Matchup

Heavy CCStrong engageCountered by spell shieldVery tanky

You are stronger early — look to snowball before your opponent scales.

Build vs Nautilus

Build adapted to this matchup

Starting items

Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion

Core build

Eclipse
1DPS
Sundered Sky
2Bruiser
Black Cleaver
3vs Tank

Standard

Boots of Swiftness
4vs Slow
Death's Dance
5vs AD

Summoner spells

411100%

Anti AD

Plated Steelcaps
4vs AD
Death's Dance
5vs AD
Guardian Angel
vs AD

Anti AP

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC
Maw of Malmortius
5vs AP

Anti Tank

Profane Hydra
5vs Tank
Hubris
vs Tank
Youmuu's Ghostblade
vs Tank

Other options

Sterak's Gage
Survival
100.0% WR8 games
PrecisionPrecision
ConquerorConqueror
TriumphTriumph
Legend: AlacrityLegend: Alacrity
Coup de GraceCoup de Grace
InspirationInspiration
Magical FootwearMagical Footwear
Cosmic InsightCosmic Insight
Attack SpeedAdaptive ForceHealth Scaling

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Early (0-15)
Mid (15-30)
Late (30+)
LeeSinLee Sin
NautilusNautilus
Aggressive
Careful
Careful

Nautilus's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Staggering Blow (P)

Nautilus' first Attack against a target deals increased physical damage and roots them briefly.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
314s12s7s
612s12s7s2m
910s12s7s2m
1110s12s7s1m40
1610s12s6s1m20
1810s12s5s1m20

Playing against Nautilus

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

1

His Q hook can hit terrain (he pulls himself to the wall): minions do NOT block it, unlike Blitz/Thresh.

2

Respect his level 2: Q + passive root is one of the best support engages at level 2.

3

His R is point-and-click: you can't dodge it, but you can Zhonya's or position so it doesn't knock up your allies along the way.

4

Nautilus is slow without his Q — kite him after he uses his hook.

Source: op.gg + LTL Engine · Patch 16.9.1 · May 9, 2026