League of Legends Nasus Guide: How To Master This Champion!

If you like playing top lane in League of Legends, there is one champion you should definitely have up your sleeve: We're talking about Nasus, of course! In this guide, we will teach you how to master him!

Lol nasus guide header
LoL Champion Guide: Mastering Nasus! | © EarlyGame / Riot Games

There are currently over 160 champions in League of Legends, and each of them is truly unique. One of the most impressive champions is undoubtedly Nasus, the powerful guardian from the barren deserts of Shurima.

In this guide, we will take a detailed look at Nasus's abilities and playstyle. We will provide you with tips on how to use him as effectively as possible to increase your chances of victory. Because one thing is clear: With Nasus, you have the power of enlightenment!


League of Legends Champion Nasus: Abilities

To play Nasus successfully, it's important to understand his abilities and how to use them. Here's an overview of what he can do:

  • Passive: Soul Eater - Nasus gains life steal on his auto-attacks based on his level.
  • Q - Siphoning Strike - An empowered auto-attack with a stacking mechanic. For each unit he kills, Nasus gains permanent bonus damage on his Q.
  • W - Wither - Nasus slows the attack and movement speed of an enemy champion. This ability is crucial for effective trading and avoiding kiting.
  • E - Spirit Fire - Nasus unleashes fire in a circular area, dealing magic damage upon cast and over time while reducing the armor of targets in the area.
  • R - Fury of the Sands - Nasus increases his size, HP, attack range, and armor while dealing damage in an area around him. This ultimate ability makes him nearly indestructible and fearsome.

Item and Rune Recommendations for Nasus

Nasus Item Build
Nasus Items: What a full item build could look like. | © Riot Games

Nasus is a top lane champion who benefits from tankiness and attack damage. Here are some recommended items for Nasus:

  • Frozen Heart - Everything Nasus needs! More armor, mana, and ability haste, along with additional attack speed slow in addition to your W ability.
  • Divine Sunderer - You should build this item first. After using an ability, your next auto-attack is enhanced. Divine Sunderer synergizes perfectly with your Q.
  • Thornmail - Very effective in many top lane matchups against champions who rely on self-healing, such as Darius or Renekton.

When it comes to your primary runes, focus on the Precision tree. One keystone is particularly useful for Nasus. For the secondary tree, the Resolve tree is definitely the best choice.

  • Fleet Footwork - Your next auto-attack is enhanced, it heals you, and briefly grants you movement speed. Perfect for your Q auto-attack; thanks to the movement speed, you can stick to your target more easily.
  • Triumph - Takedowns provide more gold and restore health. This can be crucial in one-on-one situations on the top lane.
  • Legend: Tenacity - Crowd control is the only way for the opposing team to keep you at bay. The more tenacity you have, the less these effects will bother you.
  • Last Stand - More damage to champions the lower your health is. This is also a valuable tool for winning duels on the top lane!

Remember that item and rune selection can vary from game to game. Adapt your choices to your team's needs, your matchup, and the game conditions.

Nasus - Playstyle

Battlecast Nasus skin
Perhaps my favorite skin for Nasus! | © Riot Games

Nasus's playstyle is all about stacking his Q ability, Siphoning Strike and dealing tremendous damage. Nasus is primarily played in the top lane and is known for becoming an unstoppable axe swinger in the later stages of the game.

His core competence is initially quite mundane, almost boring, you could say. It involves farming minions in the top lane to stack his Q ability. The more Soul Siphon stacks he accumulates, the more damage the ability deals, and the more his damage per minute increases.

Use his abilities Wither and Spirit Fire to slow down and control opponents. Utilize his ultimate ability, Fury of the Sands, in team fights to create chaos and deal additional area-of-effect damage.

Tips and Tricks for Nasus

Of course, it's hard to remember every single world from this guide. So, to sum it up, here are some tips to play Nasus effectively:

  1. Use Nasus's Siphoning Strike to continuously stack bonus damage. Prioritize farming minions.
  2. Use Wither to slow down opponents and gain the upper hand in fights.
  3. Plant Spirit Fire to control areas and make your escape or pursuit easier.
  4. Use Fury of the Sands in team fights to deal massive area-of-effect damage and act as a frontliner for your team.

Nasus is a classic late-game champion who, with enough Q stacks, becomes an unstoppable threat as the game progresses. With patience and strategic use of his abilities, you can lead your team to victory with Nasus!

Want to learn even more champions? Check out these guides right here:

Lasse Lindner

Lasse is one of EarlyGame's leading experts on League of Legends, covering the game for this website as well as Riftfeed. Playing LoL since 2015, he covers everything from patch notes to esports news for both the English and German sites....