Support · Support

Nautilus Wild Rift Guide

Nautilus is a tank support in Wild Rift, an abyss titan specializing in the longest CC chain in the game through his anchor, passives, and ultimate.

★ Support Tier S+ July 2026 · Patch 7.2a tanksupportengage

DMG

UTIL

TANK

DIFF

Win 46.8% #52 · ↓1pt

Pick 5.1% #13

Ban 0.6% #43

§ 01 — Editorial brief

Nautilus remains one of the most reliable engage supports in soloQ this patch.

By WRC Studio ~ 2 min read Patch 7.2a

Nautilus is a tank support in Wild Rift, an abyss titan specializing in the longest CC chain in the game through his anchor, passives, and ultimate. His kit chains an anchor hook, a passive stun on every hit, an AoE slow, and a Depth Charge targeting a specific enemy for an infallible ultimate CC. He excels in burst compositions seeking to lock a target down long enough for allies to eliminate it. In Wild Rift, his anchor is one of the most feared hooks in the game during lane phase, creating permanent defensive pressure on enemy carries.

Nautilus excels in burst compositions that leverage his long CC chain to eliminate locked targets. He benefits from allies who can convert his immobilizes into immediate kills. Multi-engage or dive compositions get the maximum from his lockdown capability.

Nautilus loses effectiveness against disengage compositions that repel his anchors and maintain distance. Champions with cleanse or dashes short-circuit his CC chains. Poke compositions that keep him at bay reduce his engage capability.

With Nautilus, prioritize anchor precision over frequency — a missed anchor in combat is a lost window. Chain Q → AA → E → R to maximize total CC duration on a target. In teamfights, target the enemy carry rather than the frontline to maximize impact.

Expert note

Expert take

Nautilus isn’t just an engage support, he’s a decision-making tool. His value fully depends on his ability to read the map, cooldowns, and positioning. When played correctly, he turns the game into a series of clean picks and fights won before they even begin. When misused, he becomes an isolated initiator with no impact. He suits players who can slow down their decisions instead of forcing plays.

Weak point

Hidden weakness

Nautilus’ real weakness isn’t mobility but his reliance on a successful entry. Once his combo is used, he becomes a relatively static target with little offensive threat. If the team doesn’t follow up immediately or the target survives the initial burst, his value drops significantly. This dependency makes every engage decision critical.

§ 02 — Strengths & weaknesses Nautilus Wild Rift strengths and weaknesses

↑ Strengths

Extremely reliable engage even without perfect coordination.
Targeted ultimate that guarantees access to enemy carries.
Very strong around objectives due to tight terrain.
Natural synergy with high follow-up ADCs.

↓ Weaknesses

If your team lacks damage to follow up.
Against heavy disengage and shielding compositions.
If your team cannot maintain vision control.
In full poke drafts with no one to follow engages.

Win Rate (30d) 46.78%-4.08 pts

Pick Rate 5.08%

Ban Rate 0.60%

Nautilus's win rate has dropped -4.08 pts over the last 30 days, now at 46.78%. See the full Wild Rift meta trends for more biggest movers.

§ 03 — Game planNautilus Wild Rift game plan: early, mid and late game

I Early

Control the wave/vision, look for short all-in…

Niv. 1 → 6

Control the wave/vision, look for short all-in windows on stills.

II Mid

Aggressive vision and picks from the fog; turn…

Niv. 7 → 11

Aggressive vision and picks from the fog; turn every catch into a goal.

III Late

Decide whether to engage (R on backline) or peel…

Niv. 12+

Decide whether to engage (R on backline) or peel (R on assassin). Hold the frontline and block access to your carrys.

§ 02 — Strengths & weaknesses Nautilus Tank engage jungler Wild Rift strengths and weaknesses

↑ Strengths

Very telegraphed but hard-to-dodge ganks when he comes from fog with hook plus rooting basic attack.
Strong objective setup: he can start Herald or Dragon and punish the enemy entrance with ultimate on the carry or opposing jungler.
Excellent front-to-back for immobile carries that need a frontline and anti-dive tool.

↓ Weaknesses

Slower clear than carry junglers: a well-timed invade on his second camp or second buff can break his first cycle.
Heavily depends on lanes to finish targets after the CC; alone, he often burns Flash without converting.
When hook misses before an objective, the team loses much of its engage threat during the cooldown window.

§ 03 — Game planNautilus Wild Rift game plan: early, mid and late game

I Early

Full clear prudent → gank lanes without dash

Niv. 1 → 6

Full clear prudent → gank lanes without dash. Don't force 1v1 vs duelists.

II Mid

Setup of vision, engage at depth with R→Q to…

Niv. 7 → 11

Setup of vision, engage at depth with R→Q to launch the fight.

III Late

Front-to-back zone; engage on carry without…

Niv. 12+

Front-to-back zone; engage on carry without cleanse, otherwise peel your win condition.

§ 05 — Recommended buildBest Nautilus Wild Rift build for the current patch

Core

Sunfire Aegis

Thornmail

Amaranth's Twinguard

Boots

Plated Steelcaps

Mercury's Treads

§ 07b — Advanced MechanicsNautilus: combos & tips Wild Rift

Flash-first combo

Flash

3 AA

5 AA

8 AA

Use Flash to close an unexpected gap, guaranteed hook, then a point-and-click ultimate for total lockdown

Ultimate-first combo

Flash

4 AA

7 AA

Useful when the target is out of hook range; Flash closes the gap after the ultimate has been cast

Riptide engage combo

Flash

3 AA

6 AA

8 AA

Less common, useful for applying the area-of-effect slow first

Mechanical Tips

Staggering Blow (Passive): Triggers the passive root on every enemy hit (cooldown per target). Always auto-attack between skills to maximise chained CC
Titan’s Wrath = auto-attack reset: the 2 key acts as an auto-attack animation cancel, reducing the delay between hits — activate just before the next auto-attack
Dredge Line on terrain: if the hook hits a wall, 50% of the cooldown and mana are refunded — use against walls to escape or reduce the cooldown in combat
Depth Charge (Ult): a point-and-click ability that cannot be dodged except by Stasis or Spell Shield — always available to guarantee lockdown even on moving targets

Common Mistakes

Hook blocked by minions: the wave of minions absorbs the Dredge Line — position yourself so there are no minions in front of the target, or make use of the terrain
Ult wasted on targets already under CC: the Depth Charge travels beneath allies — use it early on isolated targets rather than as a finisher when the target might die before impact
Forgetting to trigger the passive: between each ability, always intersperse an auto-attack to activate Staggering Blow on adjacent targets
Poor positioning before the hook: move slightly towards your desired position BEFORE casting the hook — the target moves towards Nautilus, not the other way round

Notable Interactions

Works exceptionally well with ADCs that deal burst damage (Jhin, Miss Fortune), who benefit from the prolonged lockdown
Depth Charge passes through allies and can stop several enemies in its path before reaching the main target (knocking up enemies it passes through)
With Locket of the Iron Solari or Knight’s Vow, Titan’s Wrath becomes even more durable in teamfights

Patch 7.2 build — computed

›

Full variants, runes & power spikes →

§ 07 — PreceptsNautilus Wild Rift tips for ranked

Tip · 01

Simple paths up to level 5; give priority to stationary lanes.

Codex

Tip · 02

On objectives, place R on the backline to cross the front and dislocate the enemy formation.

Codex

Data — Stats per levelNautilus Wild Rift base stats per level (1-15)

Movement speed 340Attack range 175Bonus attack speed / lvl +1.2%

Show stats per level

Lvl	HP	AD	Armor	MR	Mana	HP regen	Res. regen
1	720	62	46	38	390	9	12
2	848	66.6	51	40	447	9.7	12.9
3	976	71.1	56	42	504	10.4	13.8
4	1,104	75.7	61	44	561	11	14.7
5	1,232	80.2	66	46	618	11.7	15.6
6	1,360	84.8	71	48	675	12.4	16.5
7	1,488	89.3	76	50	732	13.1	17.4
8	1,616	93.9	81	52	789	13.8	18.3
9	1,744	98.4	86	54	846	14.4	19.2
10	1,872	103	91	56	903	15.1	20.1
11	2,000	107.5	96	58	960	15.8	21
12	2,128	112.1	101	60	1,017	16.5	21.9
13	2,256	116.6	106	62	1,074	17.2	22.8
14	2,384	121.2	111	64	1,131	17.8	23.7
15	2,512	125.7	116	66	1,188	18.5	24.6

Base data : wiki.leagueoflegends.com (CC BY-SA 4.0) · 2026-07-09

§ 05 — Recommended buildBest Nautilus Wild Rift build for the current patch

Nautilus builds around health and resistances to absorb damage while initiating and maintaining CC. Aura items amplify his collective impact. Cooldown reduction allows him to recast his anchor frequently to maintain a threatening presence.

Core

Zeke's Convergence

Protector's Vow

Abyssal Mask

Boots

Plated Steelcaps

Mercury's Treads

See the full build

§ 06 — The matchup wallNautilus Wild Rift counters and synergies

Hard Unfav. Skill Fav. Synergy

Nautilus's point-and-click Dredge Line hook immediately applies Void (Plasma) stacks on the hooked target via his Riptide passive — Kai'Sa's Killer Instinct is available instantly after the hook without needing additional Void Seeker. The full stun (hook) + root (Riptide) + extra CC (Depth Charge ult) sequence lasts long enough for Kai'Sa to enter, deliver her full burst, and exit before the target can react. The most reliable kill duo in botlane as Nautilus's hook is point-and-click: no enemy skillshot can prevent the trigger.

Ideal

Jinx

Nautilus guarantees hooks allowing Jinx to secure the kills needed for her Get Excited passive stacks — each Jinx kill reset enabled by a Nautilus hook exponentially amplifies her snowball potential. Nautilus's Depth Charge travels across the entire enemy line targeting Jinx's chase target, creating global CC that turns every poke into a kill window. Nautilus's implicit protection (passive shield, defensive CC) compensates for Jinx's early fragility before she reaches her first item and neutralizes it.

Strong

Miss Fortune

Dredge Line isolates the enemy carry and Depth Charge can hit multiple targets in the line — Miss Fortune immediately positions Bullet Time in the CC axis, delivering AoE damage on enemies unable to move for the full channel duration. MF's Make It Rain (E) slows targets so Nautilus can easily align his hook, and Love Tap doubles damage on targets isolated by Nautilus's Riptide. Extremely effective AoE combo around Dragon/Baron where tight space forces enemies into Bullet Time's axis.

Strong

Lucian

Nautilus's Dredge Line isolates the target Lucian can dash toward with Relentless Pursuit to align his Piercing Light combo in the optimal axis. Lightslinger two-taps stack on hooked/Riptide enemies so the Nautilus-Lucian combo delivers maximum damage in 1-2 seconds. Particularly strong against enchanter supports (Lulu, Yuumi, Soraka) as Nautilus hooks the carry directly away from the protective support.

See all counters · 4 See all synergies · 4

§ 07 — PreceptsNautilus Wild Rift tips for ranked

Tip · 01

Play the angles: a Q from the fog is worth more than three frontal Qs.

Codex

Tip · 02

Activate W before the impact of your hook to absorb the return damage.

Codex

Tip · 03

After entry, reposition yourself to block opposing skillshots and hold space.

Codex

§ 08 — DialoguesNautilus Wild Rift FAQ

Q.01 When should you engage as Nautilus? +

Engage only when your team is in position to follow instantly. Nautilus doesn’t win fights alone—his role is to create an opening. Wait for key enemy cooldowns and use vision to surprise. A good engage isn’t fast, it’s prepared.

Q.02 Should you engage or peel? +

It depends on the main threat. If an assassin threatens your ADC, keep your control for peel. If your team can burst quickly, engage. Nautilus must adapt rather than follow a fixed plan.

Q.03 Why are my engages failing? +

Usually because they are too predictable or poorly timed. Frontal hooks are easy to dodge and engages without follow-up are useless. Focus on angles and timing rather than raw accuracy.

Q.04 What is Nautilus’ role in teamfights? +

Create the initial point of impact and lock down a key target. After that, he blocks damage and disrupts enemy positioning. He doesn’t aim to deal damage but to control the fight’s tempo.