buying this item 100% of the time.

Force of Nature is an item that I don't buy too often following its nerfs during the season swap. However, if you are looking for another MR option it is a solid pick.

There are certain situations where you will find yourself against a strong mixed damage threat. The enemy team can have a strong AP Champion & AD Champion which makes you need resistances to both. In these situations I find myself building Jak'Sho, The Protean to get resistances to both damage types. This item also amplifies any other resistances that you build later into the game. This resistance amplification occurs once you are in combat for 5 seconds which happens often for Volibear.

This is the main build that I typically build on Volibear. I have found great success with this build in Masters+ MMR and currently build it 75% of my games. Sundered Sky gives me all of the early strength that I need to snowball games into a winning position. I then build Sterak's Gage for my second item. This item gives you a large shield to keep you alive and additional damage in the earlier stages of the game. Depending on who is strong on the enemy team I will build either Frozen Heart or Spirit Visage third. I will then build the other resistance option after I finished the first one. Typically you would want to finish the game prior to finishing your last item. However, I typically finish the game building Jak'Sho, The Protean.

This Volibear build is a very strong option if you are looking to carry games. I find that this build is most effective when you get an early lead / have a lot of excess gold due to early kills, objectives, and farm. Through building the first two core items Titanic Hydra and Sundered Sky you will have a massive amount of damage. Many enemies won't expect you to do this much damage and you can use that to your advantage. Look to start as many fights as possible to continue to build your lead and give your team a much better shot at winning the game. Typically, the fourth, fifth, and sixth items are just tank / resistance items to ensure you don't die too fast. With this build you can truly be a menace on the map and you will feel the strength of Volibear.

You should look to build these items when you are against a HEAVY AD Team Comp. I find myself building these items when there is very little AP damage on the enemy team. Also, if there AP is weak / behind early I will find myself stacking armor and just ignoring the weak magic damage. Through stacking armor items like Frozen Heart, Thornmail, and Dead Man's Plate you will be very strong against their AD damage threats.

You should look to build these items when you are against a HEAVY AP Team Comp. I find myself building these items when there is very little AD damage on the enemy team. Especially, if there ADC falls behind early in the game. Through stacking items such as Kaenic Rookern and Spirit Visage you will find yourself being very strong against AP champions. They will be unable to get through your resistances and you will dominate the game.

For the FULL TANK Volibear build, I typically go it when my team already has enough damage and I trust that they can carry. Iceborn Gauntlet is a very solid item for Volibear and it gives plenty of resistances and Cooldown reduction. If you fall behind early it is a good idea to not build Titanic Hydra and just go into tank items like the ones shown above.

I know many players enjoy playing Volibear with an AP build such as the one shown. In the current meta I feel like it isn't the strongest build overall, but it can be a great option if your team needs AP damage. The only problems with this build is that it is very expensive for Volibear in the jungle. However, if you are able to build early leads and get your items, it can be a strong build. Nashor's Tooth works very well Volibear's kit. It gives you attack speed and AP which makes your passive The Relentless Storm even stronger. With Riftmaker Volibear will be able to sustain himself in fights due to the omnivamp and do a ton of additional damage. I wish the best of luck to all of my AP Volibear enjoyers out there!

In this section I will be explaining how I play out Volibear's early game! I typically start the game buy warding the top-side river at around 50 seconds in game and then I will back & buy Oracle Lens. I do this to protect against any invades which can set behind my early game & to protect my mid laner from ganks. I then full clear my jungle towards my bot side in around 80% of my games. I do this to ensure my topside camps are up when Grubs are spawning. This allows me to not waste any time or tempo while cleaing my jungle . Also, I get to help my bot laners build a lead by ganking them first.

After my first jungle clear I look to gank either botlane or mid lane to try and get an early kill. If there is no gank opportunity I take scuttler and reset. I will always look to contest scuttler because Volibear is much stronger than 95% of junglers at this stage in the game.

After reseting I will look to continue farming the jungle and looking for gank opportunities. You want to ensure that you get a kill with your Flash in the early game. With Flash Volibear is able to easily get on top of targets and get his damage down. You have to ensure that you don't waste your summoner spells without getting a reward such as a kill or multiple assists for your team. Volibear is very dependent on building leads in the early game to stay useful.

You should look to continue clearing the jungle efficiently and reach level 6 as soon as possible. Once, you have your ultimate Stormbringer you can look to set up dives on enemy laners. I personally like to look bot lane because you can get two kills instead of one. Also, you will have assistance on the dive with your support . After, diving I look to try and take objectives such as drake AKA Dragon or Grubs on the second respawn.

If you do find yourself falling behind in the early try not to panic! By forcing plays and ganks that aren't possible you will find yourself falling further & further behind. Look to continue clearing your jungle and try to set up counter ganks to support your team.

Once you reach the mid-late game stages of the game Volibear can be very effective. If you built your early game lead as described earlier you will have a ton of priority on the map. You should look to be starting fights around objectives with your team & continue building your lead. One of the easiest ways to win games in lower elos is by stacking objectives such as Dragon. Volibear is really strong at teamfighting once you complete Titanic Hydra or similar items.

In teamfights I typically play to dive onto the enemy carry with my ultimate Stormbringer. I start the fights by using my Q Thundering Smash and running at the enemy carry. I will then place my E Sky Splitter on top of them and press R Stormbringer to put myself on top of the enemy. I will then stun them with my Q and start attacking them with Frenzied Maul and auto attacks. Typically, the carries will die very fast in that combonation and your team will quickly win the fight.

If you find yourself dying often or getting kited when diving onto the enemy carry, you can look to peel for your team. I do this for stunning enemy champions diving onto my back line with Thundering Smash. I will then focus the champions in front of me and be a strong tank for the rest of my team.

You should be looking to close the game out sooner than thirty minutes when playing Volibear. As I mentioned earlier, you should be looking to stack objectives such as dragon & grubs to make this easier. You should also be trying to take Baron Nashor when you have the opportunity. Volibear is very strong at taking & tanking objectives. You will find yourself losing very little if any HP when doing Baron or Dragons.

Look to group with your team and take advantage of your mid-game strength and end the game as soon as possible. If you are having problems ending the game, look to find angles where you can pick off enemies. I do this by clearing vision and creating gaps in their vision to creat pick angles. Through this you can find picks onto their carries or onto their jungler when they are clearing.

Once you reach 35 minutes+ you will find yourself feeling weaker than the rest of the champions in the game. This is due to Volibear's lack of late-game scaling & just due to the nature of the champion. Look to find angles to be effective through tanking damage for your teammates and picking off enemies with your Thundering Smash.

In this section I will give a short guide on who I typically ban in what elo. When I am playing Volibear in lower elos I will find myself running into champions such as Rengar, Trundle, and Graves. These champions can be very annoying to deal with and I would suggest banning one of these three.

If you play Volibear in higher elos such as Diamond+ you will run into more higher skills junglers and champions. Around this elo is when I would typically start banning champions such as Bel'Veth, Lillia, and Kindred.

In Patch 14.7 Volibear received nerfs to his Ultimate Cooldown and his Q interaction with critical strikes was adjusted. His Ultimate is now 160 seconds at level 6 compared to 140 in the previous patch. This isn't too big of a deal but of course makes it so you are able to make ultimate plays less often. The adjustment to his Q nerfs the damage to his best item Sundered Sky. This causes your combo at level 8 to be decreased by 100 damage and this number only grows as the game goes on. Sundered Sky however is still the best item that you can build on Volibear jungle.

In Patch 14.6 Volibear received nerfs to his kit. His Q Thundering Smash is now 4% slower compared to its previous % MS bonus. This makes it a bit harder to reach enemies on ganks. His ultimate Stormbringer received a small nerf on its cooldown by 10 seconds at all ranks. Overall, Volibear is still in a strong state and the nerfs don't effect your gameplay that much.

In Patch 14.6 Volibear received buffs to his kit mainly his Q Thundering Smash. This makes it easier reach enemies on ganks. His ultimate Stormbringer received a buff on its cooldown. Overall, Volibear is back to dominate the jungle .