Nunu & Willump

Playstyle Profile

Nunu & Willump is an initiator — excels at engaging grouped enemies with impactful openings

Teamfight Role

Vanguard Initiator

Power Spike

Mid game

Split Threat

None

Backline Access

Low

Nunu & Willump's Strengths

• Starts fights on your terms — Nunu & Willump's engage forces enemies to react, giving your team the initiative

How to Play Nunu & Willump

Champion-specific pre-match tips

Gameplay tips on Summoner's Rift

Lane Phase

Hold your Q during early trades until your health drops below half to trigger the amplified healing effect.

Lane Phase

Start channeling W deep out of vision before moving into a skirmish to build maximum speed and knockup radius.

Lane Phase

Cast E volleys to slow and root your target, then immediately tap W at point-blank range for an unavoidable knockup.

Mid Game

Target epic monsters with Q the exact moment their health enters your damage threshold to instantly secure the objective.

Mid Game

Channel your ult completely inside an unwarded brush as enemies approach to hide the visual warning and trap them in the maximum slow.

Mid Game

Release W early to let the snowball roll forward on its own when an enemy uses a dash to dodge your direct path.

Late Game

Flank with W from the side or behind during major objective dances to disrupt the enemy backline and force their carries to scatter.

Late Game

Stand next to your primary carry and cast E to root diving threats before channeling your ult to zone off the enemy follow-up.

Late Game

Wait until the enemy team spends their hard crowd control spells before channeling your ult in the middle of a teamfight to guarantee the maximum damage burst.

For matchup-tailored tips, download Baron Buff's AI Coach & Companion App.

Gameplay tips in Arena

• Roll W from fog or behind terrain, release before a sharp turn risks the miss, then Q a plant or summon for sustain. Channel R only after control is spent or inside brush.
• Build Liandry's Torment, Spirit Visage, Thornmail, and Night Harvester. Mix health and AP so Snowball creates pressure without making the first miss fatal.
• Prioritize Goliath, Goredrink, Can't Touch This, and Big Brain. Durability and protected channels make the engage repeatable.

Nunu & Willump Build

This might not be your familiar build. We look at ranked games after each item was bought. If the player or team gained ground in gold, we rate that item higher.

Core

• Liandry's Torment
• Sorcerer's Shoes (Boots)
• Dead Man's Plate

Situational

• Spirit Visage
• Thornmail
• Rabadon's Deathcap
• Void Staff

Nunu & Willump Runes

The most popular rune page and summoner spells for Nunu & Willump in ranked games over the last 30 days.

Domination + Sorcery · 48.6% WR · 5,767 games

• Dark Harvest
• Cheap Shot
• Grisly Mementos
• Relentless Hunter
• Waterwalking
• Celerity
• Adaptive Force
• Adaptive Force
• Health Scaling

Summoner spells

Flash, Smite

Nunu & Willump Skill Order

The recommended skill order for Nunu & Willump from ranked games over the last 90 days: the first three skill points, then the order to max abilities.

1. lvl 1: Q
2. lvl 2: W
3. lvl 3: E
4. max: Q
5. max: E
6. max: W

How to Counter Nunu & Willump

Counter strategies and draft context

build percent-health damage, kite effectively, or bypass them entirely to reach carries

• Weak to disengage and spread comps — Nunu & Willump's engage loses value when enemies aren't grouped
• Split-push threats that avoid 5v5 team fights entirely
• Compositions with strong disengage to negate engage windows
• Picks that bypass the frontline to reach backline carries directly

Nunu & Willump's Weaknesses

Heavy disengage compositions push Nunu & Willump's engages off before the team can follow up.

Best Synergies with Nunu & Willump

Team synergies and draft context

Burst mages and long-range ADCs turn Nunu & Willump's engage into kills. Assassins flank while you hold the enemy's attention at the front. Follow-up damage dealers capitalize on your engage and crowd control. AOE mages combine with your crowd control for wombo combos.

Draft Context

• Pairs another engage champion with no follow-up damage to capitalize on Nunu & Willump's initiation

Learning Curve

Based on 1.2M+ matches across all ranked elos, showing how Nunu & Willump's win rate changes with mastery level

Nunu & Willump has exceptional depth — there is always something new to learn, and the learning curve is among the steepest in the game. Expect a long stretch of low win rates before meaningful improvement — mastering this champion demands serious commitment.

Skill Cap

Very High

Cost of Learning

Extremely High