Nautilus Build Guide by KennEH!1

Introduction

Very similar to Blitzcrank, Nautilus can make a great offensive support. Both of these champs are being able to dish out tons of CC, that can really help out the team. Nautilus doesn't have the healing power of other supports ( Zilean, Soraka and etc), but he more than makes up for it with decent tankiness and damage.

Pros / Cons

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Pros + Tons of CC (4 to be exact) + Great aoe for pushing and teamfights + Natural tankiness + Decent damage output + Ability to jungle + Great Ganker

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Cons - Gold starved (support issue) - No heal - No Buffs - Average damage and tankiness - Relies heavily on positioning - Very slow move speed (300 base)

Masteries

A pretty standard Mastery build for supports.


This will give a little more CDR which is quite welcome. I take points in Brute Force and Butcher for easier farming; the 4 AP Mental Force gives is pretty useless in my opinion. This is especially great if by some twist of fate you end up having to solo.

If you think you will go over the 40% cdr cap with items, which is not that hard, take Strength of Spirit over Intelligence .

Runes

• Greater Mark of Magic Penetration: Most of your damage output is magic. These will help.
• Greater Seal of Armor: I had originally put Greater Seal of Gold, but once you hit ranked you will need that armour, and Naut is a fine farmer, once midgame hits you should be able to get a lot of gold that way.
• Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist: I usually find myself lacking in MR. I do find myself swapping for Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction if I don't think I will hit the 40% cdr cap.
• Greater Quintessence of Gold: With the removal of Greater Seal of Gold I decided that these were more need than Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed.

These are your more standard runes. These can be more useful if you think your carry can really dish the damage without you.

Summoner Spells

• Clairvoyance: What most supports take, not necessary all the time. I find that especially when playing with less skilled players this is wasted, map awareness is absolute with this summoner spell.
  
• Flash: This is one of my top choices as it is great for chasing, initiating and running away. Dredge Line is not a blink, so if you decide to not take Flash keep in mind that you will not be able to go over walls.
  
• Heal: This is great especially since you don't have a healing ability. Make sure to grab Summoner's Resolve if you can.
  
• Smite: Are you jungling? Take this, no exceptions.

• Ghost: Great replacement for flash. Allows for you to chase quite well, or can let you catch up when your team is in need of your help.
  
• Promote: Nautilus is a pretty good pusher already with all that aoe, add Promote and it will be gravy. This is also good if your AD carry leaves in bot, or your jungling and a lane needs a cover. Use just before minions get in range of tower shots to keep the enemy from smacking the tower.

• Ignite: Even if your role is not kill, I find this to be helpful. Can stop those self healing guys ( Warwick, Dr. Mundo and etc), and if you are the only one who could nab that kill then yes take it.
  
• Teleport: Helps you get where you need to go as long as you have an allied structure or creep nearby. Since you will buying a lot of wards; if you feel a teamfight will be imminent and you need to recall, you could drop a ward down, recall, then return with Teleport.
  
• Exhaust: More CC? Yes please. Though you do have plenty already so it could be unnecessary when you have other choices.

Skills / Leveling / Combos

• P Staggering Blow: Your passive, and my god what a passive. Helps you farm, but more importantly it roots enemy champions in place making them great targets. Really take advantage of this spell to screw over enemies. Staggering Blow is not a stun, it's a root (like Maokai's Twisted Advance or Swain's Nevermove). Don't think you can interrupt channelled abilities with this. Use to slow the enemy down or peel enemies of your carries.
  
• Q Dredge Line: What makes you so like Blitzcrank aside from some differences. This makes you quite the mobile character. Bear in mind it does have a bit of starting and ending lag. The 50% cdr when used on terrain can make a huge difference, don't just always go for a nearby champion. Use this to chase, interrupt channelled abilities, escape and travel.
  
• W Titan's Wrath: This is Nautilus primary defensive ability and best source of consistent damage. Great farming tool as well. This scales off health so building that, plus some amour and magic resist will help keep this ability active for as long as possible.
  
• E Riptide: A stacking aoe slow, just awesome. Good to use at enemy champions running away to or away from you.
  
• R Depth Charge: You want disruption? You got it. This will absolutely terrorize a team if played right. The skill with this is knowing when to use it. In fights try to aim for someone in the back so you can hit a many champions as possible. I find that I may have to wait for those massive channelled ults before pulling this out ( Fiddlesticks's Crowstorm, Miss Fortune's Bullet Time etc.)

I only take one point in Dredge Line early, because it's high cooldown doesn't change much as you level. Remember your not Blitzcrank, you don't need to rely on your pulls as much he does.

As I said Titan's Wrath has the most consistent damage output and gives him great survivability, maxing this first is a good idea.

You could choose to max Riptide first as it does decent damage and is a pretty good slow. Personally I like to max it second.

NOTE: Staggering Blow means to auto attack.

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This is your standard combo for harassing in lane and ganking. I find that most enemies will try and run after your root the with Staggering Blow making sure they get a couple of hits of Riptide. As long as you have a buddy with you, there will be major damage. Skip Titan's Wrath if your trying to conserve mana. Remember the cool down of Dredge Line goes down by half if not used on an enemy, use it to position yourself properly instead of initiating.

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This is what you can use when running away. It's usually best just to Dredge Line to a nearby wall, structure or enemy minion, but if you find yourself face to face with an enemy this may be a better choice. This works best with smart casting as the root from Staggering Blow is 0.5 to 1 second.

Starting Items

sight wardsight wardsight ward
Standard support start.

sight ward
What I normally use. You can build a philosopher's stone and sell the other Faerie Charm midgame. In the end you'll only be losing 54G, which is less than a ward. You could take Wealth and swap out the health pot for another sight ward.

sight ward
Mobility is very vital for Nautilus, being the giant slug he he is. This will allow for you to be a little more aggressive in lane. Again you can grab Wealth and swap the Health Potion for a sight ward.


No wards here, so it's kind of a risk. I have seen supports try this and doing quite well, Nautilus is no exception. This will definitely slow the building of your G per 10 items, but all the stats are quite useful for Nautilus. Take this at your own risk. I'd say Clairvoyance is a must summoner spell in this case.

Items Choices

philosopher's stone sight ward
Being support you really want that gold income to be able to afford all those wards you will be buying and unless your jungling that 0 CS support meta won't help you either.

• Mercury's Treads: When that CC is too much, these are the way to go. These will let you be almost unstoppable in team fights.
  
• Boots of Mobility: One of my top picks if CC isn't much of a threat. These can really help you get where you need to go. Whether your going around warding or just to help a teammate. These also can allow you to forgo Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed.
  
• Ionian Boots of Lucidity: Even though you will still have Staggering Blow to mess with the enemy team, being on cooldown really sucks. The will help you get those extra pulls that may just save your or a teammates life.

Why not Boots of Swiftness? Dredge Line should be all the in fight mobility you need.

• Shurelya's Reverie: What great item, a must for any support. Builds off your philosopher's stone. Don't worry if someone else has it, but any more than two is overkill.
  
• Abyssal Mask: This will really help you and your AP casters deal damage, especially the long range ones who deal damage outside it's range (1000 to be exact). The extra AP and Magic resist are welcome too. Top choice.
  
• Aegis of the Legion: Armour, magic resist and damage all in one aoe passive. Really helps your team out. Grab this mid game as its usefulness drops late game.
  
• Randuin's Omen: The active is fantastic, and not just against AD heavy teams. Also gives great defences.
  
• Locket of the Iron Solari: Has synergy with Titan's Wrath. Not my first choice, but it can be good in some situations.
  
• Zeke's Herald: If you feel your AD champs need the extra sustain, you could grab this. This item synergizes quite poorly with Nautilus's horrid attack speed. I didn't even want to put this in, but there are just some games where it will be too helpful to the team to pass up. A rare purchase.

• Rod of Ages: I am tempted to make this a core item. A fantastic item on Nautilus. One of these and you should have no problem wreaking havoc on the other team.
  
• Frozen Mallet: This slow is more powerful than Rylai's Crystal Scepter's and the slow lasts 2.5 seconds, over double Staggering Blow's root. A great choice. Grabbing an early Phage ain't a bad idea if you can spare the room.
  
• Trinity Force: The great all rounder item. Pretty pricey, but by itself you will see a massive improvement in your damage output.
  
• Rylai's Crystal Scepter: You will be slowing everyone round with ease. My only issue is that 1.5 second slow is almost useless when Staggering Blow's root is 1 second.

I suggest grabbing one offensive item every game, they will make you a big threat.

• Frozen Heart: A hardcore armour item that will stop AD carries in their tracks. Not really necessary if your tank gets it though. The huge cdr and mana is very nice as well.
  
• Banshee's Veil: Great passive, can really mess up those guys with huge combos. Gives some nice health and MR too. Pick this if the casters are hitting too hard.
  
• Quicksilver Sash: Stop a Nasus or Karthus in there tracks with this gift from above. If the CC is being piled on you grab this item.
  
• Eleisa's Miracle: If you want to stick with your boot choice and not get Mercury's Treads, this is a good option to help counter CC.
  
• Guardian Angel: If you find yourself dying a lot this could be a good option. Having this though will make the enemy team less want to focus you, making you less of an offtank.

Jungling

Yes you actually can jungle with support Nautilus and do quite well. I won't go into too much detail though. Stonwall008's videos on YouTube are a great resource.

My usual start. This allows for an early philosopher's stone. Leaves you health starved unless you went 0/21/9, meaning you'll usually have to recall after one jungle clear.


Not the most gold efficient, but you will be able to properly sustain yourself. You can get both buffs and still have health to gank.


What I normally use for jungling. Bladed Armor and a hard leash is a must.

A more tanky option. Definitely not as helpful for the support role, but it will allow for a better jungle (leash free even) and let you take a little more abuse.

You can take either Riptide or Titan's Wrath first, both work. I prefer Titan's Wrath a bit more. By level 3 you should have 1 rank in Riptide and two in Titan's Wrath, then take Dredge Line at level 4 and get to ganking!

Teamfights

Your tank should be initiating most fights, but there are moments when you are the more suited to. If your going to initiate remember that Dredge Line pulls both you and your target, make sure that your team can get to you before the enemy can. Using Shurelya's Reverie right as you cast Dredge Line really helps out.

While the fight is on look for teammates in need of assistance. Staggering Blow can really help peel off those melee beasts ( Udyr, Master Yi) and keep ranged AD carries out of range. If no one is need of your help, just wreak as much havoc as you can. Try to proc Staggering Blow on as many enemies as you can. Use Dredge Line to grab those fleeing with low health.

Save your Depth Charge for crucial moments, like those devastating ults ( Slicing Maelstrom or Monsoon), or when you can hit most of team allowing for some kills. Using it too early may give your enemies the chance to recover.

Synergy / Counter Picks

You wanna lane with these guys, these can deal damage while being protected by you with there long auto attack range.

Characters with long range abilities, such as Gragas or Ziggs, will make you a better fit for the team as well.


Anyone with a good poke can really hurt. Aside from Dredge Line, all your abilities really lack good range, so you will be hard pressed to win against these guys early game. Once the game goes on though you should be able to just run up and smack 'em good when the opportunity presents itself.

Closing

So there you have it, my guide to playing support Nautilus. I hope you enjoyed it, and hopefully learned something. Hopefully this build will get more attention than my last, which was none.

Criticism is always welcome. This guide can only become the best it can with your help.

I wanna thank jhoijhoi and her awesome guide on Making A Guide. I suggest people definitely read this if your looking to make a guide as well.