Volibear is one of the best-reworked champions in League of Legends. Whether you build him as a fighter, tank, or an AP mage, Voli can always carry games.
I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with full AP Volibear in season 13 and it has become one of my favorite builds in the game!
And here, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about playing Volibear AP. I’ll talk about the runes and items you’re going to need. But I’ll also explain Volibear’s kit, what his abilities do and why building him AP is so good.
So if you already know how Volibear works, here are the runes and items!
Is Volibear AP or AD in LoL?
Volibear is a hybrid champion in LoL. He has AP and AD ratios in his ability kit and he deals both magic and physical damage. Depending on the build, Volibear can either deal more AD damage with basic attacks, Q, W, and R. But with an AP build, Volibear can deal massive AP damage with E.
There’s a meta build that most players go for when playing Volibear. This build consists of items like Turbo Chemtech, Dead Man’s Plate, Thornmail, and Spirit Visage. However, people also purchase offensive items on Volibear such as Divine Sunderer or Nashor’s Tooth.
So if you want to counter Volibear in League, it’s important to purchase both armor and magic resist. You should closely monitor his build path and determine what you should be building against him.
For example, if the enemy Voli goes for a full AP build, you should buy magic resist. And if he goes for an AD build, then you should stack some armor instead.
Additionally, it’s always good to build some anti-tank items when playing against Volibear.
Like other hybrid champions in League, Volibear can choose what to build in every single game. And in season 13, more players go for the full AP Volibear build than the AD/tank Volibear build.
This is due to the fact that the AP build is much more explosive and thus viable for carrying.
And later in this post, I’ll give you the best AP Volibear build in League of Legends currently.
But for now, remember that Volibear is both an AP and AD champion and that he deals both physical and magic damage.
Read Also: Lethality Volibear One-Shot Build Guide
How Does Volibear Deal Damage? (New Volibear Abilities Explained)
If you’ve never played the reworked Volibear or you simply never invested time learning him, here’s what you should know.
Volibear’s passive – The Relentless Storm grants him bonus attack speed that scales with bonus ability power. Additionally, basic attacks while under the effects of The Relentless storm deal bonus magic damage that scales with up to 40% of Voli’s total AP.
The Q – Thundering Smash is a physical damage ability that gets 120% of Volibear’s AD whenever it’s used. It’s a simple cooldown that grants Voli bonus movement speed and empowers his next auto-attack.
Voli’s W – Frenzied Maul is also an AD-based spell that scales both with attack damage and bonus health. When activated, it strikes the enemy with physical damage and applies all on-hit effects (including the AP ones).
The E – Sky Splitter is a ranged ability that deals massive damage. In fact, this spell does base magic damage that grows each rank, scales with 80% of Volibear’s ability power, and can take up to 15% of the target’s maximum HP. And when cast, Volibear creates a circle of lightning that damages everyone in it.
And finally, Volibear’s R – Stormbringer is the ability that hits the hardest. It’s a physical damage spell that does 300, 500, or 700 damage (depending on the rank), plus 250% bonus AD, and 125% bonus AP. When activated, Volibear jumps to a target location and disables all turrets while being immune to CC.
Can Volibear ult get him over walls?
Yes, you can use Volibear’s ult to go over some walls, but not all of them. In fact, only the tiniest walls on Summoner’s Rift can be jumped with this ability. Stormbringer doesn’t have the same mechanic as Flash, so don’t expect to get you over many terrains.
Read Also: Yorick Full AP Build Guide
AP Volibear vs. AD Volibear – What’s Better?
Choosing between the AP and the AD Volibear build shouldn’t be too much of a problem for any player. Both builds deal good damage although the playstyle is completely different.
What do I mean by this?
The power of AD Volibear comes mainly from his basic attacks, W, and R. He’s tankier and more durable during a fight.
But the AP Volibear playstyle focuses on dealing most of its damage from range by using the E ability. This build can be pretty bursty, especially when playing against squishy opponents. It’s fun and exciting, so I recommend you to try it!
Here’s a YouTube video showcasing both the AP and the AD Volibear builds in action. Check it out!
Read Also: AP Rengar Build Guide
Full AP Volibear Build Season 12 – Runes
The best runes for playing Volibear AP in season 13:
- Dark Harvest
- Cheap Shot
- Eyeball Collection
- Ultimate Hunter
- Celerity
- Scorch
Dark Harvest
DARK HARVEST is the best keystone for all scaling champions in League, including Volibear. Dark Harvest allows you to collect soul stacks from your enemies when they’re on low health. And the more stacks you have the greater your damage will be when you hit them below 50% HP.
The damage from Dark Harvest is adaptive and it changes to magic if you build Voli AP. It synergizes well his AP playstyle and it boosts his damage. So, always play with Dark Harvest!
Cheap Shot
CHEAP SHOT is another rune that’s super helpful to AP Volibear. Basically, it does additional bonus true damage when you strike an enemy that’s already in CC. And since Volibear has a stun on a short cooldown, you can take advantage of this rune to deal a lot more damage, especially early on.
Read Also: Full AP Amumu Build Guide
Eyeball Collection
EYEBALL COLLECTION is a simple rune that increases your AP. You get 2 ability power per champion takedown. And when you’ve collected 20 ability power, this rune will give you 10 more. So, you essentially get 30 AP passively and for free if you choose to play with Eyeball Collection.
Ultimate Hunter
ULTIMATE HUNTER is one of the most useful runes in the game. It lowers the overall cooldown of Volibear’s ultimate based on how many Bounty stacks you have. You collect Bounty stacks with champion takedowns, so they’re pretty easy to get.
Having Stormbringer every 30-40 seconds is key for playing AP Volibear. Besides his E, his ultimate is the only active ability in his kit that deals magic damage and scales with AP. So, you need it as often as possible.
Read Also: AP Skarner Build Guide
Celerity
CELERITY is here to increase your movement speed and help you reach your target faster. It synergizes with Volibear’s Q and grants him a short burst of MS.
Voli is a melee champion that has no gap-closers other than his ultimate. So any movement speed bonus is helpful, especially for AP Volibear.
Scorch
SCORCH is the final rune you want to take here. It burns your opponent for additional damage when you strike them with a spell. And since AP Volibear can constantly poke with E, Scorch can have great uptime.
Scorch is an offensive rune that helps you win the early game. Its damage is actually amazing in the early game, so you’ll want to use Voli’s E all the time to force your opponent out of lane.
Read Also: Full AP Fiora Build Guide
Optional Rune Page for AP Volibear
If you don’t like the Dark Harvest playstyle for AP Volibear, this is another super-strong rune page that you can use.
Unlike the rune page above, this one focuses on giving you more on-hit damage. Press the Attack is a fantastic keystone and it synergizes extremely well with all of the core items. It’s perfect for doing more damage with your auto-attacks, especially when you pick up Nashor’s Tooth.
Another great advantage of this rune page is that it makes you tankier. It’s great for both the laning phase and the late game team fights.
And finally, the real reason why you’d go with this rune page is to get more attack speed. For this, you can also switch to Lethal Tempo if you prefer that.
However, Conqueror can also be a useful keystone, especially if you need more dueling power.
Here’s my in-depth guide on choosing between Conqueror, Press the Attack, and Lethal Tempo in LoL.
Full AP Volibear Build Season 13 – Items
The best items for playing AP Volibear in season 13:
- Sorcerer’s Shoes
- Riftmaker
- Nashor’s Tooth
- Demonic Embrace
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
Sorcerer’s Shoes
SORCERER’S SHOES are the boots of choice for AP Volibear. Since this build focuses on more on building raw AP, attack speed, and defensiveness, there’s no room for magic penetration. Luckily, Sorcerer’s Shoes grants you enough magic penetration for the early and mid game, so they’re pretty useful.
Riftmaker
RIFTMAKER is the perfect mythic item for AP Volibear. It gives you all stats that you desperately need – ap, health, ability haste, and omnivamp. In other words, it increases your damage while also making you tanky and able to heal yourself in combat.
Riftmaker’s passive is one of the most broken effects in League of Legends. Not only does it increase your damage done when you’re in a fight, but it also helps you deal bonus true damage. This is super helpful and will let you do much damage in a team fight.
Read Also: AP Malphite Build Guide
Nashor’s Tooth
NASHOR’S TOOTH is a core item for AP Volibear. And depending on the situation, you sometimes need to buy Nashor’s Tooth before Riftmaker. Nashor’s Tooth grants you tons of AP and attack speed, but it also adds another on-hit magic effect to your auto-attacks.
Nashor’s Tooth is a huge damage booster for Volibear. Once you spend your E, Voli has nothing else except basic attacks. And Nashor’s Tooth helps with that.
Demonic Embrace
DEMONIC EMBRACE is a burn-effect item that fits incredibly well in this build. It makes your abilities deal additional damage over 4 seconds, so you’ll be in combat much longer. This will keep Riftmaker’s passive up, allowing you to deal bonus true damage for the entire team fight.
Demonic Embrace is also an AP/tank item, so you’ll definitely want it in your inventory.
Zhonya’s Hourglass
ZHONYA’S HOURGLASS is the ideal defensive item for all diving champions in League of Legends. As Volibear, you’ll be fighting in melee range a lot of the time, so having a button that shields you from all incoming damage is a huge advantage.
Plus, Hourglass grants bonus armor so you’ll want to fill up Seeker’s Armguard first before upgrading it.
Rabadon’s Deathcap
RABADON’S DEATHCAP is the best AP item for the late game. It significantly increases your ability power and helps you close games faster. And if you manage to purchase it in the mid game, you’ll have an advantage in power for the rest of the match.
Optional and Situational Items for AP Volibear
The best optional items are Cosmic Drive, Morellonomicon, and Void Staff.
But, you can also include some tank or AD items here such as Spirit Visage, Sterak’s Gage, or Anathema’s Chains.
And lastly, Hullbreaker may be one of the best purchases too if your strategy is split-pushing. It’s a strong item for 1v1 fight, so give it a try sometimes.
Read Also: Warwick AP Build Guide
Ability Order and Summoner’s Spells for AP Volibear
When it comes to maxing out your abilities on Volibear, you have a couple of different paths. And for AP Volibear, you can either go with E first or W first.
However, here’s the overall best ability order for AP Volibear.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | |||||||||||||
| W | W | W | W | W | |||||||||||||
| E | E | E | E | E | |||||||||||||
| R | R | R |
Remember, if you’re going with the Press the Attack rune page, max out your W first, your Q second, and your E third.
Summoner’s Spells will depend on your role and matchup, but the best combination is Flash + Teleport. You can sometimes switch the Teleport to Ignite for more lane pressure. And you should always have Smite if you’re a jungle.
Read Also: Full AP Ivern Build Guide
Conclusion
As far as Summoner’s Spells are concerned, Flash + Teleport and Flash + Ignite are my favorite combo. For ability order, you’ll want to max out your E first. It’s your stronger cooldown and you need it for dealing more damage.
The latest build for Volibear is a variation of my build here and you can view it on this OPGG page.
That said, I hope this post helped you figure out how you should build and play Volibear AP in s12 of League of Legends!
