How to beat Nasus

Common role: Top

A late-game juggernaut who stacks his Q infinitely and becomes unkillable.

What makes Nasus dangerous

Nasus permanently increases his Q damage every time he last-hits with it. Early he is weak, but if left to farm he outscales almost everyone, becoming a tanky bruiser who one-shots with an empowered Q and slows you to a crawl with his W.

How to play against Nasus

• 1Deny his stacks — this is the whole game. Freeze or push the wave, zone him off cannon minions, and have your jungler pressure him so he can't farm freely.
• 2Beat him early. Nasus is one of the weakest laners for the first 6 levels — trade aggressively and build a lead before he comes online.
• 3His W (Wither) cripples your movement and attack speed. Save your dash/flash or buy tenacity to escape it, and don't fight when it's up.
• 4In the late game, kite him — he has no gap-closer. Don't let him W your carry; peel and reposition instead of trading autos with his stacked Q.

Weaknesses to exploit

• ✓Very weak early game before he stacks.
• ✓No mobility or gap-closer — pure kiting target.
• ✓Wither is his only pick tool; bait or cleanse it.
• ✓If you deny stacks, he never comes online.

Abilities & how to counter them

What each of Nasus's abilities does — and how to play around it.

• P
  Mangeur d'âmes

  Nasus draine l'énergie spirituelle de son adversaire et profite d'un bonus de Vol de vie.

• Q
  Buveuse d'âmes

  Nasus frappe son ennemi, infligeant des dégâts et augmentant la puissance des prochaines Buveuses d'âmes s'il tue sa cible.

  Strong: permanently stacks damage on every last-hit — late-game one-shots. Weak: deny stacks by zoning him off minions and he never comes online.

• W
  Flétrissement

  Nasus fait vieillir un champion ennemi et réduit ses vitesses d'attaque et de déplacement sur la durée.

  Strong: Wither cripples your move and attack speed — his only pick tool. Weak: on cooldown he can't stick — save your dash/tenacity for it and don't fight while it's active.

• E
  Esprit enflammé

  Nasus libère un esprit enflammé sur une zone, infligeant des dégâts aux ennemis qui s'y trouvent et réduisant leur armure.

• R
  Fureur des sables

  Nasus libère une puissante tempête de sable. Tant que la tempête fait rage, il a plus de PV, sa portée d'attaque est augmentée, il blesse les ennemis proches, il augmente son armure et sa résistance magique et le délai de récupération de Buveuse d'âmes est réduit.

  Strong: bonus health and Q range make him a late-game monster. Weak: he has no gap-closer — kite him and never trade autos with his stacked Q.

Itemization

Nasus is AD with sustain. Grievous Wounds and armor (Randuin's, Frozen Heart to cut his attack speed and Q spam) are core. Tenacity boots and any slow-resist help you escape his Wither.

This guide covers Nasus's core kit and playstyle — advice that holds up across patches.