[11.1] KingStix's Challenger Nunu Jungle Guide (2024)

About Me

A Challenger Jungler (NA)- YouTuber and Twitch Streamer

Hello summoner! I’m KingStix. I’m a challenger jungle main on the NA region. I play a variety of jungle champions in every elo including challenger. I started creating educational content on YouTube years ago when I was just making it to diamond for the first time with my favorite champion at the time- Fiddlesticks (which is where the name KingStix came from). I spend a lot of time learning everything there is to know about the game because improving is a passion of mine as well as helping others with their gameplay and game knowledge. I post regularly on my main YouTube channel consisting of mostly high elo gameplay with my main champions. I now also have a second YouTube channel with regular uploads as well to share a larger variety of champions in low to mid elo to show you how you can carry your games. Finally, I also livestream educational jungle content on Twitch TV . So, if you have any questions or looking to hang out, come stop by! We have a great community of members that share the same goal of getting better at the game. I hope you enjoy this guide- thanks for checking it out! And, as always, if you have any questions or feedback- please comment on the guide and I will respond soon!

About Nunu- Pros & Cons

is one of my top picks for the jungle because I think he has a really fun kit. He's tanky, he heals a lot, he can move so fast with his snowball, but... his damage is pretty low. So he's definitely not a 1v9 champion but that doesn't mean you need a duo. You can carry with with the power of his early ganks due to his W Biggest Snowball Ever!, objective control with his Q Consume + Smite combo, and his ability to peel and engage with the most powerful CC- a knock up and also his slows and root. If you'd like to see a video version of this guide, you can check that out here:

Nunu Pros
He has an AOE knock up
He has good peel or engage
He has great objective control
He has safe clears for a tank (due to Q heal)

Nunu Cons
He does little damage, can't solo enemies
He's more teammate reliant than other junglers
He gets hard countered by Neeko clone, Fiddlesticks effigies, Master Yi ult, Olaf ult and Vayne percent health damage, mobility, and invisibility.

Early Game

Clear Route Options
You can start either bot or top side with but starting with your bot lane for the better leash is more ideal.

1. A 5 camp clear into gank then scuttle. 5 camps (all but golems) > gank > scuttle > gank > scuttle > gank > recall.

2. Your second option is a level 2 gank with red > raptors > mid gank > blue > gromp > gank > scuttle > gank > scuttle > gank > recall.

How to Clear
On you will be starting with your Q Consume since it does a lot of damage to monster camps and heals you. After your buff, you will be level 2 and take a point in your W Biggest Snowball Ever! and use your snowball to get to your next camp. At level 3, you will take a point in your E Snowball Barrage. This can be recast to be used a total of 3 times. It doesn't do much damage but make sure you are hovering over the monster camp when you are recasting so that all 3 barrages deal damage.

***TIP*** I highly recommend going into the training tool and testing out 's W Biggest Snowball Ever! to really figure out how to maneuver it- like how it turns, the hit box, how long it lasts, etc.

Early Ganks
is not a power farm champion. He has strong early ganks and those should be utilized to win the game. One of 's strengths is playing around scuttle crabs. The 1st scuttles spawn in at 3:15 and that is his first power spike. You should secure the first scuttle as getting there as soon as it spawns. You should be able to get scuttle over the enemy jungler with your Q Consume + Smite combo. Remember that the scuttle crab has a shiled that is instantly broken with CC. The quickest way to break it is with your W Biggest Snowball Ever! but then you would have to wait for it's cool down before you gank. So I recommended just using your E snare Snowball Barrage unless you know you are just resetting after because no ganks are available. Since killing the scuttle gives a speed up, it sets up the perfect gank opportunity for . Start your W Biggest Snowball Ever! on the speed up circle and roll up into lane. With how fast you + your snowball are moving, it will be hard for the enemy laner to escape. After that first scuttle into gank, you can check to see if the other scuttle crab is up if you ganked mid lane. If you do secure the second scuttle as well, you can either gank again if the opportunity is there or just recall. Alternatively, if you ganked top lane, you can just recall after the gank.

Objectives
After you have recalled once, you can start looking to pick up a dragon or rift herald. On , I don't really prefer one over the other. I think either is great to have so just look for when you see the enemy jungler on the opposite side of the map or after a successful gank if 1 or more of your teammates can safely rotate to the objective to help you. The first herald is best used prior to the 14 minute mark so you can get the gold from the turret plating. You can also utilize your Stealth Ward by placing it in the dragon pit when you are near if it is up or soon to be up. If you see the enemy on dragon while you're alive, you can either go for rift or go for the dragon steal (if you can get there in time) with 's Q Consume + Smite combo. You can either use the blast cone to pop into the dragon pit or use your W Biggest Snowball Ever! to get to dragon quickly and hopefully knock up enemey jungler.

Mid/Late Game

Mid game
In the mid game, you will continue to farm, gank, and secure objectives. Each dragon will spawn 5 minutes after the last one was taken. As I'm sure you know, soul is very strong. The soul is obtained once a team secures 4 dragons. To pick up the soul for your team and to avoid the enemy team from getting it, make sure you are pinging out the timer and asking your teammates to rotate to dragon AHEAD of time in the mid and late game. Most of the time at this point in the game, if you are pinging them to rotate once it's already spawned- you will be too late. As mentioned, has a strong chance to steal the dragon or baron with his Consume + Smite combo so going in for the steal is usually worth the risk on . Since is more of a support styled champion rather than a carry, I find it even more important to make sure you are guiding your teammates in the mid and late game since you will need to rely on them to deal damage. Some examples--> if you see your mid or adc pushed up too far and know they are at risk, you can danger ping them away for their safety. If you see your top laner continuing to push top when the inhibitor was already taken and there's nothing left to gain top, you can ask them to head mid or bot instead.

Late game
The mid and late game are pretty similar- continuing to farm and secure objectives. The main difference is that there is likely far more team fighting at this point. Most of the time, you can engage with your W Biggest Snowball Ever! then pull back and peel for your carry. Don't make the mistake many low elo players do and continue to chase down the enemies while your carry is getting dove in the back line. YOU can not kill all the enemies, you will need your teammates alive to do so. Your E Snowball Barrage and ultimate Absolute Zero are great tools for peeling since they offer a lot of CC.

***TIPS*** Your ultimate Absolute Zero gives you a shield so in situations where you are near death- you can click it on and off quickly to gain a shield then immediately keep running to try to survive. You can also use your ult to hide in a bush and activate it once enemies are in range and don't see you. They won't be able to see your ult but if they paying attention (often times they aren't) they will notice they are being slowed and try to Flash away if their Flash is up. Trading your ultimate Absolute Zero for their Flash is definitely worth! Your ult can also be used to clear waves quickly if needed.

Don't forget to use your actives depending on the items you bought. All of these items can build has an active--> Hextech Rocketbelt, Redemption, Gargoyle Stoneplate, Knight's Vow and Locket of the Iron Solari.

Itemization

Starting Items
Emberknife and Refillable Potion are your best options for starting out the game. You will also have your free Stealth Ward which can be replaced with an Oracle Lens level 1 if you lay out a ward by the 0:55 second mark then recall.

Core/Mythic Item
Sunfire Aegis is the best Mythic item for currently. It helps his clear speed and makes him a lot tankier.

Optional Items
Spirit Visage is a really strong buy on because his Q heals him and this item gives increased healing. It's the best buy after your Aegis if the team has multiple AP champions.

Dead Man's Plate would be the better rush after Aegis if the team is mostly AD. While moving, you are granted bonus movement speed which makes 's snowball even harder to dodge.

Thornmail is good versus enemies that heal. You can leave this as a Bramble Vest before completely upgrading it if you'd like to pick up some magic resist first.

Randuin's Omen has an active to slow enemies and reduce their crit damage, only build this when there's multiple crit champions (at least 2) on the enemy team. If you're unsure, just press tab to see who's building critical strike.

Gargoyle Stoneplate will help you live longer in fights as it gives armor, magic resist, and has an active shield. The shield scales off bonus health though so I would wait to buy this as a last item. It would be a good combo with Warmog's Armor which gives 800 health and will heal you out of combat with at least 3000 health. This will allow you to soak as much damage as possible after engaging then choosing to come back and peel or engage again after your health is back up.

Abyssal Mask only gives magic resist and health so it's better into an AP heavy enemy team. The passive makes enemies take more damage when you CC them which is great for since he has plenty of CC.

Redemption and Knight's Vow are support items that can be built on for cheap if you are letting your carry get the camps and you are peeling for them to allow them to carry the game. If picking between these 2 support style items, I'd go with Redemption if you already have a Spirit Visage since it increases the healing you will receive. (This is also great if your allies have the visage as well) or if you don't have visage because the team is full/nearly full AD and you're trying to peel specifically for 1 carry, then Knight's Vow would be the better option.

Boots Options
Mercury's Treads are good vs AP and CC heavy team comps while Plated Steelcaps are good vs AD and auto attacked based team comps. If the enemy team deals mixed damage, the most common build after your jungle item will either be -->
Mercury's Treads with Dead Man's Plate OR Plated Steelcaps with Spirit Visage.