[5.0] Nunu & Willump Guide - The Boy and His Yeti - Nunu and Willump Guide
The Boy and His Yeti - Nunu and Willump Guide
Pros
- The best ganking potential in the game (He can do it at level 2)
- Good clear speed (2 smites, which also means it's impossible for enemies to steal your camps)
- Amazing objective control
- A better Rammus (Lots of CC)
- Huge amount of damage
- Very tanky
Cons
- Team-reliant
- Ultimate can be easily disrupted
- Poor AR/MR scaling
- Weak when behind
- No late game damage
- Poor brawler
Nunu & Willump Build
Best Build Guide for Nunu & Willump
Item Build Description
Additional information on the items
Starting items:
- [shimmering spark] is a must for every tank jungler like Nunu & Willump . It gives HP and has the immolate passive which allows you to clear jungle camps faster. Eventually, you will upgrade this item into Bami's Cinder .
Core items:
- After buying Bami's Cinder , you have 2 choices to pick: Sunfire Aegis and Searing Crown . Both items are great for clearing camps. However, Searing Crown is clearly better for tank junglers than Sunfire Aegis . It gives HP and armor and it's immolate passive deals more damage against jungle camps (150% damage against jungle camps vs Sunfire Aegis which is 130%). Sunfire Aegis 's immolate passive is made for solo laners because it deals more damage against minions.
- Depending on the enemy team's composition, you might want to build Spirit Visage first. It gives HP, magic resist, and ability haste. It's passive increases your healing and shielding, improving your overall survivability. It's also useful if you're support is a shielder or a healer.
- Otherwise, you should build Dead Man's Plate . It gives HP and armor plus the bonus movement speed. It's passive allows you to move around the map much faster which can be useful when you're using Nunu & Willump 's second skill.
Other items:
- Amaranth Twinguard is a must for tanks regardless of team composition. It gives armor and magic resist. Not only that, once the passive is active, it increases your armor, magic resist, and tenacity even further. You'll need this since tanks you are going to be taking damage and sustaining at the same time.
- Mantle of the Twelfth Hour is basically a tank version of Sterak's Gage . It gives HP, armor and magic resist. Just like Sterak's Gage , it also has a lifeline passive. It's passive heals you once you drop below 35% and boosts your movement speed. It also gives 50% slow resistance.
- Thornmail is a must if the enemy team has a ton of sustain/healing. Out of all armor items, this item gives you 75 amor which is a lot.
- Randuin's Omen and Frozen Heart are very situational. If you are up against a crit-heavy team, Randuin's Omen is the perfect choice as it reduces crit damage taken. Otherwise, if you are fighting against attack speed teams, you should go for Frozen Heart instead. Unlike Randuin's Omen , Frozen Heart 's passive is more flexible as it also works against AP attackers. This item gives 80 armor which is the highest in the game, and it also gives mana and ability haste.
- Crystalline Reflector is perfect if you are building him as a damage dealer. It gives AP, armor and ability haste. Its passive reflects damage back to the enemies.
- Force of Nature is another great magic resist item. Recently this item got buffed. It now gives 25% magic damage reduction + the magic resist stacking it already has. You should build this after Spirit Visage .
- Zeke's Convergence gives armor, magic resist, mana and ability haste. You can easily proc its bur passive with your ultimate.
- [warmorg's armor] is another great item for Nunu & Willump . It gives HP, bonus HP regen, and ability haste. It's passive is very useful because it helps regenerate your HP out of combat. Not only that, this item gives 700 HP which is a lot. Nunu & Willump needs a lot of HP.
Boots & Enchants:
- Plated Steelcaps and Mercury's Treads are the only great boot options. Against AP heavy or CC heavy team comps, Mercury's Treads is a must. Otherwise, if you are playing against AD heavy or auto-attack based team comps, buy Plated Steelcaps instead.
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity is an alternative boot option if you are building him as a damage dealer as it gives you ability haste. However, you miss out on the damage reduction from Plated Steelcaps or the tenacity from Mercury's Treads .
- Gargoyle Enchant is the best enchant for Nunu & Willump . You can utilize its shield along with the shield you get from your ultimate.
- Glorious Enchant is great for chasing or running away from enemies.
- [stasis enchant] is best used when you are up against burst heavy team comps.
Nunu & Willump Runes
Best Runes for Nunu & Willump
These are the best for Nunu & Willump . Phase Rush is good since you can just easily proc this with basic attacks. This rune will also allow you to run away if you fail a gank/combo. Hunter Vampirism will give you magic vamp and extra AP, which is useful since [nunu & willump:1] healing also scales with AP. Nunu & Willump is vulnerable to CC so Hunter Titan is a good choice. Mastermind makes sure you have the most gold when doing objectives. [smite] with Mastermind + [nunu & willump:1] deals 1980 true damage to monsters in late game, meaning it's impossible to get your baron/dragons stolen unless you mess it up.
This is an alternative rune set for Nunu & Willump if you're playing against a hard matchup like Kha'Zix , Wukong , Jax or Vi . Aftershock increases your resistances if you manage to CC someone. Brutal provides early game damage and Bone Plating prevents you from being bursted down easily.
Full AP Midlane. Use this if you want to build AP and troll both your team
Skill Order
How to distribute skill points
Summoner Spells
When to take which summoners
Combos
Learn how to maximize the champions potential
Basic level 6 combo as Nunu. You roll up your snowball with Biggest Snowball Ever! and find the nearest target you can knock up. After knocking the enemies up, use Snowball Barrage to freeze them for extra CC then use Absolute Zero immediately. To deal the most damage, make sure you charge it up 50% through, or fully charge it if they have no [flash]. If the enemies are still alive, use [nunu & willump:1] to deal magic damage and heal off lost HP.
Use this combo when you're being chased at by an enemy and you're low health. Snowball Barrage can freeze enemies if they're close enough and Consume has larger heals if you're below 50% HP.
This combo is used to secure an objective like dragon or baron. Make sure to time it right though. In late game, Consume + [smite] with Mastermind rune deals 1980 true damage in total. You can also use this to bait enemies into thinking they can burst you down, then suddenly you [smite] + consume a krug and you're back to 80% HP all of a sudden.
Nunu & Willump Matchups & Counters
Detailed information on how to play matchups and counters
Nunu & Willump is a better version of Rammus in every single way. The problem with Rammus is that he counters AD heavy comps and that's it. He's not that good when matched up against AP team comps. Nunu & Willump should not struggle fighting him.
Synergies
Yasuo
. Snowball +
Last Breath
combo is devastating especially if your snowball knocks up multiple people at once.
Blitzcrank
,
Thresh
,
Leona
and
Alistar
. Any engage and CC heavy support has good synergy with
Nunu & Willump
. The CC allows him to hit snowballs easier.
Rakan
. Same reasons except his CC is much more effective.
Camille
. Her ult prevents anyone from flashing away, making it easier to hit snowballs.
Renekton
. Point-and-click CC. If timed correctly with your snowball, it's a guaranteed kill for him.
Riven
. Has a stun and a knockup. Good burst damage as well.
ADCs like
Xayah
and
Ashe
are good too since they have built-in CC in their kits.
Early Game
Early game is where Nunu & Willump are at their strongest. This is an opportunity for him to set up a win. Your main goal is to farm till level 2-3 and gank lanes repeatedly. Taking kills is fine, but in higher ranks, it's better to give it to your teammates. First, start with a jungle path that allows you to clear your camps efficiently. Nunu & Willump's Q ability, Consume, helps you sustain in the jungle. Prioritize securing Scuttle Crabs due to Nunu & Willump's strong objective control. Coordinate with your laners to gain vision and contest them. Use your W ability, Biggest Snowball Ever!, creatively to gank lanes. It provides you with a long-range engage tool, which can catch enemies off guard. Help your laners by providing vision and tracking the enemy jungler. Communicate with your team with pings so they can play more aggressively while you keep tabs on the opposing jungler. Look for opportunities to invade the enemy jungle and steal their camps if you have knowledge of their whereabouts.
Mid Game
Continue securing objectives like dragons and Rift Herald. With Nunu & Willump's Q and Smite combo, you have great secure potential. Utilize Nunu & Willump's ultimate, Absolute Zero, during team fights. It deals significant damage and slows enemies, allowing your team to follow up and secure kills. Focus on controlling vision around important objectives and maintaining map pressure. This enables your team to make informed decisions and catch out-of-position enemies. Support your team by peeling for your carries using your E ability, Snowball Barrage. Use it to slow down enemies or interrupt their engages. Consider building tanky items to enhance your survivability and frontline presence. Items like Sunfire Aegis, Thornmail, or Spirit Visage can be effective choices.
Late Game
Nunu & Willump falls off, but he can still be useful. Your main role in team fights is to initiate and disrupt the enemy team. Look for opportunities to engage with your W or flank the backline with your E. Continue to secure neutral objectives like Baron Nashor and Elder Dragon. These can be game-changing buffs for your team. Stick with your team and utilize Nunu & Willump's powerful zoning potential. Your ultimate can force enemies to reposition or disengage, creating opportunities for your team. Maintain vision control around key areas to catch out enemies or set up ambushes. Sweeping and placing wards strategically becomes crucial in the late game. Coordinate with your team to execute well-timed engages. Nunu & Willump excels at engaging, but follow-up from your teammates is essential to secure kills and objectives.