Nautilus Scaling: Grade D
No. Nautilus gets noticeably worse as the game goes long. Grade D, Very bad late, in The Scaling Codex.
Reviewed for League of Legends Season 16 (2026).
Verdict. Same bucket as Malphite. Gets focused and deleted, ultimate is easy to kite away from at endgame fights.
Going first stopped paying
He is built to go first, and going first is the job that stopped paying. The hook and the body want him leading the engage, but a full-build enemy team removes the leading tank before the follow-up matters. He is not too tanky to kill late, he is exactly tanky enough to be worth killing first.
The ultimate compounds it. The point-and-click knockup on the primary target cannot be dodged, but everything meant to follow it can. Endgame teams kite off the point of impact, so by the time his team can act on the displacement the fight has moved.
More resistances change how long the focus takes, not whether it works
His engage tools were tuned for a game where going first was an advantage, and no item brings that game back.
Hold the hook and the ultimate for the first diver, and cast everything at zero distance where kiting does not exist.
Common questions about Nautilus scaling
Does Nautilus scale well into the late game?
No. Nautilus gets noticeably worse as the game goes long. Grade D, Very bad late, in The Scaling Codex.
Why does Nautilus fall off late?
His engage tools were tuned for a game where going first was an advantage, and no item brings that game back.
What is the late-game rule for Nautilus?
Hold the hook and the ultimate for the first diver, and cast everything at zero distance where kiting does not exist.
How this grade was judged
The grade weighs range, target access, sustained and burst damage, crowd control, mobility, durability, healing and shielding, resets, cooldown structure, objective and formation control, split pressure, and how well the champion survives a long fight. Builds and forms that scale differently are graded separately. This is Vambient's gameplay evaluation of coordinated late-game fights, not a win-rate calculation. Full methodology.
Related champions
- Why Akali is also Grade D
- Why Alistar is also Grade D
- Why Amumu is also Grade D
- Why Bard is also Grade D
- See the full Grade D tier
The grade measures one thing: how much a champion can influence a coordinated late-game objective fight once both teams reach full builds. It does not measure early strength, snowballing, or win rate. A weak late-game champion still wins by ending the game first, which is what the rest of the library teaches. How the grades are decided.