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Recommended Items
Spells:
Flash
Smite
Items
Ability Order
Soul Eater (PASSIVE)
Nasus Passive Ability
Introduction
Welcome to my first ever MobaFire guide, and I'm going to be doing it on Nasus, the Curator of the Sands.
Nasus is a great champion to use. He's easy to learn, and his god-mode like ultimate, Fury of the Sands can drastically alter the outcome of teamfights. So lets just jump right in!
Nasus is a great champion to use. He's easy to learn, and his god-mode like ultimate, Fury of the Sands can drastically alter the outcome of teamfights. So lets just jump right in!
Pros / Cons
Pros
+ Easy to use. + His Q, once farmed, can deal a serious amount of damage. + God-mode ultimate. + One of the best slows in the game. + Has badass skins. + He's a big freakin dog! Cmon! Nasus, as a reccomended champion, is quite easy to use with Pros that outweigh the cons by quite a bit. Late-game, you can 1v1 pretty much everyone, and even 2v1 some people. |
Cons
- Doesn't do well against other tanks. - Weak to burst damage early game. - Gank strength relies entirely on your ally. - CC absolutely destroys him in some cases. - Cant survive anything past a 2v1. Nothing much stops Nasus, but what does stop him is persistance. Champions like Darius and Singed, and other champions who can just deal a ****ton of damage without dying, stay away from. Even with your ult up, a good Darius or Singed will destroy you in a 1v1. |
For masteries, use a 21-9-0 build.
OFFENSE
Tier 1
Take four points in Sorcery for the CDR.
Take two points in Butcher because you're jungling.
Take four points in Deadliness for the increased AD.
This is just a filler, but take a point in Destruction for turret-killing.
Take a point in Weapon Expertise for the Armor pen.
Take 3 points in Havoc for le increased damage.
Take two points in Brute Force for moar AD to clear dem jungle creeps.
Pierce ALL the Armor! Take three points in Sunder .
Do tons of damage to low-health peeps with a point in Executioner .
+10 gold for using Smite. This should be obvious.
More health=more tanky. Take 4 points in Durability .
Take two points in Tough Skin for more survivability in the jungle.
More clear speed in the jungle. Take a point in Bladed Armor .
Even more health = even more tanky. Plus, more jungle survivability. Take a point in Veteran's Scars .
Take two points in Butcher because you're jungling.
Tier 2
Take four points in Deadliness for the increased AD.
This is just a filler, but take a point in Destruction for turret-killing.
Tier 3
Take a point in Weapon Expertise for the Armor pen.
Take 3 points in Havoc for le increased damage.
Tier 4
Take two points in Brute Force for moar AD to clear dem jungle creeps.
Tier 5
Pierce ALL the Armor! Take three points in Sunder .
Tier 6
Do tons of damage to low-health peeps with a point in Executioner .
DEFENSE
Tier 1
+10 gold for using Smite. This should be obvious.
More health=more tanky. Take 4 points in Durability .
Take two points in Tough Skin for more survivability in the jungle.
Tier 2
More clear speed in the jungle. Take a point in Bladed Armor .
Tier 3
Even more health = even more tanky. Plus, more jungle survivability. Take a point in Veteran's Scars .
Runes
- Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed: More movement speed for the beginning of the game, and lets you chase down anyone who tries to run from the wrath of Nasus.
- Greater Mark of Scaling Attack Damage: Nine of these at the beginning of the game make one helluva difference, and let you clear the jungle faster. Late-game it provides a small boost, and you'll still have some AD if you need to build super tanky.
- Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist: Mages. They will burst you down otherwise.
- Greater Seal of Armor: Take flat armor seals instead of scaling because this will give you more durability in the jungle early on.
Summoner Spells
Flash: You have no blink or dash ability otherwise. Flash is a must. |
Smite: If you try to jungle without Smite, you are fail. You need this. |
Teleport: This is an option over Flash, although not a good one. Take this only if no one else in your team has, and you feel like you might need it. |
Ghost: Another option over Flash, and a slightly better one than Teleport. This will let you kite, or catch up to an enemy. |
Skills and Skill Sequence
-
Soul Eater: Bonus Lifesteal.
-
Siphoning Strike (Q): Your primary damage skill. The damage increases if you KILL a minion/jungle creep/champion with this skill. Last-hit with this as much as possible, and spam it in a teamfight, when fighting
dragon
, or when taking
baron nashor
.
-
Wither (W): Your main CC move. Wither is one of the best slows in the game, and for good reason. Use this on the enemies ADC in teamfights, and initiate with it when ganking.
-
Spirit Fire (E): This skill is rather mediocre. Until you get Spirit of the Elder Lizard. Then the passive of SotEL turns Spirit Fire into a great AoE DPS. Use this on every jungle camp when clearing, in the middle of every teamfight, and use it whenver you're fighting, really :I
- Fury of the Sands (R): This is one of the best ultimates in the entire game, along with Annie's Summon: Tibbers, Katarina's Death Lotus, and Master Yi's Highlander. This gives you bonus health, movement speed, attack range,cast range, and AoE damage around you. This is probably the best steroid in the game next to Singed's Insanity Potion and Renekton's Dominus. Use it in pretty much any fight with a champion where you could use a steriod. It has a low cooldown, so dont worry about wasting it.
Ability Sequence Order
Max Spirit Fire first, then Siphoning Strike, and maxxing Wither by level 18. Take a point in Fury of the Sands whenever you can. |
Items
Start Items
Hunter's Machete is the obvious start for jungling. Builds into your first big item, and is made for jungling.
x5
Take 5 health potions. Chug them as needed in the jungle.
First Back
Health+Mana regen, builds into your first big item, and is made for jungling.
Boots make you go faster. You get to the jungle camps and the lanes easier.
Boots
Upgrade to these with either Alacrity or furor if your game is going well.
Upgrade to these if you are suffering from tons of hard CC. Put either Alacrity , furor, or homeguard on these.
Silly MobaFire. Those boot enchantments either arent in the database, or I'm doing it wrong. And I obviously dont mean that Alacrity.
Major/Core Items
This items passive will turn your Spirit Fire into a minion-clearing machine. Plus, it has Cooldown Reduction and Attack Damage. This should be your first major item.
This gives you tankyness, and it's aura gives your teammates a bit of a buff. Upgrade to Runic Bulwark when you can.
Your Soul Eater passive already gives you Lifesteal. Well, this gives you more, along with the AoE cleave and the AD.
Same as Aegis. Upgrade to this from Aegis ASAP.
Situational Items
Buy this item if you need the extra tankyness. It also makes a nice last item for any situation.
Buy either this or Trinity Force depending on how your game is going. Get this if you need the tankyness, get Trinity if you want the damage. This items passive combos well with your Q as well.
Buy either this or Iceborn Gauntlet depending on how your game is going. Get this if you need/want the extra damage, and get Gauntlet if you need tankyness. The two passives on this item combo well with your Siphoning Strike, and it's just a nice item overall.
This is a nice item to grab in tandem with your Soul Eater and the lifesteal from Ravenous Hydra. I'd only get it if you need the tankyness though, as you need damage more than tankyness in a good game.
Get this if your game is going well. The Cooldown Reduction is great, and you get an extra 200 health and armor pen.
Bad Items to get
I want to cry when I see a Nasus build this. People who do build this say it goes well with Spirit Fire. No. Just no. You dont need AP, you can get health elsewhere, and you already have Wither for slows. If you really want slows, get Frozen Mallet although I dont reccomend it.
"But wait Spike!" you say. "If Nasus needs tankyness early on, isnt this viable?"
In short, no, it isnt. There are much better items for tankyness, and without Spirit of the Elder Lizard, your Spirit Fire isnt as good. If you need tankyness early on, rush Spirit Visage or Warmog's Armor.
Now before you go all crazy on me, I'm not hating on Bloodthirster. Bloodthirster is a great item for some champions, it just doesnt fit on Nasus. It's outclassed by Ravenous Hydra, and you'd be much better off with Black Cleaver for damage.
Early Jungling
To start out, first you need to check a few things.
1. Does the enemy team have a jungler?
2. Does the enemy jungler need red or blue?
3. Does the enemy have a good level 1 team comp?
If the awnsers are Yes/Blue/Yes, get your entire team at your blue to protect against invade while you get blue. Otherwise, get one or two people to help you leashe. Start with wolves and then the ancient golem . Farm the jungle until you hit level 3 and get Wither then you should gank.
Continue farming the jungle until level 6, when you get Fury of the Sands. Then, give the ancient golem buff to your mid-laner, and the ancient lizard buff to your ADC. If they dont want or dont need the buffs, take them for yourself.
Mid Game
Once the Tier 1 turrets are down, the jungling phase is essentially OVER. You no longer have claim on the wraiths , wolves , or golems . You should be helping your team push lanes and help your ADC get kills if they dont already have some.
Teamfights
It's in teamfights where Nasus really gets to show his stuff. There are a few prioritys for you to cover before going nuts however. 1. Wither and focus the enemy ADC. 2. Place Spirit Fire on the area where the bulk of the enemies are. 3. Turn on Fury of the Sands. Then you basically want to focus the ADC and/or keep the enemy tank occupied with Wither. |
If your team is winning, good. This should be short. Depending on what build you've gone with, Nasus is either really good or really bad at backdooring. His Q helps tremendously.
If you've gone for a more damage-oriented Nasus build, then you can backdoor when Fury of the Sands is up. If you've gone for a more tank-oriented Nasus build, you can backdoor AS LONG AS YOUR Q IS FARMED. If Siphoning Strike isnt farmed up, you will have a very hard time backdooring.
If your team can handle itself while you're gone, go backdoor the turrets that need to be taken down. If not, just help your team push to the turret.
If you've gone for a more damage-oriented Nasus build, then you can backdoor when Fury of the Sands is up. If you've gone for a more tank-oriented Nasus build, you can backdoor AS LONG AS YOUR Q IS FARMED. If Siphoning Strike isnt farmed up, you will have a very hard time backdooring.
If your team can handle itself while you're gone, go backdoor the turrets that need to be taken down. If not, just help your team push to the turret.
You're losing? And you havent surrendered yet? Good. Nasus can recover games quite easily, as long as you arent losing TOO bad. There are a few options for you depending on the type of build you've gone with.
Go take as many dragon s as you possibly can. Backdooring is also an option, while Fury of the Sands is up. Make sure your team can defend before you leave though!
Stay at base and defend, while occasionaly going out to snag a dragon. Rely on your other teammates.
Backdoor your freaking *** off. Also, while you have Fury of the Sands up, you should attempt to solo baron . I've done this once before, it's hard, but you can do it. Play it smart, and spam the frack out of your skills. Getting baron with another teammate, preferably someone with high damage, is easier.
Heavy-Damage Nasus
Go take as many dragon s as you possibly can. Backdooring is also an option, while Fury of the Sands is up. Make sure your team can defend before you leave though!
Damagy-Tanky Nasus
Stay at base and defend, while occasionaly going out to snag a dragon. Rely on your other teammates.
Tanky As **** Nasus
Backdoor your freaking *** off. Also, while you have Fury of the Sands up, you should attempt to solo baron . I've done this once before, it's hard, but you can do it. Play it smart, and spam the frack out of your skills. Getting baron with another teammate, preferably someone with high damage, is easier.
Thank you for reading my first ever MobaFire guide, Nasus - The Dog of the Jungle! I hope you enjoyed it! If you decide to downvote my guide, please tell me why so I can fix it as soon as I can.
Credits
Thanks to jhoijhoi for the template I used, which you can find here. I hope to get my own 'style' of guide eventually, but I do like this template.
Changelog
4/14/2013: Posted guide to MobaFire! Added the Items section which I forgot about (X_X), and changed the runes a bit.
Credits
Thanks to jhoijhoi for the template I used, which you can find here. I hope to get my own 'style' of guide eventually, but I do like this template.
Changelog
4/14/2013: Posted guide to MobaFire! Added the Items section which I forgot about (X_X), and changed the runes a bit.
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