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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Nautilus Support Build, Runes and Counters · Patch 26.20

the Titan of the Depths

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (10,039 games).

Nautilus, the Titan of the Depths, roots the first target of each of his attacks through Staggering Blow, and Depth Charge chases one opponent, knocking up everything on its path. Aftershock was all but universal for counted Master+ Nautilus players, whose two leading paths open on Locket of the Iron Solari. Rell, Swain and Thresh were the hardest lanes for him. He came out on top against Morgana and Tahm Kench.

TankSupport

Patch 26.18 · Support · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 10,039 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Support)

BTier
Win Rate
49.4%
Pick Rate
15.3%
Ban Rate
10.5%

10,039

Games

Very High

Confidence

Most common path

192 games

57.8%Win Rate

Start
FlashHeal

Highest win rate path

179 games

60.3%Win Rate

Start
FlashHeal

Other first item

55 games

43.6%Win Rate

Start
FlashIgnite

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 22.5% of games·48.1% win rate over 2,260 games.

Primary

Resolve

Aftershock

After immobilizing an enemy champion gain defenses and later deal a burst of magic damage around you.

Shield Bash

Whenever you gain a shield, your next basic attack against a champion deals bonus adaptive damage.

Bone Plating

After taking damage from an enemy champion, the next 3 spells or attacks you receive from them deal 30-60 (based on level) less damage. Duration: 1.5s Cooldown: 55s

Unflinching

Gain Armor and Magic Resist when receiving crowd control.

Secondary

Inspiration

Cosmic Insight

+18 Summoner Spell Haste+10 Item Haste

Hextech Flashtraption

While Flash is on cooldown it is replaced by Hexflash. Hexflash: Channel, then blink to a new location.

Shards

  • Attack Speed
  • Move Speed
  • Health

Other keystones taken

  • Glacial Augment6.0% taken · 50.4% win605 games
  • Electrocute1.1% taken · 47.8% win115 games
  • Unsealed Spellbook0.5% taken · 47.1% win51 games

Tree pairs

  • Resolve + Inspiration81.6% taken · 49.7% win8,188 games
  • Inspiration + Resolve6.1% taken · 50.1% win613 games
  • Resolve + Precision5.6% taken · 44.7% win564 games

Skill Order

Which ability to max first, and the level each point goes in — Nautilus's most common path.

Q

Dredge Line

Nautilus hurls his anchor forward.

Cooldown 14/13/12/11/10s · 60 Mana
W

Titan's Wrath

Nautilus gains a temporary Shield.

Cooldown 12s · 60 Mana
E

Riptide

Nautilus creates three exploding waves around himself.

Cooldown 7/6.5/6/5.5/5s · 50/60/70/80/90 Mana
R

Depth Charge

Nautilus fires a shockwave into the earth that chases an opponent.

Cooldown 120/100/80s · 100 Mana

Max Order

QWE

Max Q first, then W, then E. Take R whenever available (6 / 11 / 16).

Level-up Order

  • Q
  • W
  • E
  • R
Ability123456789101112131415161718
QDredge LineQQQQQ
WTitan's WrathWWWWW
ERiptideEEEEE
RDepth ChargeRRR

Matchup map (Support)

How Nautilus performs against enemy support laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Nautilus's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard

Conditional build matrix

Recommended items by enemy team composition

Master+ · Patch 26.18
Mythic / CoreFirst major item
Core 2Second item
Core 3Third item
BootsBoot slot
SituationalPick as needed

Scaling — minute 10–30

NautilusSupport average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Nautilus

  • Build percentage damage — flat penetration falls off against the stats it stacks

  • Track the roam — it is strongest where the enemy jungler already is

  • Punish the cooldown — Nautilus is exposed while its rotation is down

  • Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one

  • Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 6/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

  • P

    Staggering Blow

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

    Passive — never cast

  • Q

    Dredge Line

    Nautilus hurls his anchor forward. Colliding with an enemy pulls them and Nautilus together, dealing magic damage. Colliding with terrain pulls Nautilus towards it.

    Cost 60 ManaCooldown 14/13/12/11/10sRange 1150

  • W

    Titan's Wrath

    Nautilus gains a temporary Shield. While it persists, his Attacks deal damage over time to his target and surrounding enemies.

    Cost 60 ManaCooldown 12sRange 350

  • E

    Riptide

    Nautilus creates three exploding waves around himself. Each explosion damages and slows enemies.

    Cost 50/60/70/80/90 ManaCooldown 7/6.5/6/5.5/5sRange 600

  • R

    Depth Charge

    Nautilus fires a shockwave into the earth that chases an opponent. This shockwave rips up the earth above it, knocking enemies into the air. When it reaches the opponent, the shockwave erupts, knocking his target into the air and stunning them.

    Cost 100 ManaCooldown 120/100/80sRange 825

Nautilus balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Nautilus in 3 patches. The latest is patch 26.18, published 2026-09-09.

  1. Patch 26.182026-09-09

    Base Stats

    • Attack Damage61 + 3.3/Levelto58 + 3.3/Level

    QDredge Line

    • Damage85 / 130 / 175 / 220 / 265 (+90% AP)to85 / 125 / 165 / 205 / 245 (+90% AP)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Nautilus has been sitting near the top of the meta for the entire year, even before our work to bring other tank supports up in power, and we feel nerfing him will open up room for a more variety. That said, we know a lot of his value is in being able to lock down champions effectively, and that'll remain a core strength.

  2. Patch 25.162025-08-12

    ERiptide

    • Monster Damage Modifier150%toThe first hit of E will deal 125/165/205/245/285 (+ 50% AP) bonus damage to monsters
    Why, in Riot's words

    We’re buffing Nautilus jungle with the hope of making him a viable tank jungler like he was in times of old. We’re changing his monster-specific damage to make him less reliant on optimizing Riptide’s multi-hits, which should also make him more approachable for those just trying him out and not requiring as much optimization, while still making it beneficial to maximize repeated hits for those that have practiced his clear.

  3. Patch 25.042025-02-19

    QDredge Line

    • Damage70/115/160/205/250 (+90% AP)to85/130/175/220/265 (+90% AP)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Nautilus' power levels are currently sinking, especially in solo queue, so we're looking to give him back a little power in his Q to make him a bit more of a kill threat early game so he can get those early takedowns and ride that wave to a win.

Nautilus skins (12)

Riot's data lists 12 looks for Nautilus with their own art, the base skin included and 34 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateA
Win Rate
51.1%
▲ 0.0%
Pick Rate
6.5%
▼ 0.6%
Ban Rate
3.1%
▲ 3.5%
Damage dealt
101.2%
Damage taken
106.8%
Healing
108.5%
Shielding
91.8%
Ability Haste
+10

Best ARAM build

Patch timeline

Riot’s notes

This champion’s win rate on each patch the preview sample spans, over its own games there. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

  1. 26.1949.4% over 2,696 games+0.7
  2. 26.1848.3% over 5,404 games-2.4
  3. 26.1752.6% over 1,889 games—

Nautilus's base stats against all 173 champions

  • Nautilus's base armor of 39 is the 6th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 2 others).
  • Nautilus's base attack speed of 0.706 is the 8th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
StatNautilusRankMedian
Base health646=36th620
Health per level100=117th104
Base armor39=6th30
Armor per level4.95=32nd4.6
Base magic resist32=32nd32
Magic resist per level2.05=4th1.55
Base attack damage58=95th59
Base attack speed0.7068th0.656
Attack speed per level1%=166th2.5%
Move speed325=154th335
Attack range175=87th175

Nautilus at level 1 and level 18

  • Nautilus reaches 2346 health at level 18 — 646 at level 1 plus 17 × 100, the 64th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Nautilus reaches 1199 mana at level 18 — 400 at level 1 plus 17 × 47, the 44th-highest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
  • Nautilus reaches 123.15 armor at level 18 — 39 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.95, the 12th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
  • Nautilus reaches 66.85 magic resist at level 18 — 32 at level 1 plus 17 × 2.05, the 5th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 69.
StatLevel 1Per levelLevel 18Rank at 18
Health646+1002346110th of 173
Mana400+471199=44th of 145
Armor39+4.95123.1512th of 173
Magic resist32+2.0566.85=5th of 173

Riot Data Dragon 16.20.1. Growth curve: League of Legends Wiki — Champion statistic.

Riot's tips for Nautilus

Playing Nautilus

  • While ganking, consider aiming Dredge Line at nearby terrain and following it up with Riptide for a higher hit rate.
  • Riptide has a delayed blast timing on activation - you can use this while running away or when enemies are incoming to serve as a deterrent.

Playing against Nautilus

  • If Nautilus uses Riptide right next to you, hold in place until the ripple effect finishes before running. Running early will run straight into the secondary explosions, causing you to take additional damage and slow.
  • While Nautilus is shielded, he is capable of dealing large amounts of area of effect damage with his basic attacks - consider taking down the shield if you have time.

Quick answers about Nautilus

How does Nautilus do against Rell?
Nautilus won 40.6% of 640 counted Master+ games against Rell. Rell is one of the opponents that beat Nautilus.
How does Nautilus do against Swain?
Nautilus won 37.7% of 69 counted Master+ games against Swain. Swain is one of the opponents that beat Nautilus. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Nautilus do against Thresh?
Nautilus won 46.4% of 563 counted Master+ games against Thresh. Thresh is one of the opponents that beat Nautilus.
How does Nautilus do against Blitzcrank?
Nautilus won 45.1% of 275 counted Master+ games against Blitzcrank. Blitzcrank is one of the opponents that beat Nautilus.
How does Nautilus do against Morgana?
Nautilus won 58.0% of 81 counted Master+ games against Morgana. It is a matchup Nautilus wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Nautilus do against Tahm Kench?
Nautilus won 57.9% of 38 counted Master+ games against Tahm Kench. It is a matchup Nautilus wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Nautilus do against Karma?
Nautilus won 52.1% of 484 counted Master+ games against Karma. It is close to even.
How does Nautilus do against Leona?
Nautilus won 48.4% of 469 counted Master+ games against Leona. It is close to even.
What class is Nautilus?
Riot classes Nautilus as Tank and Support. This site files the champion under Support.
How hard is Nautilus to play?
Riot rates Nautilus's difficulty 6 out of 10.
What resource does Nautilus use?
Nautilus's abilities spend Mana.
What is Nautilus's attack range?
175 units — the 60th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 27 others).
What are Nautilus's abilities?
Passive — Staggering Blow, Q — Dredge Line, W — Titan's Wrath, E — Riptide and R — Depth Charge.
How many skins does Nautilus have?
Riot's data lists 12 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 34 chroma variants.
How much health does Nautilus have at level 18?
2346 — 646 at level 1 plus 17 × 100 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Nautilus's ultimate cooldown?
Depth Charge (R): 120/100/80 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Nautilus?
Patch 26.18, published 9 September 2026 — the latest of 3 patches that change Nautilus in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Nautilus at a glance

Nautilus, the Titan of the Depths, is a Tank and Support champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 6/10 for difficulty, 4/10 for attack, 6/10 for defense and 6/10 for magic. Nautilus spends Mana and has 12 skins with their own art. Nautilus's base armor of 39 is the 6th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 2 others). Nautilus's base attack speed of 0.706 is the 8th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.

Attack4/10
Defense6/10
Magic6/10
Difficulty6/10

Nautilus's story

A lonely legend as old as the first piers sunk in Bilgewater, the armored goliath known as Nautilus roams the dark waters off the coast of the Blue Flame Isles. Driven by a forgotten betrayal, he strikes without warning, swinging his enormous anchor to save the wretched, and drag the greedy to their doom. It is said he comes for those who forget to pay the “Bilgewater tithe”, pulling them down beneath the waves with him—an iron-clad reminder that none can escape the depths.
— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

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Methodology

Data window
Preview sample — a one-time snapshot of 65,406 ranked games (Master+, EUW/KR/NA, patch 26.18), counted by GamGem while our Riot production key is under review. Figures will update daily once it is approved. Counted 26–27 Sept 2026; patches 26.18 (35,477) · 26.19 (18,580) · 26.17 (11,048) · 26.16 (293) · 26.15 (8); by server EUW 22,382 · KR 21,922 · NA 21,065 · EUNE 20 · TR 17. 642 games without a result — remakes ended by vote in their first minutes, and games recorded with no winner — were not counted.
Rank aggregation
Master, Grandmaster and Challenger, pooled — the three ladders the count read its players from. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment
A champion is filed under every lane that holds at least a tenth of its counted games — the position the match itself reports, not the champion’s class. Its headline win rate is across all of them; each lane’s own win rate and games are counted too, and a lane’s tier list ranks by them.
Counters
The two champions in the same position on opposite teams, over that pairing’s own counted games — ranked on the edge pulled toward zero by its sample size, printed raw.
Minimum sample
None — no figure is hidden for being thin. Every rate prints its games, and the confidence band is its 95% margin: Very High within ±1.5 points, High ±2.5, Moderate ±3.1 (1,000 games), Low wider.
Why a build is not a cause
An item is counted when the match ENDS with it, so late items show long games and an item bought when already ahead shows games that were being won. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying the item caused the win.
Where the numbers come from
Names, classes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates, builds, keystones, spells and matchups are counted by GamGem from Riot's ranked match records. An estimate, not a count: this panel is not in the preview sample, and is labelled so.

Nautilus on video

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 14 February 2012.

14 years old. League of Legends has been patched since, so watch it for how the kit plays, not for numbers — the rest of this page is written for the current patch.

It plays in YouTube’s own player once you press play. Nothing is downloaded or re-hosted here, and nothing loads from YouTube until then.