Many people chose to build Nunu either straight AP or Straight Tank, however utilizing his already amazing base stats, you can make Nunu into a complete freight train if built correctly.

The reason you can build Nunu into a slight bruiser/pusher is due to his extreme AP ratios as well as Base Health gained per level, both of which he has some of the highest values in the game. By using this build, you can hit towers for 150+ with a 65% ATK SPEED boost (and can boost an ally) and still hit enemies with your E for 610+ and pop your ult for over 2,000 damage. If paired with the right DPS champ, the enemy team will be wondering how they lost the Top tower in the first 5 minutes, granting your team gold and giving an early advantage.

PLEASE RESPOND AND VOTE ANY INPUT IS APPRECIATED :D

Pros:
-High AP ratios make E & R devastating, if used correctly
-Pushing capabilities
-High mobility with flash + W
-Hextech Gun Blade adds an extra damage spell to complement your E
-The bit of AD from Hextech with your W buff will let you finish kills after bursting a champ
-Tanky with heal abilities (Your opponents will rip their hair out in laning phase)
-Ult can net you multi kills and turn the tide of a team fight if placed right

Cons:
-Low Magic Resistance
-Magic Penetration may fall off late game if enemy teams stack against you
-High cool down on ult
-Can be difficult to utilize ult without interruption in team fights
-Expensive Build

For Runes I take the following...

Flat Magic Pen Marks
-Allows for easier harassment in lane with E early game, Magic Pen scales through entire game

Flat Mana Regen Seals
-Nunu can be Mana Hungry in Lane, especially with his ability to sustain for so long, this eases the hunger

Flat Cooldown reduction glypths
-These are very expensive IP wise but VERY IMPORTANT. This coupled with the 4% reduction from your masteries starts you with almost 10% cool down reduction at the start of the game, making you able to use Q often for health regen. End game with these ruins 'Enlightenment' 'Sorcery' and Frozen Heart you will have 38% reduction making your powerful ult come up way more oten.

2 Magic Pen Quints
-These with Sorcery Boots give you extra magic pen to help scale through out the game

1 AP Quint
-Gives your E a little extra sting early game

Strongly Recommend-

Flash-
Gives you a safety blanket if things go sour, using this and your W will get you out of most situations, also, flash+your ult can be a very deadly tool. That group of 4 champs in mid lane look scary? Flash in and ult and watch em scatter like cockroaches. There are many ways to utilize flash on Nunu.

Heal-
You might contest why I chose to use heal instead of ignite or exhaust, all work on Nunu, however heal can do what you want to accomplish with those spells and more.

Offensively: Ignite and Exhaust are primarily offensive spells that help you close a kill, however heal can be used offensively as well. I find that in the laning phase, if I am harassing well and see that a target it about to go under cover of a turret, I can usually dive, pop my E ability, and get out by using heal to shake off turret damage, and getting a kill.

Defensively: Pretty obvious, you get low on health, use the spell. Also help Nunu support allies, especially AD DPS

Utility: How heal is not normally seen is as a tool to push and finish towers, along with a buff on speed through Nunu's W, you and a companion will pretty quickly get the turret to critical health. after harassing the enemy to their turret, a quick and smart dive with a couple of your minions can net you a tower by using heal. your enemies will target you as soon as they see you punishing their tower, when this happens just continue to attack, use Heal and more often than no a enemy minion will be near for extra health, I have done this numerous times and always get the turret and rarely get killed in the process.

Ultimate- During Nunu's ult, you are vulnerable, so usually enemy players react 2 ways, Holy **** gotta get out, or they try to kill you before your ult goes off, or right after. You can use this to your advantage however. If you are around 50% health, you can bait players to attack you during your ult and then pop heal right before it ends (it wont interrupt your channel) deal massive damage and pick up multi kills.

Others:

Ignite-Can always help net a extra kill here and there early-mid game, not so effective late

Exhaust-Helps alot whilst trying to catch someone in your ult, adds to a number of slows

Teleport-If you get stuck solo in a lane, I will usually take this over heal to watch the lane more effectively

Cleanse-Can be effective if enemy team starts to focus you

I go 9-21-0

I feel this spread gives Nunu the best attributes for survival and offense. This will give Nunu the much needed cool down reduction for his spells, along with some added health and defenses which make him a very dangerous off-tank AP bruiser.

Total Stat Improvements from these Masteries:

+4 AP
+3 Magic resist and Armor
+10% Heal Buff
+3 Health Regen per 5
+3% reduction of AoE damage
+10% Magic Penetration
4.45% cooldown reduction at lvl 1
12.1% cooldown reduction at 1v1 18
+10 reduction of enemy turret armor (essential for pushing)
1.5% reduction in all damage
3% max health increase, 10% decrease in disables

Visionary-
A pretty decent passive, although you will have to keep track of it to make full use. Its easy to forget and spend it on your Q instead of your E or Ult

Consume-
VERY vital in your early game, this coupled with other heals can keep you around in lane way longer than most. If you find yourself low on health in lane, retreat and wait for the cooldown and watch your health pop up. Mid-Late game this becomes a more difficult skill to use effectively, as by then there are lanes that have been pshed and either a abnormal amount of your minions or the enemies running around, however if you find yourself hurt after a team fight or being caught by a gank, run into the jungle and munch, you'll find you healing scales great throughout the entire game and can help you stick around to help your team. You should also be the first in to attempt a Barron or Dragon run, you will do massive damage with this and will be able to get the buff in the matter of a few seconds with help.

Blood Boil-
This spell is the reason you are going to more often than not, want to be paired with a DPS AD carry. If placed on a ally, it grants BOTH you and them with a ATK speed boost as well as a movement speed one. Place this on the Carry as often as possible to give your lane a advantage, also use when being chased down to make an escape, or place on a ally that is in danger of being caught.

Ice Blast-
A very powerful spell, deals 85-275 magic damage + 100% of your AP, along with slowing the target for 4 seconds and decreasing target attack speed by 25%. This is your bread and butter skill. It will allow you to harass your opponents to death.. literally. The slow is going to net you a lot of kills.. for you ally, but if you arranged a lane with the carry, you want them to be fed instead of you anyways. A nicely placed shot can also get you out of harms way when being chased, immediately after place blood boil on yourself.

Absolute Zero-
Nunu's insanely powerful ult, if used correctly. After a 3 second channel, everyone caught in the radius will receive massive damage and 250% of your AP, highest ratio in the game. The downside to this is that the ult can be interrupted by a disable, and Nunu is vulnerable while channeling. In early to mid game, try to hit a enemy champ with your E or the active on Hextech to add a additional slow when caught in you ult, this can help secure a sure hit. In team fights attempt to work with ally champs to get them to focus another while you channel, if you can get his ult off clean late game, it will certainly change the tide of the battle, and sometimes win you a game. Hitting anyone will around 2,000 health with Nunu's ult will either die, or die 2 seconds after being hit.

Nunu is a very versatile(and overlooked) character, which can really be built in a variety of ways, AP caster, Tank, Support, even straight AD. However to get the most effective Nunu you need to build the right items to get the perfect mix of all his abilities. I will discuss each of the items recommended in this build.

Starting Items -

Boots + 3 health pots-

This gives nunu speed for evasion and health regen if things get sticky in lane. I find that starting with these items, your Q ability, Health SS, and management of mana, you can stay in lane past lvl 6, getting your ridiculous farm early game. If you harass the enemy laners well, you will find yourself alone in lane eating well, and inflicting quite a bit of damage to the tower.

Catalyst The Protector-

This will give you even MORE sustain in lane with the mana and health. build into RoA

Rod of Ages-

Gives you most everything nunu needs, AP, Health and Mana. Acquiring RoA early in game will help you max its potential with its passive minute buffs, and the health and mana regen upon leveling up will make you as durable as you want, unless you play over aggressively, you wont find your self dying much at all for the first 20 minutes (or most of the game).

Sorcerer's Boots-

Enhanced movement 2, 20 Magic Penetration, needed for game scaling


Hextech Gunblade-

This is where things get unconventional. I'm not sure why more people do not chose to put this on Nunu. This will be a CORE ITEM on you. It gives you spell vamp, and life steal just adding to your already ridiculous(and annoying to enemies i'm sure) sustain. Also gives you 70 AP and 40 AD, making you dangerous from afar and able to hold your own if enemy champs get to close. Hextech's ACTIVE deals 300 magic damage and slows and enemy champ by 50% for 3 seconds. THIS IS KEY. This active will synergize with your E and Ult to make you a slowing machine. After bursting, and using your ult if you have to, the added AD and your W ability will easily let you finish them off if they have any remaining health (which they normally shouldn't). They can kiss escaping goodbye.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter-

80 AP, 500 Health and a Passive that slows enemies hit with your spells, what more could you ask for? Makes you more tanky and dangerous, perfect.

Rabadon's Deathcap-

If the enemy team is still lingering around at this point, this should make them go away.. very quickly. 140 AP and a 30% AP boost, coupled with Nunu's 1.0 and 2.5 AP ratios for E and R, make enemy health bars diminish VERY quickly.

Frozen Heart-

This will let you close your build and make you a monster on the field. At this point any more damage would be redundant, so beefing up Nunu is the way to go. 99 Armor makes and DPS have to think twice about taking you head on with your abilities, attack speed buff and melee damage. 500 extra mana and the 20% cool down reduction (38% total) make your E spamable, and you'll see your Ult come up alot more often. Lastly a 20% attack speed REDUCTION for enemies in a radius will not only help your team, but greatly help you survive any DPS fighter attempting to jump on you.

What To Do

Use Blood Boil on DPS AD champs
Trigger Your Ult while Teammates are around
Harass the Enemy squishy or Carry in lane with you
Let your Ally Carry "Secure" your kill
Hit an enemy with Hextech's active right after a blast from E if it looks like they may get to safety


What NOT To Do[/color

Complain about being kill stealed (It will happen alot as Nunu, and most of the time its better the carry acquire the extra gold)
Be OVER aggressive with your ULT
Support yourself over an ally
Trigger your ult with low health(without heal active)
Use your W on AP or Tank characters
Try to take on an entire team solo just because you have Absolute Zero Active