Looking for a strong Jungler so you can breeze your way through solo queue? We’ve got you covered! In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to know to get you started playing Nunu & Willump, the Boy and his Yeti.

Nunu & Willump are one of those champions that benefited greatly after they were reworked. From great objective control to excellent ganking potential, they have everything you could possibly want from a Jungler. He also has strong crowd control which is a huge plus considering the number of mobile champions in the current meta. 

Abilities

Nunu & Willump’s kit is mostly geared towards dealing heavy crowd control while also maintaining great wave clear in the Jungle.

Passive – Call of the Freljord

Dealing damage to enemy champions, large monsters, or structures grants Willump and his ally nearby with the highest attack speed Call of the Freljord, increasing their Attack Speed by 20% and Movement Speed by 10% for 4 seconds. While Nunu & Willump are under the effects of Call of the Freljord, their basic attacks cleave for (+30% total) damage.

Q – Consume

Willump takes a bite of an enemy, dealing damage and healing himself. This healing increases by 50% when he is below 50% health.

Monsters and minions: Deals true damage and heals.

Champions: Deals magic damage and heals.

W – Biggest Snowball Ever!

Willump rolls a snowball that grows in size and speed. The larger the snowball, the more damage it deals and the longer it knocks up. When the snowball impacts a wall, enemy champion, or large monster, it explodes, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies and knocking them up. It rolls over minions and small monsters in its path, dealing 33.3% damage.

Reactivating the ability rolls the snowball forward on a straight path.

E – Snowball Barrage

For 3 seconds, each additional cast causes Nunu to throw 3 snowballs at a rapid rate. Enemies hit take magic damage, and champions and large monsters become Snowbound. Enemies hit 3 times are slowed for 1 second.

Willump’s Turn: After Nunu is finished throwing snowballs, all enemies within range that are Snowbound become rooted in place.

R – Absolute Zero

Nunu channels for 3 seconds, sapping the area of heat. Nearby enemies have their Movement Speed slowed by 50%, increasing to 95% over the duration of the channel. Nunu & Willump receive a shield that absorbs damage, decaying over 3 seconds after the channel ends.

Enemies caught in the area when the channel ends take magic damage, depending on how long Absolute Zero was channeled.

Runes and Item Builds

When it comes to items, your primary focus when playing as Nunu & Willump is to increase his durability and survivability. Building him full tank greatly increases his impact on winning games.

Starting Items

Nunu & Willump starts the game like any typical Jungler. You can choose from either Emberknife or Hailblade. Both are pretty good but Emberknife has a slight edge because of the bonus damage it can provide thanks to Challenging Smite. If you feel like you’ll need more crowd control, don’t hesitate to go for Hailblade and Chilling Smite instead.

Mythic Item

For your Mythic Item, you have two choices: Sunfire Aegis or Frostfire Gauntlet. Both of them will give you similar stats but the better overall option is Sunfire Aegis. This is because Nunu & Willump has a lot of crowd control built into their kit and having the passive slow from Frostfire Gauntlet would be redundant. But in the event that you’ll be dealing with a lot of mobile enemies, then by all means, go for Frostfire Gauntlet instead.

Full Build

After purchasing your desired Mythic item, it’s time to upgrade into tier 2 boots. The go to boots would be Plated Steelcaps for the bonus armor, however, you can swap it out for Mercury’s Treads if you’re up against a lot of mages or crowd control. Next, go for Dead Man’s Plate for the health, armor, and passive. Since you’re a frontline tank, you’ll need Thornmail to help you return some of the damage you receive. After, go with Force of Nature for some magic resist and bonus movement speed. Finally, top off your build with Spirit Visage for the health regeneration and extra survivability it provides.

Runes

For your runes, go with the Sorcery tree and take Phase Rush as your keystone. This will greatly increase your already impressive mobility and will help you stick as close as you can to your targets. Next, take Nimbus Cloak for the bonus move speed right after using a summoner spell, Celerity to further increase the bonus move speed you get, and Waterwalking to help you get around the map faster. For secondaries, take Triumph and Legend: Tenacity from the Precision tree. Triumph gives you bonus sustain and Legend: Tenacity reduces the effectiveness of crowd control on you. For rune shards, take double Adaptive Force and Health.

Useful Tips

1. Absolute Zero can be a game changing ultimate thanks to its range and burst damage. Try to time it carefully to make the most out of it. You can also use Flash while channeling it to try and surprise your enemies.
2. Nunu & Willump are countered by Nidalee, Diana, Zed, Lillia, and Ekko. If you’re matched up against these champions, try to play it safe instead of being aggressive.
3. For your summoner spells, always take Smite and Flash. Smite will allow you to secure buffs and objectives like Dragon or Baron while Flash adds another layer of mobility to your kit.

So there you have it! That’s all you need to know about playing Nunu & Willump in League of Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun and we’ll see you on the Rift!