Sup all, I'm OMFGITSBATMAN on NA server and have been playing league for about a year and a half now. I currently go to grad school and in my spare time I play a lot of LOL. I've spent a substantial time in Silver elo trying to work out the system to see the easiest way to gain elo and personally, I found that wins come easy with Volibear support. So I'm sure looking at this guide, your first thought is, "Why would I ever play Volibear support?" My question to you is, "Do you want to start winning?" I personally have played in too many games where top lane and mid lane win, but botlane loses the entire game. I've also been in games were botlane destroys their opponents and has no idea of what to do once they take bot tower. I made this guide so that hopefully it can help out those who think they are stuck in "elo hell" or just want a nice change of pace.

PROS

Great engage
Naturally tanky
Great peel
Good damage output even when going full tank
Many don't know how to play against support Voli

Cons

Hard to catch up if you fall behind
Easy to spot engagement
Can be countered easily by enemy team
Needs expensive items to be useful
Can be difficult to master

Flash is a must on Volibear support. You will be targeted and you will need another way to escape besides your Q. More importantly FLASHFLIPS! Right when you activate your rolling thunder, hit flash and get right on top of the enemy ADC. Flash flips are devastating and will force the ADC or either flash themselves, heal themselves, or die. Most of the time I engage with flashflips, the enemy ADC panics and makes a mistake. Flash is without a doubt a must on Volibear support.


99% of the time, I bring ignite to botlane. Most botlaners don't expect it, and the amount of damage that comes from ignite and your W is insane. Not to mention ignite counters the effects of heal. The only time I don't take ignite is when I'm going against a Vayne in lane. I'd much rather hang on to exhaust just for her.

I usually only take exhaust for one champion: Vayne. Vayne can get pretty annoying if she is left to scale. If you can't burst her down in the early game, it is possible that you will never be able to. If your enemy team has a Vayne, choose wisely on whether to bring ignite or exhaust to lane.

This is literally one of the best things about support Volibear. Volibear's passive gives him back 30% of his overall health. I have dived many ADC's under turret and have come out alive because of his beautiful passive. Don't be afraid to all in then disengage as your passive pops. When your passive pops, you should have laid down enough damage to allow your ADC to easily pick up a kill or two. Sometimes when playing support, we come across ADCs that don't know how to use heal correctly or are very selfish with the summoner spell. Its nice to not have to rely on others when you can just heal yourself over time.
Just like in all the other champions, when you have a chance to put a point in your ultimate, DO IT!. A lot of botlaners underestimate the amount of damage that can be done with your thunderclaws in 3 - 5 seconds. Trust me when I say its more than enough time to kill the enemy ADC, support, and jungler if assisted by your ADC. As soon as I hit level 6, I usually tell my ADC that I am about to all-in and blow everything I have to get the enemy ADC and support out of lane.
For this build, you are trying to output as much damage as possible. Max your W first and bite any champion that comes close to you. Don't be afraid to give off a warning bite to let the enemy team know that your a force to be reckoned with. There are many players that say you shouldn't kill steal the ADC. In my experience, it does not matter if you secure the kill or not. The point to playing support is to keep your ADC alive and do anything possible to stop the enemy ADC from farming. Can't farm when your death timer is up.
I always find a huge debate with many Volibear players on what to max 2nd, your Q or your E. I personally find my Q a lot more useful whenever I play botlane. One of your many goals as support Volibear is to separate the enemy ADC and the enemy support to make a favorable 2v1 situation for you and your ADC. Your rolling thunder is obviously the best way to do that and as you level up your Q, you become faster when chasing enemy champions. Rolling Thunder is also great at peeling for your ADC. if a pesky Rek'sai or Leona jumps onto your ADC just Q them off and allow your ADC to get some distance to fire back.
I max my Majestic Roar last. Though it is useful, I find my Q and W to be more useful. Once the enemy has been flipped over you, your level 1 E has enough slow to allow you and your ADC to kill even the tankiest of champions.

The runes I use are strictly to sustain in lane and to proc your W whenever possible. Volibear relies on attack speed to get off damage. I stay true to Voli's roots and let him carry with his teeth.Attack Speed Marks, to get your W up as soon and as often as possible.
I run armor seals to be able to sustain in lane against any ADC. Many botlanes that I have experienced have come down to who can last the longest.
I run 6 cooldown reduction glyphs to help get Voli's bite and rolling thunder up. I tried having higher Cool down reduction in other builds, but there is almost no change and is damn near a waste of space to add the additional Cooldown Reduction Glyphs.
I run 3 magic resistance Glyphs just as a precaution. There are enough AP junlgers out there to make you think twice about running straight armor, and midlaners can roam without anyone pinging MIA. Better safe than sorry on this one.
Lastly, I run attack speed quintessences. Again, the whole purpose of this build is to get your W up as soon as possible and dealing damage with it constantly.


On a side note, I have been known to run 3 movement speed Quints. They can be useful early game, but I find that they fall off as the game continues. I have also tried health seals over armor seals and it can be useful, but you do have to be aware how much armor you are giving up. Lastly I have tried doing Cool down reduction glyphs and marks, which surprisingly works well, but you will need to build some attack speed to become useful mid to late game.

The masteries I run are pretty self explanatory.

Offensive Masteries

4 Points in fury for more attack speed.
1 Point in Butcher to help your ADC clear waves and cash in money from your relic shield.
3 Points in Brute Force to increase your overall damage output.
1 Point in Martial Mastery to make your swings even more devastating.

Defensive Masteries

2 Points in Block for more sustain in lane.
2 Points in Swiftness to increase your tenacity.
1 Point in Unyielding for better sustain in lane.
3 Points in Veteran Scars to increase your overall health, and the amount of damage your W can do.
1 Point in tenacious to increase your tenacity.
1 Point in Juggernaut to give even more damage to your bite.
3 Points in Hardiness to Keep your armor up and your deaths low.
3 Points in perseverance. Perserverance is one of the most important masteries support Volibear can have. You will be engaging, a lot. The fact that you are now healing not only from your passive, but also because of this mastery, can allow you to stay in lane forever.
1 Point in Second Wind just in case you are running low when your passive kicks in. You will end up healing for a lot more and this mastery alone can keep you in lane.
3 Points in Enchanted Armor for a variety of reasons. I found almost no real difference between 7.5% and 10% bonus armor and magic resist. The bonus stats can be made up for in the late game. Also, you need the extra free point to put it in Legendary Guardian.
In my opinon,Legendary Guardian is a mastery that needs to go on every tank support. It increases your Armor and Magic resist by 3 for every nearby ally. That means in lane you get +3 armor and mr automatically. If your team ganks/teleports botlane you get +6 armor and mr. When your team decides to group up, you get + 12 armor and mr. Can't argue with those stats too much.

I always start out with a Relic Shield and 3 pots along with a warding totem. An ancient coin doesn't help you and your ADC nearly as much as a relic shield. You're helping them farm and giving them health back. You will pretty much never run out of mana so I find mana pots and the ancient coin to be a waste of money. You want to sustain your health in lane, at all costs.



My first back I always grab a Targon's Brace, a pink ward, a green ward, and a few pots. Why grab Targon's Brace and not a sightstone? Because the money from Targon's Brace will begin to snowball you hard. At times, I buy my brace, go to lane, get a kill or an assisst, and immediately back for an instant sightstone. On a side note, that is why I buy a green and pink ward. Put the pink ward out and hope it lasts until you get your sightstone. If it gets destroyed, use your green ward, then your trinket, and be sure your ADC is also warding.


My 2nd back is grabbing my sightstone, and boots. No explanation needed for these, just do it. Make sure you grab your sweeper when you buy your sightstone.



Next, start working on your Face of the mountain and Merc Treds with the Homeguard up. FotM gives you a huge hp boost that makes your bite unbelievable. You are going to be focused hard, Mercs can help you get out of a tight situation. I never get any boot upgrade other than homeguards. You don't want to be in base, you want to be out on the field biting champs. The longer your in base, the more time you lose.



Next, you want to start working on your Randuin's Omen or your Iron Locket of Solari. Both give a nice hp boost, but one is focused more for AD resistance and one is for AP resistance. You'll end up with both, but you need to decide if you need to tank more AP or more AD.

Finally, round out the build with one of these four items and you've become an unstoppable force.


Dead Man's Plate is an awesome item for support Volibear. The health and armor are worth the cost, and the passive of gaining movement speed over time is well worth the buy. Not to mention once you build 100 stacks the first champ you run into gets a huge slow in addition to your Q and your E.



Righteous Glory is what I personally get most of the time. Any game that lasts over 40 minutes is all about picking out someone who wanders too far, or whoever has the hardest engage. The health boost makes your W even stronger and the active was made for Volibear. The active speeds your entire team and gives out a massive slow. Add on your Q and your E for a GG.



Mikael's Crucible is sorely underused in rank. Its actually a pretty good item and one that I am starting to use more and more. It takes off all stuns from yourself or an ally and gives them a nice health boost. If the enemy team has hard crowd control, I make sure to buy this at some point. Getting out of CC could be the difference between a win and a loss. I hate seeing an Annie flash stun an entire team and the game is lost just because of lack of wards or tenacity.

Guardian Angel is only on this list if you have been able to carry and your team will lose with out you. If the game has come to a point where you are carrying your entire team, than without a doubt, BUY THIS!

Don't forget to upgrade your sightstone. Ever little bit of health is important and having extra wards never hurts.

Situational Items

On a few occasions I have seen a full AD team with little to no CC. Mercs would be a waste. Buy Ninja Tabis with the homeguard upgrade. Your job is to stay alive as long as possible, and bite everyone in your way. Tabis are highly underrated and should be considered against an all AD team.


The Greater Stealth totem should be considered if you're ever playing against a Rengar, Evelyn, Shaco, or any other champ that can go invisble and wreck havoc on your team. I like the totem better as its a permanent pick ward. Sometimes you can scan the wrong place with your red trinket. Better safe than sorry I always say.

The real reason why you are even reading this guide is to learn how to carry as Support Volibear. Simply, GO FOR KILLS! Bite any and every champion you can. More than likely your ADC will get assists. Trust me 3 or 4 assists add up real quick. I have seen too many games where everyone rages when you don't give the ADC kills. I have seen to many games where the support will stop attacking to give the kill to the ADC and the ADC either dies or the enemy gets away. DON'T LET THAT BE YOU! SECURE EVERY KILL YOU CAN. Anyone can get fed in this game. Only certain people actually know how to win consistently at this game. So get fed, get huge, become a monster and carry your team to victory while they're kicking and screaming.
Your goals in the laning phase:

1. Help your ADC farm with relic shield
2. Watch for ganks
3. Peel for your ADC
4. Bite to kill the enemy support/ADC

First things first, not everyone one can perfect farm, even the pros. Your main goal as support is to help your ADC become stronger than the enemy ADC. The faster you get money, the faster you get items, the faster you win. Simple.

Next, its your job to warn your ADC of ganks. Everyone zones into what they are doing at times and forget to look at the minimap. Keep your eyes on the minimap and tell your ADC if their life is worth anything to help you ward.

If a gank comes your way or the enemy ADC/support try to all in you, peel for your ADC. You have an excellent slow with your E, and your Q can get your ADC out of a sticky situation. Don't hesitate to peel, just act. You peeling for your ADC could result in the extra money needed to complete the B.F. sword, or Cutlass.

With this build, you are constantly looking to burst the enemy ADC/support. In more than 50% of my games I do a level 3 flash flip with ignite and blow everything I have on the enemy ADC. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Every time, I get the enemy ADC/support to blow a summoners spell, while my ADC usually blows nothing. Anything you can do to give your ADC the upper hand is a win in lane.

As soon as you take your tower, its midgame for bot lane. Roam, take over the enemy jungle, keep your minons pushed up, take dragon. Do any and everything you can to cause havoc. You are already tanky and can peel like no other. Make the jungler come stop you, make top lane tp to stop you. It opens up the other lanes to take towers and to get you farther ahead. If your ADC is fed, tell them to wait by tower and gank mid. Help your jungler invade the enemy team's jungle. There are dozens of options to choose from. The point is, BE AGGRESSIVE. Playing safe doesn't guarantee a win. But starving the enemy team of resources will.

Late Game Support Volibear can be brutal for the enemy team. Your cool downs are basically nothing, you are a hardcore engager, and you can survive damn near forever. Volibear scales into a monster and refuses to fall off. If a game is in stalemate I try to wait until I have my flash up and try to flash right onto the enemy ADC or whoever is carrying. As long as you are coming back to peel for your ADC and biting anyone that has critical health, you're doing your job. Keep up the warding and never stop pressuring. The game isn't over until your screen says Victory.

Overall, Support Volibear can be a devastating addition to any team if used correctly. My build strictly focuses on you carrying your team and keeping your ADC alive, nothing more, nothing less. If you found this guide useful let me know. I am always open to criticism and critique also. If you feel there are some points that were not explained, I would be more than happy to give clarity.
~GG OMFGITSBATMAN