Hello everone, this is my first guide so don't be too hard on me. I'm making this guide to show how I play Volibear as a solo top champion. I find that Voli is a very strong top laner who doesn't lose out to many champs.He an be played as a jungler buts I usually play hime as a solo top so I will let someone else tell you how to jungle him. Now, lets move on.

So, why play ?

Pros:

He is tough to push out of lane with

He has an AoE slow
He is a great chase
His ulti can give that extra damage needed in team fights
Can roam well
Somewhat difficult to gank
Can jungle if needed
Strong ganker
He is a big bear


Cons:

Doesnt put out the most damage of all solo tops
His passive can grant a false sense of invincibilty
Toss can mess up a fight/gank

For runes I make sure to pick up flat armor quints, armor per level seals, health per level marks, and mana per level glyphs. Why the mana per level glyphs? Well, I find on Voli that I use my skills very often to harass and farm. It's for that reason I take the mana per levels, they also work well with a few of the items for the build, but we'll get to that later.

For Masteries I go with a standard 9/21/0 build, not too much out of the ordinary here.

When Volibear's Health drops below 30% of his maximum health, he will heal fo 30% of his maximum health over the next 6 seconds. This passive effect has a 120 second cooldown
I cant tel you how much I love this passive. Great for fights, and can be used to bait quite well.
next 4 seconds Volibear gains 15% movement speed. If he is moving towards a nearby visible enemy champion, the movement speed is increased by 45% instead of 15%. Additionally, Volibear's next autoattack during this time will deal 30/60/90/120/150 bonus physical damage and will fling the target behind him (300 units).
I love this abililty. It can be used to escape, initiate, chase and secure a kill. its a devestating combination. Here's something fun to try. Have Lulu ulti you and activate Rolling Thunder and pop and activate Shurelya's Battlesong. The enemy will have no idea what to do when a giant bear is rushing at them on all fours at blazing speeds!
Passive Volibear temporarily gains 8/11/13/17/20% bonus attack speed after an auto attack. This bonus stacks up t 3 times and lasts fr 4 seconds. Active: While Volibear has 3 stacks of Frenzy, he can activate thisability to bitea target enemy. The stacks won't be consume. The bite will deal 80/125/170/215/260 (+15% of bonus health) physical damage. This damage will in turn be increased by 1% for every 1% of the targets missing health.
A solid ability. Not very strong until mid-late game when you have a good amount of hp. A good finish off skill and the attack speed bonus is very nice and works well with
Volibear lets out sa powerful roar that deals 60/105/150/195/240 (+60% of ability power) magic damage and slows nearby enemies by 30/35/40/45/50& fo 3 seconds. Minions, monsters and pets are feared for that duration as well.
Volibears bread and butter ability. The fact that its AoE just makes it so strong. Can be used to slow enemies for an easier chase or for an easier get away. When using it to harass first activate and either fling them then use Roar, or run close to them, into AoE range and then use it.
For the next 12 seconds, Volibear's autoattacks will blast his target with lightning that will bounce to up to 3 nearby enemies. Each bolt of lightning will deal 75/115/155 (+30% of ability power) magic damage and will only hit each target once.
A decent ulti. When using in 1v1 situations only use when you know you hve an advantage or when you know you will win the fight. I say this because even if the enemy tries running awway the lightning can bounce off a minion and still cause damage. Always use in team fights.

I love this on Volibear. Goes with so well. Gives him that extra speed to either catch someone or make a get away.
Another solid choice for Volibear. Gives him a better utility choice for getting around the battle field.
Notable spells: Always a solid pick, wether it be used in lane or team fights.
Another solid choice, used to finish off an enemy or to just down a heal.

Very useful. Can be used to set a gank up, help an ally in need, get to lane very fast and sometimes can be used as an escape.

Now, for the Items.
Standard: I open with a Regrowth Pendant and 1 Health Potion. Now, it's important to remember one thing on your first trip back, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH FOR A Philosopher's Stone and Boots. Now, I know it isn't going to take a lot of gold to complete, but if your lane is beating you bad, make sure you have enough for the philo stone before and boots before you go back, otherwise you will be in bad shape. After the philo stone and boots you are going to make a Kindlegem. Now, yo have two options, you can either save up for Shurelya's Battlesong or go straight to your completed boots. I usually save for a Reverie for three main reasons. 1. It gives you decent regen stats and the extra 330 health isn't bad either. 2.It gives yo a mini ghost that is on a 30 second cooldown. Seriously, I can't tell you have amazing the active for Shurelya's Battlesong is for Volibear. Coupled with his Q an Ghost, if needed, is just amazing. The last reason is that the active is an AoE ability, which can help with ganks, escaping or chasing when with your team. After the Reveire I generally take Boots of Swiftness. I only take Mercury's Treads if top lane AND the rest of the enemy team has heavy cc. After your completed boots you are going to make a Phage. Next up is a Giant's Belt or a completed Frozen Mallet if you have the money for it. The rest of the items from here are situational. If the enemy team isn't putting out a lot of damage go for a Wit's End or Ionic Spark. For Magic Resist go with a Force of Nature if there isn't a lot of cc, a Maw of Malmortius if they arent putting out too much damage, and a Banshee's Veil if you are having cc problems. For armor items go with Frozen Heart if their ad champs are strong, Randuin's Omen which I find to be a great overall item, Sunfire Aegis, Thornmail but only if their ad champions are fed and it becomes a must have item. Other notable items for Volibear are, Guardian Angel because who doesnt like getting a second chance, Atma's Impaler if you have more hp than you know what to do with, Rylai's Crystal Scepter it actually can be useful in some games, Warmog's Armor for more hp than anyone actually needs and lastly Trinity Force.
Playing Behind: Follow the Standard item build up until finished boots. Instead of Boots of Swiftness make Mercury's Treads. After that make you have to build according to the enemy team. If their ad is doing the carrying build a Thornmail or Sunfire Aegis. If its the ap then build Force of Nature or Bashee's Veil. After that build a Warmog's Armor. From there build what is needed in terms of armor, hp and mr.
Playing with a lead/fed: Follow standard build up to Frozen Mallet. After this you are going to make either a Wit's End or Ionic Spark, it comes down to personal preference. Next is a Rylai's Crystal Scepter. From here build either a Guardian's Angel or a Sunfire Aegis.
Re-Cap: Standard- Regrowth Pendant 1 Health Potion---> Philosopher's Stone Boots---> Shurelya's Battlesong Boots of Swiftness or Mercury's Treads---> Phage---> Giant's Belt/ Frozen Mallet---> Ionic Spark or Wit's End---> Banshee's Veil or Force of Nature or Maw of Malmortius---> Randuin's Omen or Sunfire Aegis or Thornmail.
Playing Behind- Regrowth Pendant 1 Health Potion---> Philosopher's Stone Boots---> Mercury's Treads Shurelya's Battlesong---> Thornmaill or Sunfire Aegis---> Force of Nature or Banshee's Veil---> Warmog's Armor.
Fed/Lead- Regrowth Pendant 1 Heath Potion---> Philosopher's Stone Boots---> Shurelya's Battlesong Boots of Swiftness---> Ionic Spark or Wit's End---> Rylai's Crystal Scepter---> Guardian's Angel or Sunfire Aegis.

I find farming with Volibear rather easy. His gives a good attack speed buff for last hitting. His is very strong vs creeps and is a great farming skill.

I find that there are two ways to play Volibear, aggressive and defensive. I generally play aggressive because of my mana per level runes and of Regrowth Pendant. With my mana regen I can usually outlast whoever I am lanning against in the mana department an my Regrowth Pendant keeps my health at high enough levels for a good harass game. Its important to find a balance of harassing and farming and with Volibear this is extremely easy. For harassing, you want to get 3 stacks of off of creeps. Then activate and fling the enemy champ. Almos as soon as you fling them you use and then . Alternativey, if the enemy is playing defensive you can do this. Activate . Run towards them BUT DON'T FLING THEM, instead get them inside Majestic Roars range use it and run away. If they are close enough to where you don't need just get 3 stacks of use on them and immediatley after ue . DON'T FORGET TO LAST HIT ONLY! I cannot stress this enough. The harass from is going to weaken the creeps enough. You don't need to auto them outside of last hitting, you will just push too much. The only time you can ulti a creep outside of last hitting is when you are getting stacks of to harass. You are generally going to handle each champ the same, with a balance of harass, farming and some defensive play. Remember, you can fling someone into your turret range.

Team work is very easy for Volibear. Fling, slow and speed up. Do your best to put out as much damage as you can. Roam if you're winning your lane outright. CALL YOUR MIA'S!!! I cant tell you how many times an mia isnt called and i get ganked by mid and the jungler. You should always be map aware, and thus should have a better iea of when mid is missing but still, CALL THE MIA'S!

So, all in all, Volibear is a tanky dps who has the ability to carry a game or bring it back from a loss. He is a very strong laner and can hop in the jungle from time to time. I hope you got something from this guide and that your Volibear gameplay improves.