The thunderous demigod known as the Thousand-Pierced Bear is the battle-spirit of the Freljord. Thousands of years of constant and bitter wars, fought in the coldest winters, have hardened Volibear into a truly indomitable force, hurling bolts of lightning from the highest peaks—and when snowy tempests rage down, it can only mean that he is on the attack once more. Any who dare to face him may find themselves joining his fierce army of Ursine warriors… assuming they do not fall victim to his savage claws.

Hello I'm KinkyKog and after getting my mid lane Kog'Maw stomped by a Volibear I decided to play some Voil Mid and learn how to counter him. After going 9-1 I became one with the thunder. I don't play too competitively, so I like to have fun with off-meta champs (Mid lane AD artillery Kog'Maw hybrid ADC). I'll be updating my guide frequently as I play more Volibear! If you have any advice or questions, just type a comment.

I consider early laning phase to be before you hit level 6. From levels 1-5 Volibear can be quite weak against certain champions. Volibear lacks thunder until he hits 6.

Against ranged mages, your goal is to farm as best you can. Try to setup minions to die as the enemy laner minions die. This will prevent some poke unless the enemy mid laner wants to miss cs. After being poked back off and regen some health via Doran's shield. After you hit level 3, you can 1v1 almost any ranged champion mid if these conditions hold:

The enemy mid laner lacks a dash or escape ability, it's on cool down or the enemy mid laner is out of mana.
The enemy mid laner has no ability that prevents your autos from doing damage (ex: teemo blind).
The enemy mid laner has no easy to hit hard cc. (example Annie stun up, ahri charm).
The enemy laner does not have a major slow (glacial augment, Anivia)
The enemy jungler location is known and not near Mid.

If the enemy laner has multiple abilities on the list then it will be a hard matchup. For example, Ahri has dashes and charm.

You can still try to engage early and force them to miss a cannon minion. Just make sure to watch your health. Try to engage early and force a summoner flash (even a flash for ghost trade). When you hit 6 you can easily all in as ghost will come up while the enemies flash is down.

Lastly, if you have a strong early jungler ask for ganks as your lane will likely be pushed to your tower as you don't have the best wave clear.

The enemies can now feel your thunder. At level 6 Voli gets his ultimate which adds an additional 75 magic damage per auto that spreads to 6 enemies. With Voli's W, and lethal tempo you can 1v1 any champion at 1v1 as long as you can stick to them. Don't be afraid of attempting to 1v2 the mid lane and jungler.

When to 1v2:

Are you ahead in levels?
Are you ahead in items bought?
Does the jungler have ultimate?
Is your passive/ultimate up?
Can they chain cc you?
Is someone low enough to burst?
Are my summoners up?
Are their summoners up?
Do my defensive resistances counter both their damage types?
Do I have a big minion wave? Do they have a big minion wave?

I can't tell you when you can 1v2, but if you're not behind and have thunder up you can go for it.

When to 2v2:

Whenever possible unless you and the jungler are way behind.

Volibear is extremely strong 2v2 because his thunder spreads and does a good amount of AOE damage.

When to Roam:

If you are ahead or even mid lane look to spread your thunder to all lanes. The more enemy champions the more you can spread your thunder.
Start a slow push by crush the tower with a big wave and look to roam. Don't roam to a badly losing lane if that enemy lane has strong cc advantage versus your bot lanes cc.

This is where Volibear shines. In lower Elo's you can try to make picks on enemy laners with your team. If the enemy team is disorganized or lacks good team fighting champions you should look to engage whenever possible. Make sure to count allies vs enemies numbers. If you have a numbers advantage or are even engage.

I am the engage guide:

So, how? The easiest champion to keep autoing that stays near their team. This is usually the support/jungle/top lane. Do not go after a mobile champion or their carry in the first moments of a team fight. You will be hit with crowd control and burst and likely focused down. Instead, try to pull a bruiser or enemy tank who has no escape abilities. Now unleash your thunder if your team jumps in with you. Keep attacking the tank and watch your thunder fry the enemies alive. The enemy team should start fleeing, so now its time to use your thunderclaws to beat the squishes to death.


I'm not the only engager:

In this scenario let your teammates engage to cause chaos. Wait half a second for the enemies to use some of their cc. Now run in and start spreading your thunder on an enemy carry or fed assassin. Watch enemies melt and chase down whoever is left.

I went full AP:

Play like a Master Yi. You must wait for a majority of the cc abilities to be blown before you can go in to spread your thunder. Very strong against squishy enemy teams that lack crowd control as long as you have engagers. After the team fight has been going on for a little bit, fly in and find a tank to target that's kind of close to everyone else but far enough away where you won't get blown up. Now spread your super thunder and watch the enemy team be nuked.

I went to be Udyr (split):

Play like an Udyr and pressure towers. Wait for the enemy team to show up then split hard and take towers. If the enemy team wants an objective such as Baron or dragon make them pay for it with a couple of towers. Make sure you take teleport so you can teleport in when the team needs you. You're extremely fast with the split push build so look to quickly pick off squishy enemies if they show up to farm near you.

Dorans Sheild is the best starting item by far as it allows you to stay in lane and farm. Without mid laners will poke you out of lane.

Cowl vs Raptor
Against AP matchups take cowl and against AD matchups take Raptor. AD mid laners such as talon and zed have great mobility and are hard to catch. Raptors will help you catch them as well as provide good lane sustain via health regen. Just because you build Raptor doesn't mean you have to finish into a full item!

Wit's End
Every single Volibear build should include Wit's End. It's **** early as the onhit doesn't start scaling up till level 9, so getting this item around level 10-13 is priority number one (even against AD laners). Wit's end with lethal tempo and maxed frenzy will allow you to auto like a made man (2.5+). Wit's end gives you insane healing power and damage that synergizes with runes, visage and your passive.

Why ruby crystals vs Giants Belt
It leaves more build path's open and is just as gold efficient as a giant's belt. Health makes Voli's passive stronger, makes him tankier, and makes his w deal more damage.

Why frozen mallet early?
It synergies well with lethal tempo by slowing enemies. If you're chasing the enemy then your thunder isn't hitting as much as it should. Get frozen mallet and lock the enemy down to spread your thunder. Also, Frozen Mallet's 800 health adds a good bit of damage to your W.