Volibear Champion Strategy and Item Build Guide

This page contains a champion character strategy guide for Volibear – The Thunder's Roar in League of Legends (LoL), including stats, skills and...

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Volibear

Basic Information

Volibear – The Thunder’s Roar
Class	Fighter	Role	Juggernaut
Secondary Bar	Mana	IP/RP	4800 / 880

Champion Stats

	Lv1	Per Lv	Lv18
Health	584.48	+86	2046
Health Regen	8.09	+0.65	19.1
Mana	270.4	+30	780
Mana Regen	8.09	+0.65	19.1
Attack Damage	59.544	+3.3	116
Armor	26.38	+3.5	85.9
Attack Speed	0.658	+2.67%	0.658
Magic Resist	32.1	+1.25	53.4
Movement Speed	345	–	345
Melee	125	–	125

Lore

[Click to read]

The unforgiving northern reaches of the Freljord are home to the Ursine, a fierce and warlike race that has endured the barren tundra for thousands of years. Their leader is a furious adversary who commands the force of lightning to strike fear within his foes: Volibear. Both a warrior and a mystic, Volibear seeks to defend the ancient ways and the warrior spirit of his tribe.Though history recorded their once legendary feats in battle, the Ursine now lived in tranquil seclusion. The warriors were headed by a triumvirate of leaders who maintained a long-lived isolation, avoiding the petty affairs and conflicts of others. As shaman to the three, Volibear was a respected sage known for his insight. It was an era of unprecedented peace, but Volibear felt dread stirring within him. Prosperity was turning the tribe soft and weak, and many had long forgotten the sacred art of war. In time, Volibear felt the fire of their souls would be extinguished. When he revealed his misgivings to the triumvirate, they refused to listen and warned him to know his place.

Seeking wisdom, Volibear undertook a perilous climb to the peak of the Ursine’s sacred mountain, a place forever shrouded in a thundering maelstrom. The eye of the storm was said to bestow portents, and legend held that the tempest would mark the next great chieftain of the tribe. As Volibear ascended the peak, he was struck by an unnatural bolt of lightning. When the shaman awoke, he was possessed by a horrific vision of the Freljord utterly consumed by darkness. Volibear saw an unprepared and complacent Ursine force slaughtered by terrible creatures of ice. In an instant, he knew his race would perish if they did not prepare for war.

Volibear rushed down the mountainside to recount what he had seen, but found the path blocked by three Ursine – the triumvirate. Knowing he would end the lasting peace, they refused to heed Volibear’s warning and demanded his silence, by his word – or his death. Resolute and adamant, Volibear swore that the Ursine’s very survival depended on his message, and launched into ferocious combat against the three. A terrible clash ensued, and just as Volibear succumbed to his opponents, he called upon the power of the maelstrom. Unleashing raw lightning, he struck the trio down with a thunderous blow. Stunned and astonished, the triumvirate beheld the sign of Ursine leadership: the force of the sacred storm.

Recognizing his foretold ascendance, the triumvirate appointed Volibear as the Ursine’s new leader. His influence was swift and decisive: he roused his tribe from complacency, revived their battle-hardened traditions, and allied with Sejuani, the warrior who would fight with them against the coming evil. With time, the tribe grew lean and fierce, becoming known again as fearsome warriors of legend. Volibear and the Ursine now stand ready for the dark day that looms on the icy horizon.

(Source: http://gameinfo.na.leagueoflegends.com/en)

Skills

Icon	Description
	Chosen of the Storm (Static Cooldown: 120) Volibear periodically regenerates 30% maximum health over 6 seconds when below 30% maximum health.
	Rolling Thunder (Cost: 40 Mana, Cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8, Bonus Movement Speed: 15/17.5/20/22.5/25%, Bonus Physical Damage: 30/60/90/120/150)ACTIVE: Volibear gains bonus movement speed for the next 4 seconds, doubled when moving towards a nearby visible enemy champion within 1800 units of him. For the duration, Volibear’s next basic attack deals bonus physical damage and flings his target over and behind himself.Rolling Thunder resets Volibear’s autoattack timer.
	Frenzy (Target Range: 400, Cost: 35 Mana, Cooldown: 18, Bonus Attack Speed Per Stack: 4/8/12/16/20%, Minimum Physical Damage: 60/110/160/210/160 [+15% bonus health])PASSIVE: Volibear’s basic attacks grant bonus attack speed for 4 seconds, stacking up to 3 times. At 3 stacks, Volibear gains the ability to cast Frenzy.ACTIVE: Volibear bites the target enemy, dealing physical damage, increasing by 0% – 100% (based on target’s missing health).Frenzy’s cooldown is halved if it is used on a monster.
	Majestic Roar (Effect Radius: 425, Cost: 60/65/70/75/80 Mana, Cooldown: 11, Magic Damage: 60/105/150/195/240 [+60% AP], Slow: 30/35/40/45/50%)ACTIVE: Volibear deals 60/105/150/195/240 (+60% Ability Power) magic damage to nearby enemies and slows them by 30/35/40/45/50% for 3 seconds.Minions and monsters are feared as well.
	Thunder Claws (Effect Radius: 500, Cost: 100 Mana, Cooldown: 100/90/80, Magic Damage: 75/115/155 [+30% AP])ACTIVE: Volibear erupts with chain lightning, striking up to 4 nearby enemies with 75/115/155 (+30% Ability Power) magic damage.For the next 12 seconds, the storm empowers Volibear, causing his basic attacks to deal 75/115/155 (+30% Ability Power) bonus magic damage that chains to 4 nearby enemies.

Strategy

Top Lane

Bait your enemies by engaging when your health is low because your passive Chosen of the Storm will massively heal you when your low on health.
(Q) Rolling Thunder is one of the staple Volibear abilities you need to master. For example, offensively, you can use this skill along with Flash to catch your opponent off-guard. Defensively, you can use (Q) Rolling Thunder to get away from fights you don’t need to engage.
(W) Frenzy is more effective the lower the enemy’s health is. As such, keep this in mind when you’re ganking a lane.
When the enemy is far away, try activating (R) Thunder Claws and hit the minion closest to that enemy because it might reach him for the same damage.

Jungle

(E) Majestic Roar is good for kiting neutral monsters as it can fear multiple enemies in an AoE.
(W) Frenzy is also a good skill in the jungle lane as it can quickly kill large monsters and its cooldown is halved against enemy monsters.
Sometimes it’s best to save your (R) Thunder Claws when the enemy is escaping or has flashed. The mere fact that the enemy used a summoner means that the gank was a success.

Runes & Masteries

COMING SOON

Summoner Spells

Top Lane		Jungle

Flash	Teleport	Smite	Teleport

Item Builds

Top Lane

Starter Items

Doran’s Shield	Health Potion	Warding Totem

Core Items

Dead Man’s Plate	Spirit Visage	Mercury’s Treads

Dead Man’s Plate – Dead Man’s Plate increases the armor and health of Volibear while granting him a passive that increases his movement speed and increases his first auto attack in full stacks. This passive goes really well with (Q) Rolling Thunder, as it stacks well with the additional movement speed Dead Man’s Plate provides.

Spirit Visage – Aside from the health increase and magic resistance, Spirit visage grants Volibear increased healing from his items and his passive Chosen of the Storm. This item is a good pickup for Volibear as it will make him a very tanky frontliner in team fights.

Mercury’s Treads – Mercury’s Treads helps Volibear overcome slows and other forms of crowd controls as it lessens its duration. This helps a lot especially if you are trying to set a fight with (Q) Rolling Thunder.

Full Build

Dead Man’s Plate	Spirit Visage	Thornmail

Mercury’s Treads	Warmog’s Armor	Titanic Hydra

Thornmail – Thornmail is a very strong item on Volibear as he is a very tanky champion that might receive a lot of pokes from ranged enemy champions. Moreover, Thornmail also gives off Grievous Wounds to those who attack you, making them more vulnerable to your team.

Warmog’s Armor – Warmog’s Armor increases the overall health and regeneration of Volibear. This fits really nicely with his passive, allowing him to regain a lot of health without returning to base.

Titanic Hydra – Titanic Hydra is a great offensive item for Volibear as the item gets stronger the more health you have.

Situational Items

Sterak’s Gage	Adaptive Helm	Righteous Glory

Trinity Force

Sterak’s Gage – Sterak’s Gage is also a good option for Volibear if you want to be an offensive juggernaut in team fights. The passive on this item gives him a shield and extra attack damage, which are stats he needs in skirmishes where is in front of a fight.

Adaptive Helm – Adaptive Helm is a good item if the enemy has a lot of AP low cooldown casters that are far ahead in the game. Otherwise, this item has no use aside from the extra defensive stats it provides.

Righteous Glory – Righteous Glory is a great initiation tool as the active grants him and his nearby teammates’ movement while slowing enemies after the duration. This item is great if you have an aggressive team composition that has an advantage in large team fights.

Trinity Force – Trinity Force is very situational and must only be built if you want to center your item build on the offensive side. However, if used correctly, you can deal a lot of damage especially when (R) Thunder Claws is active.

Jungle

Starter Items

Hunter’s Machete	Refillable Potion	Warding Totem

Core Items

Stalker’s Blade – Cinderhulk	Dead Man’s Plate	Titanic Hydra

Mercury’s Treads

Stalker’s Blade: Cinderhulk – Cinderhulk is the better jungle enchantment for Volibear as it gives him more health. The Immolate aura also works well with Volibear in the jungle because he doesn’t have a fast jungle clear compared to the other top tier jungle and this item fixes that problem.

Full Build

Stalker’s Blade – Cinderhulk	Dead Man’s Plate	Titanic Hydra

Warmog’s Armor	Thornmail	Mercury’s Treads

Situational Items

Righteous Glory	Trinity Force	Randuin’s Omen

Adaptive Helm	Sterak’s Gage

Playing Against

Poke and harass him in the laning phase until you activate his passive Chosen of the Storm. A Volibear with a cooldown on his passive is more vulnerable since he has no sustain if he engages.
Stay away from your minions and allies when Volibear is attacking with (R) Thunder Claws as it bounces to the nearest 4 enemies.
Never engage him with low health, as his (W) Frenzy deals more damage the lower your health is.
Igniting him during his Chosen of the Storm (passive) will greatly reduce the healing of his passive.
He will have a blue icon below his character box when his passive is on cooldown.

Hard Counter

Darius – Darius is a great counter against Volibear because Hemorrhage can negate the healing passive of Chosen of the Storm. Darius can even out-sustain Darius with Decimate. Furthermore, Darius also has the ability to execute Volibear without having to activate Chosen of the Storm with Noxian Guillotine.
Teemo – Teemo is a very agile champion that has the ability to outrun and harass Volibear in the laning phase. For example, well-placed shrooms will give Volibear a hard time as he needs to be close to his enemies to deal damage. Moreover, Teemo can also run away when Volibear uses Rolling Thunder with Move Quick.
Jayce – Jayce can easily harass Volibear in Cannon Stance. For example, when Volibear gets close, he can just switch to Hammer Stance and use Thundering Blow to create space and eventually escape Volibear if needed.

Strategy Video