So, there were some Volibear nerfs...

... and I respect that. I main him- primarily top lane, because I'm trash- but I understand that he was dominating the jungle or something, and that nerfs were inevitable/in order. However, I feel like how the nerfs were done... It feels kinda bad.

Now, I'm not saying the nerfs were a bad idea or that they were done poorly or with bad intent. I'm just saying that- as someone who plays Volibear top lane- it feels awkward. I am left a little confused about how the nerfs went out, though. Riot stated in their 6.13 patch notes; "What's out of line isn't the strength of Volibear's ganks, but his ability to keep up with his opponent's jungle clears. We're lowering his effectiveness when fighting monsters in the early game so teams that successfully respond to Volibear's early aggression can maintain a meaningful lead come mid-game". Now, when I look at this, I'm reminded of the first set of PBE nerfs, which were:

Frenzy Active cooldown refund on monsters reduced to 25% from 50% Attack speed per stack reduced to 4/8/12/16/20% from 8/11/14/17/20%

When I compare what Riot said to those changes, it makes a lot more sense. It makes me feel like they're actively trying to slow his jungle clear speed by making Frenzy's use less liberal, while simultaneously decreasing his auto-attack damage per second by decreasing the attack speed gain from ranks 1 through 4.

However, when I compare what Riot said to:

Frenzy Base damage reduced to 60/110/160/210/260 from 80/125/170/215/260 Attack speed per stack reduced to 4/8/12/16/20% from 8/11/14/17/20%

it makes me feel like they're not really trying to nerf Volibear's jungle clear speed, which is apparently what they were aiming for. It sorta makes it feel like they're nerfing Volibear in all roles and lanes as opposed to his clear speed.

Given, from what I've played, the nerfs aren't really too noticeable in the jungle. I can tell that his clear speed is down, but it doesn't feel that bad or anything. Playing him still feels good, and they haven't changed who he is in essence. The same thing can be said for playing him top lane, but I feel like the nerfs are much more prevalent there, when you're dueling Champions as opposed to monsters.

Using "champion.gg" as a point of reference, Volibear's Jungle statistics have dropped (naturally, and it's to be expected when a Champion gets nerfed). Most noticeably, his win rate has dropped from around 55% to around 52%, dropping his rank from 1st to 7th. This is good, and it was certainly a step in the right direction. However, Volibear's top statistics have also dropped across the board. As of last patch, "champion.gg" stated that Volibear's win rate top lane was around 49% or so, which was about the 30th position out of top laners. As of this patch, "champion.gg" states that it has dropped 21 positions and around 2%, putting him in the 51st spot out of 58 Champions. Given, that's actually not that bad percentile-wise, but like I said, every other statistic (aside from Playerbase Average Games Played, Damage Taken, and Minions Killed- the last of which is low, anyway) has also decreased. This naturally gives me a feeling of dread in combination with the fact that I feel like these nerfs, which were apparently meant to slow his jungle clear speed, hit him harder top lane than they did in the jungle.

Again, I'm not saying "WTF RITO REVERT THESE NERFS" or "DUDE C'MON BUFF HIM PLS". I'm moreso wondering what caused the shift in nerfs on the PBE, and also what other people's thoughts are on this (if anyone has any). I don't know much about balancing, so I figured it would be wise to accept input or inquiries from other players or hopefully some Riot staff.