Nami Build Guide by Seppeman

Introduction to the Little Mermaid

Hi there! I'm Seppeman and I just love this fish! This is the first guide I have ever made and it might suck. However, it has brought me quite some victories and I stick to it. I hope you see new things here and I'd like to hear from you in the comments' section. Also, do remember this Nami build is rather unorthodox and needs a certain aggressive-assertive playstyle. Play with care ;)!

Pros / Cons

+ Great CC................................................................................- Still not a great escaper
+ Healing...................................................................................- Cooldowns might get annoying
+ Pokes are decent...................................................................- Hitting Aqua Prison requires some practice
+ Overall damage can get good.................................................- Dies quite quickly
+ Escaping with Aqua Prison and MS boost

................................................................. Synergizes well with

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Both Miss Fortune and Varus already have an ability that does on-hit magic damage, Impure Shots and Blighted Quiver respectively. Nami's Tidecaller's Blessing only improves that damage and slows the target. Very useful. Lucian and Ezreal can make good use of the slow, since they have none of their own. Both of them have abilities that synergize well with the blessing, being Mystic Shot and Lightslinger. All of these ADC's are quite squishy, so therefore Nami's CC comes in handy protecting them.

........................................................................... Counters

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Vayne is tricky, if you can stun her, you can win. But if she can stun you, run away ASAP. Taric is less risky, as you can kite him with your Ebb and Flow and basic attack's. Make sure he keeps away from the minions. When he's support, you shouldn't even mind that. Thresh is a matter of staying behind your minions. He's far less dangerous than Blitz, but poses a threat too. If he manages to grab you, run away with your passive and try to stun him/them. A stun combined with Tidal Wave stalls them until allies arrive or your ADC does some serious damage. Or just until you got away.

.................................................................... Gets countered by

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These are terribly nasty to face, but can be faced, nevertheless. Blitz is by far the hardest. His CC can keep you immobile for long enough to kill you. Fear him. As always Aqua Prison and Ebb and Flow are your friends. Sivir's Spell Shield can be a nuisance. If it blocks the Aqua Prison, say goodbye to your initiate. Her possibly high movement speed can make things even harder. Ezreal is hard because of the reasonably long range on his Mystic Shot and his Arcane Shift. The range problem can be solved by your ADC most of the time, though. And his teleport has a longer CD than your Bubble.

Masteries

You might think to yourself: "This guy is a total idiot." And, honestly, you're right. But these masteries can help Nami gain presence in the lane, while not ignoring her duties as a support. AP comes in handy and if you kite properly, you will not need the survivability the Defense tree gives.

Runes

Once again, you might just think I'm a complete and utter idiot. Once again, I will not say otherwise. These runes work for my aggressive playstyle. Combined with the masteries, these get your AP to such a level that Ebb and Flow gets a positive enhancement percentage and the Tidecaller's Blessing's slow can get close to a heavy 50%. Your abilities will do some damage too, but don't expect too much, you're not a killer whale.

Spells

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A passive worth having. This passive speeds up allies hit by her spells. When you heal a target with Ebb and Flow or give them the Tidecaller's Blessing. But it also speeds them up when they are in the landing spot of Aqua Prison or the skillshot line on Tidal Wave. When combined with a bit of AP it can easily give 60 MS for 1,5 seconds. It can mean the difference between life and death when fleeing and when chasing (especially with Tidecaller's Blessing), it can mean the difference between killing or failing.

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One of the best spells in the game, I would say. This spell is an AoE, delayed, damage dealing stun. This means it takes some time before the spell lands but when it lands it stuns everyone in its AoE for 1,5 seconds, which is helpful. It requires some skill to land it, but when the target is slowed, snared or stunned, it's terribly easy. This is why Caitlyn and Varus synergize quite well with Nami. These both have a snare and a slow at their disposal, which gives Nami the opportunity to land her stun. Or the other way around.

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A darn good spell, once again. This spell can either heal 2 allies (including yourself) and damage an enemy or damage 2 enemies and heal an ally. With each jump, the healing or damage is lowered by a certain percentage. But, because of the focus of AP in this build, the healing and damage percentage will be positive in the end. This is Nami's bread and butter, use it when possible, but do mind your mana! Keep in mind with this spell that the spell always needs to switch teams, meaning that it can never jump from an ally to another ally or from an enemy to another enemy.
When cast on an enemy first: Enemy ==> Ally ==> Enemy
When cast on an ally first: Ally ==> Enemy ==> Ally
Learn when to cast on ally first. If possible, target the enemy first. But never ignore your support roles. If your ADC (or any other ally, for that matter) needs Health, heal them before damaging the enemy. Damage isn't your primary role.

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The good spells just keep coming! This spell empowers the next three attacks of the targeted allied champion (you can target yourself too). These three attacks do bonus magic damage (synergize with [miss fortune]'s Impure Shots and [varus]' Blighted Quiver) and slow the enemy by a certain percentage. This percentage is affected by your AP, with a bare minimum of 35% at spell level 5. It gets 5% more for every 100 AP, so you should be able to get near 50% with this build. This spell is terribly good for chasing, since it speeds an ally up, while slowing the enemy down (if you're able to hit them). The bonus damage is a nice boost. Give your ADC this spell as often as possible. They get the kill and the gold even though the bonus damage from your spell might get them the kill.

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This is what makes Nami Nami. A giant wave which knocks up enemies and slows them for minimum 2 seconds and maximum 4 seconds, depending on how far it travelled. It has quite the range so you can either use it from afar if your allies are starting a teamfight but you're not there. This can easily turn the tide (pun intended) of a teamfight. The knock-up combined with the stun from Aqua Prison can immobilize and disarm them for quite some time. If you have any other hard CC, it's over for them. This can also be used to chase, since it boosts allies' speed while slowing enemies.

Skills

This the levelling sequence I use for Nami. As with most champs, level your ultimate when possible. I choose to level Ebb and Flow first, as it is the most useful spell in her arsenal, especially in early game. When your ADC seems to get damaged and you are able to heal it back cleanly while doing damage, it's worth it. It's mana cost can get rather high though. Mind your mana! I max Tidecaller's Blessing secondly, since it has great assets for any ADC and frankly, you only use Aqua Prison for the stun, not for the damage. Since Aqua Prison gets it 1,5 second stun right from the beginning, it seems more useful to max the other skills first.

Laning

1. Laning can get fun with Nami, as long as you remember you're the support and not an AP burster, which you're really not. Make sure you ward properly so you know when you're about to get ganked. If possible, ward every fogged spot in botlane. The laning itself is straightforward. Attack the enemy if possible (for [spellthief's edge]'s and [bandit]'s gold), but do not overextend. Try to stay behind the minions. Your ADC is the most precious thing in the entire game. Nami has an excellent kit to kite the enemy. You, combined with your ADC, can make sure they don't touch their minions. Once again. Don't overdo it.

2. When your ADC has just shot or you notice (s)he's about to shoot, cast Tidecaller's Blessing, it will buff the already flying shot. Why is this necessary? When you cast it on your ADC, the enemy will be very cautious (if they're clever) and will not risk losing more Health than necessary and getting slowed, making way for a potential kill.

3. Use Aqua Prison only when actually useful. The cooldown is rather high so don't use it to damage minions. Only use it as an initiate. It is also terribly useful for when you know there is an enemy in the bushes, but (s)he doesn't know you know. You cast it onto the enemy, the spell makes them visible for its duration and you can cast other spells or allies can move in.

4. Tidal Wave is used in a similar way as Aqua Prison. Use it when only actually useful. The spell is amazing in teamfights or in situations where speed and CC are necessary, chasing and fleeing. Beware the cooldown!

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed my rather unorthodox Nami guide. Feel free to comment below!