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Nasus combos

the Curator of the Sands

3 Nasus combos explained key by key: in which order to cast the abilities, when to use them and what each step does. The main combo is W › E › Q › AA. Further down: every ability's cooldown, cost and range, and the skill max order measured over ranked games.

Nasus combos

Written guide · based on the official ability texts

The trade

Q AA AA

When: An enemy is within range.

Wither slows the enemy (attack and movement speed), Spirit Fire reduces their armor, Siphoning Strike hits for heavy damage.

The team fight

When: A team fight is underway.

Fury of the Sands gives you more health, attack range, armor and magic resistance and reduces the cooldown of Siphoning Strike: cast it before entering the brawl.

Farming

Q AA AA

When: You want to scale.

Siphoning Strike increases the power of your next strikes if it kills its target: take every minion with it.

Common mistakes

Missing last hits with Siphoning Strike: it is your scaling.
Forgetting Wither on the enemy carry.
Entering a fight without your ultimate.

Cooldowns, costs and ranges

A combo only comes back once its abilities are off cooldown: these values (rank 1 to max rank, in seconds) tell how long to wait between two combos. Source: Data Dragon 16.19.1.

Ability	Cooldown (s)	Cost	Range
Q · Siphoning Strike	7.5/6.5/5.5/4.5/3.5	20 Mana	255
W · Wither	15/14/13/12/11	80 Mana	700
E · Spirit Fire	12	60/70/80/90/100 Mana	650
R · Fury of the Sands	120/100/80	100 Mana	400

Official ability descriptions

PassiveSoul Eater

Nasus drains his foe's spiritual energy, giving him bonus Life Steal.

QSiphoning Strike

Nasus strikes his foe, dealing damage and increasing the power of his future Siphoning Strikes if he slays his target.

WWither

Nasus ages an enemy champion, decelerating their Move Speed and Attack Speed over time.

ESpirit Fire

Nasus unleashes a spirit flame at a location, dealing damage and reducing the Armor of enemies who stand on it.

RFury of the Sands

Nasus unleashes a mighty sandstorm that batters nearby enemies. While the storm rages, he gains increased Health, Attack Range, damages nearby enemies, has a reduced cooldown on Siphoning Strike, and gains bonus Armor and Magic Resistance.

Skill order

Max order: Q > W > E50.0% · 70 games

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Q	●			●	●		●		●
W			●					●		●		●	●
E		●												●	●
R						●					●

The order shows which abilities reach rank 5 first; the grid shows the most-played level-up sequence with that order (measured over 88 games).

Riot's official tips for playing Nasus

Paying attention to last hitting with Siphoning Strike will have a large impact at the end of a game.
If you're solo, Spirit Fire is a great way to farm a lane. It can be bad if you're in a lane with 2 and you push too far. Find the right balance between Siphoning Strike last hits and AoE farming.
If you have low defenses, people will focus you down even during your ultimate. Try buying some survivability items even in your DPS builds.

How to play around Nasus's combos

While transformed by his ultimate, Nasus is stronger than most champions in the League. Engage him only if you have a clear advantage.
Max rank Wither is a very effective counter to Attack Damage characters, so try to avoid getting caught alone by it.
Nasus is prone to being kited. Try not to engage him at full Health.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nasus's main combo?

The trade: W › E › Q › AA. An enemy is within range. Wither slows the enemy (attack and movement speed), Spirit Fire reduces their armor, Siphoning Strike hits for heavy damage.

Which ability should I max first on Nasus?

The most-played max order is Q > W > E (70 games, 50.0% win rate).

What is the cooldown of Nasus's ultimate?

Fury of the Sands has a 120/100/80 second cooldown depending on its rank.

Build, runes and counters: full Nasus guide · every champion's combos · tier list