Nasus Build Guide by TheQWERTYman

Introduction

Hi, and welcome to my Nasus guide.

Nasus

Pros / Cons

Pros:
+tanky
+good 1v1
+can shut down most DPS
+passive lifesteal
+has a good balance of magic/physical damage


Cons:
- Wither gets destroyed by Mercury's Treads
-weak against Gangplank and Master Yi
-mages can eat him
-requires alot of last-hitting with Siphoning Strike

Summoner Spells

VIABLE SPELLS
Exhaust - Always lets you shut down anyone.

Ghost - Has so many uses, can help you evade ganks, good synergy with Wither.

Flash - Escape ganks, gank, close distance after Wither.

Ignite - Shut down lifesteal carries/Mundo/Vladimir. Early game finish-off tool.

Cleanse - Great spell for anyone, although you can always use Quicksilver Sash.

Teleport - You play solo top and want to get to your lane faster to outlevel someone? Then this.


LESS VIABLE CHOICES
Heal - You have your lifesteal, plus most smart teams get Zeke's Harbinger.

Clarity - Useless lategame.

Clairvoyance - Spell for supports.

Fortify - Spell for full tanks.

Rally - Only useful early game, doesn't change anything in lategame.


Most other choices are not viable.

Abilities

Soul Eater

Siphoning Strike

Wither

Mercury's Treads

Spirit Fire

Fury of the Sands

Items + Laneplay

If the enemy team has a weak First Blood team, take Wither and Boots of Speed, no one will escape your FB then.
If they have good First Blood Champions, (Olaf, Lee Sin, Trundle) take a Ruby Crystal or a Long Sword and get Spirit Fire.


Proceed to your lane, and when minions come, focus on hitting the minions as much as you can, use Spirit Fire to keep your enemies away from farming.
Once you get Siphoning Strike, your most important part for lategame begins.I cannot stress this enough. ALWAYS. LAST. HIT. WITH. SIPHONING. STRIKE. This is essential for doing alot of DPS in lategame.
Siphoning Strike also resets your attack timer, (Much like Jax's Empower.) so make sure to get your timing right for maximum damage.


Once you get enough gold and reach level 6, go back to base. Finish your Ruby Crystal / Long Sword into Phage, and buy Boots of Speed if you can. You can, if you want to get a TriForce later, get Sheen to make your SS much stronger.
If you bought Boots of Speed first, finish it into Mercury's Treads, arguably the best boots in the game.

Now, assuming you hit level 6, you can let yourself have much better 1v1 possibilities when popping your Fury of the Sands. (If you have your Phage too, it's even better!)
If you have anyone on the enemy team stupid enough to try to 1v1 you, especially if its a DPS, don't quit. Once he starts attacking you, just use Spirit Fire for more ArP, Wither him, and Siphoning Strike his butt as much as possible. Once the Wither fades off, pop Exhaust on him. He will be low, and will probably run for his tower.
You can do the next combo if you have Flash. Just follow him under the tower and finish him off. The tower will hit you so you have around 300 hp, so pop Fury of the Sands, and Flash out of tower range.

Now get back to farming to get your health back, last hit with SS as much as possible and regain your health with your passive. Try to evade harassment and just focus on last-hitting with SS.
Try to setup a gank in mid if the enemy is pushing too much. You need that gold.

Once you have enough gold to finish Phage and Mercury's Treads, go get a Giant's Belt. You will now finish this into a Frozen Mallet. You will be able to tank anything in mid game now, having more than 2000 health before the late levels.

Now, you will decide which item do you want to go for first. The options are: Youmuu's Ghostblade and Warmog's Armor.
If your team is missing someone like Malphite / Amumu / Cho'Gath / Alistar / Dr. Mundo / Nunu, go for Warmog's Armor.
If your team has someone that can take some nice damage and live through it, get Youmuu's Ghostblade.

This is your core build.


Usually, games end by now. If you had a good game, you can get even better items, which will be listed in the next section.

Lategame (after core build)

This is where Nasus shines. You will be able to bring down almost anyone, assuming you didn't feed them in early game.

This is where Nasus is very versatile, and can do almost anything. He is a brutal pusher, he can initiate teamfights with Fury of the Sands, he can 1v1 every DPS, he can defend towers with ease, he can farm with ease, he can heal with passive, he can save teammates.


Now, you have 2 more item slots. Concerning that you already have loads of HP, you should get
some more offense, mixed with defense if possible.
The possible choices are:

- Best additional item for this build. It will, according to your maximum health, boost your damage greatly. (Around 80 damage!) It also gives you decent armor and critical chance.

- Also gives you nice armor, but more importantly, the 8% max hp. This eats tanks. The damage and attack speed is nice too. We will also discuss this item more later.

- I love this item. It's one of those that give you both offensive and defensive stats, like Atma's and Madred's. The magic resist helps you ignore damage that mages inflict to you if you just keep hitting them. The bonus attack speed and magic res, and the 42 magic damage is AWESOME - it almost gives you the amount of magic damage that B. F. Sword gives you in physical damage.

- This is also great for Nasus, as the lifesteal combined with your passive makes you regenerate your HP in a matter of seconds.
The bonus damage is also huge when this item is fully extended.

- The splash damage is huge with Siphoning Strike, but that's its only use.

- If you are the carry of your team and if you do the most damage -> take this.

- A DPS item that has everything a carry needs. Take it if you are already owning them.

- A good item for Nasus, as it gives him good damage and attack speed, and the armor reduction stacks superbly with Spirit Fire.

- The best second item. You can rush Sheen after Frozen Mallet's Phage, but don't forget that this is the most expensive item in the game. Not sure will the game last long enough for you to make this your 6th item.

- Nice last item, gives you decent survivability and that second life that can be used in combination with your ultimate to get some nice HP after the revive and destroy your enemies.

- A really nice item, destroys the mobility of most carries and gives really decent armor.

- Playing against a fed Tryndamere / Master Yi / Gangplank? Get this to make them suicide.

- Strongest MR item, gives you Dr. Mundo's HP regen, and the bonus movespeed is also nice.

- Playing against nukers like Brand? Take this. The bonus HP and Mana and the MR is really nice too.

- Warwick / Malzahar / Urgot focusing you? Get this, it's perfect.

Your worst enemies

In this, I will place the champions and an item that is your dreadful nightmare.

1. Master Yi - he deals alot of damage with his abilities, and can use his ultimate to completely negate the effects of your Wither. Try to set up ganks against him as much as possible, and do most damage to him in early levels. AND DON'T FEED HIM.

2. Gangplank - an even worse enemy than Yi. He can get rid of any CC with his W. He will always use it after you Wither him, and he will do alot of damage. He is a slightly too powerful champion and he can catch up with you easily. Gank in early game and focus him only if you have the right items and if he already used his Remove Scurvy.

3. Vayne - her only threat is her Silver Bolts. You have alot of max HP, and she will take alot of it with it. But, she is easier than others. WITHER HER.

4. Katarina - an extremely overpowered champion. Her Q will reduce your healing and she has a really overpowered ultimate. Get your team to focus Katarina as soon as possible. Magic Resist will make her cry, though.

5. Miss Fortune - Her Impure Shots active reduces your healing by 50% and deals nice damage. She will be an extreme threat if she takes an item I will show soon. One ability should disable this chick - Wither.

6. Madred's Bloodrazor - yes. You have alot of armor and alot of HP. If the enemies start taking this, focus on making an item after your core build a magic resistance item. If Master Yi, Gangplank or Vayne take this, make balancing armor with magic resist, and some less HP a priority.

Summary

Thanks for reading my Nasus guide. I really hope you get the hang of playing correctly with this champion. Rate and comment below.

Have fun playing with this build. :)