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Spells:
Ghost
Teleport
Ability Order
Soul Eater (PASSIVE)
Nasus Passive Ability
Introduction
So, I've been playing Nasus for some time now, and have played him in every possible role imaginable. In time, and with some practice I perfected him, and would like to share my experience with the entire universe!! (since humanity has not evolved that far yet, I'll settle with you guys <3) I hope you find this build as useful as I have, and I hope you find this guide as good as I imagine it to be. ;)

// If you are confused by any item/mastery/rune/ability choice, just scroll down to the suitable location. I tried to explain everything in great detail.
// The guide will go threw future iterations. Changes will be made, as well as additions will be set in place. Any future metagame change will be undoubtedly introduced to the guide, which will try and stay up to date as often as possible.
// Keep in mind that this is my way of playing


// The guide also covers basic principles, tips and tricks, for new

// And lastly. please vote and comment, I try to answer any question. And supportive criticism is welcomed.
// Don't be confused, 'Pharaoh


His skills are many, and there are a few ways to play him, and this guide is yet another (the most efficient way, IMO).
Nasus is very popular because of his many uses in a team. He can push the lane very efficiently, and he can

This build is centered around



In addition the guide tries to follow every aspect of the build as closely as possible, and will try to explain it as best as possible.
For Nasus's official League of Legends page, click here

Pros

+High DMG output (if

+Can become very tankish
+Amazing pusher
+Has one of the best slows in the game

+Great lane sustainability with

+Has a big stick
Cons

-Melee
-Very dependent on

-No great CC
-Kite-able
-Will get distracted if a fire hydrant is nearby
Ideal Summoner Spells
The Summoner Spells that I most often use are







Other Acceptable Solutions
These Summoner Spells can be used dependent on playing style. They can be mixed and matched, but are not the ideal setup for this build in particular.









Jungle Nasus
If you want to go jungle Nasus (which is quite applicable) I recoment taking



-Nasus strikes his foe, dealing damage and increasing the power of his future

Active: Nasus's next basic attack will deal 30/50/70/90/110 (+) (+ ) physical damage.
Passive: Siphoning Strike permanently gains 3 damage if it kills an enemy unit.
Cost: 20/25/30/35/40 Mana
Range: 300
-An amazing ability, and the focus of most Nasus builds.



-Nasus ages his target, decelerating their Movement and Attack Speeds over time.
Nasus ages his target over 5 seconds, initially slowing their Movement and Attack Speeds by 35% and increasing to 47/59/71/83/95% over the duration.
Cost: 80 Mana
Range: 700
-I just love it. This ability is like a mini




-Nasus unleashes a spirit flame at a location, dealing damage and reducing the Armor of enemies who stand on it.
Nasus unleashes a spirit flame at a target location, dealing an initial 55/95/135/175/215 (+0.6) magic damage. For the next 5 seconds, enemies in the area have their Armor reduced by 20/25/30/35/40 and are dealt an additional 11/19/27/35/43 (+0.12) magic damage each second.
Cost: 70/85/100/115/130 Mana
Range: 650
-This is a great ability, it makes Nasus a great pusher/defender. It is also very useful in a full on team fight, especially for your AD carry. So why do i max it last? Well my rational is this. In the early game I urge you to try and farm










-Nasus unleashes a mighty sandstorm that batters nearby enemies. While the storm rages, he gains additional Health and drains nearby enemies' max Health and converts it into bonus damage for the duration of the skill.
Nasus becomes empowered in the sandstorm for 15 seconds, gaining 300/450/600 Health. While the storm rages, he deals 3/4/5 (+0.01)% of nearby enemies' maximum Health each second (240 damage max per second) as magic damage and converts it into bonus Attack Damage.
Cost: 150 Mana
Range: 20
-A decent enough ultimate. It can save your hide because of the HP it gives, it also gives you some lifesteal, combined with the added bonus from


-Nasus drains his foe's spiritual energy, giving him bonus Lifesteal.
-A nice passive. It gives you the power to stay in the lane, where otherwise you would have to go back. It's usefulness in a team fight comes in when you activate

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SPACEI use the following mastery set: |
As I'm sure you've already noticed this build is focused on being a tank, while at the same time dealing massive DPS. This is the best setup that allows you to do just that.
Take








You might be curious as to why we don't take points in

We take 4 point in



On the defensive tree we take





We max



The last mastery that we will cover is




As with the Summoner Spells other reiterations can be made, but they won't be nearly as good as this set is. I highly recommend you use these Masteries for your Nasus.
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Recommendations |
For Mark: The best solution are the Greater Mark of Desolation. The armor pen plays a big part in this build, and the more you have, the better. Other acceptable marks are the


For Seals: The standard



For Glyphs:




For Quintessence: I recommend the Greater Quintessence of Desolation. As I said you can go for other Quintessences, but if you do, you will diminish his fighting power. Other applicable ones can be:




Note that almost all of the runes that have been mentioned above can be used, I really do not advise you to take any other. Pick your poison from each kind, or you can just follow my build. In any case the recommendations are there, and suitable info as well. So if you wanna mix and match a bit, that is totally understandable.


Ok, so now that you know how to setup Nasus. It's time to go into the game for a hand-held walkthrough of how this build needs to be played. Remember that this is the core build, you might need to change things up just a bit depending on the type of game you are playing. ;)
Recommended Skill Sequence:
You might be curious about my Skill Sequence. It is a very arbitrary skill set, mostly seen in DOTA. But I find that it works better on Nasus then the standard Skill Sequence that most people use. Which goes something like:
I don't agree with this model, because in practice the extra


Please keep in mind that this is not written in stone, and it should not be treated like it is. various items and mechanics can be shifted around because of various reasons. So please keep this mind while reading the following paragraphs.
Early Game
So we start the game with a


Then we go solo top. *If you're not playing with a fixed team, or if your team is just bad, then go in any lane, but you will be quite handicapped. You need your last hits, and a solo lane is ideal for that. But if you are playing with a fixed team, then the top lane will be reserved for you.
Now that we're in lane, we will keep on the defensive side, and try to farm up


So as your farming up


Once you have enough gold for a Philosopher's Stone and some



You now continue to farm


When you have the necessary gold, go back and buy your



*If the lane is empty take caution, and try not to push the enemy turret. If you are certain that enemy will not interfere, then go for it. Nasus can bring down an enemy turret in no time. If you succeed, the added gold will do you great good, not to mention the loss of map control that your enemy's will have.
Mid Game
It would be preferable to get your




*

Once you get back in a lane, the farm fest continues. Your

The next item that we buy would have to be



Once you are back in a lane you continue to farm up






Instead of



You then start building your

Late Game
So here is where things get interesting.
*Your style of play, in this stage of the game (see what I did there?) should be that off a tank, that excels at the opportunity for a fast kill. Most AP and AD squishy champions will die from 2 or 3 hits from your farmed up


So once you have managed to get your



After the







If the game drags on any longer, you can get something like an


*In these stages


Team Fights

In the Mid stages of the game your







Once the Late Game is upon you. You are both the tank, and the carry for your team, and you must be involved in any and all team fights that happen. The squishy targets are nothing, you should go for the CC makers, as it were. Try and kill anyone that has the power to do you great wrong. For instance a high farmed








Riots Recommended Items
So the only item from the recommendations, that is in this build, is

My Recommendations
Please do not take these items for granted, same with the PLAY-BY-PLAY Walkthrough. Some games will demand other items, and you must be capable to meet those demands. For instance if a game asks you to build your

Philosopher's Stone It's important because of the lane sustainability it gives, second it's a nice gold per 5 item, and thirdly we need it to get the



















If the team you are up against is very AP dependable, take something like









Remember about the other consumables, likes sight wards and

An

Keep in mind, that if you take all the CD reduction items that I've suggested above, you'll be over the 40% max CD reduction cap. So again, depending on the game, and your style of play, choose your choices wisely.
If you're wondering why all the supportive items, it's simple. Those items will keep you alive in the early to mid game, while you farm up. They will also make you more viable if a fight erupts. Later in the game, you'll see that this progression really works out. It's like making a house, and the supporting items, are the supporting beams. You can go for all the late game items earlier, but I would not recommend it.
sight wards are the focus of this section of the guide, and how

Q: why do I need to ward with

A: yes, you might ask this, genuinely the support player buys the wards, yes, but your role makes you dependent to buy sight wards. Let me explain. As

You need to be on the lookout for the enemy junglers, before the game begins, see the enemy jungler, observe his/her skills, and be wary of what they can do. Put it in you head somewhere, stick it in there, that the enemy jungle champion will come, and you need to be ready.
This is why I recommend when the lane is pushed, to go back to base, for ganks and such. And this is why I recommend to not use

I have not added sight wards in the item build, for obvious reasons. And I've said this, and I'll say it again. If the game makes you buy them, you will buy them. You need to be aware of that little fact.
Now then, this will only cover how to ward as

So let's start with some essential wards.


The first thing you must remember is to ward the brush, or baron, or the tri-brush to the right. These are frequent paths that the enemy jungler wants to take, and you need to be aware if he's nearby.
The first brush is a common place where junglers tend to stand until you're in position for them to strike. This is a key place to ward, and try and ward it as soon as humanly possible. The next one, baron, is not used to see when baron will spawn. It is used because it covers a large area around the mid-to-top lane rover, where the enemy jungler is most likely to come from. This ward does not cover any brushes, which is a shame, but I still recommend the placing. The tri-brush is also a great place to put a sight ward in. This is also a frequent jungle path that enemies like to take.
The ganks will come, and when they do, you need to back-off, and these three locations will show you when someone is trying to be sneaky. All three spots are acceptable, depends on where you fancy your wards. I personally drop them in the baron area, but that's just me, any of the other places would do.
Like I said, observe the enemy jungler, and what he can do. If the enemy has a

This is a safe bet, if you're new to warding. If you're playing with the team that has their base in the bottom-left corner of the map, then place a sight ward in the first brush. And if you're playing on the other team, that has their base on the top-right side of the map, then place your sight ward in the tri-brush.
As the game reaches it's inevitable conclusion, each team will try and take either dragon or baron, in order to take a slight lead, it's a good idea to ward these epic mobs.


If the support is not doing his/her job properly, or if for some inexplicable reason the wards are not where they're suppose to be, be a team player and put some where they need to be, it might change the entire game.
If you for some reason have an extra sight ward or anything of the sort, it's a good idea to ward the buffs as well.


But don't make it your job to do that, only if you can.
And do not worry, you'll get the gold back from your philosopher's stone and

The first thing to keep in mind is your solo top match-up. (this guide in particular only focuses on a ranked 1v1 solo top situation, 1v2s and unprofessional 1v1s are not taken in account.)
Risky Match-Ups
Against most of these, Nasus will have a hard time. Keep in mind that this is based of the parameters of this build only. circumstances might change if you were to play Nasus differently.
















He can take control of most other match-ups no problem.
In a team based environment, you gotta know who on your team can help you, and who on your enemy's team can harm you.
These are just a few of the enemies that


CC Will Make you Useless
CC champs will turn your big DMG output, and your amazing slow, and your only AE help to your team into nothing. Nasus despises these champions with all his might...I didn't go to far did I?
In any case I'll cover some of the more annoying ones.












Mid to Late Game Helpers
This list contains basic supports that fit Nasus, and most champions that are laid out above
are fair of obvious reasons. I'll go over some of them so you get the basic idea.














I know this guide only covers one style of play, but if the demand is great, I will cover all of them ;)
So lets get into some tips for you guys :D
+




+


+


More Tips & Tricks will be added in the list. I just need to find the better ones, so in order not to spam the list.
=I would like to thank 'Panglot' for the warding pictures, and 'Taneren' for some major advise, you guys are awesome=
=If you have any questions feel free to PM me, or ask in the comments=
=Also tnx to 'holkos' for his support, you can check out his new

catcha on the flip side

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