Volibear Build Guide : [Season 12] Volibear Jungle & Lane Guide - by Der Bestimmer

Intro

Hy everyone!

Welcome to my Volibear Top and Jungle Build Guide for Season 12. I go in depth about all possible Item Builds and Rune Synergies.

Volibear is a strong Freight Train Juggernaut - he is made for Mobility to approach well on targets - that also duels very well with the right Builds. He can be a Jungler or a Top Laner - with strong Split Push or Teamfight.
His Towerdives are crazy good because he has old Ohmwrecker inbuilt into his Ult, shutting Towers down for a few seconds.

My Builds are following 2 Philosophies in this Guide Dueling=D and Takedown=TD:

Dueling means you want Sustain and DPS Scaling for longer Fights and Skirmishes against Melee Enemies.
Takedown means you want to approach mobile or ranged Priority Targets quickly, be tanky and resistant to CC as much as possible and inflict high Impact Damage on Contact with the Target as well as generate Damage Opportunities for your Teammates so these Targets are taken out quickly - before they can escape or retaliate.

For an Overview of the Champion have a look at this official Spotlight:

A quick Guide by ProGuides for more information:

An in depth Guide on reworked Volibear by Virkayu:

You can follow me on Twitter, Reddit and Youtube for regular Content Updates!

General Abbreviations

General Abbrevations:
- [J] = Jungle Specific
- [L] = Lane specific
-- if none of them is used, Builds / Items / Runes are useable for both Positions
- CQ = Conqueror
- FF = Fleet Footwork
- PTA = Press the Attack
- PR = Phase Rush
- LT = Lethal Tempo
- D = Dueling Build
- TD = Takedown Build
- MS = Movement Speed
- LS = Lifesteal
- AD = Attack Damage
- AS = Attack Speed
- AP = Ability Power
- HP = Health Points
- AR = Armor
- MR = Magical Restistance
- Res = Resistances
- AdD = Adaptive Damage
- AA = Auto Attack
- AoE = Area of Effect
- DoT = Damage over Time

General Resources

List:

The best Introduction to Basic League Concepts I know is made by Phroxzon from UNSWLOLSOC (the makers of the original Leaguecraft 101).
If you want to learn League in the most efficient way, check out his great Content HERE.
Voli Wiki Page
Volibear LoLAlytics Page
Daveyx3 Volibear Gameplays: LINK.
Volibear Content by KingKongLoL: LINK.
Volibear Content by Neace: Link 1 + Link 2.
Volibear Content by Virkayu: Link 1 + Link 2
Volibear high Elo Replays:
- domisumReplay
- KoreanProReplays
- leagueofgraphs.com
My own Volibear YT Playlist with lots of Content.
Have a look at my ULTIMATE Link List for League of Legends, with many more resources like Builds, Guides, Ingame Apps, Matchups / Counters, Training Tools etc.!

Abilities and Combos

Abilities:

Have a quick Overview of Voli's Abilities in his official Spotlight:

Nice Guide by Mobalytics on Volibear Ability Usage:

Have a look at Voli's Abilities in written Form:

P: The Relentless Storm
Volibear's Passive has 2 Elements, that both Scale with an AP Ratio:
- for every Autoattack / Ability hitting an Enemy or Plant he gets a Passive Stack. Every Stack gives him AS.
- at 5 Stacks he additionally gains an on hit AA Effect Similar to his old Ultimate - he generates a Chain Lightning, that damages his primary Target and chains to up to 4 enemy Targets nearby. This is great for Camp and Wave Clear as well as Poke - you can even finish off fleeing Enemies by using Minions or Monsters as Relays for your Lightning Chain, gaining artificial Range!
Q: Thundering Smash
His Q Ability gives him Movement Speed, even more so towards Enemies.
His next Auto Attack will stun the target. Should Voli be immobilized while in Q the ability resets its CD. Additionally it can be used as an Auto Attack Reset!
Q can even Jump onto Enemies over thin Walls! Even farther so during his Ultimate's Attack Range Buff.

Look here (Video by Hitcap):
W: Frenzied Maul
Voli's W is his main damage and Sustain Ability. Different to Warwick's Bite, he has to bite a target once first, before subsequent Bites heal him and deal increased damage.
W is an Ability that has a lot in Common with an Auto-Attack.
W's Properties:
- It will apply effects like Demonic Embrace*s Burn
- Spell Shields will Block its damage, but not the heal
- AA Blocks will block damage, heal and mark are applied
- Dodge will block mark, heal and damage
- Blinds will not affect the ability at all
- Lifesteal is applied to its full damage
- Although it is not technicalls an AA Reset, it can be practically used as one
- Damage Scales with AD, Heal with HP.
E: Sky Splitter
He has another CC Ability in his E, since it has a Slow, deals magic damage and gives Voli a Shield if he himself gets hit by the Blast. Damage Scales with AP, Shield Amount with HP.
Enemies cannot see the Impact Radius for the first Second, but can see Volis Cast Animation. The Animation can be canceld by Q, W and the AA Animation though. See here for an Example.
- The E Casting Animation is completely hidden while in Q Animation.

Look here (Second Part)(Video by Hitcap):

- You cannot cast your E During the W Windup Animation, although the E Icon is not grayed out!
You have to either cast E before your W Animation starts or wait until the Bite hits the target, then cast E at that moment!
R: Stormbringer
Your Ult gives you HP, Attack Range, Ghosting and size, lets you jump over Walls (see Video by Hitcap above) and deactivate Towers. It also Applies Damage and Slow around your Point of Impact. While you leap you are CC Immune so it is great for dodging big CC - it is not a Cleanse though!
Only the following Summoners are usable during the leap, everything else is off:
- Barrier
- Clarity
- Cleanse
- Exhaust
- Ghost
- Heal
- Ignite
- Smite (great for Steals :) )
Its Range Indicator limits the Cast Point of the Ability. Volibear will only react with a Cast, if you use the Ability inside its 700 Units Range. Otherwise the Command will do nothing. To see how far 700 Units are look HERE.

Look here for an example of the Ult Range (First Part)(Video by Hitcap):

General Mechanics Concepts:

Additional Resources:

For more insights into League's Micro Mechanics have a look at my YT Micro Playlist HERE!

For Basic Movement Concepts for Melee Champions look at the Mechanics Section of my Udyr Phoenix Guide HERE.

Volibear's Combos:

The Foundation of all Combos: The Animation Cancel

An Auto Attack consists of 3 Parts:

Wind Up
[==========] Attack Hit
[==========] Wind down
[==========]

- NOW, if you just right click or Attack Move onto an Opponent, even if you reach him and start hitting, your Champion will go through all Phases of the Auto Attack.

- BUT - as you can see - the Wind Down does nothing for us. It has no Damage!
It is wasting Time.
How can we use this time better? ... YES - by moving in between Attacks or using an Auto Attack Resert / an Ability.

- So - to correctly Kite as a Ranged Champion or Stick as a Melee Champion you input a Movement Command right after your Attack hits the opponent (that means your Hand, Hammer, Sword smacks the Enemy etc. or, in case of Ranged Champs - your Projectile leaves your Weapone - )
- and therefore deny the Wind down its time!

You CANCEL THE ANIMATION!

- Have a look at this AA Analysis by LoL Analyst for insights into the Concept:

- I would advise you to turn on Damage Numbers in League, so you get a Visual Feedback when your Attack has dealt its Damage.
Click here for a Screenshot of the needed Option.
The Next Step: Voli's Combos

A quick Overview over Voli's further Combos can be found HERE on Mobalytics!
1. Your standard Melee Trade Combo:
  - AA + Q Reset
    As soon as the AA hits, cancel the Wind down Animation by pressing Q. You do not have to click the target again. You can however hit 2 different Enemies by Clicking another Target right before pressing Q.
  - Then W during AA Cooldown into another AA
2. Your extended Melee Trade Combo:
  
  (will give you 5 Passive Stacks - use for Jungle Clears)
  - Cast E
  - AA + Q Reset
    As soon as the AA hits, cancel the Wind down Animation by pressing Q. You do not have to click the target again. You can however hit 2 different Enemies by Clicking another Target right before pressing Q.
  - AA
  - E hits
  - Then W during AA Cooldown
  - Your Passive is stacked at this Point and you can go into another AA
3. Your Stick Combo vs. Ranged:
  - Slow Enemy at range with E and close up to him with Q.
  - Now Q Stun - W - AA
  See these Combos in this Guide by Hitcap:
  
  For further Insights into Ability Usage - Great Mechanics Guide by Bav Bros:
  
  Another great Combo Guide by KingKongLoL:

Items

Item Philosophy

These are the main Items for the above mentiond Build Paths: Dueling and Takedown.

Frostfire Gauntlet

Frostfire Gauntlet is your main Tank Item for Dueling. It is mainly built in Lane.
It gives you Tank Stats, HP Scaling and CC. It works well into Grasp, Titanic Hydra and Fimbulwinter.
It can be played with Mobility Items and PTA in Jungle for Takedown Builds, because the additional Slow will help you apply the PTA Stacks and then stick to your Target very well.

Sunfire Aegis

Sunfire Aegis is your second Tank Item for Dueling / Teamfighting.
It gives you Tank Stats, HP Scaled AoE Damage and Tenacity.
It can be played with Conqueror around the HP Scaling Damage and some Damage Enhancements like Demonic or Nashor's, that give you continuous DoT / DPS.

Turbo Chemtank

Chemtank is your Epitome of Speed. Gives you a 2nd Ghost, lets you Slow Enemies apart from your Abilities, gives you CDR and HP as well as Tank Stats.
The Damage Burst is also very nice in Impact, especially combined with Sheen Procs, AD Scaling on your Q / W or Dead Man's Plate. Keep Moving though to get that Burst Proc back up ASAP!
Remember though to not layer you Slows but rather sequence them one after the other for max. Duration.

Divine Sunderer

Sunderer is your main Dueling Mythic for Jungle against beefy Melee Opponents. It provides great HP Shred and Sustain over all Phases of the Game. It Synergizes well with PTA, Revitalize and any Increase in Physical or Magical Damage through its Penetration Passive. On Voli it Scales well into your W. It also gives you good Damage against Large and Epic Monsters. It is not as effective in Lane and therefore not advised.

Nashor's Tooth

Nashor's Tooth is a great Dueling Item for Volibear. It stacks his Passive for extra DPS and scales with his Ult and E. It also Scales with any other AP you get through Items or Runes. It is also good with Sunderer's MPen and gives you good mixed Damage with Titanic Hydra in these Builds.
is an alternate Option for on Hit Magic Damage in mainly AD based Builds.

Dead Man's Plate

Great Item for Mobility. Synergizes well with Chemtank for even more Impact Damage.
You can use them together or use the Slows after each other. The Impact Damage Scales with Base AD, so you can't enhance it directly other than with levels and Triforce, but you can work in Runes like Shield Bash or Cheap Shot or general Auto Attack Enhancements like Sheen.
Try to dodge CC with its MS to not lose Momentum Stacks.
Remember it is not a Dueling Item - you will give up benefits like Thornmail or Randuin's Omen give you for the Mobility.

Force of Nature

Another great Item for Mobility. Gives you MS when getting hit by Magic Damage or CC. Each instance stacks up the Passive. At 6 Stacks Magic Damage also gets reduced by 25% on you.
is kind of the Alternative here. It gives you better Dueling and good Sticking Power, but your Approach to the Target will be slower.
It is also a Consideration when stacking HP is bad - against Vayne / Gnar etc.

Thornmail

Very good Item for Dueling against strong Sustain Champions (Aatrox). Even when not stacking Armor for the Reflect Damage it is still great on Voli, because with his Stun he always makes use of the full 40% Grievous Wounds Effect for 3 sec. Also it Synergizes well with Abyssal Mask and Divine Sunderer for enhanced Damage and feeds into Omnivamp and Conqueror.

Randuin's Omen

Very good Item for Dueling against Hypercarries / Crit Users. You reduce their Damage on you through the Passive as well as the Active and it gives you another Slow on Top for more Sticking Power.

Spirit Visage

Another nice Item Choice when Dueling and Building Lifesteal / Vamp or using your W in General. It will boost any Shields and Healing Sources you get and interacts with Shield Bash and Revitalize.
It will not make you more mobile though!

Frozen Heart

Great Teamfight Choice against several Enemy Autoattackers. It is cheap, gives you Mana Sustain and great Tank Stats plus an AS Debuff around you. Also Synergizes very well with Fimbulwinter. You want to buy some HP Items with it to make best Use of its Damage Reduction Passive.

Gargoyle Stoneplate

And one more exquisite Teamfight Item! You scale up Resistances while you are damaged by the enemy Team (1 Stack per Enemy) and get an Anti-Burst Shield, that scales with your HP, Shield Bash, Revitalize and Spirit Visage!
It also makes you very big....

Boots

Mercury Treads

These are your Anti CC Option. You will not need them when taking Sunfire Aegis + 1 of the Tenacity Runes Legend: Tenacity or Unflinching.

Boots of Swiftness

They are Mercury's cheaper Cousin. They are great if the Enemy Team has mostly Slows to kite you or are very mobile with MS Buffs or Dashes. Swifties will give you the most Speed in a very reliable Manner.
Remember, that they will reduce the Amount of Slow you receive (meaning you are not slowed down as much), while Treads above will reduce the Duration of the Slow.

Plated Steelcaps

They are great against all Sorts of Autoattackers, Ranged and Melee. They will also reduce the Damage Monsters deal to you.
Because the Reduction is fixed at 12% they will stay valuable throughout the game. Together with Randuins / Frozen Heart you can cut off a huge portion of a Hypercarries damage potential on you.
Remember, that they don't work on Tower Shots though!

Ionian Boots of Lucidity

On Volibear these are great for a lot of Reasons. You will have more Ability Uptime for Clears / Trades. Everything that enhances your Ability Usage like Sheen Items will profit from that. They are great for Duels that way - great Option against Casters like Aatrox or Sylas, where you want to go for Duels with quick Stance Rotations and don't need the AA Damage Reduction of Plated Steelcaps that much.
They are also your Utility Option. You want to buy them as soon as possible to get your Smite CD down for faster Smite Usage - you will get your transformed Smite faster. They will also reduce your other Summoner's CD. They work together with .

Runes

You can download my premade Rune-Book File for LoL Rune Changer HERE.
To import the Item Sets after you downloaded them:
- Go to the extracted LoL Rune Changer Folder - be Sure the App is closed!
- Backup your old "RuneChangerRuneBook.dat"
- Paste my Rune Book File you downloaded above into the Rune Changer Folder
- Start the App again - my Runes are now available.
- Click on the Plus Signs right to the rune Pages to import them into your LoL Client
- for more information about LoL Rune Changer look at their Wiki

Rune Philosophy:

As explained in the Intro Chapter I categorize the Rune Pages into the Categories:

D - Dueling
- Conqueror [J]
- Lethal Tempo [J]
- Grasp of the Undying [L]
TD - Takedown
- Press the Attack [J]+[L]

Dueling Runes:

- Precision [J]
- Lethal Tempo / Conqueror
- Triumph
- Legend: Alacrity / Legend: Tenacity
- Last Stand / Coup de Grace

- Resolve [L]
- Grasp of the Undying
- Shield Bash
- Conditioning / Second Wind / Bone Plating
- Revitalize / Overgrowth

- Secondary Dueling Runes:

- Precision [L]:
- Presence of Mind
- Legend: Alacrity / Legend: Tenacity
- Last Stand
- Domination [J]:
- Cheap Shot + Relentless Hunter with CQ
- Taste of Blood + Eyeball Collection / Zombie Ward with LT
- Sorcery:
- [L]: Nimbus Cloak, Transcendence
- [J]: Celerity, Waterwalking
- Resolve [J]:
- Shield Bash
- Conditioning
- Revitalize / Overgrowth (for [J] only with HP Scaling Items)
Takedown Runes:

- Press the Attack
- Triumph / Presence of Mind [L]
- Legend: Alacrity
- Coup de Grace
- Alt.: Legend: Tenacity + Last Stand against CC / heavy Kiting

- Secondary Takedown Runes:

- Domination:
- [L]: Sudden Impact
- Eyeball Collection / Zombie Ward [J]
- [J]: Relentless Hunter / Ingenious Hunter
- Sorcery:
- [L]: Manaflow Band, Transcendence, Scorch
- [J]: Waterwalking, Celerity
- Resolve:
- [L]: Second Wind
- Conditioning, Unflinching
- Shield Bash, Revitalize
- Inspiration:
- Magical Footwear, Cosmic Insight

General Runes Advise:

Runes:
- for Burst on Sqhishy Targets or Shred on Tanks.
- for Dueling.
- for Dueling + Sustain (great with AoE / DoT)
- for Dueling / HP Scaling / Sustain in Lane

- / for Extra Resistances and Damage Scaling with your Shields - Revitalize / Spirit Visage Synergy. Great also with Fimbulwinter.
Revitalize Improves Heals (W, Conqueror etc.), LS and Shields.
Revitalize will not work with Regen Effects and Vamp!
- for Dueling / extended Trades or against CC / heavy Kiting to deal more Damage on Impact after losing HP - should be used with Damage Mitigation (Shields / Enemy Damage Reduction like Randuin's / Force of Nature) / Regen / Tenacity in that Case.
- against Squishy Teams.
- for Takedown Rune Pages for faster PTA Stacks and Dueling Pages with Conqueror and Grasp
- extra Sustain, especially on Hybrid Builds and AP Builds. Works for E Poke in Lane, synergizes with Revitalize
- / for Anti CC / Anti Kite
- against Poke in Lane
- against Burst Combos in Lane
- / [J] / [J] / [J] for Mobility / Sticking Power
- for more Ability Uptime in Lane, in Duels and Teamfights - Basic Ability Reset is great here!
- for Mana Sustian / Scaling (Fimbulwinter!) in Lane
- / for reduced Item CDR - Active and Passive! as well as Summoner Spell Uptime!
- [L] / / for Late Game Scaling
Overgrowth in Jungle only with HP Scaling Items like Titanic Hydra!
- + for Split pushing [L] - good with Triforce / Sterak's / Hullbreaker

- For Small Runes (Stat Modifiers):

CDR is valuable in Lane for more W and E Uptime.
Also for Lane, pick Resistances 2nd against your Opponent + HP 3rd.
For Jungle I would take AS, AdD, HP most of the time.
Pick MR if the Enemy Team has an AP Jgl, + AP Mid / Top.
On Lethal Tempo Build AdD, AdD, HP / Resistance is fine.

Builds

You can download my premade Build Files for the LoL Client HERE.
To import the Item Sets after you downloaded them:
- Go to your Collection
- Click on Items
- Click on the Downward Arrow Button called "Import Item Sets" left of the Search
- Select my Build File on your Hard-Drive Location and click OK.
- The Build is now available in your Client and In-Game

I collect Off-Meta Build Ideas for my Champion Roster in my Experimental Builds Guide! Have a look!

Build Philosophy:

As explained in the Intro Chapter I categorize the Builds into the Categories:

Dueling
Takedown

Table of Contents:

General Hints
Dueling Builds
Takedown Builds

Abbreviations:
Full List in my Intro Chapter.

General Hints:

Starting Items:
- Doran's Shield with Second Wind against Poke Lanes / Ranged
- Doran's Blade for Melee Trades with Bone Plating against Combos.
- Doran's Ring / Dark Seal also offer some Trade Potential with your Passive, also Mana Sustain for E Poke Usage in Lane and Clear Speed in Jungle.
- Glacial Buckler for Mana Sustain in Lane (with PoM)
- Take Red Smite against Close Range Burst and Melee Damage Dealers. Take Blue Smite against Ranged, heavy kiting comps or to trigger Fimbulwinter Shield, Cheap Shot or for Nimbus Cloak Synergy.

Boots:
-Boots in all Builds are situational. Mercury's Treads are Tenacity Overkill in Sunfire Builds though, together with the Standard Runes even more.
For Builds that rely on your Spells triggering like with Sunderer or Demonic Embrace, Ionian's are always great early on.
-For Damage Builds, Berserkers Greaves will help with Stacking PTA / CQ, while Sorcerer's Shoes will enhance Damage from Burn / On hit Magic Damage.
-Ionian Boots of Lucidity help with Smite Uptime in the Jgl and with Ability Uptime for Clears and Trades. Do not get if you go for Ionian Boots of Lucidity.
-Be aware, that Boots of Swiftness and Unflinching decrease the Amount of Slow you receive, while Tenacity reduces the Duration of Slows.

Stacking Tear:
- For fastest Tear Stacking / Mana Growth: Cosmic Insight / Ingenious Hunter + Ionian Boots of Lucidity + Biscuit Delivery
- For Best Mana Sustain for Fimbulwinter Shields: Presence of Mind + Manaflow Band

Black Cleaver
- is relavant as soon as you get an Item Slow like Chemtank or Frostfire / Randuin's - this will allow you to apply Passive Carve Stacks for better Sticking Power.

Runes:
- I discern between:
- Damage / DPS Synergy, like Lethal Tempo + Gathering Storm
- HP Scaling Synergy, like Sunfire + Overgrowth + Demonic Embrace
- Damage / CC / CDR Synergy like Cosmic Insight / Ingenious Hunter + Frostfire Synergy
- and Mobility / Utility Synergy, like Magical Footwear + Celerity or Ionian Boots + Smite Uptime + Nimbus Cloak

Abilities:
- Stacking Points into Q is good against Mobility Comps. W is great against Melee Comps.
Maxing E instad of Q 2nd is good when Building around Shield Bash / Fimbulwinter.
- Your Passive scales with AP, the on-hit damage as well as the AS Buff. You can stack it with hitting E, as well as Attacking anything - Plants, Minions, Wards, Buildings, Champions, Monsters...
- Conqueror will give you AP, if your total AP is higher than your Bonus AD (see here), so it will boost your Passive.

Something to consider:

On an AD Dueling Build, Conqueror would give you AD instead. So if you were to build sth like this with CQ as Keystone...

Items

Divine Sunderer
Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Death's Dance
Wit's End
Spirit Visage
Thornmail

... you have great Sustain, your W hits like a Truck and you are still quite tanky. Your Passive will not Scale though, since CQ will give you AD.
This is a theroetical Example - I did not include CQ as Keystone for Sunderer Builds since WR are bad and PTA is the better Keystone here.
That is why on the Sunfire Build 3, including on hit AD scaled Damage from BorK / Titanic, LT will give you more DPS, especially against tanky targets, since Conqueror would not give you Adaptive AP to scale up your Passive AS Steroid.
PTA would be an Option here for more initial Burst Damage, but for longer Duels Trades, especially without Ally Damage, LT will be better. I would recommend it mainly for Jungle though.
In Lane Grasp would be the Safety Option for Sustain, if you can apply it regularily, Scaling up Sunfire and Titanic. If you need to all in in Lane, get PTA. LT will be weaker in Lane early on.

Items

Sunfire Aegis
Plated Steelcaps
Blade of the Ruined King
Titanic Hydra
Thornmail
Spirit Visage

Dueling Builds:

Frostfire Build 1/2

- Full Tank Builds with Slow and HP Scaling. Optional Fimbulwinter Synergy in Build 2
- W max for Dueling
- Grasp is the overall superior Rune here for Laning. You can go more into the Takedown Build Direction with PTA though against Mobile / Ranged Enemies that won't let you proc GU much. Get HP Sustain through other means then like D-Shield and Second Wind though!

For more Hybrid Bruiser Builds -
have a look at my Experimental Builds for Volibear HERE.

Item Build 1 [L]

Item Alternaties

Damage Options:
[L]

-
-

Defense Options:

Item Build 2 [L]

Item Alternatives

Damage Options:

[L]

-
-
-

Defense Options:

Primary Runes [L]:

Secondary Runes:

Precision Tree:
[L]

Other Choices:

Sorcery Tree: (Fimbulwinter Synergy)
[L]
[L]
Other Choices:

-
-
-

Alternative Rune Setup against mobile Enemies, that deny GU Stacks and you want to all in:

Primary Runes:

/
/
/

Secondary Runes:

Resolve Tree:

Other Options

Sorcery Tree:
as Mana Sustain Option

Other Options

for Poke with E / W

Sunfire Build 1/2/3

- Sunfire Builds can be Full Tank or Bruiser Buils. The Sunfire Passive opens up Conqueror as Keystone for Sustain, mainly in Jungle. Bruiser Builds with BorK are enabling Lethal Tempo as Keystone for [J] for applying the on-hit effects of BorK and Sunfire rapidly.
- The idea behind these Builds is to scale HP + AD / AP through Titanic Hydra / Demonic and Runes.
- The Tenacity Portion makes this particularily good against Tanks / high CC)

For more Hybrid Bruiser Builds -
have a look at my Experimental Builds for Volibear HERE.

Item Build 1

Sunfire Aegis
Plated Steelcaps
Frozen Heart
Force of Nature
Thornmail
Spirit Visage

Item Build 2

Sunfire Aegis
Plated Steelcaps
Demonic Embrace
Warmog's Armor
Thornmail
Spirit Visage

Item Alternatives

Damage Options:
Cosmic Drive
Mejai's Soulstealer
Zhonya's Hourglass
Hullbreaker [L]
Defense Options:
Dead Man's Plate
Randuin's Omen
Gargoyle Stoneplate
-

Runes [L]:

Grasp of the Undying + Precision as with Frostfire above

Primary Runes [J]:

Conqueror
Triumph
Legend: Alacrity / Legend: Tenacity
Last Stand / Coup de Grace

Secondary Runes [J]:

Resolve Tree:
Shield Bash
Revitalize
Other Options
Overgrowth for HP Scaling
Sorcery Tree:
Celerity
Waterwalking
for [J] for early Pressure

Domination Tree:
Cheap Shot
Relentless Hunter

Item Build 3

Sunfire Aegis
Plated Steelcaps
Blade of the Ruined King
Titanic Hydra
Spirit Visage
Thornmail

Item Alternatives

Damage Options:
Black Cleaver
Chempunk Chainsword
Hullbreaker [L]
- Defense Options:
Warmog's Armor
Randuin's Omen
Force of Nature
Gargoyle Stoneplate

Runes [L]:

Grasp of the Undying + Precision as with Frostfire above

Primary Runes [J]:

Conqueror as above with Sunfire Build 1/2

Primary Runes [J]:

Lethal Tempo
Triumph
Legend: Alacrity / Legend: Tenacity
Last Stand / Coup de Grace

Secondary Runes [J]:

Sorcery Tree:
Celerity
Waterwalking
for [J] for early Pressure

Domination Tree:
Taste of Blood
Eyeball Collection / Zombie Ward

About Domination:
- it is an Option for additional Damage feeding into Lifesteal.
The safest route might be Zombie Ward.
It gets trickier with Eyeball Collection and Ultimate Hunter or Treasure Hunter, going for takedowns. If they don't come you get nothing, opposed to the Sorcery or Resolve Options.

Sunderer Build 1/2 [J]

- These Builds give you great Sustain, AD and HP Shred. You can go for a more AD based Route, or substitute more HP based Items with Titanic Hydra.
Hint: With Titanic Hydra, Sterak's will give some more raw AD, while Black Cleaver will give you more Damage against Armor building Enemies.

For more Hybrid Bruiser Builds -
have a look at my Experimental Builds for Volibear HERE.

Item Build 1

Takedown Variation [-TD-]

Item Build 2

Item Alternatives

Damage Options:

Defense Options:
as listed above
-
-
-
-
-

Primary Runes [J]:

/
/

Secondary Runes [J]:

Resolve Tree:

Other Options

Sorcery Tree:

for [J] for early Pressure

Domination Tree:

/

For the Takedown [-TD-] Variation of Build 1:
Conditiong / Unflinching
Celerity / Waterwalking
Sudden Impact / Relentless Hunter
Magical Footwear / Cosmic Insight

Triforce Build 1 [L]

- Split Push oriented Builds with high AD Damage and High Tower Damage with Hullbreaker + GU + Demolish + Overgrowth. Against Enemies that will not allow for GU Procs, PTA is a Keystone Option.

Item Build 1

/

Item Alternatives

Damage Options:

see Cheat Sheet avove
-

Defense Options:

Runes [L]:

+ Precision as with Frostfire above with Demolish + Overgrowth

Primary Runes:

/
/
/

Secondary Runes:

Resolve Tree:

Other Options
/ for Dueling
/ /

Sorcery Tree:

for Ability Uptime
as Mana Sustain Option for Splitpushing

Domination Tree:

/

vs. Ranged Opponents, Anti Kite Runes may apply here, as used in TD Builds:
/
/

Riftmaker Build 1 [L]

- These are rather Nieche Builds. You are giving up Tankiness / Sustain early. LT makes use of all the on-hit Damage you get from the AP Items. Conqueror will give you more Sustain.
- You can go E max for Poke - Buy Doran's Ring, then Ionian Boots, take Transcendence + Scorch.

Item Build

/

Item Alternatives

Damage Options:

Defense Options:

Primary Runes 1:

/

/

Primary Runes 2:

/

/

for Mana Sustain in Lane.
against Squishy Teams.

Secondary Runes 1:

Resolve Tree:

Other Options:
for Split Push

Other Options:

Sorcery Tree:
for Late Game Scaling
for Ability Uptime
as Mana Sustain Option with Triumph
for Sticking Power

Inspiration Tree:

Takedown Builds:

For the Takedown Variant of Sunderer Build 1 for Jungle have a look here
For the Takedown Variant of Frostfire Builds 1/2 for Lane have a look here
1. Chemtank Build 1 [J]
  
  - These Builds are for maximum Mobility and Takedown Power [-TD-].
  
  Item Build 1 [-TD-]
  
  Turbo Chemtank
  Ionian Boots of Lucidity
  Dead Man's Plate
  Force of Nature
  Frozen Heart
  Thornmail
  
  Item Alternatives
  
  Damage Options:
  Cosmic Drive
  Mejai's Soulstealer
  Defense Options:
  Randuin's Omen
  Spirit Visage
  
  Primary Runes:
  
  Press the Attack
  Triumph
  Legend: Tenacity
  Last Stand / Coup de Grace
  
  Secondary Runes:
  
  Resolve Tree:
  Conditioning
  Unflinching
  Other Options:
  Shield Bash
  Revitalize
  Sorcery Tree:
  Waterwalking
  Celerity
  
  Inspiration Tree:
  Magical Footwear
  Cosmic Insight
2. Frostfire Build 3 [J]
  
  - This is a bit tankier Variant of a Takedown Build. You have less Approach Velocity on Target, but better Sticking Power, since the Frostfire Slow applies more often than on Chemtank Builds.
  Try not to stack Slows - only the strongest one applies at a time!
  
  Item Build 3
  
  Iceborn Gauntlet
  Boots of Swiftness / [[Mercury's Treads]
  Dead Man's Plate
  Force of Nature
  Spirit Visage
  Thornmail
  
  Item Alternatives
  
  Damage Options:
  Cosmic Drive
  Mejai's Soulstealer
  Defense Options:
  Randuin's Omen
  Spirit Visage
  
  Primary Runes:
  
  Press the Attack
  Triumph
  Legend: Alacrity / Legend: Tenacity
  Last Stand / Coup de Grace
  
  Coup de Grace against Squishy Teams.
  
  Secondary Runes
  
  Resolve Tree:
  Conditioning
  Unflinching
  Other Options:
  Shield Bash
  Revitalize Sorcery Tree:
  Celerity
  Waterwalking
  
  Domination Tree:
  Cheap Shot
  Relentless Hunter Inspiration Tree:
  Magical Footwear
  Cosmic Insight

Matchups

General Matchup Tips:

- For specific Matchup Guides have a look at the enemy Champion's Mobalytics Page and Counterstats.net Page for Advise.

- You can also use the LoLAlytics Matchup Stats via their Search Engine from Volibear's Main Page.
Just go to his page there and then enter your enemy champion matchup into the Search bar in the upper right corner. On the right side of the list you can click on the "vs." Matchup result.
For example against Dr. Mundo:

- Another great Resource is Solokill. It offers 1v1 Clips for all Champion Matchups.

- You can find even more Matchup Statistics Sites on my ULTIMATE Link List for League of Legends.

- It is also always a good Idea to watch some High Elo Games of the Matchup you are interested in via Youtube.
Here is a Search Example for Dr. Mundo.

- Have a look at this Reddit Post for more Matchup Insights for Volibear.
- Matchup Spreadsheet by BearlyTanky via r/VolibearMains
- Another one on Reddit for Voli Top.

- Other MOBAFire Guides Cover Matchups in more Detail - have a look at their Great Work:

Toplane Bascis

Top Lane Guide

The best Introduction to Basic League Concepts I know is made by Phroxzon from UNSWLOLSOC (the makers of the original Leaguecraft 101).
If you want to learn League in the most efficient way, check out his great Content HERE!
Voli Top Guide by Mobalytics: LINK
My own Volibear YT Playlist with lots of Content.
For general Top Lane Guides / Macro have a look at my own Youtube Top Lane Playlist and Youtube Macro Playlist!

For an Intro Guide to Voli Top have a look at this Video by KingKongLoL:

For a Gameplay Example, have a look at this Toplane Video by DaveyX3:

Nice Volibear Top Coaching by BasikMMTXC:

Jungle Basics

Jungle Guide

Volibear Jungle Guide with Clear by Mobalytics: LINK
Volibear Jungle Guide with Clear by Jungler.gg: LINK
My own Volibear YT Playlist with lots of Content.
For general Jungle Guides / Macro have a look at my own Youtube Jungle Playlist and Youtube Macro Playlist!

Voli Jungle Intro Guide by Virkayu:

Gameplay Guide by KingKongLoL:

Volibear Jungle Coaching by Neace:

Volibear's Jungle Clear

Basics:
- Most of the time you want to do a 5 Camp Clear, swapping Krugs for Scuttle (so it becomes kind of a 6 Camp Clear) as shown on Jungler.gg.
  You can also do a standard 3 Camp Clear (2 Buffs+Gromp) for early Ganks or a 4 Camp Clear (both Buffs, Gromp, Wolves) into an invade.
- Do my Ward Swap Trick in the beginning to get Sweeper rdy for Ganks and protect your Buffs from Invades.
  
  Video from my Youtube Channel on how to do it:
- Always try to spot the Enemy Jungler's Starting Point from paying attention to which Enemy Lane is late to Lane after their Leash.
  
  For a Guide about Basic Tracking watch this Video by ProGuides:
- While you clear, train yourself to always move the camera to your closest lane while moving from one Camp to the other (in your downtime so to say).
- In General, look at the Minimap every 10 seconds. You can use a Metronome at 6 bpm for that. Look here for an Online Version: LINK.
  
  For a little Guide about Map awareness, have a look at this Video from my Youtube Channel:
- Whenever you are not behind, get a Pink Ward on every Back to protect your Jungle / Lanes. You also want to get Sweeper early on for ganking / Clearing Enemy Vision in your Jungle. Only swap back to Trinket Wards if your Team gets very behind and you need the Vision Protection.
- Practice to always do "Cross Map Actions" - Whenever you spot the Enemy Jungler doing something on the other side of the map condition yourself to do sth too.
  Invade his Camps, Gank, get Tower / Herald / Drake etc.
- Since it is very important to keep up your Passive Stacks in between Camps, you need to kite and use your Q and E well.
  Have a look at these Basic Technique Guides for Jungle Clearing by Phylaris:
  - Standard Kiting:
  - Advanced Kiting:
  - To not lose Aggro while kiting to those Brushes have a look at Phylaris' Jungle Monster Patience Guide:
Voli's Standard Clear
- 5 Camp Clear into Scuttle by JellyBird:
- General Lesson on Season 12 3-Camp Clear Routes by Virkayu.
  They are an ALTERNATIVE, not a REPLACEMENT for other clears.
  Clears are always situational!
  
  - You use 3 Camp Clears against Ganking Junglers for earlier Map Presence and Counter Ganking or even earlier Invades against Farming Junglers especially than with the 4 Camp Clear mentioned above.
  - You can use a 3 Camp Clear: Buff - Buff + Gromp into Scuttle / Gank for a more aggressive Start.
  - Alternatively you can use the Quadrant Clear Approach (e.g. Red-Raptors-Krug), getting Dark Seal on you first Back after clearing 1 full Quadrant and going into Scuttle Fights with an Item Advantage. You need to track the Enemy Jungler for this (see above).

Outro

That's it for now folks!

Thank you for reading my guide and I hope you got something out of it.

If you want sth added to the guide, let me know too! I will see what I can do :).

Also, have a look at my other Content:

MOBAFire Guides:

IN DEPTH Guides:
FULL Guides

Tutorials and Collections:

Ultimate LoL Link List
Anti Tilt Settings Guide for LoL
My Youtube Channel with Playlist Collections and Video Content for League of Legends!

You can also follow me on Twitter, Reddit and Youtube!

[Season 12] Volibear Jungle & Lane Guide - by Der Bestimmer

[Season 12] Volibear Jungle & Lane Guide - by Der Bestimmer

Choose Champion Build:

Recommended Items

Runes: [D] GU + Precision 1 [L]

Spells:

Flash

Teleport

Ghost

Teleport

Flash

Ignite

Ghost

Ignite

Flash

Ghost

Items

Ability Order W-Q-E [D]

The Relentless Storm (PASSIVE)

Thundering Smash (Q)

Frenzied Maul (W)

Sky Splitter (E)

Stormbringer (R)

The Relentless Storm (PASSIVE)

Thundering Smash (Q)

Frenzied Maul (W)

Sky Splitter (E)

Stormbringer (R)

Threats & Synergies

Illaoi

Kennen

Vayne

Teemo

Jax

Shen

Lillia

Singed

Kayle

Sion

Mordekaiser

Jayce

Vladimir

Kled

Gwen

Gragas

Aatrox

Trundle

Darius

Ornn

Udyr

Maokai

Kayn

Bel'Veth

Master Yi

Shaco

Shen

Trundle

Kled

Singed

Mordekaiser

Dr. Mundo

Heimerdinger

Pantheon

Swain

Vex

Taric

Jhin

Tristana

Seraphine

Janna

Lux

Xerath

Vel'Koz

Zyra

Shen

Trundle

Kled

Singed

Mordekaiser

Dr. Mundo

The best Introduction to Basic League Concepts I know is made by Phroxzon from UNSWLOLSOC (the makers of the original Leaguecraft 101).
If you want to learn League in the most efficient way, check out his great Content HERE.