I am a four year League of Legends player who just started playing ranked this past season. I started in BronzeII and ended Platinum4 in the span of a month and a half. This is my first ever MobaFire guide and I intend on climbing farther in the upcoming season to further my knowledge and possibly create more guides. I wanted to make this guide because Volibear was one of the champions that I fell in love with while climbing and I want to create a guide to help others on their climb to Silver, Gold, Platinum, or whatever goal they have set for themselves.

Passive-The Relentless Storm

Volibear gains a stack whenever he damages at least one enemy with a basic attack on-hit or ability, stacking up to 5 times and lasting for 6 seconds. This refreshes on subsequent damaging abilities or attacks, stacking up to five times. Each stack gives Volibear bonus attack speed, and upon reaching five stacks, Volibear gains "Lightning Claws." Lightning Claws causes Volibear's basic attacks and on-hit abilities to deal bonus magic damage to the target and the closest enemy, chaining up to four times depending on level. This can be used as poke to remove things like Malzahars passive -Void Shift- or deactivate Garen's passive healing. -Perseverance-

Q-Thundering Smash

Volibear becomes ghosted and gains movement speed, doubled whenmoving toward a visible enemy champion. Volibear's next basic attack deals bonus physical damage and stuns the target for one second. If Volibear is immobilized during this effect, it ends and refunds the cooldown of this ability. An important thing to note about Volibear's Q is that it resets his basic attack timer.

W-Frenzied Maul

Volibear strikes an enemy dealing physical damage and applying a "Wounded" debuff to the target. Volibear can recast Frenzied Maul on a wounded target to deal additional physical damage and heal for a flat amount plus a percentage of Volibear's missing health. The healing is halved against minions. Frenzied Maul also benefits from Omnivamp at 100% effectiveness.

E-Sky Splitter

Volibear summons a circle of lightning that strikes after a two second delay. If Volibear is in the circle as it strikes, he gains a shield for a percentage of his maximum health for three seconds. If an enemy is struck by Sky Splitter, they take a flat amount of magic damage plus a percent of the target's maximum health and are slowed by 40%.

R-Stormbringer

Volibear transforms and leaps to the target location with CC immunity. Volibear gains bonus health, attack range, increased range on Frenzied Maul, bonus size, and he becomes ghosted. On impact, Volibear slows all enemies within a radius for 50% of their movement speed. Enemies caught directly underneath Volibear take large physical damage. Volibear also disables all turrets in the area of Stormbringer and deals the same physical damage to them.

100% of games, take Flash

I am a firm believer in Flash being one of my summoners in literally every single game that I play on Volibear. It is simply the most versatile summoner spell in the game. You can get easy burst kills in lane with a surprise E+Flash+Q+W, easy engages in teamfights, etc. Don't troll. Take FLASH.

Choose one of the following to accompany Flash

Ignite is a fine choice on Volibear. The kill pressure with Ignite is insane on Volibear, but will never be as reliable as Teleport. With this summoner spell, there are very few champions that can rival you in lane. I'll take this spell when I think I can snowball early and secure an easy 20 minute win.

Teleport is the classic combination. It is a much safer rune than Ignite, considering the fact that you can entirely mess up your wave management and erase the mistake with Teleport. I'll take this spell when I want to have more map presence and play for a safer, longer game.

Ghost is an interesting summoner on Volibear that I actually quite like. Getting kited by something like a Vayne or Phase Rush Lillia on Volibear feels absolutely horrible, especially when you are one of your team's main CC. I'll take this spell when it's necessary for me to lock down enemy carries and I feel like I won't be able to stick to them.

Volibear's runes are fairly simple. The core will always stay the same and only minor modifications are necessary to ensure that you succeed in any lane that you are forced to play in.

Conqueror Core

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Conqueror will always be your keystone rune. The only competition is Grasp of the Undying, and it gets outclassed by Conqueror 9 times out of 10 in my opinion.


No other secondary rune fits Volibear in this selection, but Triumph is perfect for him. Any form of healing to keep Volibear alive and W'ing is a wonderful choice.


Choose between these two runes depending on your game. If the enemy team has heavy CC, grab tenacity. If not, capitalize on alacrity. Getting to use alacrity is a treat on Voli.


Always always ALWAYS take this as your final rune in precision. It's so perfect for Volibear's key ideal: Death Defy. He can stay on low HP forever and get so much use out of this rune.


The secondary keystone is where you have flexibility in the kind of playstyle you desire. I have chosen three different core ideas for secondary keystones to choose from.

Secondary Keystone

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Resolve Secondary

Resolve secondary is the most reliable choice. There is tons of versatility in this keystone and I run it the majority of my games.

Revitalize is a necessity if you choose to take resolve. Buffing healing and shielding on this champion is such a big deal. Every single game you will get tons of value out of this rune, no matter what build you decide to go.

For your final rune, these three options all have great value in their specific scenarios. Choose to adapt to your situation.


Shield Bash is a damage rune for resolve. It synergizes very well with Voli's kit and build paths. Combining it with Fimbulwinter, you can have consistent shield bash damage. Combining with Gargoyle Stoneplate can lead to a walloping 600 damage auto-attack.

Bone Plating is a safer laning rune that you typically take into matchups that there will be heavy trading.

Second Wind is also a safer laning rune that you take into poke matchups such as Teemo or Jayce.

Domination Seconday

The domination secondary tree is excellent for lane strength. You can play very aggressive and contest any laner in trades.

Ravenous hunter is an excellent aggressive rune for Volibear. The flat, permanent healing is incredibly useful.


Cheap shot gives your main E>Q>W combo some serious burst damage. For squisher laners, you can nearly 100-0 with this combo after your first back.

Sorcery Secondary

Sorcery Secondary would be used for scaling. Volibear can struggle in the lategame if he doesn't get a lead earlier in the game and these runes will help him stay relevant.

Ability haste is an important stat for Voli. The passive AH from transcendence and ability refund at level 11 can keep Volibear in the fight.


Gathering storm is the obvious rune for scaling. As time goes on, you get more adaptive damage.

This is my favorite part of League. Creating new builds and having different itemizations every game keeps the game fresh. Brewing up off-meta builds and finding what YOU like the most. It's what makes League so charming. That being said, let's move on to breaking down the items that Volibear dearly loves.

Mythic Items

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Riftmaker

Riftmaker is a very fun item for Volibear. You have sustain in the form of Omnivamp, and obviously the health. Omnivamp works incredibly well on Volibear because of one small detail that many forget. Volibear's empowered W gets 100% benefit from Omnivamp, which gives him some incredible healing; especially when paired with an item like Spirit Visage. On top of that, the health that Riftmaker gives works well on Volibear due to his % health ratios. (Not to mention, you do so...so much damage.)

Frostfire Gauntlet

This item is 'Ol Reliable when it comes to Mythics. Inexpensive and offers great stats for Volibear. Or for any tank/bruiser, really. Health is excellent on Volibear since he uses health very effectively in his ability ratios, armor and mr are always excellent, and CDR is amazing for Volibear's ability to "defy death." The slow field also pairs well with the new Fimbulwinter item, which is one of my favorite items currently.

Sunfire Aegis

I rarely take this item over the other two immolate Mythics, but there are some games where this item is a better pick on Voli by leaps and bounds. It provides you with more damage than either of the other two immolate Mythics with the addition of bonus tenacity. This item is excellent when facing a tank stack that throws CC at you. Ex. A game with Ornn toplane, Amumu jungle, and Nautilus support.

Turbo Chemtank

After the Chemtank rework, I've been enjoying this item a lot more. Good uses of the Supercharged active can ensure the lockdown of a high mobility or high range champions. The passive ability haste is great for feeding Voli's defiance of death.

Divine Sunderer

I really just don't like this item. I feels so weak compared to the other Mythic options now. I don't recommend going this item, but I know some people still swear by the Sunderer, so maybe it's just my own unique issue with this item. Try it out and see what you think.

Legendary Items

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Fimbulwinter

I absolutely LOVE this item. It provides so much good for Volibear. Ability haste? Spectacular. Health? Can't get enough of it. BONUS Health? YEAH. Can't get enough. More shields? Marry me. Fimbulwinter does not only work well with Voli, it works well with his items too. It synergizes with items such as Chemtank, Frostfire, and Randuins. I take this item nearly every game because I think it fits in almost all of Volibear's builds.

Spirit Visage

Another great item for Volibear. Provides magic resist with increased healing and shielding which is something Voli thrives on. Increased healing from Frenzied Maul and shielding from Sky Splitter, Fimbulwinter, and other items is very desirable.

Gargoyle Stoneplate

Late game tank item. I'm just repeating myself at this point by saying how much I like shields. I recommend getting this item 5th or 6th. It pairs well with Spirit Visage. (Shield Bash works with Stoneplates shield)

Steraks Gage

Wonderful tank item. I've seen a lot of players buy this second or third item, but I recommend it be used as a late game item. The healing on this item is NUTS. Pairing this with Spirit Visage makes for an unkillable bear.

Nashors Tooth

Strong 2nd or 3rd damage item. This item just feels great to use. The attack speed and AP combined with The Relentless Storm is so much fun to play with and extremely viable on Voli. I sometimes take this 5th or 6th on tank builds to throw in some extra magic damage if my team is lacking.

Thornmail

Thornmail is a necessity in a lot of games. Omnivamp is a huge deal right now, so grevious is desirable. I don't think you get as much value out of finishing Thornmail early as you would some other items, so I recommend buying Bramble Vest very early and finishing Thornmail 5th or 6th.

Abyssal Mask

Abyssal Mask is an overlooked MR option. It's a situation item and should not be taken every game. Look to buy this item when there is heavy AP on both teams. When it comes time for this itme to be used, take advantage of it. It's an incredible item when the situation is right and can win you a game.

Randuin's Omen

Possibly the best item when it comes to physical threats. It and Frozen Heart are both good choices when it comes to armor, but I prefer Randuin's because of the active usage and how it synergizes with my baby, Fimbulwinter.

Zhonya's Hourglass

Inexpensive and effective. Zhonyas has one of the most OP build paths out of any item in the game. I love this item when I'm going for a full Omnivamp AP build and I typically build it 2nd or 3rd item.

Demonic Embrace

*NEEDS MORE TESTING* I haven't messed around with this item much since the rework, but I think it has potential to be a solid item for Voli.

Boots

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Mercury Treads

Facing hard CC champs or heavy AP. 25% of games

Plated Steelcaps

Against fed/multiple AA based champions. 70% of the time

Boots of Swiftness

Tired of getting kited and slowed? Grab these bad boys. 5% of games (more for fun)

I hope this Volibear guide helped you gain a better understanding of Volibear and how to pilot him! This is my first ever MobaFire guide and I really enjoyed putting this together. If this guide gets any traction, I'll most likely add onto it and incorporate more advanced mechanics such as how to roam effectively, the best ward placements, splitpushing, and how to take advantage of the enemy jungler during the earlier phases of the game.

If anything has an error in it or anything of the sort, let me know!