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What Summoner Spells should you take on  Nami?

When playing as  Nami  you will always want to take  Flash. This is because  Flash is a very reliable Summoner Spell that can help you out in a variety of ways.  As Nami  is quite squishy, she can easily be killed if the enemy hits a skill shot on her. This means you will need to be able to dodge it-which can sometimes be difficult. However, if you're sure that it's going to hit you and you cannot dodge it, Flash will come in handy and it can save your life!

However, for your secondary Summoner Spell, you have some freedom to choose which you wish but it can be slightly challenging when it comes to deciding which one would benefit you more. You have two real options when it comes to choosing. The first Option is Ignite which is very useful in a snowball heavy meta which we are currently in. The second option is Exhaust which is a fantastic disability Summoner Spell that can provide your team with lots of protection.

Like I just said, you do have some freedom when it comes to choosing and your decision will directly influence the outcome of the game. Because every game is different and highly situational. I've gone ahead and listed some situational tips information that can help you decide what to take and when.

When to Take Ignite on Nami

1 ) You're comfortable in the lane and think you can win it quite easily. For example, you're in an easy matchup.

2) If the enemy bot lane is quite squishy and easy to kill. For example, if the enemy Support is Sona or Twitch who are easy to kill and abuse early.

3 ) You can play aggressive in lane and your ADC wants to play aggressively.

4 ) The enemy Support is weak and is Melee. As Nami is ranged, she outranges all of the melee champions which will give her some lane dominance. If you're in one of these matchups, you can try to abuse your range and go for easy kills.

5 ) If the enemy Support is a utility Support with not much damage. For example, If you're against a Sona, Zilean, Lulu or Janna, take Ignite and abuse them in lane.

When to take Exhaust on Nami

1 ) You're in a bad matchup. If you're in a tough matchup and are unable to do anything in lane, Don't take Ignite and instead take Exhaust for added protection in lane.

2 ) Your ADC is not very strong in the early game and the enemy is. For added protection in lane, take Exhaust for added protection in order to keep your ADC alive if the enemy engages on you. This will give you a safer laning phase and overall a better one.

3 ) The enemy is mostly AD. Exhaust works great against AD team compositions. If the enemy is mostly AD, take this Summoner Spell and keep one of them out of the team fight!

4 ) The enemy is slow and immobile.  If you can catch up with a slow enemy, you can make them practically immobile during the team fight and pick up an easy kill which can definitely help your team in terms of gold, experience and it can possibly win you the game.

5 ) The enemy has a snowball heavy assassin. If you are playing against a LeBlanc or a Zed, take Exhaust so you can keep your ADC alive in team fights.

Standard Nami Rune Breakdown

Nami. As somebody who has played a lot of Nami in recent seasons and who has performed quite well with her, I found that this Rune page gives her the best outcome in the lane and in the game.

You should take Sorcery as the main Rune Page on Nami because it gives you a lot of damage and sustain in the laning phase as well as in the later stages of the game. As Nami is a utility based Support and as she heals and buffs her allies, it is beneficial if you take this Rune tree as your primary route. The main Rune in this tree that you should take on Nami is Summon Aery. This spell is fantastic as it benefits you in a few different ways. First off, it can increase your damage when you go for trades with the enemy. For example, if you use your  W to poke the enemy, it will deal extra damage. It will also provide bonus healing and shielding or buffing you provide for your allies. The items you will purchase, your W and your E all benefit from this Rune. Arguably, this is the best Rune to take on  Nami so I recommend that you take it every time. The next Rune you can take on her is Manaflow Band. This is a good Rune that can provide you with mana throughout the game. Hitting an enemy champion with an ability permanently increases your maximum mana up to 250. This can come in handy when it comes to the late game of League of Legends. The next Rune you should take is Transcendence. As Nami relies heavily on her cooldowns, she can get free cooldown reduction at level 10 which will definitely help her out in protecting her allies. This will allow you to use your W and your Ultimate more frequently which can be incredibly crucial to winning the late game team fights. The final Rune on your main tree is going to be Scorch. Basically, this Rune allows you to do bonus damage whenever you go for trades with the enemy. It sets the enemy on fire, which can be really helpful when you're looking to trade often.

For the secondary Rune page, you should take Resolve.  This is because this Rune section can provide you with defensive stats that can help you survive the laning phase and protect you in team fights. The first Rune in this section is   Revitalize. I recommend this Rune because it buffs your healing and shielding power which will definitely benefit you and your team throughout the game. As Nami is a healing and a utility based champion who provides her team with healing through her W, you should take this to do increased healing.  The final Rune that you should take is Bone Plating. This is a very good Rune which can protect you against extended trades with the enemy. As Nami is quite squishy, she can easily get killed if she gets focused by the enemy. Taking Bone Plating will protect her by reducing the enemies damage.

What are the best items for  Nami?

When it comes to building your champion, many of the builds are pretty straight forward with not much wiggle roam.  Nami is one of those champions whose build path is basically the same every game.  As  Nami's champion dynamics and ultimate game play never changes- she is always going to be a utility based Support whose main goal is to protect and heal her carry. The build path that I suggest works great with her kit thanks to her  W and her  E as well as her damage and poke.

There are two possible starting items that you can take on  Nami. The first is  Spellthief's Edge which is a fantastic item on AP Supports who can poke like  Nami. I recommend that you take this item whenever you're in a good or even matchup. This is because you need to make sure that you get the most out of it and poke the enemy whenever you can. If you can poke the enemy often (like  Nami is designed to do) then you can find great success when you take this item. If you're unable to poke the enemy enough or it is not safe to poke often like if you're against a  Blitzcrank or a  Alistar, then you may find that taking  Ancient Coin to be better for you. This item doesn't require you to poke as much and it is overall more safer compared to   Spellthief's.  Your starting item is often overlooked for many players which can sometimes cost them the game. If you take the wrong starting item, you may find it difficult to win the lane and win the game. Furthermore, you may find it really difficult to complete your warding quest in efficient time. Your first core item, and the item you're wanting to get asap is  Athene's Unholy Grail. But before you buy this item, you need to upgrade your starting item to it's first form so you're able to unlock and complete the warding quest. I recommend that you go  Athene's first because it gives you increased damage, cooldown reduction which allows you to use your abilities more often. It also has a unique passive that can be incredibly beneficial and helpful for your allies who you intend to heal. Basically, whenever  Nami deals damage to an enemy champion, she gains "blood charges" that can be consumed when you heal an ally with your  W. This item gives you increased healing which can definitely save your carries life. After you've got this item completed, you need to buy  Boots. There are a few different  Boots that you can buy on  Nami and I've put them under "Situational Items." Each pair has their benefits and their drawbacks. I would recommend that in most games you take  Boots of Mobility because they allow you to get around the map quicker and are overall a very good pair of Boots. The second option is  Mercury's Treads which are fantastic if you're against a heavy AP team composition or an enemy team with lots of crowd control. The next option is  Ninja Tabi which are great if you're against a full AD team composition or a team comp with multiple ranged AD Champions (like ADC Top and ADC Bot.) The final option are  Ionian Boots of Lucidity which give you bonus cooldown reduction on your abilities as well as your Summoner Spells.  The third item you should pick up is  Ardent Censer. This item is great thanks to its damage, cooldown reduction, mana regeneration and it's Passive.  Ardent Censer buffs your healing and shielding power which means your healing from your  W and your future items will be increased. This will directly allow your heals to protect your carryies more. The fourth item is going to be  Redemption which also buffs your healing and shielding. This item is a must have on  Nami as it can give your team a semi-global heal. As  Nami's  W can only heal a few champions at once, picking up a  Redemption will heal multiple of your allies at once. Bear in mind that you will need to use it at the right time as it has a short delay! For your 5th item, you want to upgrade your starting item to it's final form. I don't recommend upgrading it until this time because your other items are worth more and the final upgrade cost to your starting item is not worth it. The Final Supporting item you should get is  Zeke's Convergence. This item gives you some protection thanks to the armor and magic resistance it provides you. It also allows you to do increased damage in team fights thanks to the Passive. When you cast your  Ultimate, it will allow you to burn the enemies who are around you.  This item can also be bound to an ally which ignites their auto attacks which could definitely turn the tide in your favour!

What Starting Item should you take?

Depending on your matchup, you may benefit more from taking Ancient Coin over Spell Theif's because it will be overall safer for you. If you take this, however, you will be unable to do as much damage in lane and be able to poke the enemy as much compared to Spell Thief's. With that said, I recommend that you always take Spell Theif's Edge in most matchups unless you're unsure if you're able to poke the enemy down or if you're in a hard matchup. Because your Spell Thief's requires you to take advantage of the stacks it grants, you need to be able to continously poke whenever they're up- which you would be unable to do if you're in a hard matchup. So, good matchup - take Spell Theifs, bad matchup - take Ancient Coin.

Ability Rundown and Description

Now lets talk about Nami's Abilities. Nami is a utility based Support that is really good at dealing damage and poking her enemies while also being great at protecting her allies. In this section, we will talk about each one of her abilities and what you can expect from them.

Nami's Passive is Surging Tides

Your Passive is really easy to understand. Basically, if your abilities hit your allies, they will gain bonus movement speed for a short duration. The duration is doubled if your allies walk through your Ultimate. This Passive may not seem like much and on paper, the stats don't look great. However, it can be very useful when it comes to gameplay.

Nami's Q is Aqua Prison

This ability is going to be one of the most important abilities that you have as missing this ability can leave you in hot water. Nami's Q is a bubble that stuns and puts enemies who are hit by it afloat. The stun duration is 1.5 seconds, which can turn the tides of a team fight if you hit your  Q on the right target. Tips and Tricks

Your Q is best used after your Ultimate in team fights. This is because your Q can be quite hard to hit and if you hit your Ultimate, then you can easily hit this ability.  Your grants vision if it hits an enemy. This can come in handy if you're against invisible enemies or if the enemy runs into a bush.  During the laning phase, you should hold off using your Q unless you're guaranteed to hit it. This is because it is a high-cost ability that if missed, can allow the enemy to engage on you as you have no way of defending yourself. Furthermore, it is a skill shot that is rather slow, so it can be hard to always hit if the enemy is not already stopped in their place by CC.

Nami's W is Ebb and Flow

Nami unleashes a stream of water that can bounce back and forth between allies and enemies whilst healing and damaging the enemy. This ability is the bread and butter of Nami's kit and it's what most people think of when they think about Nami. This ability can be incredibly useful as it can be used on yourself, your allies or the enemy. The good thing about your W is that it bounces which means it can heal you, your ally and damage the enemy all in one cast.Tips and Tricks

Your W is a very good ability and it has a variety of ways it can be used. During the laning phase, you should avoid wasting this ability and only using it if you're able to heal yourself and deal damage to the enemy. To do this, you need to be rather close to the enemy. When you're close, you can then self-cast this ability or use it on the enemy and it should bounce. This will deal damage to them as well as heal yourself.  Your W is incredibly useful and versatile. I recommend that you try to always manage your mana correctly so you can use your   W to save an ally if they need it. In team fights, using your W can be very useful as it can bounce off your allies and hit the enemy which will give you a slight advantage in trades.

Nami's E is Tidecaller's Blessing

Nami blesses an allied champion and enhances their next 3 auto attacks. This works against enemy champions aswell as minions and monsters. It does not work against towers or objectives, so keep that in mind when using it. Your E will also grant the person a brief movement speed increase, while also slowing any enemy that is hit by the auto attacks.Tips and Tricks

Your E will give you extra trading power in lane if you were to use it when you go to trade with the enemy. In the early game, I would only recommend that you use your E if you can use all 3 auto attacks on the enemy. For example, if you're only going to get one auto attack out of it, it's probably not worth empowering your auto attacks. During team fights, you should give your ADC your E on them so it can give them more damage and a speed boost. Your just like your W will also give your allies Aery shielding. If the enemy is ganking your lane and you're too far up, you can use your E to get away as it gives a short boost of movement speed.

Nami's Ultimate is Tidal Wave

Nami summons a Tidal wave that knocks up and slows all enemies that are hit. Allies that are hit by this ability will gain double effects of your Passive.  You can use your Ultimate in a variety of ways and it can be used to engage as well as disengage. The Ultimate will allow you to easily hit your Q for double crowd control and keeping the enemy in place.Tips and Tricks

Your  Ultimate can be used in a variety of ways. One of the best and surprising ways to use your Ultimate is by using it when you're covered by a bush as it will be very surprising. Another way of using your Ultimate is by trying to push the enemy into a certain part of the lane. For example, if they are close to the wall, you can aim it close to the wall as well to make it an almost guaranteed hit. Nami is a great pick against Jhin as she can stop his Ultimate. She is not great against a Braum as he can stop her Ultimate with his shield.

Combo Discussion

Nami doesn't have many combos and she is not very mechanically difficult. Her kit is pretty simple, so there are not many combos. However, there are a few different variations and preferred ability rotations that you can use to your advantage.

R + Q

Standard Level 6 combo. You would want to use this combo when you intend to engage on the enemy in lane. For example, if your ally is ganking your lane.

R + Q + W

Another standard level 6 combo. You can use this combo if you're being chased by the enemies or you're trying to set up a gank for your ally. Remember to stand near the enemy to secure the W bounce.

E + W

Standard early laning phase trading combo. If you can guarantee a few auto attacks on the enemy, it makes using your E worth it.

Q + W

Standard combo. This can be used when you're receiving a gank. I would recommend that you try and use this combo when you're getting a gank before level 6.

E + Q

Ganking Combo. Like previously, you can use this combo if you're getting a gank. As your E slows enemies hit, you can slow the enemy which will make it easier for you to hit your Bubble.

R + Q + E + W

Full example combo. When it comes to team fighting, there is quite a range of different combinations you can throw your abilities out with. This combo is one of the more popular combos because of it's usefulness. First you through your Ultimate out, then hit any knocked enemies with your Bubble. You then should empower your allies auto attacks with your E and then use your W to either heal your allies or deal damage to stunned/slowed enemies.

R + Q + W + E

This is a variation to the combo above. You would use this combo in team fights like the previous one. You could also use your E first before casting your Ultimate if you want your allies to gain a speed boost and get into the team fight- such as if they're out of position. However, your E empowerment may run out. It's all situation really...

Tips and Tricks for the fish queen!

You can self-cast your E by pressing ALT + E. This will allow you to optimize your gameplay and prevent you from wasting time.

You should only empower your own auto attacks with your E if you can guarantee that you can get at least 2 auto attacks out of it. For example, I wouldn't use this if I can only get one auto attack. However, I would use this if I can get in range to kill the enemy.

Your E gives a small boost in movement speed. You can use this to your advantage by self-casting it or giving it to an ally to engage on the enemy. It can also be used to escape a gank if they're defenceless.

Your Q is quite difficult to hit as it is a skill shot. If you're unable to hit it because the enemy either has dodges or you're not good enough, don't use it unless the enemy is already CC locked. For example, in conjunction with your Ultimate or another allies crowd control.

I would recommend that you avoid actively looking for  Q bubbles in the lane. This is because it can be very difficult to hit and it is not always worth risking the mana or health to go for a trade. I recommend that you just use your   W and  E to poke in lane.

You should always be using your W on your allies rather than yourself unless you're on really low health. This is because they're worth more to the team than yourself- sorry. In the laning phase, use this on the enemy and then heal your ally.

During the laning phase, you can get the most out of your Eeb and Flow poke by standing close to an enemy champion so it can bounce back and forth. You could self-cast it and it will bounce to the enemy and deal damage to them. Alternatively, you can use it on the enemy and let it bounce back.

In team fights, use your Ultimate first and then use your  Q to double knock them up. This will come in handy if you're not very good at hitting your  Q.  This will also allow you to have a higher success rate because of it being so slow moving.

Watch your positioning in lane. As Nami is rather squishy, it is important that you do not fall behind or get poked down by the enemy. It would also save you a lot of mana as you will not need to waste your W on yourself to get back to full health.

Champion Synergy

As Nami is a utility based Support and as she has to lane with someone, it is important that you pick Nami when you're laning with an ADC that has good synergy with you. While it's not the biggest thing to be aware of, if you keep in mind who you synergise well with and who you don't, you may have a better laning experience. So without further discussion, let's get into a couple of the recommended picks.

Caitlyn is a strong laner with good damage early. As she tends to build lots of attack speed, Nami works well with her because Caitlyn benefits from Nami's E. They work well together because of this. Caitlyn's W also works well with your  E which will make it easier to hit.

Draven is probably one of the strongest lane bullies in the game. These two go together like Cheese and Crackers. Draven works extremely well and benefits greatly from a champion that can play aggressively while also being able to heal him. He also benefits heavily from Nami's E.

Jinx is another lane dominant ADC when she gets ahead. She is also pretty good with Nami as they can work together to CC lock the enemy. If you land a bubble, she would be able to use her E on the enemy to lock them in place. She is also a lane bully with good poke on her Q- which works great with Nami.

Lucian is another lane dominant champion who works great with Nami. Lucian's Passive works amazingly with Nami's E. This is probably one of the most fun and most dominating bot lanes in the game.

Miss Fortune is another fan favourite because of her Ultimate. Using her Ultimate in conjunction with Nami's  Q or her Ultimate can be very rewarding and deadly for the enemy.

Xayah is a good ADC because she builds a lot of attack speed and has a form of crowd control thanks to her E. This lane duo is pretty good because they can work together in order to poke and lock down the enemy.

As you can see, there are a lot of ADC's that synergise well with Nami. The ones listed are not the only champions that synergise well with her. In fact, most ADC's are good with our girl because they all build attack speed and benefit from healing/shielding. There are not many bad lane duos for Nami, which means you can take basically anyone with her!

Early Game

The early game for Nami is pretty straightforward. All you really need to do is poke, heal and trade with the enemy. Depending on the matchup, you may want to go for a more aggressive playstyle, whereas in other matchups, you may need to go more defensive. Nami relies heavily on mana and poke to deal damage, which means you need to always keep an eye on your mana bar and your positioning in lane. If your positioning is bad, the enemy may be able to burst you down.  Alternatively, if the enemy is a Blitzcrank or a Thresh- they may be able to hook you and you may get killed. This would cost you a lot of health and you may waste all your mana on trying to heal yourself with your  W. You will want to use your E and your  W to poke the enemy down in lane in order to kill them.  I recommend saving and not using your Q unless you are receiving a gank or if you're being ganked.  Nami is really strong in short trades with the enemy, so use this to your advantage when you're playing.

Mid Game

Depending on how the game is going, you may be at your strongest point of the game. Your main focus during this time is to protect your team and keep your ADC alive for as long as possible. You can do this with your E and your W to keep them alive. Throughout the mid game, you will need to continue moving around the map while sticking closely to your team and providing enough vision for them.

During this stage of the game, your position becomes even more important as you do not want to be caught out by the enemy nor do you want to turn into sushi!

You do not necessarily have to play aggressively during the mid-game, your goal is to protect your allies and keep them alive for as long as possible. However, that doesn't mean you should play super passive. You will need to look for kills in a safe way- by catching enemies out of position. You can do this by casting your Ultimate and knocking enemies up who are out of position and then following that up with a Q.

Late Game

The late game is very similar to the mid-game for Nami and all you have to do is watch your positioning.  As death timers by this time are going to be quite long, it is important that you do not get caught out of position. If you were to die, the enemy may be able to take Baron or the Elder Dragon which would definitely give them the upper hand. So what should you do? Your job is to stick closely to your ADC and your team, watching your positioning in team fights and keeping them alive for as long as you can.

You need to be stood right next to your ADC in team fights to keep them alive. Remember, Nami is not a tank. Nami is a utility Support who relies on healing her carries which is what you need to be doing. Make sure to not get caught out and prepare to dodge anything that comes face to face. When it comes to the late game, make sure to hold on to your Bubble until you're guaranteed to hit it. If you miss, the fight might go in the enemies favour.

Teamfighting

We've already talked about team fighting briefly in the past sections and we've talked about what you should look to do. Now let's talk about general team fighting tips that you can use to your advantage when playing as Nami or any utility-based Support.

Nami needs to always be stood near her ADC in order for her to protect them with her E and her W. You are a utility based support, which means you're not the frontline. You need to be stood next to your ADC at all times and peel for them. If an enemy is trying to assassinate or get onto your ADC, you will need to fend them off with your abilities. At the start of the team fight, you would've already used your  Ultimate so that's out of the question. You will need to hold on to your  Q so you can guarantee to hit the enemy as soon as they get close to your ADC. An effective and efficient way of using your  Q is by holding on to it until the enemy is actually on your ADC (if they're melee) as this is a guaranteed knock up.  You will want to prioritize healing your ADC over anyone else- or unless they're fed.

To finish up this Nami guide, your job is to peel, protect and deal damage. You should win lane by pure dominance and team fights by protecting your team and keeping them alive.