There are a ton of guides on how to build Nasus in League of Legends. What very few of these guides teach you is how to optimize Nasus for q stacking. In this guide, we’ll show you how to become an ultimate stacking master on Nasus, so you can one-shot champions and turrets alike.
How To Optimize Stacking On Nasus
Very few Nasus guides focus on how to optimize your stack count. This is because Nasus, while reliant on the stacking mechanic, can still function pretty well without a ton of stacks. Stacking can be difficult for new players, and so many guides focus on building him in a safer fashion, prioritizing tank stats to get you through to the win.
In this guide, we won’t be doing that. We’ll be sacrificing some more common item and rune picks for the sack of getting your Q up as often as possible. While some of these changes might make Nasus a little less safe than he would be with other builds, your huge stacks will make up for it.
Runes For Stacking Optimization
Our rune choices for this build are simple: Ability haste out the wazoo. We’re taking Transcendence and the +8 Ability Haste offense slot. Transcendence gives you ability haste at levels 5 and 8, and at level 11 reduces your cooldowns by 20% when you get a takedown. This is pretty self-explanatory, as more ability haste means more Qs coming out.
We’re taking Grasp of the Undying, Bone Plating and Overgrowth to make up for some of your lost tankiness. Demolish will net you gold faster in the early game, and will pay off as you’ll be doing a lot of split pushing with this build.
Items For Stacking Optimization
With this build, you want to balance ability haste with survivability. While Nasus will be doing a ton of damage at as early as 100 stacks, you have no gap closers and getting up on an enemy can be difficult.
Divine Sunderer is always your go-to mythic item for Nasus. For boots, take Ionian Boots Of Lucidity for the 20 ability haste and faster summoners. These are your core items, and you want them finished before you start investing into anything else.
Frozen Heart and Spirit Visage are your best third item choices, pick which works best for the enemy team comp’s highest damage outputs. If you want a strong defense item, look into Death’s Dance. This item is underrated on Nasus, as it provides armor and ability haste and a super strong passive when paired with your innate healing. Nasus with a lot of stacks can outhal a champion’s full burst of damage with one Q, so DD gives you time to get in close and strike them.
Surprisingly effective items on Nasus are Axiom Arc and Cosmic Drive. Besides giving ability haste, both items synergize well into Nasus’ kit, at the cost of some tankiness. Axiom Arc allows you to spam your ult, meaning more survivability and healing. Cosmic Drive helps with chasing, and gives your E and Ultimate extra damage — don’t underestimate Nasus’ ability power scaling.
How To Play This Build
Show up to lane with a Corrupting Potion and play safe. If your matchup isn’t too oppressive, trade with your Grasp as often as possible. If it is too oppressive, fall back under tower and farm minions, watching carefully for which ones your tower is damaging. Use q to last hit as often as possible, but you won’t get every minion this way early on, so don’t lose out on gold.
You want to back around 700 gold for sheen. This will make both farming and trading much more reliable. At this point, you should be able to last hit nearly every minion with your Q. Don’t hit any minion prematurely, sure to just last hit, and Q them at the very last second possible. Target the minion taking the most damage from your wave.
At around 150 stacks, you win into almost any matchup in this lane, so long as your opponent isn’t fed. Continue focussing on farming, but if your enemy engages don’t be afraid to give it back to them. At this point, slow push the wave up to tower, and use your Demolish to poke out plates for extra gold.
Your ability max order is Q > W > E.
You should have enough stacks by the time plating falls to one-shot caster minions with your Q. This is incredibly helpful, as you can quickly clear out casters to slow push reliably. Clear all through casters with your q, and then last hit the melee minions. This will slowly build a giant wave, allowing you to crash into towers with incredible force.
The game from here on is self-explanatory. Nasus is a ramping champion, the more stacks you have the easier it is to get more. Continue to split push, using TP to help your team, but remember your stacks — By the time you hit 400, you thrash any and all enemies who get into your range. At 500, you win the game.
That’s our Nasus guide! While this build might not be the most optimal, it’s designed to get your Q out as fast as possible. While it’s got a few flaws, it does what it promises. If you last hit well and choose your fights wisely, you’ll quickly find yourself stacked beyond belief.
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