[Champion] Volibear - Page 3

Pros:
Gains damage and extra survival from health, meaning you get better pretty much all around the more health you get.
Good teamfight synergy in many comps.
That passive.
Amazing dueling.
Pretty good base stats (decent to high health and armor, enjoys MR/level, and higher end MS)
Fairly low mana consumption.
Good clearing capabilities.
Surprisingly good damage even when building tanky.
Works well with a whole crapton of items.

Cons:
No built in sustain aside from passive.
No ranged abilities
Gap closer isn’t instant.
No innate tankiness aside from passive.

-This passive is awesome. It’s basically a Mundo ult that kicks in when you get low. It helps win duels with sustained damage dealers, it discourages people from diving you, and generally makes you a tough badass. It has great synergy with Spirit Visage and any Health item you can get your hands on.
-Watch out for burst (especially execute moves like Darius, Garen, or Riven ults) and Ignite/Grevious Wounds. This isn’t necessarily negated by Ignite effects, but they cancel each other out. So if Ignite is ticking, it won’t save you from the enemy, but it will save you from Ignite killing you. Know when to use it to stay in fights and know when to use it as a way to escape alive.
-Especially hilarious when you walk off into the fog of war with low health and this ticking, only for the Karthus to ult and wonder why you didn’t die.

-Gap closer, escape tool, CC, interrupt, damage, attack reset, and it dices too. The bonus damage also works on towers, which is sort of nice. This is an amazing ganking tool, and tool to stop slippery escapers. This basically precludes anyone from escaping without a jump or CC, as you can catch anything that’s running from you for the most part. It also helps for running away, although obviously not as much as other, more powerful sprints. All in all, it’s a really nice mobility tool that forces CC on you over someone squishier.
-Always remember that this works as an attack reset and gives you a stack of Frenzy, so if you don’t need to use it to get in range, it is better to auto-Q-auto rather than hitting it first.

-Another great ability, and very fun to use. Bitchslap people a couple times, and then bite their face off. What’s not to love? Especially nice because it gives both sustained damage (AS) and burst damage (Bite) in one nice package.
-Make sure you have full stacks when you pop your ult for obvious reasons.
-Always be aware that this is an execute style ability. It may be better to just hold on to it until they’re low enough to ensure the bite will kill them. The cooldown is long, so you generally only get to use it once, maybe twice.
-Great synergy with Hunter’s Machete, stupidly good synergy with Spirit of the Ancient Golem.

-The ability I originally wrote off as “standard” or “boring”, but the fear is really nice. Allows you to fight in creep waves even better than many tanky champs. I take it first, as it means you take way less damage than you should, basically a free extra pot or two early on.
-Don’t be so fast to hit this after you land your Q flip. It has a decent AoE range, so sometimes it’s better to hold on to it until they’re just about out of range, rather than when they’re right on top of you.
-The fear affects pets. Not amazing, but kind of cool to help your team against Annie and Morde.
-The CD is pretty hefty, so try not to get baited by gap-openers like Flash.
-Damage is pretty low, but it can 2-3 shot small jungle creeps and, at max level if pushing out a lane, it can push rather hard when coupled with ult.
-This fears Shaco and LeBlanc clones, allowing you to differentiate them against sneaky bastards.

-Good multi-purpose ult. The AoE gives him pretty good pushing potential, and increases your damage by quite a bit during teamfights. It allows you to zap at their back line (not for a lot, mind you) even if you can’t reach them.
-As above, try to make sure your Frenzy passive is fully stacked before hitting ult. Even if it’s only for those two slower swings, that’s less AoE damage you’re putting out
-The bounces will jump to stealthed targets, always a bonus.
-Not much else to say. Hit it when you're fighting, especially against bunched enemies, or you want to push a lane.

You want E first for your clearing, if not for the AoE, then for the fear that basically gives you enough mitigation to not need all your pots. Especially with a good leash, you can take Wolves and Blue with little life lost. W next, because of AS and Machete being so sexy good together. At 3, you either get Q if you're going to gank, or another rank in E if you're just going to keep clearing.

Get R whenever you can, as the chain lighting is far from negligable in teamfights. Q should be last, as I personally find that the CDR and damage from leveling it aren't enough to warrant taking it over W or E. E max makes your clearing super fast and the extra slow is actually pretty noticeable. W max gives you a crapton of free damage. Which you max first is personal preference, and should be decided based on the game. If you need a bit more CC or find yourself farming more, go E. If your team needs you to be a damage presence, go W. I prefer W somewhat more often, but either works.

I take Ghost pretty much at all times. Flash is Flash, but Ghost couples with Q, gives extra sticking power (good for your sustained damage), and just generally lets you run around teamfights being a Bear. I guess you can take Flash if you really want, it’s necessary against some opponents such as Jarvan or Anivia if you ever want to escape with your life. I do miss being able to chase over walls and the like, but Ghost feels stronger most of the time.

Smite because you're a jungle bear. Duh.

Exhaust is also good. If the enemy team isn't as kite heavy, you might be able to forego Flash or Ghost and get Exhaust, giving you stupidly powerful ganks and helping you dive squishies later in the game. That said, I find it highly situational and I almost never use it. You already have a strong slow and the displacement, but I suppose if you want the AS and damage dealt debuff, it's a decent choice.

[Boots of Swiftness][Mercury Treads][Ninja Tabi][Mobility Boots]
Swiftness boots used to be a joke. Now, they also reduce slow duration, which can help you way more than you realize, especially when you stack it with Tenacity and the Defense tree. The extra MS was always good, but never better than Tenacity + MR.

Now, you get Tenacity from Spirit of the Ancient Golem, and Spirit Visage is core (often along with Runic Bulwark), so I'd not even put Merc's above Tabi. Even then, unless they have an auto attacker getting fed, you get plenty of Armor from runes/masteries/SotAG(/Aegis) that Swiftness feel pretty strong in comparison.

Mobility Boots are a pretty normal jungle ganking item, but I've never been a fan, since a stray auto or spell will cancel them out. You also have Q charge, which puts you over the cap with Mobos, so I rarely feel like I need that first burst of speed to initiate a gank or fight. On the other hand, it helps you get around the map, so don't discount them.

Everything else is for no. You don’t need AS badly enough to pick Zerker’s, and you don’t care about MPen enough. You like CDR, but I don’t think it outstrips any of the four I listed above.

Boot Enchants
Volibear can use all of the enchants, so buy depending on your playstyle and situation.

[Alacrity] Flat MS is good, and you get a lot stacking these with Swifities. I get these often, and they feel good, but I'm sure a number cruncher will tell me otherwise.
[Furor] Sticking power and also gives you a charge when you Bite. Good for never letting someone escape, or Bite-Slow-run away combo.
[Captain] You likely will be the first or second person to run in, so yeah, self-explanitory. If you’re initiating, consider as a great team follow up for Q. If you’re split pushing, consider as well. Not high on buy priority, but worth a thought.
[Distortion] You bring Ghost, so I can see this being useful. Not that great generally though.
[Homeguard] If you’re being pushed back, this is always a good choice. If you're looking to upgrade your boots early, though, these are a good choice. Until you get some regen under your belt (Aegis, Locket, Warmog's), you'll be backing unless you have pots/Flask. This cuts down on your time in base.

The only option out of the jungle items. Sure, Machete can work well with your W free attack speed, but Health, Armor, and Tenacity is all you want and more. Plus, the regen never hurts since you have no sustain of your own. Seriously, if you have to ask why SotAG is good after looking at the stats, you probably shouldn't play Volibear.

Oh my goodness. This is exactly as good as you think it is. CDR, MR, Health, and the passive are all so good that it feels like a sin not to buy this item even if they have no magic damage at all. Grab a Kindlegem early and you can sit on it until this, if you feel you don't need the MR immediately.

This seems obvious, and it kind of is. You love Health, I love Health. As a pure health option, it’s good. Voli can rock pure health and eat the regen as tasty dessert, especially since you don't have much of your own. However, of course, this doesn’t give anything else. FMallet as a “pure health” item gives more sustained damage and sticking power, so don’t always herp derp Warmog’s, but it’s perfectly good as a core item.

Good mid game health item. However, it’s more of a tanky dps than a beef item, and you don’t get as much out of the AD as others. The slow is still good, but you have a pretty good slow and a lot of MS between items/runes/Q. Consider this if you want a big health item, but want more sustained damage than Warmog’s, or if you really think you need more sticking power.

It’s Aegis, so it’s good. You like the stats, your team likes the stats. Confer with your Support/Top as to if you should build it or not. Bulwark is a great item to build towards if the enemy team is AP heavy.

It got more health, CDR, and a lower price during the transition to S3. If you have a Kindlegem and think you don’t need SV right away, consider this. As people on TL will tell you, it's a stupidly good item, just remember the active. Especially consider this if you're too poor to get Warmog's/FMallet/etc.

Good item if you need a lot of armor. Champs like Riven, Panth, Trynd, and Talon can be stopped with the armor, and your other health items + the Giant's Belt on this can deal with things like BC. Additionally, you can build this to fuck over a fed Vayne or Kog with the active.

Wards? Check. Health? Check. This is really damn good if you want vision and health. So... it's really damn good. However, don't panic buy this every time. You get passive boost and damage out of it, sure, but often times other items + Wards is a better option. It's a good item for later on when you want wards but don't want to waste slots on it, especially if your team isn't warding and you need the vision.

MR and AS. Pretty good as a single damage item, especially if you need MR against a Ryze or Cass or something. However, SV and Bulwark are better items in my eyes, and you’re spending too much on offensive stats. While AS is nice, you’re not a primary damage dealer.

CDR and armor are good, of course. FH is a good item on Voli, and if you find yourself needing more armor even with Omen already built, it’s a good item. That said, I’d never prioritize it over Omen, and especially since you already have a good amount of armor from SotAG, so yeah.

An interesting item. I generally don’t think about getting this a lot, but it can be a good situational early pick against ADs that are getting ahead. I generally don’t like building Doran’s items out of the jungle on any character, but it’s a strong pick for him if you get some gold and want power right now.

Health, CDR, and regen isn’t bad. If you feel like you need more mobility (especially for your team), it’s not a bad choice. However, I feel like if your team really needs it that badly, your support should probably be getting it. Kindlegem should go into other items.

I don’t know about this one. Health good, passive is nice in early game where you have little to no sustain. Consider early (to take advantage of the passive) if you’re going for Banshee’s or Ohmwrecker (read below).

Against really heavy Magic teams/poke teams BV can be good alongside the other two. Pretty good to help your charge ignore CC incoming. Skip, mostly.

Less great since the nerf, but still decent resists and a revive. Consider if you’re getting focused quickly and hate dying during teamfights, or as a final item for a full build if you get to that point. They’ll have to burn through you, your passive, and then 30% of your health again. 160+% health Bear is funny.

This is one that I never really considered, but the more I muse on it, the nicer it seems if you have a crapton of money and can go straight Murderbear, or even as a luxury item for a standard build. The AS passive works with W, the AD and AP give a bit more damage, so it’s nice. The real beauty, though, comes from the second passive. The Lifesteal/Spellvamp can really stick together with your passive if you’re getting focused/dueling to give you hella regen and make you hard to kill. I’ll buy it in games where I can and report back on it.

Every stat on this is amazing for Voli. Tenacity overlaps with SotAG, but it’s still dumb effective on him if you can afford it. If you can afford to fill a slot with a pure damage item.