Home / Jungle / Nunu

League Classic · Season 3 · Nunu

Tank Nunu build & runes

Jungle B · 50

Nunu buildsTank Nunu this buildAP Nunu rank BSupport Nunu rank C

Jungle routeBLUE START

Blue start keeps Consume and Ice Blast spammable — clear toward whichever lane needs the first Blood Boil gank.

Rush Spirit of the Ancient Golem

Full jungle routes guide →

Classic vs modernClassic Nunu predates the 2023 'Nunu & Willump' rework: Consume executes and heals off jungle monsters directly, Blood Boil is a team attack/move-speed buff with a expiring bonus, and the ultimate is a channeled AoE nuke — none of the current snowball-rolling mechanic exists.

Item build path

Starting items level 1 · 475 gold to spend

Cloth Armor + 5

Health Potions475 g

Boots of Speed + 3

Health Potions455 g

Armor start for safe clear and counter-jungling.

First back first recall

Boots +

Glacial Shroud +

Wards

Core build order buy in this order · ~13,680 g full build

Mercury's Treads1,200 g

→

Spirit of the Ancient Golem2,000 g

→

Frozen Heart2,900 g

→

Spirit Visage2,100 g

→

Abyssal Scepter2,650 g

→

Warmog's Armor2,830 g

Situational adapt to the game

Thornmailvs heavy AD carries

Sunfire Capefor HP and waveclear

Banshee's Veilvs AP burst and CC

Randuin's Omenvs crit ADC and attack speed

Skill order & spells

Skill orderE > Q > W > R

SpellsSmite + Flash

Rune page (Season 3)

9× Greater Mark of Magic Penetration+7.8 Magic Pen

9× Greater Seal of Armor+12.7 Armor

9× Greater Glyph of Magic Resist+12.1 Magic Resist

3× Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed+4.5% Move Speed

Best duos & synergies

VayneBlood Boil turns her into a machine gun

TryndamereAS + MS buff on a crit machine

Miss Fortunedouble channel ult wombo

Masteries 9 / 21 / 0

Offense 9

0/1

0/4

4/4

0/2

0/4

4/4

0/1

0/3

0/1

1/1

0/2

0/2

0/3

0/1

0/1

0/3

0/4

0/1

Defense 21

0/1

0/3

4/4

0/2

3/3

3/3

0/1

2/2

0/2

1/1

0/1

1/1

0/3

3/3

1/1

2/3

0/1

0/1

1/1

Utility 0

0/1

0/3

0/3

0/1

0/1

0/3

0/3

0/2

0/4

0/1

0/3

0/1

0/2

0/4

0/3

0/1

0/1

0/3

0/1

Standard Season 3 page — utility tank. Hover any mastery for its name.

Counters & matchups

Who this pick beats and who beats it — pick your lane with the matchup in mind.

✓ Strong against

Master Yiblood boil chases and steals his camps

Warwickwither and smite-duel his objectives

Fiddlesticksconsume interrupts and steals his buffs

Amumublood boil chase and Ice Blast kite outpace him

Skarnersmite duel and Ice Blast steal his objectives

✕ Struggles against

Olafinterrupts Absolute Zero for free

Kassadinsilence cancels your ult channel

Shacoout-paces your objective control early

Lee Sinearly duels and objectives out-tempo you

Evelynnstealth ganks punish your slow clears

Quick tip: Consume-smite makes you the objective king — buff your hyper-carry and perma-slow the frontline.

Key combo

Ice Blast (E) slow → Blood Boil (W) attack-speed buff → autos → Consume (Q) burst/heal → Absolute Zero (R) channel

Power spike & playstyle

Old Nunu spikes at 6 with the channeled Absolute Zero AoE; a strong early ganker/objective-controller with Consume smite-steals who peels for carries later.

Other builds

Nunu’s other builds

% is versus Tank Nunu · how the letters are measuredEvery build →

AP Nunu →Same role, different buildJungle · AP burst · 16,955 g

Damage rankBout-damages 6 of 14 jungle builds

Jungle routeBLUE START

Blue start keeps Consume and Ice Blast spammable — clear toward whichever lane needs the first Blood Boil gank.

Rush Spirit of the Ancient Golem

Full jungle routes guide →

Combo+autos900+216%

Burst900+216%

Auto DPS82+52%

Eff. HP5,619-53%

Sorcerer's Shoes

Spirit of the Spectral Wraith

Rod of Ages

Rabadon's Deathcap

Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Abyssal Scepter

Void Staff

Skill E > W > Q > RMasteries 21/0/9Summoners Flash + SmiteStart Hunter's Machete + 5 Health PotionsRunes Magic Penetration marks · Flat Armor seals · Flat Ability Power glyphs · Flat Ability Power quints

Ice Blast slows hard enough to hold a target inside a full Absolute Zero channel, and at that point the ultimate is the single largest number in the game mode.

In choke points and around objectives, where a channel started from fog cannot be walked out of. Blood Boil still hard-buffs your carry regardless of build.

Anywhere the channel gets interrupted, which is anywhere with a stun. A cancelled Absolute Zero is three seconds of standing still for nothing.

2,684 damage is excluded from the rank because the target can walk away from it before it lands. Absolute Zero pays out at the end of a three-second channel and the target can walk out of it, so its damage is shown but not counted in the rank. Not modelled in this number: Summoner's Insight, Meditation, Mastermind.

Show the damage math

Ability	How it is calculated	Raw	After resists
E Ice Blast rank 5	275 base + 1 × 633 AP	908	900 −1% after MR
R Absolute Zero rank 3	1,125 base + 2.5 × 633 AP	2,708	2,684 −1% after MR
AA Auto-attack	95.3 per hit × 0.86 attacks/sec	95 / 159	82 dps

Level 18AD 110AP 633Target 1,900 hp · 75 ar · 50 mrAfter pen 75 ar · 3 mr

Combo 3,584 (−2,684 walkable) + 0.0 s autos 0 = 900, 189% of target HP.

Only the ER rotation is counted.

Support Nunu →Played out of positionSupport · Enchanter · 13,900 g

Damage rankCout-damages 0 of 9 support builds

Combo+autos399-11%

Burst237-17%

Auto DPS54same

Eff. HP9,441-21%

Boots of Mobility

Shurelya's Reverie

Aegis of the Legion

Frozen Heart

Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Randuin's Omen

Skill W > E > Q > RMasteries 0/9/21Summoners Flash + ExhaustStart Faerie Charm + 2 Health Potions + 2 Sight WardsRunes Magic Penetration marks · Flat Armor seals · Magic Resist per level glyphs · Movement Speed quints

Blood Boil is a permanent 25% attack speed and movement speed buff on your carry, which is more sustained damage than any support item in Season 3 provides.

Paired with an attack-speed carry. Blood Boil on a Vayne or a Kog'Maw is a larger damage contribution than the support could ever make personally.

In lane on its own. Nunu has no lockdown before six, so a poke lane simply walks him down while he buffs a carry who cannot fight back.

Not modelled in this number: Summoner's Insight, Wanderer, Meditation, Greed, Biscuiteer, Explorer, Wealth, Pickpocket.

Show the damage math

Ability	How it is calculated	Raw	After resists
E Ice Blast rank 5	275 base + 1 × 80 AP	355	237 −33% after MR
AA Auto-attack	62.7 per hit × 0.86 attacks/sec	63 / 125	54 dps

Level 18AD 110AP 80Target 1,900 hp · 75 ar · 50 mrAfter pen 75 ar · 50 mr

Combo 237 + 3.0 s autos 163 = 399, 12% of target HP.

Only the E rotation is counted.

Guide

How to play Nunu in League Classic

Nunu is the objective-control king of Classic: Consume plus Smite means no jungler contests your dragon reliably, and dragons decide Season 3 games. Perma-gank with Ice Blast slows, camp whichever lane snowballs best, and drop Blood Boil on your ADC in every fight. Absolute Zero rarely gets a full channel — use it as zone control in chokes and objective pits, where even a half-channel chunks whole teams. Play him as a win-condition enabler; your carries do the killing.

FAQ

Nunu in League Classic

What is the best Nunu build in League Classic?

The standard build is Tank Nunu: Mercury's Treads, Spirit of the Ancient Golem, Frozen Heart, Spirit Visage, Abyssal Scepter, Warmog's Armor. Skill order E > Q > W > R, summoner spells Smite + Flash. Nunu also has 2 measured off-meta builds: AP Nunu, Support Nunu.

What runes and masteries does Nunu use in League Classic?

Marks: Magic Penetration. Seals: Flat Armor. Glyphs: Magic Resist. Quintessences: Movement Speed. Masteries: 9/21/0 or 0/21/9 — utility tank.

Is Nunu good in League Classic?

Nunu is rated B-tier jungle in the launch consensus (score 50/100 across 4 published rankings). Strong into Master Yi, Warwick, Fiddlesticks, Amumu, Skarner; struggles against Olaf, Kassadin, Shaco, Lee Sin, Evelynn.

What does Nunu start with and build first in League Classic?

Open with Cloth Armor + 5 Health Potions or Boots of Speed + 3 Health Potions. Armor start for safe clear and counter-jungling. First back: Boots + Glacial Shroud + Wards. Then build in order: Mercury's Treads → Spirit of the Ancient Golem → Frozen Heart → Spirit Visage → Abyssal Scepter → Warmog's Armor.

Editorial build based on documented Season 3 (2013) meta. Counters and duos are historical projections rather than live win-rate matchup data. (Tier ranking above does mix in live data where sources publish it — see the tier list for details.)

Jungle tier list ← Consensus tier list