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Why does Nasus, a wise supergenius scholar, have a totally braindead playstyle?

Shinjusuke··5 votes·969 views

Q wait Q wait Q wait

40 minutes later

still in top lane Q wait Q wait Q wait

2k stacks crush Nexus

Like okay, he wins, sure. I guess you can call what he does a strategy. Just seems like someone whose goal was knowledge and wisdom might do it with a bit more tactical thought and less "Riot gave me a cringey stacking mechanic so I'm gonna brute force my way through top lane".

Not trying to be a Nasus hater or anything, there just seems to be a pretty heavy thematic disconnect between the character (lore wise) and the champion (playstyle wise).

He's a strategic genius who is "dozens of moves ahead of the enemy". I'm sorry, but there's nothing strategic about waiting for your Q cooldown for 40 minutes and suddenly being able to win the game on your own cuz you can buy puretank and still 1shot people.

I'm wondering why Nasus was never reimagined lore-wise (cuz his lore has mostly been the same since release) or reworked into selling his character more through his gameplay. With the release of his new backstory text I was hoping for some kind of explanation for why this supposed genius who wins through planning and outmaneuvering the enemy suddenly decided "nah, fuck thinking, I'm just gonna brute force and walk through the enemy team" was the better way to go. Nothing about his kit sells him as a strategist (or honestly, much of a thinker of any kind), and I was hoping to find out why?

10 Comments

Love Notes3 votes

I agree, playing and playing against Nasus sucks balls.

MasterSomething2 votes

He wants his enemies to think he's braindead. That way they never expect the 2k Damage hit. Truly genius.

redniwediS2 votes

Nasus can fight, but he's not a fighter. He sits back and plans most of the time.

You're talking about his ability to fight, when they are talking about his ability to think. How he fights may not be very interesting, but if he knows how and where to properly apply his strengths he doesn't need to be interesting in order to win. Picking the simplest and most efficient strategy isn't exactly a bad idea after all, and is hardly a braindead move.

He doesn't win on his own, he wins by guiding his allies. Where you see a non-thinking brute running into the enemy team I see someone leading the charge. Where you see someone fighting towers and pressing Q all game I see someone manipulating map pressure to make sure his team secures one of the many objectives being contested.

I'll admit I'm biased in the opposite way you are, but I just don't see what you're getting at here, particularly considering he didn't get to choose the powers given to him in his Ascension. If he is forced to fight he is going to use the tools at his disposal.

EndlessSorcerer1 votes

Well said.

Glaedr2 votes

You could say the same about Swain. Nothing Swain does makes you think "tactician". But with that said, I am not a fan of attempting to tie lore with the characters. I'm all for champions having unique identities and clear themes, but trying to bring their lore into what they do past a certain point causes all sorts of problems.

Maximum Morde2 votes

Because he's a furry. Everyone knows 99.7% of their brain power is spent thinking about yiffing so they only have a fraction left to actually carry out basic tasks. This leaves all furries as functional retards.

Caítlyn1 votes

Who cares about lore? Hes a dog.

MLDzXnRRR1 votes

Needs rework.

Slythion1 votes

Not every strategy needs to be complicated to be efficient

EndlessSorcerer1 votes

Nasus works with the tools he has available.

While his kit doesn't offer a significant amount of mechanical depth, he does require you play strategically against competent opponents.

You have to know how to control a minion wave so you aren't getting zoned off farm, you need to know how to apply pressure on the map without getting caught out, you need to know how to get through teamfights without being kited to oblivion and more.

Champions with less mechanical complexity (and thus possessing fewer options) have to play more strategically.

Besides, he didn't necessarily choose the powers he received during his ascension.

If the most reliable method to achieve victory is to bide his time and accumulate power until he can overwhelm his enemies without risking himself, then why wouldn't he?

Sometimes strategy is knowing when you can fight and when you shouldn't.

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