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Nasus - Who Let the Dogs Out?

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10 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Zarq29

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Choose Champion Build:

Spells:

Ghost

Teleport

Ability Order

Nasus Passive Ability

Introduction

Hi!

Wellcome to my Nasus Build!

Offtank --- AD/Offtank
Projects: Supportive Offtank --- DPS/Armor Pen. --- Life Stealer

FOREMOST: I cant really ensure you that u will kill every enemy with this build, or that this build is for the perfect Nasus... Is just a well balanced guide that can work pretty good in any game. It works for me, but i want this work for every player also.

is a very versatile champ: he have a nice HP, a decent attack and some very good skills (even when hes not an AP champ) :)
In short: you will get not an assasin DPS, and neither a inmortal Tank. He is a balanced champ that can do the job you like or the job you team need and you will be very needed on the Team fights.

NOTE: This build is subjet to any changes, because im still testing it. Please give me your feedback to imprive this guide as much as i can.

NOTE: You maybe wont belive me, but I use the title of this Guide before I listen saying it. One day I saw a Rammus dancing and i realize that I`ve never watch Nasus animations lol

well... lets begin...Have fun!

Pros / Cons

Pros:

-Great Farmer and Pusher
-Can deal lethal blows.
-Can disable AD champs.
-Best slow in the game.
-Tanky and healing Ultimate.
-Anti-tanks resources. ,
-Nasus can solo lane
-Nasus can jungle
-Very versatile, lots of ways to play with = Fun!
-He is a God and have a Evil brother! (the best "Pro"!)
Cons:

-There are better Tanks
-There are better DPS
-Usually runs Out Of Mana (oom)
-Lacks of a Nuke skill. dont hurt a lot actually.
-DPS builds depends very much on improving the
-Can be difficult get a good use of
- Can be wasted on a Full tank build.
- Can be wasted on a Full Dps build.
-Very versatile, lots of ways to play with = Hard to make a correct build

Skills

This guide focuses on promoting (form now: "SS" or "Q") and (from now: "Ulti", "FotS", or simply "R")skills.

[Q] Siphoning Strike: This is our basic attack skill, wich enpower our next attack with a AD bonus. If you are reading this, you should know that every time we kill any creature with SS, we add to this ability a +3 AD bonus, making this skill improves with the passing game, if u has used it correctly, you can easily have a +90 AD bonus on SS in late game, wich added to the +110 basic of SS, give us a +200 AD in our next attack.
I hope not to underestimate the intelligence of anyone, but .. to improve SS, you should make ALL the last blow possible on creeps, or on the jungle monsters.
In early game, dont think you will kill a creep with over 50% hp... just use it if you are sure that you willl kill the creep, the bonus damage you will get its not enough to ensure you the last hit, so use it wisely.
there is not much more to say about this skill. Use SS whenever you can against enemies heroes and take advantage of jungle monsters such as wolves or ghosts to enhance it as much as possible.
We wont upgrade this ability till late game, because at lvl 1 we can promote it, and if you do it right, that will compensate the low lvl. Anyway, if you are new or have trouble with the last hit, you can give priority to SS before Wither.

[W] Wither:: this is our beloved Slow. Wither will slow down both movement speed and attack speed. Wither have many uses, and its a very effective ability against physicals DPS and a big help on team fights.
Usefull for chase down enemies, save an ally, keeping away enemies or "scaring" them (nobody will run into fight with a slow on him), and very useful to reduce de damage of DPS champs, slowing their AS. I could say that we have an "" skill. In team fights always use it on their champion with the most AS, using it on casters is of little use, excpet if its to prevent their escape, or rarely if they are far and you dont want him to get in the battle.
We cant use this abilty on NPCs like Nashor or Dragon.

[E] Spirit Fire: Great ability to farm, push, and support. I give priority to SF because it can harm badly creeps, and at lvl 3-4, this skill can kill an entire wave of them, so you can have a nice pushing, or a nice defense of your turret.. and of course, a very good farming. This ability will also help us with the last blow to improve
although it has great effect on creep, will not make much damage on enemy champions (except if they are too dumb to stand in the mid of the AoE). Anyway, you can harm them if you place the spell correctly.
If you want to damage/harass an enemy, you can use strategically in combination with , so that the enemy has to run through the SF or have to stay in a position in which it can be damaged by you or your lane mate
Most players ignore that SF has a greater potential in team battles. At lvl5, SF reduces by 40 armor of any enemies on the AoE. With practice, you will know where and when cast SF to reach as many enemies as possible, and often you can force them to fight in the AoE.

[R] Fury Of The Sands: What better word than "ultimate" for this skill? Nasus obtain a extra health bonus and also he drains life from nearby enemies and turn that life into AD.
turns Nasus in a (i like to call it like this) "AoE champ", damaging nearby units. This ability is a little difficult to use properly at the beginnig. you must understand that does not make sense to use this skill in 1v1... the enemy will surely run. Its a waste!... Also, does not make sense to use it in 1v3, you're no god...is not only wasteful, but also is suicide
You must save this skill for the team fights, when you see that the battle begins and its inevitable, its time. The hasty use of this ability is another error, coz your enemies will avoid the battle and they know that you have it in CD for 2mins... a waste again
Once you activate your Ulti, the party begins :). You need to stay in the middle of the fight. As i said before, cast in their most fast DPS, use , spam . Its a rule to focus on their squishy champs... but: with Ulti activated, Nasus drain a percentage% of health every second to nearby champs, and adding to this de Armor Reduction of SF, tanks may be weaken.
Its also important to remember that the life drained becomes AD, so FotS will have a greater impact as we are more surrounded by enemies, including creeps!
Also remember that in case of emergency, like if you are with 30% hp defending your tower and cant go to base, heal Nasus for 300-600hp, cause that extra HP you get from it will remain after the Ulti is over...keep it on mind.

[Passive] Soul Eater: life stealing for free! :) . At first glance it might seem a useless skill if you dont build a DPS, but this skill will greatly help us to hold and push our lane. You can last hit the minions without fear of attacks from your enemies, because you will be healing as long as you keep fighting (obviulsy dont abuse this, any dps or caster with stuns can make you regret)

Runes

Greater Mark of DesolationGreater Seal of VitalityGreater Seal of Replenishment

Quintessences
: Basic for any Tank/Offtank champ. I preffer to use HP runes and no Armor/MR runes, because Armor and MR change in every game.
Greater Quint of Vitality: Same. This time HP per level. Especially for improve s passive.

Marks
Greater Mark of Desolation: Basic rune for a AD champ. just that.

Seals
Greater Seal of Vitality: Tanky rune. HP per level. I dont pick because I think that is worst in late game...the choice its up to you, is almost the same. :)
Greater Seal of Replenishment: Needed for not run out of mana too fast.
Greater Seal of Vigor: NO! why? Nasus allready have Life Steal, wich is better.()

Glyphs
: Imo the best Glyph for Nasus
: Anoother great rune. Nice for spamming SS and reduce FotS CD. CDR work just perfect on Nasus

Items

Well.. I try to make a balance between Magic Resistance, Armor, Life, and Damage. Lots of times i have to make changes to the build, depending on the oposite team. But first, I will explain why all this items can be allways a help for Nasus.

Doran's Shield: Great item for early game. Some people dont like Dorans items cause in late game you may have to sell it. In this case, you can buy for , for , for , or a simple (not recomended). But, again: in early game is our best choice to get Doran's Shield

Chalice of Harmony: Not a very necesary item, you wont be called "noob" if you dont get it... BUT: if you love to spam your skills, especially SS and SF, you will also love this item. The only con I see on the Chalice, is the fact that you will have to sell it if the game becomes too long. But on ealy game, we will have a little bit of Magic Resist, and with its passive (added to Nasus`s Passive, ), will greatly help us on holding the lane.

Sheen: We are not going to love the Mana and AP that give us, but for its passive, is a "must-have" item for Nasus. Why? ok... Activating , we will get its bonus, and a 180% of our AD in our next attack. This will give us the necesary boost to get more last hits on minions, and, of course, the enemies who well hit with SS will really feel the damage.

Here we will have a few options about boots:

Mercury's Treads: Not much too say. We already have some magic resistance, so if the enemy team have a few heavy AP champs, we will have a nice defense in the early game. Also, if the enemy dont have AP damage, but they have champs with CCs skills, like and s stuns, this item is also recomended

Ninja Tabi: If your enemy team have heavy AD champs (especially if they are 2 of them in our lane), get this item.

Boots of Lucidity: is a very versatile champion, we have to consider this choice since we can spam more our SS, and our FotS will be ready every time is needed. Altough Nasus is not an AP champ, his skills are very usefull in every situation. CDR worsk just perfect on Nasus

Berserker's Greaves: Pick this anytime you want to play DPS.

I recommend do not use , or , we dont really need any of these items.

Aegis Of The Legion: Recommended Item. All arround Tanky and also support item. Something to remember is that this item also affect minions... +8 damage to minions, with 6 minions it`ll be +48 damage for them. Its a great item especially if we took the Solo lane, or if we are farming lanes. The problem with Aegis is that its a lot usefull at early game, but at Late game, 12 armor wont make the difference on saving your mate.

Randuin's Omen. Armor, life, and CDR. Also a great passive and active! Allways remember that you have an "extra" skill if you buy Randun`s. This active (passive also) is kinda skill with a big AoE. Being in the mid of the team fight, you must (yes, must) activate this item. Enemiess DPSs will fell like Wither for 2-3 seconds, so use it when all enemies have charged against you and your allies. Is similar to the use of , be patient, if you are not, you will fail.
Other use of the Active, is for running aawy or chasing down enemies...but just if (or even , or ) is not enough.

Trinity Force: The perfect Attack Item for Nasus. I will explain for separate the 3 items that complete Trinity. Since I have allready explained , this are the other 2:
: Some HP, some AD, and we will slow our enemies hiting them. (with this item, we have 3 slows resources!)
: Critic hit and for ours , AS for more slow with the , and a nice movement boost always come handy.
: Yes, i said that I`ve allready explained Sheen.. But: completing , the 80% bonus in our AD, now will be 150%! SSs more painful!

Sunfire Cape: I choose for its passive: 40 Magic Damage to nearby units. This passive is a synergy for FotS! I can say that since we buy Sunfire, the maximum damage of the will be 280 now.

Banshee's Veil: We need Magic Resistance, so this is our best choice (along with ). I prefer because Nasus dont need the Life Regen that give us (we have tu keep us in lane)...Also, the passive of is awsome (even now that its nerfed to 45secs)... with luck, you can get deadly skill-shots like s , s , or and get away without a scratch, and if you learn the timing of Banshee`s Passive CD, you can also use this trick to save an ally. Also, this can prevent you to being Stuned when you cast FotS

Force Of Nature: Anti AP item. Also give us an epic Healt Regen. and a movement speed boost. If you feel like going back to base coz isnt enough, and the enemy have at least 2 AP casters, get this item!
If the most damage you are taking its Magic Damage - even if you have - you need more MagRes.
The movement speed boost will make you very annoying if you also have , or any other "Speed for you"/"Slow for him" item

Frozen Malletl: Just another nice item that work with nasus, wich give us a great amount of HP
Its hits slow the victims speed movement for a few seconds. Added to our another slows resources, we can catch any enemy trying to escape... just combo + Autoattack + , and if u see that u cant get him, activate , that should be enough. I have seen some that use Swiftness Boots, but i think is kinda waste if you use this build.

Summoner Spells

-Very Recommended:

Ghost: You will be able to chase enemies, escape from a gank or a tough situation, or rush to help your teammates. Al people love Ghost, but...why ghost on Nasus? To take the best use from the 15 seconds that last he . On TeamFights, you can be slowed/stuned and the enemy can run and wait your Fury is over. With ghost you can try to follow them and carry your team, especially if you team have an advantage like 5v4 or you and your team are just more feed than the other team.

Exhaust: Anohter nice spell on most champions. You will be a big threat to the enemies DPS. + will turn a feeded , Tryindamere or on a harmless kitty ^^ . On a Team Fight, you can even disable 2 DPS for a few seconds.

Teleport: Perfect for holding a lane, especially if you take top solo 1v2. remember: we WANT solo lane: passive help us with our HP, empowering Q and farming with SF if the minions push too far, or pushing a lot if we need it. Teleport will be great also for backdoor, killing creeps really fast with SF and hitting the tower with SS. Also recommended for first timers with Nasus.

-Recommended:

Cleanse: Spell with a low CD and very usefull when you use Fury of the Ssands and the enemy stun/slow you. This spell is more viable when building as a DPS. If you are the tank, rarely you will be CC hard.

Heal: Works good with . You can turn any fight in your favor (or just save your ***) especially against melee champs, with ++. on late game you can get a 1150 HP boost (500 from Heal + 600 from FotS). With the "Soul Eater Nasus Build" we can get even more HP with Spirt Visage, and the life steal will make you very hard to kill.

-Situational:

Clairvoyance: A nice spell with low CD. Can help your team especially if there is a no jungler ( i.e. Warwick)or support ( i.e. Janna) in your team to take care of Map Awarnnes.

Fortify: Just in case that you take a Solo lane, specially when 1v2. You can take or for hold the lane longer, or or to get some kills if the enemy try to kill you under the tower (Anti-)

Ignite: Recommend just when you wanna play very offensive and get kills from early, or if you play ranked vs , , , -Ignite reduce the heal effects. Also a good spell on the Anti-tanks build, since it deal True Damage (cant be reduced by Armor or Magic Rest.)

-Not really good/not recommended:

Smite: Take it if there is no jungler on your team and they need one (Ranked). Nasus isnt the best jungler, but he can do it and he have for the ganks. Anyway Lane-Nasus is much better

Revive: the CD is really BIG. Maybe save your team from loosing a game at late game when the Respawning time is 60+, Or at mid-late game (combined with can help you to push/defend your tower...but again: BIG CD

Rally: Its not bad at all but... does someone really use this spell? I only see a good use of this if you love to backdoor turrets. Just combo +++ lots of minions... Why Aegis? read item section :) For teamfights, this Spell can come handy very early, mid/late game is useless IMO, just get Aegis or Starks fervor, with this 2 you can help your team a lot more than with

Clarity: Well, Nasus usually runs oom very quickly. But still if you are oom you can keep last hiting with SS because it small mana cost. Also this can be fixed Greater Seal of Replenishment, , or replacing this spell for . This last have more CD, but you will can heal and shop and backdoor lanes

Team Work

Lane:
You need to improve your ... so, try not to go in lane with a farmer champ like , , , , or any other champ with a AoE damage skill.
Usually is good to combine a Ranged and a melee/tanky champs in lanes. If you partner is also a Melee champ without ranged damage, and you are facing ranged/ap champs, then you will have troubles on last hits for . You must avoid this. Try to join with a Support or even better: take a solo lane if your team have a jungler. You will just stay defending the tower with and doing last hit. If you get harassed and the enemy understimate you and attack you down on the tower: (kinda heal) + and if you have it.

Lane Mates:

should be a nice mate on lane. + . Also you can last hit when she harass the enemy.

- ++++ = Garanteed kill

can be a very good if she plays for you and... But laning with janna can be a headache. If she just farm and spamm you wont last hit for SS and neither farm with . Anyway, if you play with a Premade Janna, she can help you with ur farming with , this with your passive life steal will make you invulnerable to harass.

. +++="Your team has slain an enemy!"

+++

Items:
If you want to get and you are playing with an , or on your team, ask them if they r gonna buy it, maybe you dont wanna waste the Aura.
Same happen with : when you are playing with a Support or tank, especially and , who usually go for it.

Skills:

is extremly useful against DPSs like , , , , ...in short, any DPS with a high AS and Movement Speed (MS). When the TF start, remember to use this on your enemy DPS carry... Dont ever waste it on Casters, Supports or Tanks! On the other hand, we have : SF will help your team on team fights. Try to place it correctly where it will affect most enemies as possible and they are gonna be easy to kill for your team`s AD carry.