Introduction


Upon first glance at Nautilus you would think a champion with his magnitude would wreak havoc on teams, and you would be correct in this assumption. Any battle with Nautilus present results in a chaotic storm of devastating riptides, hurling of massive anchors, and immensely destructive oceanic shock waves. There are few, if any, that can escape the dominant grasp of Nautilus. If you find this description alluring, then I urge you to plunge into the depths of jungle Nautilus with me in an endeavor to investigate this tremendous sea creature.





Thus far, my jungle guides (Alistar) have revolved around tanky and supportive champions, and Nautilus is no exception to this theme. As portrayed in the initial paragraph, the monstrous Nautilus possesses an abundance of crippling abilities (in fact, he has the most CC in the game: 4 different kinds!). This fusion of tankiness and CC makes Nautilus a very strong pick in almost any situation. Despite his slow initial clear times, jungle Nautilus brings an incomparable amount of control to any gank and team fight.

Pros:
• Great initiator
• Strong ganks
• Variety of CC
• Tanky

Cons:
• Slow initial clear time
• Vulnerable to invasion
• Sluggish animations




Masteries




0/21/9 provides an optimal blend of sustain and utility. The points in defense should be self evident. You have 3 spare points you can put into MR or CDR. I'm well aware that Nautilus' speed in the jungle is rather slow, but any points in offense won't help him much at all. Thus, the points in utility are more beneficial. Why MS over Mana regen? Because MS synthesizes well your role as an initiator and Nautilus already has high base mana regen.


Runes




These runes are geared to minimize his weakness (poor clear time), and increase his strengths (sustain and ganks).

• Marks: Attack speed is the best choice to increase clear time. Also, AS makes his attack animation less sluggish. This is particularly useful because of your
• Seals: Armor is a must for almost every jungler as it significantly reduces damage received.
• Glyphs: MR/LvL is necessary to enhance durability in battle.
• Quintessences: MS is the superior choice because of its versatility. Not only is it good for general mobility, it also increases clear time because you can travel from camp to camp quicker, makes your ganks stronger, and allows you to escape more effectively.



Summoner Spells


Smite is imperative for every jungler as it allows for buff/dragon/baron control and significantly increases clear times.

Flash is great for Nautilus, I wouldn't suggest any other summoner spell. It gives amazing initiation and escape capabilities. For example, you can Flash onto your target so you can get off an auto attack to trigger . Or, you can Flash to get into range for and then follow up with .





Skills



Passive: Staggering Blow

Nautilus� first basic attack against a target deals bonus physical damage and immobilizes the opponent briefly. Staggering Blow cannot trigger on the same target more than once every 12 seconds.

What an amazing passive. The most noticeable strength of this passive is found during your ganks. However, it's also fairly helpful in the jungle. To maximize its potential try spreading out your attacks to each monster. More importantly, you should spread out your attacks during ganks and team fights. Instead of blindly auto attacking the same champion over and over try attacking several different champions that are in reasonable range. That way you can have as many people snared as possible throughout the fight.






Q: Dredge Line

Nautilus hurls his anchor forward. If it hits an enemy unit, Nautilus drags himself and the target together dealing 80/120/160/200/240 (+75% of ability power) magic damage and stunning them briefly.If the anchor hits terrain, Nautilus will drag himself forward and the cooldown is reduced by 50% (7/6.5/6/5.5/5).

Cost: 60/70/80/90/100 mana

Cooldown: 14/13/12/11/10 seconds

Range: 950

This is a super useful ability. It has a much larger hit box than Blitz's grab so it's easier to land. It's great for initiation, escape, and CC. For initiation, try using this to close the gap and even bring opponents closer to your team in the process. Ideally, you should aim this towards some sort of terrain so that even if you miss it you can still get in close range. For escape, simply aim it towards some sort of terrain (Note: this includes towers! Dead or alive) and off you go! You'll feel like some peculiar combination of Spider Man and a Big Daddy from Bio Shock. As for CC, you can use this to interrupt key spells, keep a target within range of your tower/teammates, and it's excellent for [literally] peeling foes from your teammates.






W: Titan's Wrath

Nautilus surrounds himself with dark energies, shielding him from the next 80/130/180/230/280 plus 10% of his bonus health (+10% of bonus health) damage for up to 10 seconds. While the shield persists, Nautilus' basic attacks apply a damage over time effect to all units around his target. The effect deals 30/60/90/120/150 (+40% of ability power) magic damage over 2 seconds.

Cost: 80 mana

Cooldown: 26/24/22/20/18 seconds

Range: 350

A solid ability for sustain and damage. It's particularly useful in the jungle, however, it has a ridiculously long cooldown. It can also be used during ganks to mitigate damage received and increase damage dealt.

Note: Activating this ability resets your auto attack timer. So try using it right after an auto attack to maximize damage.






E: Riptide

Nautilus slams the ground, causing the earth to explode around him. Each explosion deals 60/100/140/180/220 (+50% of ability power) magic damage to units in the area and slows them by 30/35/40/45/50% for 2 seconds. This slow diminishes over time. A unit can be hit by more than one explosion, but they take 50% less damage from additional explosions.

Cost: 60/70/80/90/100

Cooldown: 10 seconds

Range: 400

This is great for some AOE damage throughout the jungle and provides an AOE slow for ganks/team-fights. Considering your role as a tank/support the damage isn't what's important, the slow is. So, don't be too preoccupied with trying to wait to use it until they're running. It's better to just get in there and use it right away to begin slowing them.






R: Depth Charge

Nautilus fires a shockwave that chases an enemy champion. This deals 125/175/225 (+40% of ability power) magic damage to enemies it passes through and knocks them into the air. The shockwave explodes upon hitting its target dealing 250/350/450 (+80% of ability power) magic damage, launching them into the air and stunning them for 1/1.5/2 seconds.

Cost: 100 mana

Cooldown: 120/100/80 seconds

Range: 825

This is one of the most devastating ultimates in the game, period. It's extremely useful during ganks and team fights. Typically, you want to aim for someone in the back of the fight so you can knock up as many as possible. If you see that they're all lined up then seize that opportunity to dismantle their entire team.








Skill Order




This is the optimal skill order. This is why I don't do lvl 2 ganks because your jungling will be horrendous without this skill order. Refer to the Jungling and Ganking section for the explanation of leveling first.





Item Builds


As always, your items need to be framed around team composition. This applies to your team and the enemy team. 99.9% of the time your role in the team is to be tanky and supportive. Thus, these items are aimed at just that. Being a jungler (and a rather slow one at that) you will rarely get a full build. Therefore, the reasoning behind these items is largely for temporal purposes.




Starting Items



This is my preferred staring item of choice. It speeds up your clear and strengthens your ganks.



I suggest starting with these when you're against an aggressive jungler (e.g., Shyvana, Lee, Udyr, Mundo, etc.). They're very likely to invade. Therefore, you want to have more sustain so you don't get caught and die.




Core Items



For increased roam-ability, initiation and ganking



Sustain
GP/10
Note: Don't get if
you're not going to build



This item is featured in each of my builds because the stats are simply amazing for you and your team.




Mid Game



I typically get this right after my core items for CDR, sustain, and a larger mana pool.



The active on this works wonders. Great for initiation and escape. Not to mention the CDR and sustain are highly valuable, too.



This a frugal way to attain some early MR should you need it. You will most likely hold onto this for a while and complete it into something later if time permits.




Late Game



Go ahead and complete this item if they're heavy on AD (or if their AD is just doing really well).



If your support isn't going to get this item then I would suggest that you should. It has really nice CDR and the aura is particularly beneficial for AD champs on your team.



Complete this item when against strong AD. It's mainly used for its passive/active, but the stats are really helpful, also.



Change boots accordingly:
vs. heavy AP/CC
vs. heavy AD



Upgrade your into one of these when appropriate. If they have a lot of magic damage I will usually go because of the great stats. However, if they're laden with hard CC I will prioritize . If your team has a significant amount of AP then you could upgrade it to . Very rarely, if ever, will you get but it's always something to consider.



An extremely circumstantial item when against heavy AD. It's a great item, however, it should only be built as your last item (which you will most likely never acquire).






Jungling and Ganking


Route 1: To take advantage of your excellent ganks you want to reach level 4 as quickly as possible. To do this you want to start at Wolves with help from adjacent lanes. In order to make use of leveling first you must cast it at 1:32 so it will be cooled down by 1:58. That way you will have it available when you begin Blue. When you cast at 1:32 you will have 2 seconds of use on Wolves, which is perfect cause it would only last 2 seconds anyways cause of their damage. Thus, you should get off 2 hits which actually does the same damage as and you mitigated more damage cause of your shield. After Wolves, get a leash at Blue. Since your will be ready by about 1:58 you need to cast it as soon as it comes up to maximize its damage. By the time you get aggro from Blue you will have already gotten off a few attacks and already surpassed the damage of and still maintained better sustain from the shield. Once Blue gets low enough Smite to finish it off. Also, be sure to when necessary (Note: You want to try to remain above 90% HP in case you get caught). Once you've finished blue go take Wraiths. After that, head back to Wolves. They should respawn on the way there around 2:50. Then go take Red, your Smite will be up then. Then back up to Wraiths. At this point, you should be level 4 and you can begin ganking. If for whatever reason you're not level 4 go clear Golems and then proceed to gank.

Route 2: If your Blue happens to get invaded/stolen then use this route. Start at Wraiths, then Red, then Golems, then back to Wraiths, then finish a Wolves. Since your Blue got stolen you won't be able to reach lvl 4 so you will need to put a point into at lvl 3 instead of lvl 4 so you can begin ganking.

Ganking: As mentioned, Nautilus excels at ganks because of his strong CC. With that said, you ideally want to gank a lane that can put out solid damage. Nevertheless, you can go about ganking several different ways. First, you can come from behind and simply auto attack to trigger your then follow up with then once they Flash. Second, you can lead with your to close the gap and then follow up with . Lastly, once you're level 6 you can initate with then follow up with the rest of your spells to ensure they land. To have a more unexpected gank try Flashing first then instantly using then for a combo that can gimp almost anyone with the help of your teammates. In addition, Nautilus' variety of CC makes him a great counter ganker. So if you see a lane in trouble run in there and and/or to peel the ganker(s).

Counter Jungling: Due to Nautilus being a poor duelist I do not advocated counter jungling regularly. Of course, if you have their buffs warded and they're already low on health, then you might could attempt a steal and/or kill. Furthermore, his poor dueling abilities and speed make him susceptible to counter jungling. However, I don't typically find this an issue because you can easily escape with your and you don't rely on buffs to perform well such as other junglers. Nevertheless, it would be advantageous to ward the entrances to your jungle so you know when they're invading. If you see someone coming I suggest calling for assistance from your teammates.


Team Fights


Your role in the team is to be tanky and supportive. Thus, your endeavors should be focused on absorbing damage for your allies, initiating, and controlling the fight with your CC. Fortunately, you have a variety of abilities to ensure you fulfill this role. You can use to catch an opponent out of position then follow up with your abilities to chain CC them while your team finishes them off. Once you've blown all your abilities try cycling your auto attacks on the remaining enemies to trigger your . Also, remember to try to clip as many people with your ultimate as possible if you can. Yet if you have the opportunity to combo someone down then by all means.


Final Comments


As shown throughout the guide, Nautilus is a monstrous champion that can ravage entire teams. While he does have some weaknesses, his tankiness and insane CC makes him a valuable asset to almost any team. Now that we've journeyed the depths of jungle Nautilus you are now ready to crush all of those in your path.

Comments: If you have any criticism for my guide I genuinely embrace and welcome it. However, I cannot make necessary changes and address your concerns if you don't provide me with reasons for your disapproval. This guide wouldn't be where it is today if I didn't receive any feedback. That said, I am thankful for those of you that share your questions and discuss things in a mature, intellectual manner.