Nautilus Build Guide by EZYoDa

Introduction

Nautilus is one of the best gankers in the game. His fearsome kit offers FOUR different kinds of CC, a number hard to match by pretty much anyone in the game. He does have some weaknesses to counter-jungling, but his recent buffs to Titan's Wrath have negated most of it. Few junglers both have the insane ganks Nautilus brings to the table while retaining his late-game relevance, and that is what places Nautilus near the top of the jungling tier list.

SPACE

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Pros/Cons

Pros

1. Four forms of CC
2. Depth Charge allows us to stun priority targets without risking our own positioning in team-fights
3. Dredge Line provides both awesome initiation and an escape spell
4. Titan's Wrath can dish out insane damage if you aren't focused

Cons

1. Easily counter-jungled before lvl 3
2. Damage gets reduced in the extreme if Titan's Wrath gets popped
3. Depth Charge can get countered by some spells, and also Zhonya's Hourglass
4. Somewhat dependent on hitting Dredge Line

Runes

9x 9x 9x 3x

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Greater Mark of Attack Speed Greater Seal of Armor Greater Glyph of Magic Resist Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed

Titan's Wrath gets better with attack speed, so those will be our reds. We want movement speed to take full advantage of our CCs, so those are our quints. If you've read my other guides, you know I never deviate from these yellows/blues since they are just so efficient for the slot, and Nautilus is no different.

Masteries

We really, really want movement speed on Nautilus, so we will take utility. You can alternatively do 0/21/9, but I like the movement speed more than the extra tankiness since Depth Charge makes it so you don't really have to commit to most fights.

Items

Machete/5 is the standard jungle start. I would never do anything different.



Your first 3 items are Crystalline Flask, Boots of Speed, and Spirit Stone. You can skip the Crystalline Flask and instead go for pots, but I find the flask pays off quickly, unless you're just farming (which you shouldn't be). From there, upgrade to Spirit of the Ancient Golem and finish boots of mobililty - the order of these almost entirely depends on how much gold you have when you go to base. Obviously, Boots of Mobility is better for straight-out ganks while Spirit of the Ancient Golem is better if you find yourself in a skirmish rather than a one-sided kill. Locket of the Iron Solari is also a solid pickup for junglers, though you can skip it if you have a lot of gold. One of its main strengths is that it is easy to build with cheap pieces, so if you just have a large chunk of gold you're better off going into your end-game build.


Once we've finished our mid-tier tanky items, we want Randuin's Omen. It gives a good mix of HP and utility, and is currently the best late-game tanky item. From there we want just a little bit of damage with Wit's End. You can skip Wit's End for another tanky item if you're really getting bashed - Frozen Heart is at the top of the list, followed by Abyssal Mask depending on enemy damage.

Summoner Spells

Smite is a necessity for all junglers. Helps you kill buffs, secure objectives, etc etc.

Flash is a good summoner spell on all champions. It's needed to escape from sticky situations, as well as to combo with Dredge Line.

Skill Sequence

We take Titan's Wrath first and max it first for best clear speed / damage output / tankiness (best everything!). Next we max Riptide for more damage. You can choose to max Dredge Line if your team really doesn't need damage, but I prefer Riptide max second.

Early Game

Nautilus has extremely good ganks since he has four CCs (or three, before lvl 6). You should generally look to do the "standard" start, which is to start on the bottom side of the map (blue buff on purple side, red buff on blue side), get a smiteless leash from your support, then do the other buff, then look for a gank. So, to sum it up, "standard" is:

(Blue Side)
Red -> Blue -> Gank

(Purple side)
Blue -> Red -> Gank

This puts you at lvl 3 when you first meet the enemy, so you have your optimal skill-set. Make sure to be careful of counter-ganks - even plant your explorer ward if needed to make sure that doesn't happen. Nautilus is really weak if he meets the enemy jungler before level 5, so make sure you dodge them (can't stress this enough!).

Ganking with Nautilus

Ganking with Nautilus is pretty simple, but I've seen some people mess it up so I'll put a section here to help out with that!

Flank gank
This is your bread and butter. The enemy doesn't have river warded, and you just walk on in from the side behind him. In the flank gank, it's important to lead with Staggering Blow and Riptide, so you get a guaranteed hit with Dredge Line. That's pretty much all there is to it, just make sure you don't lead with Dredge Line and miss because that could cause a gank fail.


Lane gank
Lane ganking with Nautilus happens in side lanes. Make sure you know the lane brushes aren't warded, and walk in while your lane is pushed. When it pushes back, you should have an easy Dredge Line or Staggering Blow from the fog. Generally you want your team to bait for you a bit, but as long as you have a clear shot with Dredge Line you should be good.

Dive
Nautilus is actually quite weak when diving, if you know how to play against it. You need to make sure they don't get between their tower and the wall - the reason for this is that your Dredge Line is actually fatter than the distance between the tower and the wall, so you can't hit it while they are standing in that spot. Your Titan's Wrath also usually dies instantly from the tower aggro, which is another problem. Try to pop it after the first tower hit so you get extra hits in, but you should really be avoiding tower dives as much as possible.

Post-6 gank
This is when ganks get easy. Just walk in, lead with Depth Charge, then hit Dredge Line while they are stunned from it for an easy 50 seconds or so of CC.

Mid Game

Nautilus's mid game should be focused on ganks and enemy buffs. Forcing dragons/towers without getting kills is usually bad for nautilus, since dragon kills his Titan's Wrath quickly, and he is bad at fighting under turret for reasons already mentioned (tower being fat blocks Dredge Line, and Titan's Wrath falls quickly). To make up for this, we take those objectives after successful ganks - once we're level 6, ganks should be really easy so just pull one off then force a nearby objective. You can also contest blue/red buffs as long as you coordinate with your laner.

Late Game / Teamfights

Late Game is all about teamfights with Nautilus. Depth Charge actually works best when it's cast on a target in the back, so you want to Depth Charge their AD carry (or AP if appropriate), and then use the rest of your spells to peel for your AD. This makes you get the benefits of zoning their AD while still protecting your health bar and your own AD. Make sure you don't dive too hard, as getting out of stick situations with Nautilus can be really hard.

Special Techniques

Nautilus doesn't have too many insane techniques, but there are some mechanics you should master if you want to play him properly.

1) Double-hit with Titan's Wrath
Oddly enough, activating Titan's Wrath resets your auto attack animation. So you can attack, then activate it, and you will basically get one bonus attack in.


2) Smite-Hook
Oftentimes, enemies will counter-play your Dredge Line by standing behind minions. If there's only one left, you can smite it and shoot an unexpected Dredge Line, catching them off guard!


3) Depth Charge -> Dredge Line
This is your bread and butter initiation, for ganks or catching people out of position late-game. Your Depth Charge usually sets up a free Dredge Line, so make sure to combo them together when you can. Be wary of doing this in team-fights, however, as you do not have the damage to play an assassin.


4) Dredge Line walking
Just a small thing, but always remember to use Dredge Line to help yourself travel across the map. A big part of jungling is arriving to places on time, and this will help drastically!

Conclusion / About the Author

I hope you all have enjoyed my Nautilus guide! His ganks and team-fighting are truly amazing, and he doesn't really have any insanely hard techs to learn, making him the ideal choice for newer junglers as he is both easy to pick up and strong once mastered.

About me: I'm currently on team FXO, a challenger team, with ROBERTxLEE, Zekent, TrickZ, and Westrice. I like to stream and give advice while streaming / complain about my team and point out their errors, so be sure to check it out regardless of role!

Here's an embed of my stream! www.twitch.tv/yodatv