Click to open network menu
Join or Log In
Mobafire logo

Join the leading League of Legends community. Create and share Champion Guides and Builds.

Create an MFN Account






Or

MOBAFire's first Mini Guide Contest of Season 14 is here! Create or update guides for the 30 featured champions and compete for up to $200 in prizes! 🏆
Not Updated For Current Season

This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page

x
Nasus Build Guide by Yourpalmal

This Tank has Some Bite CDR Style

This Tank has Some Bite CDR Style

Updated on March 30, 2012
New Guide
Vote Vote
League of Legends Build Guide Author Yourpalmal Build Guide By Yourpalmal 7,240 Views 8 Comments
7,240 Views 8 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Yourpalmal Nasus Build Guide By Yourpalmal Updated on March 30, 2012
x
Did this guide help you? If so please give them a vote or leave a comment. You can even win prizes by doing so!
Vote
Comment

You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.

I liked this Guide
I didn't like this Guide
Commenting is required to vote!
Would you like to add a comment to your vote?

Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
creating helpful guides for the League of Legends community.

Introduction

This is my first guide so please bear with me at times. I really appreciate you reading this as I've put a lot of effort into it. This guide is how to make a CDR Tank/Offtank Nasus. I wanted to cover as much as possible for a Nasus user including when notto use him. So keep in mind this is very in depth and LONG. Please read over the entire guide and provide feedback so that I can improve this guide before downvoting.

TLDR Because this guide is pretty in depth, I'm going to sum up Nasus and this guide into one quick paragraph:

The focus of this Nasus guide is to create a tanky champion that does huge bursts of damage quickly. Treat Nasus as a investment. You invest during early game with his Q farm for a powerful mid and late game presence. It's very situational when to pick him. Your jungler is your best friend. Nasus will get demolished by ap carries in mid, kited on bottom, and his jungle is poor. Therefore he is best at home against ad bruisers on solo top. If you predict a passive farming top lane and you need some tanky then go with Nasus!



Version History

Version 1.0 - 03/05/12: Finished at last!
Version 1.1 - 03/05/12: Transferred Kindlegem and Spirit Visage to optional section. You know have 2 empty slots.
Version 1.2 - 03/30/12: Added a picture of a win.
Back to Top

Pros / Cons

PROS
- Tanky
- Fantastic late game damage
- Top lane sustain
- Excellent farmer
- Good chaser with ult/slow/ghost

CONS
- Easily countered
- Susceptible to kiting
- Poor against AP lane opponents
- His slow is his only CC
- Escaping is based on slow, ghost, and in emergency circumstances your ult. (No Flash)
- Poor Jungle
Back to Top

Wins with Nasus


In this game I followed my guide perfectly. I went up against another Nasus (who ended like 8/9) My team however was absolutely terrible with one person who did nothing but ignore our fights and farm. Therefore we needed both damage and a good tank. I decided I would get warmog's and then if needed get atmogs but we were able to win by then. Notice the kill streak. I was actually 10/0 to start. This was actually a very short game as you can tell from some of the stats.
Back to Top

When to use/Not to use Nasus

Technically, Nasus is viable in all types of games depending on your skill. However, in many situations there are probably better picks out there for you. For the purpose of this guide I'm going to categorize games into:

1. Normal Games that don't follow solo top/jungler meta:

Sometimes you have a normal game where there is no jungler on your team. Sometimes you'll have a teammate that refuses to go anywhere but top. In these cases you should probably avoid the Nasus build used here. Your focus with this guide depends on a properly groomed early game and that requires full access to creep waves. This doesn't mean you shouldn't pick Nasus. You'll just have to adapt better.

2. Normal Games that follow the solo top/jungler meta:


Pick Nasus if you're fairly sure your lane opponent is a melee opponent and not a range/ap one. This means you want to avoid champs like Kennen and learn to love laning against Cho.

3. Low Rank Elo games:


Usually the same as above. Did you just see Tryn picked and they already have a jungler? Jackpot. This is one of the best places to pick Nasus for solo top. Expect to have a short lane phase though, and tons of surrenders at 20 minutes. This will give you some problems because you're a late game champ. You may not even get a chance to excel! If the game does last long enough you'll probably get a lot of opportunities to free q farm a lane during mid game, which is very nice.

4. High Elo games:


Chances are there are better picks out there. You are also likely to be counterpicked well. In addition, people in higher elo games will know your viability depends on your q farm so expect a lot of pressure from junglers/mid even if you are against a melee top. More likely than not they are at least good at denying your q farm. It's probably best to pick a different champ. Laning phases are significantly longer though, which allows you more q farm time. However you won't be able to pick up free q farming as much during mid game since map awareness skills and teamwork is much better. Depending on your skill you can overcome these hardships. But chances are there is a better pick out there for you.

5. Middle Elo games:


You may or may not experience qualities from the previous two. Good luck. Go ahead and pick Nasus as a good counter pick only.



Common hints to picking Nasus
Overall remember to pick Nasus against ad bruisers, the more passive farm-oriented the better. For example, Cho'gath is my favorite opponent to lane against because he's also a tanky top farmer that doesn't do much early damage. You will be demolished by ap carries on top like Kennen. You will be harassed too much by ranged enemies like Caitlyn or Teemo. Remember the general rule: Nasus will suck against range ad, AP champs, and overly-mobile champs.
Generally speaking, you can negate a large amount of your lane opponents' advantages by staying by your turret. Nasus is a better champion to counter pick top. Don't go in to ranked or draft blindly choosing him.

Your worst nightmare might still work
Just the other day I was playing a normal game. And the other team threw me for a complete loop. The only champ I could see going to solo top was allistar and he turned out to be their jungler. So when I went to top I was greeted by Twisted Fate and Caitlyn. It didn't end well of course. Their strong jungle presence on top and double range ad meant I lost both my top towers before any other tower fell as they were super aggressive. The tradeoff was that I didn't die though and actually ended up picking two good kills. Had the other team continued pressure on me it would have been over for my team but they backed off substantially, allowing me to freely q farm. I ended up as a pretty beefy tank with a below average Q farm, but still enough damage to not be ignored. Moral of the story is that sometimes it is unavoidable to be outmatched. Just do your best and know how to adapt.
Back to Top

Runes

Your focus on runes is to help your early game. Your early game is where you get your damage from later.

Greater Mark of Desolation: This gives armor penetration. As Nasus you're going to be doing AD damage and your damage will mostly come from your Q. Since the majority of your damage is "ability" based critical damage is a big no for you to use. Armor Penetration will further increase the effectiveness of your Q. You don't get armor penetration from your item build at all so this is crucial.

: This will give flat armor. As I'll say numerous times, the biggest weakness Nasus has is his early game. This will help you tremendously! If you picked Nasus you are most likely going against a melee character solo top and the majority of melee characters are AD based. This will help protect your early game. Scaling armor runes are not necessary because by the time they overcome flat armor runes you'll be a beefy tank anyways. This helps your early game.

: This will give scaling magic resistence. Once again you are most likely going against a melee character on solo top and therefore magic resistence isn't as necessary at the beginning of the game. AP skills are generally weak during early game, or easily avoided if they are a skill shot. Therefore it's more important to plan ahead for your tanky late game.

: This will give extra flat health. Once again your early game is the most crucial time for Nasus. The extra health here will give you a larger pool to work with, especially since you are starting with a and not a .
Back to Top

Masteries

I use a basic defense/tank based mastery tree with a few modifications. I once again focus on the early game weaknesses by putting points into cool down reduction under the attack tree. Since Nasus is a tankier character I focus also on keeping his tankiness up since his damage is Q based. Finally, Ghost and Teleport are given buffs.
Back to Top

Items

My item build focuses on early cool down reduction and late game attack/tank. The CDR point is to build Q farming fast, and to use Q to hit for major damage as much as possible later on. I'm a firm believer that you should be very adaptable to your item build so don't take this as a Bible. Take it as the opportune suggestion and replace parts with the optional section if needed.

Starting Build


Sight Ward
The reason you are starting with this is because my guide focuses on cool down centered Q farming, thus the . The reason I opt for the first and not a Regrowth Pendent is because your passive and defensive farming should allow you enough sustain to farm. Remember that you have sustain and extra health from .

Because you have a lot of gold to work with feel free to experiment around in order to figure out what works best. If you find yourself needing more then by all means get two of them and drop up a to start with instead. Do you find that you aren't recalling enough and fear enemy ganks? Trade something for an extra Sight Ward.


First Trip Back



Philosopher's Stone: As soon as you can, get this. You are a farming champ for two reasons: Your Q and gold. Not only will this add gold production but it will also add regen for health and more mana regen. Health regen synthesizes nicely with your lifesteal and since by this point you'll be ganked regularly it doesn't hurt to have more sustain.

: Basic boots are needed for three reasons: Early chasing (ganks), early fleeing (ganks), and skill shot avoidance. Since you are playing passively you only really need these for early ganks and skill shot avoidance. (To a lesser extent they help with mobility for last hitting) But they are still crucial to get early on. Optimally you should get these on your first trip back as well.

: The reason you want this early on is the CDR so that you can use your Q more. In addition, this will help dramatically versus any ad solo top champ when you get this early. If for some reason you are going against an AP champ then get your Spirit Visage first.



Second Trip





: Another cooldown item but very situational. If you are having issues with mana though, or are against a CC heavy team get . This is probably the most controversial item in my guide, but I believe the cooldown reduction is more helpful because your future tankiness will allow more damage from your q to be built in. By this point your Q farm is either super fast or the laning phase is starting to stop. Thus these boots are more used for your Q output. However, if you are against a cc heavy team you'll get a lot more damage out of your tenancity than your cooldown if you are cc'd (not to mention escaping!).

: More cooldown, more mana, more armor. This is also situational. By this point the cooldown bonuses for q farming aren't as important and the upgrade from your glacier shroud to this may seem insignificant. But if you are still in a laning phase, or are still focusing on q farming this is a great item. Your focus isn't so much to win a lane as it is to have a stalemate/q farm fest. So if you believe you are in that situation then get Frozen Heart first. See early phase chapter for more details. You might not get this during your second trip back but if possible try to.


And Beyond...



: Most guides want you to get this earlier. I don't believe you should if you can help it though. For the millionth time, your focus is early game q farming and late game domination. So why is it necessary to proc damage? Now if your team is starting team fights and you have a tank already then chances are you'll want this first and not Frozen Heart. Depending on your playing level you might be there already. Are there just small skirmishes and you are keeping your lane opponent at top and you'll get the gold soon anyways? Then get Frozen Heart first.

: At this point you're not laning anymore. This is your topper of your core build, building off of your Sheen. You're a beefy tank now and it's time to start doing damage.

: Another situational item. If you are against an AP heavy team and/or you lack a tank other than you you might want to take this before any damage items (including ). This provides more health as well and a spell shield. Since you are already incredibly tanky with a high amount of health this is probably better than the health regening .



Optional Items:



You have a couple free slots. Put into it what you need.

: If you experience AP heavy teams or a lot of CC. This is a must versus a CC heavy team. Remember, we are focusing on Q damage. CDR maximizes it unless you get CC'd.

: You have enough armor really, but if you are the only tank and you have enough damage from your teammates. Honestly though, your armor is really sufficient (increasing armor has diminishing returns).

: It's a great mix of MR and Armor, plus it has a great passive. It's fun to use as an initiator too. I had a fun game where I initiated with this, saved my ult, then popped it once I respawned. My team knew I was doing this though and worked with it pretty well. The other team used up a lot of skills on me and I was back with the ult health included. If I need to be a tank more then I usually switch out my Spirit Visage for this.

: If you are against a team that is stacking heavy armor this might be a good idea as well. Just remember that you're going to be sacrificing something else in your build. If you are not the tank and fill an off tank role then this may be a great item to replace your frozen mallet, Atma's or something else. I really wish I could put this in my Nasus build because of how well it'll work with his Q damage, but unfortunately it'll take away from his tankiness too much.

: Health, ad, and a slow. Depending on your team's needs you might want to get something else.

: Take all that health and turn it into ad. The armor helps as well, the crit is just a bonus that stacks with your and increases your dps. Please note that this guide isn't about making an AD TANK. It's about making a CDR Q TANK. So don't concentrate on Fratmogs, or Frogs, or Atmogs or whatever unless your team has a tank/tanks. If that's the case you should probably be using a different guide.


: Another CDR item that can be useful early on. I orginally had this in my core build early but after some thought and comments placed it in the optional section.

Finally, if you find that you do not need any type of mana regeneration and you're a very good farmer then you may want to drop the whole philosopher stone build and just start with boots. This is viable because Nasus isn't as much item dependent as other champions. Personally, I like the regeneration and extra gold, but if you find you don't need the regeneration and can afford more q farming with more CDR then go boots first.
Back to Top

Skill Sequence

Skill Focus:
1. Start with (QEW) or (QEQW) depending on how many ganks you get from your jungler and how passive/aggressive your lane is.
2. Get points in your (R) when you can.
3. Focus on (Q) first, then (W), then (E).


Nasus drains his foe's spiritual energy, giving him a natural 14 / 17 / 20% lifesteal.



Imagine this as your lane sustain for early game only. This is why you start with and not . When farming in your lane remember to keep the lane exactly where you want it to be. Therefore be careful if you are hitting minions for life.


Nasus's next attack will deal additional damage. Siphoning Strike permanently gains 3 stacked damage whenever it kills an enemy champion, minion or neutral monster.

Cost: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 mana
Cooldown: 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 seconds

Physical Damage: 30 / 50 / 70 / 90 / 110 (+1.0 per attack damage) (+3 per enemy killed by Siphoning Strike)



This is your bread and butter skill. EVERY enemy, minion, or neutral monster that you land a killing blow on with this will give you a permanent +3 damage to this skill. That means you do it as much as possible. If your attack damage is 120 and you leveled up your Q fully with 400 extra damage stacked onto it then you will do 120+110+400 damage with a single blow. Even better is that it works on TURRETS!

The Q trick is very easy to pull off and is very similar to Blitzcrank's Power Fist skill. Wait until the exact moment that you hit your target, and then press Q. The result is that the Q press will instantly refresh your auto attack timer, allowing two very fast strikes in about the same time as one! That means 120+110+400+120 damage, not including Ultimate use/Sheen/Trinity procs and critical strikes. And best yet, you can do this roughly every 2.5 seconds!

This is why you farm this beast of a skill up early. The payoff is just fantastic. You build this build and you're a tank that can do massive damage.




Nasus ages his target, slowing their movement and attack speed by 35%. Additionally, they are reduced further to reach an extra slow at the end of 5 seconds. If the duration of the slow is reduced, the extra slow will be applied faster for it to reach its maximum at the end of the duration.
Cost: 80 mana
Range: 700
Extra Slow: 12 / 24 / 36 / 48 / 60%
Cooldown: 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 / 11 seconds


Carries and other people you're going to be chasing are gonna hate you for this skill. Their movement speed is a crawl by the end of this effect, allowing you to hit them along the way, after which you can hit ghost to chase them even further.

In addition the movement speed debuff is your only real escape mechanism. Mixed with your tankiness, and in emergencies Ghost, you should be able to escape most confrontations.

Another aspect of this skill that many Nasus users forget is that it lowers attack speed by 35%. Are you battling it out with a Yi or ranged carry and you know their DPS outshines you? It's very possible they won't suspect this debuff. When mixed with your ultimate you can surprise champions that were so certain they had a kill.

Finally, during team fights this skill is very useful in debuffing carries. With your CDRs you should be able to use this at least twice during a team fight. Once initially, and at least one more time to chase.




Nasus unleashes a spirit flame at a location for 5 seconds. Enemies caught in the area are dealt a burst of magic damage. Additionally, enemies in the area are dealt magic damage each second and have their armor reduced while on there and for 1 extra second.
Cooldown: 12 seconds
Range to Center of AoE: 650
Radius of AoE: 400
Cost: 70 / 85 / 100 / 115 / 130 mana
Initial Magic Damage: 55 / 95 / 135 / 175 / 215 (+0.6 per ability power)

Magic Damage Per Second: 11 / 19 / 27 / 35 / 43 (+0.12 per ability power)

Armor Reduction: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40


You aren't using this for damage. The AP scaling sucks and your damage is Q based.

During the laning phase this is a good tool to deny last hits from your lane opponent, or else they better be prepared to pay for that hit. The main problem of course is that you're going to be using your mana to Q farm and using this ability will make you run out of mana very fast. In addition it also will damage minions, which can push your lane too much. Always try to get this off before striking an enemy during ganks as the armor reduction is pretty substantial during early game.

During Mid game this is also used to push lanes. Remember that the damage is negligible, but it IS an AOE, therefore it can be helpful taking out minions. If you have to push a lane or defend a tower in a hurry and don't have the time to Q farm, then do this (and also Q farm).

During Late game and team fights you're going to use this as a debuff to the enemy. The armor reduction isn't as good as early game but it's still worth it to pull off. It also has an effect on breaking up an enemy team's formation as no champion really wants to sit in an AOE spell taking damage.



Nasus becomes empowered in the sandstorm for 15 seconds, gaining extra health. While the storm rages, he drains a percentage of nearby enemies max health each second (max of 240 magic damage per second per enemy) and converts 6.375% of the damage done into bonus attack damage for himself until the sandstorm wears off.
Cost: 150 mana
Cooldown: 120 seconds
Radius of AoE: 350



The extra health makes this a perfect surprise skill against a dps champion. It is also very helpful when you are tanking/initiating.

The health drain hurts your enemy. Therefore you'll want to be right in the middle of the enemy team while this is on. When your ultimate is on this portion of the skill makes you a great tank for teamfights.

The drained health becomes attack damage. Dat Q just got more powerful.

Finally, it lasts 15 freaking seconds. That's a pretty long ultimate.
Back to Top

Summoner Spells

: This is the most important skill you can have as a solo top player (and for a reason). It allows you to return to base, buy items, heal, and return without missing much farm. During late game it'll put you back in the action quickly. If you are the only tank then it's crucial that you're with your teammates for teamfights.

OR : I'm a flash addict. I almost never not use Flash (well I don't with Singed but that's another guide for another time :) ) No one can deny how helpful it is to wall hop or catch a fleeing enemy. But Ghost is probably more helpful for Nasus. Nasus works by slowing down his opponents, and beating them down with his Q. Ghost gives a sustained speed burst that lasts a while, as opposed to one hop. Your burst damage isn't really bursty. You're not like, say Xerath, who can stun and kill really quick with his stun/ult combo, and all you need is to get into a good position. You are a chaser.
Back to Top

Early Game

Your early game starts when the first creep wave hits and ends when team fights/small skirmishes start. Your primary focus is to farm as much as possible. Your goals are to build your Q damage and outfarm your opponent. The longer this lasts the better off you'll be as long as you can outmatch your opponent. Your mastery/rune build is focused on maximizing what is the most crucial time for Nasus. Take advantage of your larger health pool and tankiness.

Don't push your lane/Don't overextend: Most people say this because it opens you up to ganks. This is very true. But equally important is that you are going to have a lot more problems farming your q. If you are ganked at mid lane then your tankiness from your quints, masteries , and ghost will save you (in addition to a well placed w). So the sweet spot is to be somewhere between your tower and the middle of the lane. When you recall make sure you push it out a little bit though (and use your teleport!)

Sustain. Your life steal gives you very powerful sustain, especially with your regrowth pendant. Don't depend on this though, just take it for granted. If you have a passive lane opponent that likes to farm then you'll have a breeze. But if you have an aggressive lane opponent then you'll have to work in your sustain a bit. If your opponent is harassing you then they aren't last hitting. If they aren't good at maintaining both then their farm is suffering, which means the lane is also not being pushed much. Know when to hit a minion for life, not for last hitting, and when to hit your opponent for life (and a bit of harass). This is tricky to get down.

Deny. This is mana dependent. If you do this too much you won't have mana for q farming and escaping/chasing. It's also tricky to do this without pushing your lane too much either. If you get opportunities where you won't be using q because there's only a few minions around, or everything is at full health then a quick q strike at the right moment can tell an opponent to back away from a last hit. A quick E at the right moment is very effective at chasing away an enemy from last hits AND can pick you up farm. A poorly timed E can waste your mana and push your lane. At higher elos a W wither can chase your opponent off because they think you're going in for a kill. Nasus isn't a very good harasser so it's unlikely that you'll be chasing them away because of their low hp, but it is incredibly dependant on the skill level of your opponent (do they know you can burst with your ult/q/w/e, chase their withered body and kill them?) Use that fear against them if you get the chance.

Preventing Deny: Are you being kited? Are those AP skills outplaying your own sustain? Then you made a big mistake choosing Nasus. It's loads easier to farm with ranged skills, and Nasus uses a q melee. A good example of this happening is if you lane against Kennen. Kennen can not only last hit from a distance with his AA but he can also last hit with his Q, AND hurt you for a lot of damage with his Q. In addition, he's a fast bugger and can escape and chase you easily. Not only this but he's energy based, somewhat only limited by his cooldowns. So obviously don't pick Nasus against Kennen on solo top! A lot of melee champs have skill shots that are AP based as well. Learn to avoid them! Remember your sustain and don't be afraid to take occasionally small amounts of damage to get farm.

Once again your focus is investing yourself for lategame so try to stay in the lane phase for as long as possible. You should be getting tons of gold from your Phil stone and q farm.
Back to Top

Mid Game

At this point a tower fell somewhere and people are starting to drift to other lanes. Skirmishes and teamfights are breaking out. What should you be doing now?

Low Elo/Normals
Mid game comes a lot quicker in these games. However, chances are that your opponents will underestimate you more than higher elo ranked and normals. Try to identify what your team's weaknesses and strengths are. Whenever you can, you should always q farm if you aren't doing something else. Did a fight just end and you can't push? Then q farm a lane or your jungle a bit. Do you lack tanks? Then get that frozen heart before sheen. Do you have a tank/a lot of offtanks? Then get that sheen. Now this does not mean ignore your team and q farm if they need you. If you followed this guide and picked Nasus correctly then your farm should be at least equal to your lane opponent's and your Q strikes should be very powerful. Chances are that your q farm is at least okay. If you can help secure an early victory then by all means cut your q losses and run with it. Bottom line is that more likely than not you'll be needed for extra damage and not tankiness at this stage and elo. Adjust your item build accordingly.


Pushing: Nasus is a master pusher. So much, that you must always keep it in check during early game. During mid and late game he really shines though since he can finally put his pushing to use. Your E will clear minion waves FAST; use it often when pushing, including against an incoming wave when you are at their tower. Your Q is just amazing at this point because it works against towers as well. Use your Q trick by allowing a regular auto attack and quickly pressing Q as it lands, allowing the refresh to essentially double hit a tower, doing massive damage with the Q. With your cooldowns you'll melt away towers with your farmed Q. This makes Nasus a great split pusher as well since he can single handedly take on towers quickly. (Put him in the same class as Blitz for tower destruction).

Backdooring: Probably not a great idea with Nasus but it's possible. The reason he can do it is because he can take down towers fast with his Q. When you mix this with his tankiness and health pool you can get fast results for tower destruction. But what he does lack is a true escape mechanism. Sure his wither helps, but it's nothing compared to 2+ champs with CC coming for your Backdooring ***.

Tank one for the team: You are either an initiator or a followup champ, depending on your team composition. If you are the only tank, or your offtanks just suck, then you may have to do the initiating. Use your E and jump in, withering the carry if you can. At low elos especially this will make the team focus on you while your assassins, carries, and burst champs make quick work of their team. If your team has a good initiator or tank then you're instant followup. For example, if you have a blitz on your team and he gets a good pull your team will take the pulled victim out first, allowing you to jump right into the fray. If your team has an amumu then you follow in right behind him, attacking their carry just as his ult stuns. Always allow your squishes behind you and charge right in if appropriate. Finally, don't get upset if you don't get kills. Your damage comes from your previous q farms and their damage comes from items.

High Elo Ranked/Normals:
First off, you either have a good tank on your team or enough equally offtanks to downgrade your tank role. Hopefully you don't reach mid game for a long time, allowing good q farm time but this is offset by the harder time you'll have in lane. Chances are you won't get a blissful easy q farm fest like in lower elos and normals. You have a lot of hurdles to jump also. Your lack of cc is going to hurt a lot here but your Wither is now much more important.
Back to Top

Late Game

A lot of the towers are done, Baron is being fought over aggressively, and the end is in sight.

Similar to mid game, Nasus shines as a good offtank/primary tank and pusher. Once again his ability to destroy buildings fast is astounding (now that you properly farmed your Q!). Depending on your team comp you're either the main tank/initiator or the follow up, and once again being the follow up is the optimal.

I'd like to mention that several times you are at a standstill at an enemy tower during this phase.


Initiating:
Generally, Nasus isn't a very good initiator. If he's tanking it out he can run in first, and hope to pull off an anti-carry combo. Chances are you have a much better initiator on your team but if you're the only one that can do it or are the only tank then you're forced to the job.

One way is to start with your E. This will hopefully scatter them a little, allowing you to run right in. It also lowers their armor. Next you hit your ult. Then you try to W their carry and pound away with your Q.

Another way is to start with your E, then W their carry, then hit your ult and pound away with your Q.

Another way is to run in and W their carry, hit your ult, use your E and pound away with your Q.

See a pattern? It really doesn't matter what order you use as long as your Q is the last. I say this because you're really talking about miniscule milliseconds between hitting your e, w, and ult and you aren't doing melee damage during that time at all.

Wither:
Finally, your wither is incredibly important for team fights. Use it to destroy the carry. If someone is running away or separated then use it on them. Your Wither will be a flag for you and your team to kill. IMO this ability is just as a good if not better than a stun.

Final words on Q:


You are built with CDR. Remember to spam the **** out of Q during fights and use the Q autoattack refresh trick.
Back to Top

Jungle Nasus???

I have a friend that swears by Nasus jungle. I'm sure it works for him because he's a fantastic player. However, overall I believe that Nasus is a poor choice for jungling and thus I will not be mentioning him in this guide. His current place is solo top in the current meta.

I suppose his passive life steal works well with jungling sustain, his wither w is good for ganking, and his spirit fire e is good at clearing a jungle.

The biggest disadvantage to jungling with Nasus that you'll find is that it impedes his Q farming, which if you haven't noticed by now is the main focus of this guide. At best you are killing 1-3 minions per jungle camp with Q. Anything more and you'll be super slow at your jungle. You can't compare that against the hordes of minion waves you'll go against on top lane. If you don't mind not doing any damage later then go for it I guess. But don't use this build.
Back to Top

Conclusion

If you are in low elo games or some normals then be prepared to have frustrating games. Basically you're going to hold solo top at a standstill during early game, farming your Q away and the rest of the lanes are going to suck hard. Within the first ten minutes you'll have games that are already decided and there isn't much you can do. In other words, you can't carry as well with Nasus. Remember this when you decide to pick him.

However because you're just so great and consistent you will have games where your team will love you for holding top throughout early game, allowing for a satisfying win later on.

In my opinion Nasus is best used when you have a duo queue partner who you know can hold a lane/carry. Like many tank-based champions, Nasus's overall performance is heavily influenced by the rest of his team. Remember this when you pick him.

The Key to Nasus is to Treat Him Like an Investment During a Game
Download the Porofessor App for Windows

League of Legends Champions:

Teamfight Tactics Guide