Volibear vs Malphite
Skill matchup
Build vs Malphite
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Volibear: Dusk and Dawn, Navori Flickerblade, Spirit Visage, Mercury's Treads, Statikk Shiv, Hextech Gunblade, Riftmaker, Shadowflame.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Malphite's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Malphite is shielded by a layer of rock which absorbs damage up to 10% of his maximum Health. If Malphite has not been hit for a few seconds, this effect recharges.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8s | 10s | 7s | – |
| 6 | 8s | 10s | 7s | 2m10 |
| 9 | 8s | 9.5s | 7s | 2m10 |
| 11 | 8s | 9s | 7s | 1m55 |
| 16 | 8s | 8s | 7s | 1m40 |
| 18 | 8s | 8s | 7s | 1m40 |
Playing as Volibear
Tips to maximize your impact
- Charge in, then stun
Cast Thundering Smash (Q) to charge at your target: your speed doubles when heading toward a champion, and your next auto stuns them.
- Two Frenzied Mauls on one target
Hit the same target twice with Frenzied Maul (W): the second hit, on the marked target, hits harder and heals you based on your missing health.
- Stay under your lightning
Cast Sky Splitter (E) where you're fighting and stay in the zone: when the lightning strikes, you gain a shield, and enemies hit are slowed.
- Dive the tower with your ult
To dive under a tower, cast Stormbringer (R) near it: on landing, you disable it for a few seconds, and you gain bonus health.
Playing against Malphite
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Pop his shield before trading
Break Granite Shield (passive) with a cheap hit before taking a real trade: it absorbs 10% of his max health and triples his bonus armor.
- Lean on magic damage
If you deal magic damage, lean on it in trades: his only resistances come from Thunderclap (W), which only gives armor.
- Trade when his mana runs low
Trade when his mana runs low: Seismic Shard (Q) costs 70 to 90 mana, and it's his only ranged slow.
- Respect his level 6
Once he hits level 6, only step up if he's visible: Unstoppable Force (R) comes from far away, nothing stops it, and its impact knocks every enemy in the area into the air.
- Spread out from your allies
When he has Unstoppable Force (R), spread out from your allies in teamfights: the impact knocks every enemy in the area into the air.
Other Volibear matchups
Patch 16.21.1