Nasus Top Lane Build Guides, Runes, Items, and Abilities

Nasus is one of the most iconic champions in League of Legends, known for his incredible scaling potential and late-game power. As a tanky melee champion, he excels at becoming an unstoppable force the longer a match progresses, thanks to his passive and scaling abilities. Nasus is often played in the top lane, where he can farm effectively and build up his strength to dominate the later stages of the game. Whether you're looking to carry your team with a tanky frontliner or wanting to outscale your enemies with his devastating damage output, Nasus is a formidable pick.

1. Strengths:

Nasus possesses one of the strongest scaling potentials in the game through his Q stacking mechanic, making him a ticking time bomb that enemies must respect. His built-in lifesteal provides excellent sustain once he gets some levels, allowing him to stay in lane and continue scaling.

The point-and-click nature of Wither makes him extremely effective against auto-attack-based champions, while also serving as a powerful tool for catching out priority targets.

His ultimate provides significant combat stats and size increase, making him a formidable duelist and teamfight presence. The simple nature of his kit allows players to focus on farming and macro play rather than complex mechanics.

2. Weaknesses:

Nasus’s early game is notably weak, making him vulnerable to aggressive laners and jungle pressure. His lack of mobility and reliance on farm makes him susceptible to freeze tactics and deny strategies. Coordinated teams can effectively kite him in teamfights, preventing him from reaching priority targets despite his Wither.

His effectiveness can be severely diminished if denied stacks early, as his scaling is directly tied to his ability to farm Q. Without flash, he can struggle to impact teamfights effectively, often being forced into a split-pushing role. His predictable playstyle can be countered by experienced players who understand wave management and freezing techniques.

Farm with Siphoning Strike: The key to Nasus's power is building up his Siphoning Strike (Q) stacks. Focus on last-hitting minions and champions with your Q to maximize your damage potential as the game progresses. If possible, use your Q on cannon minions, which provide a larger stack boost.

Use Fury of the Sands Effectively: Activate Fury of the Sands (R) during team fights or when engaging enemies to maximize its damage and survivability. This ability grants you bonus health, armor, and magic resistance, allowing you to tank more damage and deal more in return.

Timing Wither Wisely: Use Wither (W) to disable key enemy carries or threats. It’s especially effective against high-mobility champions or ADCs trying to kite you. Save it for crucial moments in team fights to lock down high-priority targets.

Utilize Spirit Fire for Armor Reduction: Spirit Fire (E) is a great tool to reduce the armor of enemy tanks or bruisers, making them more vulnerable to your and your team's damage. Use it to poke in lane or to engage during team fights.

Positioning is Key: Since Nasus doesn’t have reliable gap-closing abilities, it’s important to position yourself carefully. Try to engage in fights when your team can help you initiate or when you can land your Wither (W) on a key enemy target.

• E + W + Q + EAA: E W Q can be chained together to cancel the animations. E and W instantly after followed by Q AA.
• AA + Q + E + W + AA: A normal trade will AA then instantly Q as soon as the damage goes through, then quickly E W and AA again.
• E + AA + W + Q: Cancel your E animation by using an AA instantly after followed by W Q.
• W + FLASH + E + Q + EAA: When chasing an opponent use W then instantly Flash and E Q AA as fast as you can.
• R + W + E + FLASH + Q + EAA: To Flash engage R then W, use E then instantly F into Q AA.
• R + W + E + Q + EAA + AA + AA + Q: To all in R then W once in range. Walk up and E Q AA instantly, followed by using AA's until your Q is back up to use.
• E + R + Q + EAA + W + AA: E R Q can be chained together to cancel the animations. E and instantly R Q AA, then quickly use W followed by an AA.
• E + W + R + Q + EAA: When done properly you can animation cancel almost all your abilities together. Cast E W right after one another then instantly R Q as quickly as you can.

Playing Nasus requires patience and understanding of wave management. Your early game focuses entirely on stacking your Q on minions – aim for at least 150 stacks by 15 minutes. Start with E against ranged matchups or heavy harassers to help with wave control and farming from range.

Use Wither defensively early game to escape ganks or prevent all-ins. Don’t be afraid to give up early CS if it means staying healthy – you’ll make up for it later with Q stacks. Once you have Sheen and level 6, you can start trading more aggressively.

Your ultimate gives you massive combat stats – use it early in all-ins rather than as a last resort. In teamfights, Wither the most fed auto-attacker and either peel for your carries or dive the enemy backline depending on team composition.

Split pushing becomes a strong option once you have around 300 stacks – force enemies to respond to you while your team takes objectives. Remember that Q works on towers, making you an excellent objective taker. Against tough matchups, start Doran’s Shield and take Second Wind to maximize sustain.

1. Early game

• Your champion is weak in the early game. Avoid fighting until you have quite a few levels behind you. Once you have an item and some levels under your belt, you can look for skirmishes with the enemy.
• Focus on farming and picking up as much farm as possible in the early game. This will make you more of a threat in the later parts of the game.
• Rotate and move around the map if your bot lane decides to rotate to the top lane after securing the bottom lane tower.
• Nasus' level 6 is a significant power spike as he can actually properly duel with enemies now. It will give him a massive advantage when dealing with enemy laners who are pushed up and run down by him.
• Nasus is very weak early on and can be bullied hard due to the lack of HP and stacks on his Siphoning Strike Q. His main goal will be to farm and stack up to decimate the opposition during the later parts of the game.
• Nasus' first item will give him a damage and survivability boost in the lane. It will bring him one step closer to achieving his most potent form in the game, but he should still focus on farming and stacking up his Siphoning Strike Q.

2. Mid game

• Focus on gaining stacks during the mid-game. It is important to continue stacking your Siphoning Strike Q otherwise, you’ll fall behind.
• Rotate around the map and assist your teammates if you have to. But, don’t over commit to help them especially if you can secure objectives.
• Draw pressure while your team tries to siege objectives elsewhere to open up the map.
• Nasus will have a decent amount of stacks and will take part in team fights now. He should be a threat to all the squishy targets in the enemy team.
• He will have multiple items now, which will make it easier for him to run down the enemy laner and the enemy team. It will increase his damage output massively as well.
• At level 11, he will have two points in his Ultimate Fury of the Sands R. This will increase both his tankiness and kill pressure at the same time. His Passive will help him a lot when it comes to diving into the enemy backline and surviving.

3. Late game

• Split push and focus on securing towers while your team groups elsewhere on the map. Try to draw pressure while your team is able to get something done somewhere else on the map.
• Be prepared to group with your team when you’re unable to get any more objectives alone.
• When you do team fight, make sure you peel for your carries. Use your Wither W to slow the enemy frontline and then focus the nearest enemy champion in the fight.
• Nasus will have a massive amount of stacks during this phase of the game. This can easily let him one-shot enemy carries who are un-peeled for by the enemy team.
• Nasus' tankiness will be a force to reckon with as he legit won't die as long as he finds a target to use his Siphoning Strike Q on. This will provide his team with a reliable front liner.
• His main power spike is during this phase of the game, as he will have multiple items, multiple stacks, and will be able to blatantly all-in and pick enemy champions off at his will.

Nasus is a champion that shines in the late game, where his scaling potential and sustained damage output make him an unmovable force. With the right farming and team coordination, Nasus can become a tanky behemoth that dominates the battlefield. However, his weaknesses, including a weak early game and vulnerability to crowd control, mean that it’s essential to play carefully in the early stages and scale properly. By utilizing his abilities effectively and knowing when to engage, Nasus can be a game-changing pick that can carry your team to victory.

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Good luck to you! – Cheng