Guide Sections (15)
- Champion Stats
- The Thunder Maul
- Ranking Volibear's Skins
- When They Ban Volibear
- Volibear's Keystone Choice
- Skill Max Order for Volibear
- Mastering Volibear's Kit
- The Volibear Matchup Sheet
- Tower Dive Ego
- When They Kite You Out
- The Split Decision
- The AP Volibear Build
- When Volibear Comes Online
- The Stormbringer Dive
- Recent Patch History
Champion Stats
Low elo players treat their tower as a sanctuary. Volibear proves them wrong. A smurf abuses the anxiety this causes—players will back off from the wave simply because you existed nearby, losing massive CS. Furthermore, players constantly disrespect the W2 (Wounded Bite) heal. If you bite them once, they should back off, but they stay to fight, allowing you to bite again and heal for 400+ HP. This sustain allows you to win 1v2 ganks with ease.
The Thunder Maul
The 'Shield Start' Trade. Start E (Sky Splitter). When the first waves meet, drop E on the enemy melee minions and stand in it yourself. You get a shield, they take damage, and you start auto-attacking with Lethal Tempo. Most melee champs can't break your shield before you've chunked them to half HP. This establishes priority instantly. Alternatively, Q-Start invades are potent if you have a team with follow-up.
E shield is huge. Cast E where you will be in 2 seconds, not where you are. Q stun guarantees E hit. W heals massively on second bite.
Ranking Volibear's Skins
'Captain Volibear' has the wee-woo sirens. 'Thunder Lord' is classic. 'Prestige Duality Dragon' is very flashy. 'The Thousand Pierced Bear' (Eldritch horror) is terrifying.
'Captain' for the 'wee-woo'. 'The Thousand Pierced' for the eldritch-cool. 'Duality Dragon' for the vibes. Volibear is the storm—pick the bear that roars the loudest. Thunder and claws.
'Captain Volibear' has the sirens. 'Thousand Pierced Bear' is eldritch horror. 'Duality Dragon' is cool. Captain is mandatory for police RP.
When They Ban Volibear
If Volibear is gone, Udyr is the best 'run-at-them-bear' pivot. If you want more dives, Vi. But nothing replaces the 'tower-disable'. The storm passes elsewhere.
Udyr for the run-down. Trundle for the bites. Warwick for the drain. Udyr is the spiritual sibling of running at people.
Volibear's Keystone Choice
Press the Attack (Aggro) or Lethal Tempo (Extended). Triumph, Alacrity, Last Stand. Secondary Resolve/Sorcery. PTA is best for burst dives.
Skill Max Order for Volibear
Max W first for the heal and damage. Max Q second for run speed. E last.
Mastering Volibear's Kit
Thundering Smash. Move speed (doubled towards enemies). Next attack stuns.
Frenzied Maul. Bites enemy. Wounds them. Recast on Wounded enemy deals bonus damage + Heals Volibear. W2 is crucial!
Sky Splitter. Calls lightning. Damages/slows enemies. Shields Volibear if he is inside.
Stormbringer. Leaps to location. Grows size/HP. Disables towers. Deals damage and slows. Unstoppable during leap.
The Volibear Matchup Sheet
Annoying. Blinds your Q/W. E shield helps soak poison. All-in him at 6.
Skill. His E blocks your Q/W. Bait E, then re-engage. Voli R cancels CC if timed perfectly (unstoppable frame).
Skill. W2 heal vs his Bleed. Don't fight him late game. Dive him early if you can.
Tower Dive Ego
Stop ulting just for damage! Stormbringer (R) gives you CC immunity on cast, bonus health, and tower disable. Wasting it on a target who is already dead is criminal. Save it to Dodge a CC (like Malphite R) or to enable a Dive. Also, STICK TO ONE TARGET. Your W healing only works if you bite the SAME Wounded target again. If you bite the Top Laner, then bite the Jungler, you get zero healing and you die.
R disables towers for seconds. Coordinate with jungle. Dive at level 6. It's free gold. Don't dive alone if you catch turret aggro first.
When They Kite You Out
Dodge Vayne or Fiora. Same story as other juggernauts—true damage kills you. Also Morgana—her bind lasts forever.
The Split Decision
In teamfights, you are a diver. Q run at their carry. E where you are running to shield yourself. R onto them (disable turrets/crowd control). W bite, auto, W bite again. You are a disruptive tank who demands attention.
Hullbreaker Bear. Biting towers with W? Yes. Demolish. You take towers faster than anyone. Force them to send 3 people.
Hullbreaker. Smash towers. If they come, ult the tower to disable it and dive them. You don't need minions to dive. You are the wave.
The AP Volibear Build
AP Volibear. Riftmaker -> Nashor's Tooth -> Hullbreaker. Your passive lightning deals massive AP damage. Your E shield scales with AP. You tackle towers and they explode.
Nashor's and Riftmaker. Your lightning passive deals insane AOE damage. Your E shield becomes massive. You're a battle-bear from the heavens. Burn them with the storm. Electrifying.
Riftmaker -> Nashor's -> Hullbreaker. Passive lightning shreds waves and champions. Massive shields. Towers melt in seconds.
When Volibear Comes Online
Level 3 (Dive potential). Level 6 (Tower disable). Divine Sunderer/Nashor's completion.
Level 3 all-in. Level 6 tower-dive. Nashor's spike. By mid-game, you're the most aggressive person on the map. If there's a tower, dive it. You're a god—behave like one.
Level 3 dive. Level 6 Tower disable. Nashor's Spike. You are an early-mid game monster. Close the game out.
The Stormbringer Dive
Type 'No safety under tower' after a dive. Spam the chest pound emote. Diving them and surviving with 10 HP due to W heal is max tilt.
Your R disables towers. That's the most broken dive tool in the game. Use it. Take the bot lane, take the top lane. No one is safe behind their walls. The storm is here.
Press R. Tower turns off. Enemy panics. Smash them. Roar. Type 'Oh no, the turret is broken' in chat. Disrespect is key.
Recent Patch History
Recent Balance Changes
| Patch | Date | Type | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| V14.10 | May 15, 2024 | ADJUST | Q nerfed |
| V14.7 | Apr 3, 2024 | BUFF | Q nerfed, R buffed |
| V14.6 | Mar 20, 2024 | NERF | Q nerfed, R buffed |
| V14.4 | Feb 22, 2024 | BUFF | Q buffed, E buffed, R buffed |
| V14.2 | Jan 24, 2024 | BUFF | Q adjusted |
