Hello everyone. I'm Hazardis, but also go as Sieghardt in other games/accounts. I've been playing League since around season 7 and peaked at Master 300-something LP a couple of seasons ago, until unhappiness with the game led me to take a long break from it.

I used to OTP Skarner before and up until his rework last year. Some readers might recognize me as the author who made the most upvoted and viewed Skarner guide on MOBAFire, from before he was reworked. I am also the creator of the award-winning guide for Yorick Jungle.

This time, I bring a guide for Nautilus in the Jungle, a pick that has become viable in recent patches thanks to direct buffs to Nautilus himself, and to tank items such as Bami's Cinder and Sunfire Aegis, not to mention the current meta favoring tank pocket picks to counter all the assassins that are running rampant in the role.

A lonely legend as old as the first piers sunk in Bilgewater, the armored goliath known as Nautilus roams the dark waters off the coast of the Blue Flame Isles. Driven by a forgotten betrayal, he strikes without warning, swinging his enormous anchor to save the wretched, and drag the greedy to their doom. It is said he comes for those who forget to pay the “Bilgewater tithe”, pulling them down beneath the waves with him—an iron-clad reminder that none can escape the depths. Nautilus needs little introduction: everyone knows him to be a champion that provides an extreme amount of Crowd Control, is called to the frontlines of fights to tank for his team, and can turn the game unplayable for the enemy carries if left unattended. Finding success across every elo, including pro play, he is a champion every tank player should have in their pool, especially now that he has received buffs specifically aimed at making him viable in the Jungle role, where he demonstrates to be a strong pick.

PROS + Beginner-friendly + Fast & easy Jungle clear + High & reliable Crowd Control + Extremely durable + Good against engage and poke comps Nautilus has a straightforward kit and gameplay pattern which won't take you more than a few games before getting comfortable with, although this doesn't necessarily translate into a low skill ceiling since his engage tools offer a lot of versatility in all game situations, whether you are disengaging or engaging. He is also a great counter to enemy teams that consist of assassins or poke champions, thanks to his durability and long-range effectiveness that turn his mere presence into a treat. Dredge Line is also one of the funniest abilities in the game; you are guaranteed to laugh when hitting it from odd angles.

P Q W E R

CONS - Low mobility - Lackluster damage - Easy to invade - Mostly single target - Reliant on teammates following up Although the dash from Dredge Line can technically count as mobility, Nautilus's movement is slow and predictable, making him an easy target for skillshots. He also has little damage by himself until he finishes his Ability Power items, and even then, his damage will be below that of bruisers, marksmen and assassins. Although Depth Charge can hit several targets, most of Nautilus's Crowd Control only apply to one target at a time, meaning that you have to pick your targets intelligently in teamfights, or you will find yourself having wasted your cooldowns on a lesser treat.

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Flash is arguably the most fitting choice for summoner spell to pair Smite with, because you would have a much harder time outplaying opponents without it. It helps you chase, flee, land and dodge skillshots, land Staggering Blow on targets that are running away or kiting you, go past terrain, etc. No other alternative to it opens up nearly as much outplay potential.

Gustwalker Hatchling is the best Jungle pet to run on Nautilus since it hleps compensate for his biggest weakness: lack of mobility. It will make you move faster around the Jungle when you finish clearing camps and passing through Brushes, which will make a big difference when you are fighting near the river or in a Jungle quadrant and need to chase or flee from opponents. The other only alternative that is even worth considering would be Mosstomper Seedling, but it's currently too underpowered to choose over this anyway.

There are currently two ability sequences that I recommend, and will vary based on what is needed for the game you are playing in particular.

Maxing Riptide first is a no-brainer for Nautilus Jungle since it's his main source of damage not only for camps but also against champions and lane minions, and you want that damage to be as high as possible so as to not lose more time farming than necessary. Titan's Wrath second follows this same philosophy since points into it add to its AoE damage on-hit, making your clears faster, while also making you tankier thans to the larger shield value. As is standard, take a point in Depth Charge at levels 6, 11 and 16.



With this sequence instead, Dredge Line is the second ability to hit max level for the sake of lowering its cooldown, and also for a small but noticeable boost to single damage target, which comes in handy when you need to help burst someone down in particular. I take this in games where I'm comfortably ahead in the early game, so that the lower cooldown on the hook can help me engage more often to push the advantage, but it's also a better path when you're up against two or more poke champions that you need to engage upon or risk losing the teamfight before it's started. Think of champions such as Ziggs, Xerath, Ezreal, etc.

Despite his very simple kit, Nautilus has a few combos worth keeping in mind to give his abilities creative uses in situations the enemy won't expect, and also to show mastery with the champion.

Dredge Line onto terrain Dredge Line is not only to hook champions, but also terrain. Aim it onto nearby walls when you are escaping from an enemy to create distance quickly, or also when chasing in case your target is being bodyblocked by allied minions or other champions that aren't worth hooking into.

Riptide + Dredge Line Riptide can be cast at any point of the animation for Dredge Line, regardless of whether it connects with something or not. This makes for a great escaping tool since any enemies near you at the time of cast will be Slowed, while you are dashing away from them.

Depth Charge + Flash Depth Charge will knock back enemy champions that are in its way, not only whoever you selected as target. What many don't know is that it can be repositioned mid-cast since it depends on where Nautilus is standing, so using Flash before the cast is completely done can help you hit champions near you that would otherwise be outside the path of the current.

Dredge Line + Auto Attack + Titan's Wrath + Riptide + Depth Charge For a full combo on a target you want to burst, engage on it with Dredge Line and immediately issue a command to Auto Attack. Right after, cast Titan's Wrath for its bonus damage, then Riptide. End with Depth Charge once everything else is on cooldown. This way, you guarantee that your target remains immobile for as long as possible and has no room to even use Flash or other escape tools.

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HOW TO GANK: Learning the blind vision spots is of utmost importance when it comes to approaching a lane quickly. Stick to the walls or other terrain if you're approaching from the river, and pop your Oracle Lens as you're approaching the bush; if you spot a Ward, don't waste time clearing it since Nautilus's Attack Speed is too slow, and just keep going before the enemy has too much time to react. Always make sure to ping your laners (responsibly) around seconds before you decide to go for it.

WHEN TO GANK: As Nautilus, going for a Gank before level 6 is absolutely an option that you should consider in games where you have volatile lanes. Examples of volatile lanes include when both supports down in bot lane are engage supports, when both top laners are melee ands especially if they are lane bullies, or when both mid laners are melee assassins. Nonetheless, since it's hard to consistently pull this playstyle successfully, always seek to full clear like normal until level 6 which is around the time when the Voidgrubs spawn, and you're likely to fight the enemy Jungler and laners in the river for them.

WHOM TO GANK: I really advice you to not waste any time ganking any laner that has died before 4 minutes, or that by the 10 minutes mark has at least 3 deaths; that's all the proof you need that they don't know how to lane properly and that they're not worth trusting with any resources. You're better off focusing on lanes near live objectives who are also even or not losing by too much, and especially in volatile matchups such as the ones described above.

JUNGLE TRACKING: In this season, tracking the enemy Jungler properly is more important than ever due to how much priority early objectives such as Voidgrubs have at all stages of the game. A good rule of thumb to follow the enemy Jungler in the first minutes of the game is: if he started on the same side of the map as you for the first clear, he will remain on the same side as you for most of the first 10 minutes of the game, assuming that A) you have focused diligently on farming your camps, and B) he hasn't wasted too much time hovering around mid or the sidelanes before the first objectives have spawned.

At the very start of the game, you should move to the top side river if you're playing on blue side, or the bot side river from red side. Stay in the Brush near the river (either the one in the middle of the river, or the row of Brushes next to the mid lane) for a few seconds to assess if there are any enemies showing themselves on the map.

Stay until around 65-71 seconds into the game, after which you can drop your first Stealth Ward in the Brush or pit near the buff opposite to where you will start to defend against early invades from the enemy Jungler that might otherwise catch you by surprise. It is better to place it defensively rather than offensively, as this Ward will allow you to perform your first full clear free of worries, and you doing an invade is less likely to work than an invade against you.


A full clear of your Jungle (6 camps + Rift Scuttler) is the most advisable strategy for your initial clear, and you should always do it leashless so ping your teammates away and give them an optimal start to the game instead of having them waste time leashing for you. Be wary of possible enemy invades or counterjungling while you're still in the first quadrant. The most consistent route, and my personal favorite, is to do Crimson Raptor -> Ancient Krug -> Red Brambleback, then moving on to the opposite quadrant to clear Murk Wolf -> Gromp -> Blue Sentinel, and then finish by taking or contesting Rift Scuttler.


Note that when clearing the second quadrant, you want to stick to the logic of clearing the smaller camps before taking the buff camp. This is for the sake of making their respawn timers be as close to each other as possible, so when you go back to clear them again, you won't have to wait around for either of them to finish respawning, and be as quick and fluid as possible.


Below is how it's done when you prefer to start from the blue quadrant. The same order logic applies, so you will do Murk Wolf -> Gromp -> Blue Sentinel -> Crimson Raptor -> Ancient Krug -> Red Brambleback -> Rift Scuttler.


The main downside of this route is that you end in a more awkward position, as the placement of Ancient Krug and Red Brambleback is farther from the Rift Scuttler compared to Gromp and Blue Sentinel, meaning that you will get there later. Still, it can be smart to take this route instead in order to catch or avoid the enemy Jungler strategically, or to set your pathing in a way that favors the first spawns of Dragon or Voidgrub regardless of what side of the map you're on.

Analyze the state of your lanes after you are done taking the Rift Scuttler. If the sidelane or mid lane don't seem easy to Gank, take the downtime to explore the enemy Jungler's quadrant to gain vision of taken camps, drop a Stealth Ward on the enemy's Crimson Raptor if you have a charge available, and blow the Scryer's Bloom that spawns on it, then move to where you began your clear to take that quadrant camps' second spawn before you Recall to spend your gold.

If the Dragon is alive or the next one is coming up, move to the bot side to gain vision control around it and prepare an ambush on any approaching enemies with smart uses of your Oracle Lens and Control Wards. If the Rift Herald is alive, play around top side on your next rotation. Atakhan is almost always worth fighting for, but if you have to choose between your own tempo elsewhere in the jungle or contesting it, it's not something you should be going out of your way for.

If you are at a disavantage and your team lost all of the Tier 1 towers, go into your own jungle more carefully from there on. Nevertheless, it is really important that you do your best to hover around your laners as they catch and push waves on mid and the sidelanes since the enemy may attempt to collapse on them to set up numbers advantage for an upcoming objective respawn.

The late game is when Nautilus has stacked enough resistances to be able to withstand the damage from 5 champions for a respectable amount of time in fights, so this is when you should look to group with your teammates to either seek winning fights that turn into a turret destroyed or a neutral objective taken, or to protect them from enemy assassins or skirmishes that look for isolated picks. Nautilus has poor abilities to push lanes or pressure lanes by himself, so your presence is better off spent near your teammates and around objectives.

As the Jungler, however, you should try to let yourself be seen on the map as less as possible, meaning not standing in the middle of the lane where your laners are catching waves and moving in sight of everyone. Instead, stay hidden in nearby Brushes and use the terrain intelligently to either surprise an unsuspecting enemy that is trying to engage, or to set up your own engages from unseen angles to increase your chances of success.

At this point of the game, famously anti-tank champions such as Vayne, Fiora or Yasuo become more problematic than ever for you as they can melt through your resistances when at 4+ items completed; so they should be your priority targets in fights, even ones that the enemy team engaged first.

Thank you for making it to the end of my guide, I hope you have learned enough to be able to try out Nautilus Jungle with enough confidence in your first games. Since it is a relatively new pick in the meta, expect the guide to be updated as new builds, setups and strategies become stronger on the champion as enough data gets gathered from people starting to play him. The Jungle meta as a whole is likely to shake up a bit since we are in Worlds season, so that will also be considered at the time of updating with new information.