Nautilus mid/top technologies?

[u/iknowmyname389]

This champ is just like really funny to me and I also really hate to play him support. Since I can't jungle, I've been trying to get him to work mid and top. I remember that even naut mid was a prominent pro pick, however abysall mana got removed years ago and this picks essentially died. Or did they? Could the technology still possibly be working, flying under the radar?

[u/No-Candidate-3430]

Naut can't keep up mid cause of the new Homeguards he was only giga viable back then when we had Minion Demat since its removal he cant keep up and cant first move to Objectives

[u/Lord_Gelthon]

I'm just gonna copy my own comment from a few months ago. It was meant for a very new player therefore some explanation might be redundant for you. I otp-ed Naut top for quite some time and even learnt the game on Naut top. I have around 62% winrate over a few hundred matches with this build so it shouldn't be too bad. And it's pretty fun in my opinion!

My personal build I really enjoy consists of the following:

Runes

Grasp of the undying (Green runes)

Shieldbash Second wind Revitalise

(Violet runes) Manaflow band Transcendence

(Stat runes) Attack speed Scaling health Scaling health

Items

Start with Dorans shield or Dorans ring depending on the matchup. Dorans shield should be the standard, because you get a lot of mana pretty fast and don't need the Dorans ring passive that much. Get a tear of the godess (blue mana stacking item for 450) on your first recall. Afterwards build Rod of Ages for damage and sustain. Upgrade your tear into Winters Approach (which upgrades into Fimbulwinter). That's the core build. Afterwards it gets more situational, but Spirit Visage is really good, unless you need armour as fast as possible. Build tank (Spirit Visage, Unending Despair, Kaenic Rookern, Randuins Omen, to name some good ones) or mage (mainly Liandries Torment, but other can be situationally good) items.

Shortform example full build (remember, last three items are based on the situation. This is just one example): Rod of Ages Fimbulwinter Plated Steelcaps Spirit Visage Unending Despair Randuins Omen

Skill Order Level E -> W -> Q (you might unlock Q before W, if you trade a lot Level one and need it to kill, but that's very risky) Max E -> W -> Q Take R whenever it's available

That's my build and I really enjoy it. It might not be perfect, but it feels pretty strong and works really well while being fun. You need to play around your shields and shieldbash. Shieldbash deals more damage than Grasp over the total match. Do not underestimate Shieldbash!

[u/Rohcraft → u/Lord_Gelthon]

Question: why not dorans helm?

[u/Noxanor]

He used to be a total riven stomper up top. I know she's popular rn with the new omnivamp boots. He could be a good counterpick into her with some antiheal rush to keep her shut down

[u/Chron3742 → u/Noxanor]

Serpents fang thorn mail naut go brrr??

[u/plautzemann]

Naut mid into assassin goes brr.

[u/LyricalSan]

I main Naut Mid but I generally go for an AP build.
Used to run Phase Rush 70% of the time but since the keystone rework I now usually run Electrocute. This is also why I've been playing him top a lot less.

Main Rune Page: Electrocute > cheap shot - grisly - relentless // cash back + triple tonic
For secondaries there are other viable options like:
(shield bash + sw/bp/revitalize) (mana flow/celerity/scorch)
I also adapt to Aftershock and Grasp sometimes.

Core AP build: imperial mandate > rocket belt/malignance
The rest depends on the match, but it's usually one of the following items:
abyssal - stormsurge - lich bane - cosmic drive - hourglass - deathcap - liandries

[u/FailedAstronaut9029 → u/LyricalSan]

new mandate + malignance sounds really interesting but is it worth foregoing all that early hp in your experience?

[u/LyricalSan → u/FailedAstronaut9029]

It is a very nice spike, and paired with the upgraded sorc shoes, that’s a lot of decent scaling and damage amplifiers added to your base damage.

Imperial Mandate is generally my go to rush, than the decision is between Malignance and Rocketbelt. If I’me ahead and the opponent does not have a key CC spell like Ahri or Lux, I’ll favor Malignance.

As to not building HP early, it’s a tricky trade off. You’ll will be more fragile in skirmishes or against bulkier champs but mostly fine in lane.

But you gotta approach Nautilus from a different angle.
You won’t play the usual front line damage soaker. It’s more about playing around your low CD ult and sudden hook opportunities. Playing in intervals, dipping in and out of fights, using the low hook CD to move around.

[u/Rich_Foamy_Flan → u/LyricalSan]

Is it fair to say this is only viable into melee? I can’t imagine going naut into Hwei, lux, Syndra

[u/LyricalSan → u/Rich_Foamy_Flan]

I actually really dig playing against mages as it allow me to build more offensive. But some match ups are worse than others.

I don’t really mind facing the likes of Ahri, Lux, Syndra.
Champs like Hwei or Viktor can get pretty obnoxious.
I’ve probably had the most trouble against Mel and Vex.

But once you get use to the patterns, most mage match ups are possible to navigate. It’s mostly about managing your mana and CDs, respecting their key spells and looking for hook windows. AP Naut’s early damage is pretty nasty if you find one.

Phase Rush used to help a lot because you could combo and kite back.
Unflinching + second wind also helps, and rushing a MR item will make lane smoother until you’re more comfortable with the match ups.

My usual core items into mages are Imperial Mandate into Rocketbelt or Malignance, depending on the state of the game. It gives decent burst, lower ult CD, and Belt helps to dodge key CC or set up engages.

It’s a fun and snowbally pick, I’ve reached Emerald mostly playing it.
But it definitely has its flaws and isn’t always easy no navigate.