Hi everyone, i'm Drlazerbeam.I'm a support main and secondary ADC, who has peaked at Diamond. I've been playing league of legends since season 3, and really got into Nami by season 6. During season 7 I played Nami for a total of 192 ranked games with a win rate of 57%. She is one of, if not my favorite champion in league and I fell in love with her ever since my crippling depression I got good with her! :)








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Anyway onto Nami! Nami has a very healthy balance of defensive and aggresive tools at her disposal. She protecc, she attacc, but most importantly she has a fantastic kit which both enables her ADC, while also providing them with peel.

Pros!

+ Great peel
+ Overall decent CC
+ Decent poke
+ Amazing heals!
+ Strong early game
+ Adorable!

Nami's greatest strength is her amazing early game/lane phase. She has one of the best level 1 heals in the game, her poke is very good, and her kit is loaded with enabling tools for her team. She is strong on the offensive and good on the defense, making her a flexible support.

Cons

- Easily made into sushi ( squishy )
- Terrible if behind
- High skill cap
- Lacks escape
- Mana hungry
- Doesn't get much stronger

Nami's greatest weakness is her vulnerability and volatility. While she has amazing potitnal to get hear team ahead, its just as easy to fall behind. A few key mistakes by a Nami player or a well timed gank from the enemy jungler, makes her greatest strength obsolete. Her high mana cost and skill cap make it hard to master Nami and requires a great control mindset from a Nami player. Nami, while she does not fall off, does not scale amazingly into the late game like her counter parts such as Soraka or Janna. Similar to Sona her strength lies in her ability to pull ahead in the early game. If a Nami player can not do this, it may prove fatal vs a better late-mid game scaling team.

Summon Aery
It is almost as if this keystone was MADE for Nami! It gives a shield to your heals and gives you some additional poke, since poking and healing is the bread and butter of your lane, this makes your keystone choice a no brainier!


Manaflow Band
One of Nami's biggest struggles early game is the huge mana cost for Ebb and Flow. This rune legit gives you free mana and is easy to trigger. In my opinion taking this rune is a very easy decision.


Transcendence
Maxing your CDR is always your goal as Nami. This allows you to get some CDR sooner and allows your extra CDR past your cap to convert to AP. Helps a lot when you hit level 10 and is a nice bonus when you reach your cap.


Scorch
This ability allows you to deal extra damage every 20 seconds. This works very well on poke-lane oriented supports, which Nami fits the bill for.


Revitalize
This ability makes your heals and shields stronger! Heals are already in your kit and if you follow this guide, you will be building Locket of the Iron Solari at some point; which makes the increased shield part useful as well!


Font of Life
This one allows you to heal your ADC without using Ebb and Flow. Any time you are able to slow an enemy it marks them. Marking them heals your teammates if they attack this marked person. Nami can use Aqua Prison, Tidecaller's Blessing, or Tidal Wave to mark enemies, making it a easily triggered rune.


Alternative Primary Runes


Celerity
Celerity works best on champions that both have a ability that can speed themselves up and are able to build Mobility Boots without it seeming like a odd choice. This is because with this rune, your AP is increased based off your bonus movement speed! Luckily Nami fits these requirements. Most supports are able and should build Mobility Boots for a number of reasons. When it comes to a ability that speeds herself up all of them do thanks to Surging Tides. When it comes to deciding between this rune and Transcendence, either rune is fine for Nami. You would pick this rune over Transcendence however if you want to roam more in the early game and plan to take it with Waterwalking.



Waterwalking
This rune is great for a more roam oriented Nami player. While I do believe that Nami should stay in the lane most of the time and just try to stomp the enemy bot lane; there are times that roaming is necessary. You might need to ward river/junlge, gank the enemy mid laner, or just help the jungler invade. In any case you will want to take this rune when you believe mobility is a bigger priority than raw trading in lane. This also has insane synergy with Celerity!

Alternative Secondary Runes

While I would recommend sorcery as your primary tree every game, your secondary rune tree has a bit more room to work with. Here are the runes I think you could substitute out if you wish.


Cosmic Insight
This rune gives you a bunch of small bonus stats. It grants 5% CD, increases your CD cap to 45%, as well as reduces the cool down of both active items and summoner spells by 5%. Nami tends to have overbuild on CD with her builds, so the extra 5% CD cap is certianly welcome, as it will allow you to spam Ebb and Flow and Aqua Prison more often in team fights; even if it is just by a little. The other stats are minor and will not have a huge impact, but do not hurt to have either. Overall it's a safe and slightly useful rune to take for any situation!


Future's Market
This rune allows you to go into debt in order to purchase items faster! This rune is great for Nami since she is all about the early game. Being able to obtain core support items such as Redemption before the enemy support can will prove to be invaluable to the success of Nami players. This rune should be taken in meta's that rarely have games reaching the late game.


Biscuit Delivery
This rune gives Nami a Total Biscuit of Everlasting Will every 3 minutes, for 4 times. It restores 15% of your missing health and mana, and increases your maximum mana by 40. I see many Nami players both pro and in solo que take this in combination with Cosmic Insight. The reasoning behind this is to allow Nami to spam Ebb and Flow as much as possible at all stages of the game, while providing her with overwhelming sustain in the early game. This is a solid strategy and one I advise Nami players to try, in addition to my own preference of Font of Life and Revitalize as my choice of a secondary tree.:)


Biscuit Delivery
A solid rune that can make a Health Potion or a Total Biscuit of Everlasting Will lifesavers. They are best used as a lifeline of sorts when faced against kill bot lanes such as Brand and Draven, since it can be the difference between death and life. This rune is best used when you need to stock up on the previously mentioned items and expect the lane to have very close 2 vs 2 fights.


Magical Footwear
This gives you free boots at 10 minutes! For each take down ( kills or assists ) you obtain, the boots are given to 30 seconds sooner. This means the better you do in lane, the faster you will get free boots! This will allow you to delay getting upgraded boots for a bit, in order to save gold for other items such as Redemption or Locket of the Iron Solari. It also gives whatever boots you decide to upgrade into extra movement speed! As long as you are able to obtain 2 kills or assists by 10 minutes, I would say that it is a good idea to take this rune.

Surging Tides
A nice touch to Nami's kit. It gives Nami or her targeted ally a slight boosted in movement speed, so it helps Nami or her target kite well it is also useful for getting Nami or her ADC back to lane faster. Think of this ability as a nice cherry on top of Nami's kit!
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Aqua Prison
The hardest part of Nami's kit to master, but also the most rewarding. Aqua Prison allows Nami to peel for her carries during all stages of the game. For the small fish, Nami can lock down a single target, but a more seasoned Nami players can consistently land a Aqua Prison that locks down 2 or 3 players at the same time. Its low cool down and nice payoff will attract the more flashy support players, but be warned: the animation is fairly slow, so during non chaotic situations, it may prove to be hard to get a amazing bubble off.
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Ebb and Flow
In my opinion, this is the bread and butter of Nami's kit. Despite a slightly heavy mana cost, Ebb and Flow is one of the most efficient heals in the game. It is an amazing poke, counter, and healing tool for Nami, which is the primary reason why Nami is picked for a strong lane phases. To get the most out of it, it is highly advised that you try to always bounce at least once when using Ebb and Flow. The more you bounce, the more you get for your mana cost!
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Tidecaller's Blessing
An ok ability on its own, but is made really good by its combination with Surging Tides. Since Tidecaller's blessing grants damage and a slow, it makes Nami an enabler for her ADC in terms of kiting ability. Its low mana cost also makes it useful for getting your ADC back to lane faster due to the effect of Surging Tides.
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Tidal Wave
Like the rest of Nami's kit, Tidal wave is a great offense tool and a decent defensive tool. It can be used to engage, escape, and disrupt any situation. Its great range and wide area of effect, makes it a fairly easy ability to pull off; but a slightly difficulty ability to use to its maximum potential. Its low cool down and huge area of effect, makes this ability a fairly easy one to pull off, even for novice Nami players!
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These items are gonna be the first things you need to check off your item list.


Ancient Coin
A general starting item for Nami players. It gives Nami a nice bit of mana sustain, which will help with the high mana cost of Ebb and Flow. It also allows Nami to play passive against unfavorable match ups such as Zyra or Brand and can deny the kill lane win condition of these bot lanes. Overall its a great item for Nami into any match up.


Spellthief's Edge
A more aggressive start, for the more edgy Nami players. It does not generate as much mana or reliable gold income as Ancient Coin, but it does provide AP and possibly more gold than Ancient Coin would if the Nami is aggressive enough. This make Nami's lane phase stronger, but she will find herself terribly behind if she fails to utilize Spellthief's to dominate lane. If you pick this up as Nami, you must focus on getting as many bounces as possible with Ebb and Flow. This item is best picked into a enemy support who is a melee tank.



Boots of Mobility
I would suggest getting these boots a majority of the time. The reason for this is simple: almost all other boots are not good on Nami. You do not need Ninja Tabi or Mercury's Treads, because if you build Nami right that little armor or magic resist is not gonna save you from getting blown up. Sorcerer's Shoes is a joke item on Nami, Berserker's Greaves is a clown's favorite item, and Boots of Swiftness... is ok actually, but only when you obtain a cloud dragon with it.


Ionian Boots Of Lucidity
I get these boots once in a while. These boots are useful for reaching 45% CDR as soon as possible or for those situations in which you need your summoner spells up as much as possible, such as when facing a Zed or Ekko. Overall, you would want to take these boots when your ability to move around the map is less important than having your summoner spells up.

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Once you get some boots, you should immediately seek to build your core items.



Redemption
A staple item for any healing support. It can be used to heal up your team during a teamfight,heal another lane and if you are lucky, you can even kill enemies with it. When and how to use it varies from case to case, but the 10% increase in heal power, health, and mana regeneration are all very attractive stats for Nami players, which makes it a fantastic item for her.


Locket of the Iron Solari
This item has been a core item for many support champions for a long time. The shield from the active is crucial in the middle of a team fight and has good synergy with Redemption since Locket's active scales with health. Overall the item is good for many support champions for just about any scenario.

SIDE NOTE: You can forgo Locket of the Iron Solari when building Athene's Unholy Grail.

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After all that is done you are now free to build the following items.


Ardent Censer
A nearly core item for Nami. Ardent Censer is fantastic for when you are supporting an ADC who wants as much attack speed as possible such as Jinx, Varus, or Kog'Maw. The increased attack speed and on hit damage make already insane DPS ADCS even more insane, which is made even more bodacious if your ADC happens to build Guinsoo's Rageblade, because every other basic attack with this item will trigger the on hit effect from Ardent Censer a 2nd time. It also works well with redemption since it can trigger Ardent's passive on multiple members on a team at once. Overall Ardent Censer is a great item and should be bought if you have a Guinsoo's Rageblade building ADC or have more than one AD champion on your team.


Mikael's Crucible
This item is the opposite of Ardent Censer in a few ways. While Ardent seeks to buff your teammates, Mikeal's is there to save your teammates from hard CC. Ardent great when your team is heavy AD, while Mikeal's is great for facing heavy AP. Mikeal's offers greater defensive stats, 10% more healing power, and and powerful " get your ADC out of jail free " card. It can be also used on yourself or other teammates beside your ADC, should any of you be making silly mistakes.


Athene's Unholy Grail
This gives you more 5 AP for each 25% base mana regen you have. This makes any of the support healing increase items such as Redemption, Ardent Censer, or Mikael's Blessing very effective in combination with Athene's. It also increases your heal for when damaging enemies with your abilities. This makes it the perfect last item for aggressive Nami players. If you decide to build this item your most optimal route would be to get Eye of the Watchers, followed by ALL of the healing items, topped of by Athene's.


Knight's Vow
Normally reserved for tanks, Knight's Vow could prove to be a useful item when facing a AD heavy team. It redirect damage taken by your ADC back to you as true damage, but grants you 60 armor and 15% increased movement speed when going towards your ADC ( Assuming that your ADC is bonded to you). It also heals you for damage that your ADC does as well. This is normally reserved for tanks and has a 50% efficiency reduction as such. Still its a good item, if you feel that your AD needs the extra intimidate protection.


Frozen Heart
This item is for dealing with those pesky heavy AD teams with high DPS. Basically Frozen heart reduces nearby enemies attack speed by 15%, essentially making them play in slow motion. It also grants you massive armor, tons of mana, and 20% cooldown. The stats on this item are insane and give you longevity during the entire game, without having to do much besides buy the item and be near your carries.


Twin Shadow
This is a very spooky item that brings light CC and some aggressive stats into Nami's kit.
This item should be built when you find yourself in the enemy jungle often or feel that a champion on the enemy team may try to flank your team in order to win team fights. Think of this item as a tool help keep track of enemy champions. It also provides movement speed and cool down which is a nice cherry on top!

Flash
There are very few champions that can get away without taking flash. Nami is not one of those for the same reason: she lacks escape. Flash gives her an escape, therefore should be taken every game. It also allows you to secure a kill with Ebb and Flow or cc a enemy with Aqua Prison should you need to.


Exhaust
Most of the time ill take Exhaust in combination with Flash. It allows you to make a high threat enemy slowed and do less damage for a little bit, and buys your adc time to pop off. This spell is very effective into assassins such as Zed or Talon, but is overall a safe spell to take. It will always have a use throughout the entire game.


Ignite
Ignite is a great spell for Nami players who really want to abuse Nami's fantastic lane phase. This gives Nami a lot of kill pressure and should be taken by Nami players who wish to win the game as fast as possible. It is also a good idea to bring against heal reliant champions such as Swain or Soraka


Heal
I only go heal if the ADC wishes not to take heal. This is a great idea if the enemy team is CC heavy. Instead of being forced to buy QSS, the ADC can simply get Cleanse instead, while they pass off heal to you. I prefer Ignite or Exhaust, but there are times such as the one I described where taking heal is the best option.

COMBOS

" Speed me up Nami! "
+
A simple, yet efficient way to get you or your allies around the map. Simply target an ally or self cast with Tidecaller's Blessing and you will automatically get a speed boost from Surging Tides. Its a mana cheap way to get your team to locations faster.

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" Nami... is kind of a bully! "
+ +
This combo is simple: just get a enemy caught Aqua Prison and fire at will. When the enemy is in the air, use Ebb and Flow directly on the enemy in question, followed up by empowering yourself or an Ally with Tidecaller's Blessing. Deals decent damage and is very punishing.

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" NANI!?!? "
+
A wise man once said " The unused CC is the deadliest ". This remains true for Nami, but no worries: you still can get the job done without Aqua Prison. Simply get in a position when your target can't counter attack ( Ex. an enemy ADC about to last hit a creep or attacking from a bush the enemy does not have vision in ) and hit them hard and fast with Ebb and Flow followed by a basic attack empowered by Tidecaller's Blessing. Lacks the ability for your ADC to join in, but gets the job done.

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" She Made Me Experience High Tide! "
+ + +
This combo involves Nami using everything to ensure she or her teammates get a kill. You start off by getting a enemy caught in Aqua Prison, soften them up a bit with a Ebb and Flow directly on them; extending the CC chain further by using Tidal Wave on them and finishing them off by empowering yourself or an ally with Tidecaller's Blessing This should ensure a kill on any squishy target, if done with perfect timing in regards to CC stacking.

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Early Game

When the curtains are drawn, it's your time to shine baby! As I said earlier, Nami's stregth lies within the early game, therefore you will want to be as aggressive as possible. Use Ebb and Flow and Tidecaller's Blessing to keep the enemy lane down, while keeping you and your ADC healthy. Save Aqua Prison handy and use it aggressively when you know the enemy mid/jungle are not nearby. If they are MIA or near bot, hold onto Aqua Prison until they go away or attempt to gank you. If you find yourself in a bad match up such as Brand or Braum, focus on the healing and peeling aspect of Nami. Nami's counters tend to not be godlike scalers into the late game, so you will not have to worry about time being against you as well. Make sure to ward river with a Stealth Ward and get a Control Ward for your tri bush, friendly buff, or in dragon pit.

Mid Game
How you play out mid game all depends on how well or not so well your early game went.

If behind...
Sushi boy opened up in town and you were on the menu! Maybe it was a gank or perhaps the enemy support was stronger. In any case you are behind! What do you do now?! A behind Nami is terrible, but you can salvage your way back into the game. Play backline and focus on empowering your teammates with Tidecaller's Blessing and Ebb and Flow. Do not be aggressive and focus on peeling with Aqua Prison and Tidecaller's Blessing should the enemy team engage onto you. Defensive wards should be placed, unless your other lanes are ahead.

If ahead...
Ring-a-ding-ding baby, you did it! Those chumps out there didn't stand a chance! The lights were on you and you delivered MY ******** PLATINUM CHIP ! Now you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Focus on getting your ADC as much gold as possible by rotating lanes quickly by using Surging Tides if your top is fine with it. Basically you want your ADC to farm up, push hard on objectives, while you zone the enemy laners. Also, be sure to get deep wards in the enemy jungle.

If even...
Well you did not do your job, but you did not int either. Kind of boring, but whatever. In this case you should have a balance between the you are feeding sushi scenario and you're a star scenario. You will want to play with the flow of the game, switching between an aggressive nami and defensive nami, depending on the number of champions present in your location as well as how well or not so well your team has been doing. Get some deep vison if possible, but if not just keep wards near baron/dragon.

Late Game
It's the late game now. This means everyone is near full build and what ever happened in the early game is no longer relevant. What wins the game from here on out is pure skill and game sense.Your job as Nami should no longer be aggressive; from here on out your job is to peel, enable, and empower your teammates, especially your ADC.In team fights you will want to stay in the backline, next to your ADC. If your ADC understands how to properly teamfight, they should be aiming for the closest enemy to them and so should you. Aqua Prison any enemy champion that gets too close to your ADC and use Ebb and Flow directly on any teammates who are missing HP. Be sure to use Tidecaller's Blessing on your ADC to empower their kiting ability and damage output. How you use Tidal Wave to its maximum efficient varies, but in general a always good idea to use it a disruption tool in team fights, similar to Braum and his Glacial Fissure. Never go alone when warding, going as a pair with your jungle is often a good idea as you two can both gain vision and deny vision assuming you both have Sweeping Lens.

- Ebb and Flow is most effective on its first bounce. After that it is less effective each new bounce. To get the most out of it, you will need to determine what more important: healing or attacking? If healing is more important, do the former; if attacking is more important, go with the latter.

- New Nami players grossly underestimate how great Surging Tides can be. Make it a habit to use it often when traveling around the map.

- It is very easy to miss Aqua Prison. The best way to land it more often is to aim where you think they are going, rather than where they are currently.

- Always keep an eye where you are! Do not accidentally go in the frontline!

- You are the best in the early game, but also the most vulnerable. Keep a eye on that minimap ( I try to look at the minimap every 2-3 seconds, minimum for reference)

- Type hat in shop as Nami. You will be pleasantly surprised :)

Thanks for reading my guide! I really hope that I made at least a few people out better Nami players and maybe even better League players overall! If you have any questions, comments, criticism, or questions as how am I so damn handsome, please comment down below and let me know! You can find additional content at my social media sites (found back at the introduction) and can always add me in game (Drlazerbeam or DrlazerSmurf ).

LOOKOUT ITS A MEME
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