With Volibear’s skill set revealed, many gamers have made predictions about the playstyle of this champion after the rework. However, the most objective and accurate assessment will likely come from experts in League of Legends, and one such person – commentator and analyst LS from the English LCK channel – has posted a video discussing this. He has provided us with the clearest insight into the champion’s essence and the role Volibear will take on after the rework.
After reading through all the descriptions of the skills, commentator LS believes this rework has completely fixed the shortcomings of the old Volibear. “Previously, Volibear had only one mode, which was to charge in. However, if the opponent was stronger or if this bear was weaker than the match, he would become completely useless, except perhaps in the case of supporting Kalista and she threw you at the enemy.
The new skill set has much more versatility, and you will always be effective whether you are weak or strong. The E ability and ultimate can perfectly coordinate with teammates to set up ganks or dive towers, meaning Volibear can now proactively attack in any situation. Meanwhile, the old Volibear was entirely dependent on whether the opponent made mistakes or not.” – LS shared.
Regarding the position of the new Volibear, LS believes this demigod has a skill set very similar to Sett and is most suitable for both top lane and support roles: “With such a simple skill set, Volibear’s position is completely determined by the ratios of the stats in the skill set. Volibear’s skills are clearly designed for the top lane; if you want early game pressure and to utilize versatility, you can also play in the support role.”
So, can this rework be considered a success? For commentator LS, he believes that Riot has done an excellent job in upgrading Volibear this time – “I think Riot has done very well in maintaining the simplicity of this champion, as all skills are extremely easy to understand. With the revamped E and R skills, I believe this is a champion definitely worth playing, no longer just a ‘meat shield’ like before.”
I am really excited to see that we will have another true tank Fighter added to the game. Currently, there are too many damage champions, sometimes playing like an assassin, and there are too few options for tank-oriented champions like Maokai, Ornn, or Zac, which only occasionally appear. I believe this is a very successful rework just by looking at the new skill set of Volibear.” – commentator LS concluded.
Perhaps Riot Games has learned from the previous rework of Fiddlesticks, where the terrifying appearance was merely a shell while that scarecrow still had the same playstyle as before, not even farming the jungle faster due to the W ability – Harvesting now leeching health over a wide area. With Volibear, it’s different; this bear’s skill set has been completely reworked and has changed a lot of the champion’s essence after this rework.
Perhaps as LS said, the new Volibear will have gameplay and positioning similar to Sett, a Fighter with strong tanking tendencies and brings many beneficial effects for his team in team fights.
