Good day community, my name is Pain Train McBane. This is my second guide on mobafire, my previous being a Fizz guide that I retired as I just really don't play him often enough to have a relevant opinion of him. This guide's aim is to give a run-down on playing a support tank as Nautilus. Perhaps I'll show you something nifty you did not know about playing Nautilus but to be honest if you've played a support tank or played Nautilus, this will not be anything new. That being said, lets get down to the basics.

So you decided you want to support your team in an effort to take them to victory, great! Now how do you go about doing this when you are in solo queue and be tossed to the wolves (or trolls so to speak) when it comes to team selection? First things first, communicate with your team where you are going. Nautilus can perform well solo top and in the jungle as well, so let people know if you are planning on being support bottom/tank.

I find that most often times people want to be in solo lanes. I'm sure there are many factors that come into the decision, but I would say the desire to get fed so they can earn kills is the driving factor. Letting people know up front that you are going to tank and support is telling them to have at it, and plan accordingly. An important note, DO NOT STEAL KILLS FROM THE CARRY! It will be tempting. You may do all the work in popping them up, dragging them back, smacking and stunning them, and slowing them as they futilely try and run away only to have a Master Yi zip out of the bushes and Alpha Strike for the killing blow. You will want to scream, you will want to rage, but remind yourself that is your job, to set others up for success, and in kind earn you those wins/IP.

Also, as a support aside from tanking enemy fire and setting up kills for your team, winning all the lanes and taking towers is your primary objective. If you are the support, I don't care what the jungle guides say, it is your job to keep the objectives warded. Ward high traffic areas. Ward near towers when pushing. Ward your buffs. Ward enemy buffs. Ward dragon. Ward baron. Ward wards. You get the idea. If there is not a lot of action going on (a few enemies were slain, all lanes pushed) pick up a stack of wards and make a trip around the map.

TL:DR - As the support tank, you set up kills for your allies. You stay in your lane until it is won, and then help everyone else win their lanes. You are there to zone/harass enemies in the lane phase, and later in the game to keep the map warded and protect the carries (even if it means death).

PROS:
-Incredible Sustain
-Fantastic instigator
-Great Ganks
-You become un-killable unless they coordinate and focus you (the point of tanking!)
-Best /joke in the game
-Has a decent escape

CONS:
-Incredibly easy to Kill Steal from your carries
-Over-confidence can be an issue ("I am invincible!")
-Expensive build/slow start

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration x 9

While you are not a damage dealer, when you do move in for harassment while in the lane phase, you want it to hurt. A little magic penetration will go a long way for your end game.

Greater Seal of Replenishment x9

The only mana item I grab every time is the Philosopher's Stone, to help with my lane sustain, I take mana regen runes, allowing me a few more extra shield pops or anchor-grabs on careless enemies.

Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction x9

You have an excellent tool-set, and having your ultimate up for every team fight, and having your anchor ready to snag runners is key.

Greater Quintessence of Gold x3

As I mentioned, this build is pricy, as such I suggest the extra gold/per quints to compliment your gold/per items to allow your lane partner to the last hits while you 'hide' in the bushes with your anchor at the ready to snag n' drag people to their demise.

Clarity - Gives you and your lane partner mana. A very short cooldown, allows for abuse of your abilities early on. For Nautilus in my build, not taking this makes you half as effective (less use of abilities, or XP lost going back to base).

Heal - This being a support build, you want to keep your lane buddy up, this ability means they will have to work harder to take you down, or you can risk a few turret shots to drag them out and finish them off. I strongly recommend taking heal as a support as you will likely be facing an actual healer, while your summoner spell can't compete with the likes of Sona or Soraka, it is better than nothing.

Flash - An exceptional ability for your survival. If you are requested to top, take this over heal. Dredge Line can be used slightly like a flash, in that you can grab set pieces and drag yourself towards them (Walls/Turrets/Turret Debris), as such Flash is just an extra escape tool.

Teleport - Good for mobility. If your solo top is pinned down and likely going to perish, you can teleport to them and (hopefully) save the day! Can be game changing as it can get you back in the fight faster, but it has a longer cooldown. A solid choice, I would take this over heal, but take flash over teleport.

Cleanse - Your shield lets you take some serious abuse, but some duo lane's just have too much CC. This is very situational, and likely only taken in a draft pick when you can see what kind of CC you are up against (IE, if you are against Ashe/Taric combo, you want to be able to break the stuns)

Ghost - Mobility and escapes, but you're a tank and as such should not be caught alone in enemy territory. I do not find this to be an optimal pick for Nautilus.

Anything else really need not be considered.

Play Video /league-of-legends/champion/poppy-43 IMPORTANT! during lane phase, because you can't heal or shield your ally, peeling enemies off your ally is the only way you have to really defend them. Don't waste your Dredge Line on harassment if it is getting you nowhere (missing, hitting minions, damage is healed, you have to take turret fire).

Riptide - Max this ability after Titan's Wrath. As far as support goes, popping this in a fresh wave of minions will put them all down nicely into a last hit health range for your AD carry. After using Dredge Line, popping up Titan's Wrath when they are coming at you, Auto-Attacking for Staggering Blow, and then using Riptide will put in a good amount of hurt on your target, hopefully allowing your allies to finish them off (or you can too more often than Naut.)

Depth Charge - In my opinion, this is THE best initiator in the game. It has a short cooldown, and you can literally pick the person you want dead. In team fights, just pick the AP or AD carry sitting in the back and proceed to move in for the Ace. On it's path, Depth Charge will disrupt anyone it comes in contact with, and then knock up your target. Ideal for when both teams are going back and forth in mid and neither is wanting to make a move. Make it for them.

This again, is a support build, so I opt for the utility tree to reduce my cool downs. Intelligence and Sorcery gives 10% flat out CDR. Starting with extra gold allows me to start with a Ruby Crystal as well as a Health Potion. Summoner's Insight buffs Clarity while Mastermind makes your summoner abilities more available. Scout Makes your many many wards more effective, and of course getting more mana from Expanded Mind and Meditation is good.

As a support, the biggest call to make is when to stop putting money into wards/oracles, and when you need to start buffing up your character with items. Being able to see the enemy coming isn't going to do you a lick of good if they tear through you like a wet paper bag.

CORE ITEMS :
Heart of Gold - Health and extra gold
Philosopher's Stone - HP regen and mana regen, as well as more gold
Mercury's Treads - Magic Resist and Tenacity. Hands down the best tank boots.
Warmog's Armor - Health and Health regen, boosting your shield and keeping you up. You need a pool of health to defend before you start building armor or magic resist.
Oracle's Elixir - Shuts down stealth mechanics, as well as allows you to remove enemy wards from the map. Also, lost upon death so helps you consider stealth preservation at the cost of 400g.
Sight Ward x 1,000,000 - Initially, you will only need to ward your lane to prevent ganks, but once the dragon has spawned, you will want to keep an eye on it. Ultimately you will want to have all key objectives warded.

That is the crux of this build. After your first Warmog's Armor you will need to assess the enemy team. Armor is always a solid choice as it prevents damage from turrets and minions, but being cut down by Victor's combo before you have time to say "WTF" is a little humiliating. Alternately, being able to laugh off Veiger's nuke will not benefit you if Xin Xao is just going to rip you up. If you are unsure, build more health! Warmog's Armor does stack, and it will benefit your Titan's Wrath.

I like to build Chain Armor and Negatron Cloak after my Warmog's Armor for the extra mitigation, and then upgrade those as best suites my needs (normally into an Atma's Impaler and a Force of Nature).

If you are only part way into your build and finding that the enemies are not hurting you, Sheen provides a good boost to your damage. Most folks will not go toe-to-toe with Nautilus (a wise choice), so sustained damage is not what you are shooting for. Sheen gives you a little extra "oomph" while also later building into Lich Bane which provides magic resist, AP, and move speed as well.


Elixir of Fortitude and Elixir of Brilliance are just icing on the cake. Not needed, but a little extra health and CDR never hurt no one.

From levels 1-6, after protecting your jungle, proceed to your lane and set up camp. Ideally, your lane partner will only last hit, allowing you to sit in the bushes and pop out to harass the enemies and force them back. Grabbing your shield first allows you to be pushy with your lane as a few shots on you aren't going to matter.

I want to stress that as support, CS (or creep score) is incredibly important. You want to make sure the enemy isn't getting it, and that your Ad Carry IS getting it. That means DON'T TAKE their last hits! They need those expensive hard hitting items to bring the enemies down later!

The focus of the starting items is getting that extra gold/per as soon as you can. I suggest purchasing the Heart of Gold as soon as possible UNLESS you are going to be able to secure a kill for your partner, in which case you may want to hold off going back until you can get both the Heart of Gold and Philosopher's Stone. If you must purchase one and then the other, get boots before the Philosopher's Stone so you aren't just a free kill if you over-extend.

If all goes as planned, you should have gotten a few kills for your carry and crushed the enemy tower by level 7 or 8. From that point on, I will wander through the jungle towards mid, and proceed to gank mid and top, placing wards at key locations as I go. After obtaining my first tower, I will normally let the AD carry keep an eye on bot as they will benefit more from solo xp clearing waves. Naut can easily clear a wave using Titan's Wrath and Riptide but if you can get that gold to someone who needs it more, let them have it.

Once top and bottom lanes have been won, head to mid and don't stop until you crush their nexus.

And there you have it, a not too complex guide to being a successful Supportilus. Be prepared to hear "Hey Nautilus, are your shoulders hurting?" from the enemy team from time to time, as well as "That was my kill!" from your team as well. Accept their praise and hate for what it is...jealousy, because you are such a boss.

Thanks for checking out this guide. This is a first draft, and as such I could stand to add some more flair to it (fancy banners, less 'wall of text' like formatting).

Give Support Nautilus a shot and let me know what you think!

Thanks to jhoijhoi for her guide on making guides found here.