Nautilus vs Heimerdinger — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Nautilus against Heimerdinger · 47.87% win rate · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: Closer than it looks — Nautilus owns 2 of the 7 game windows to Heimerdinger's 1, but the win rate still favours Heimerdinger: you have to convert those windows or the game slips away. Nautilus wins 47.87% of games vs Heimerdinger in top lane.

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1Even / skillLevel 1 is even — I have no all-in without W or E, but my passive root punishes him if he walks up to last-hit in auto range.
Level 2NautilusAt Level 2 my W shield and splash burn come online, so I win the short trade and threaten the Q-pull-into-root before his grenade is leveled.
Level 3NautilusLevel 3 with Q + W + E up is my cleanest window: hook him off the turret, passive-root, E-slow and chunk him before he can kite.
Levels 4-5Even / skillLevels 4-5 are a coin-flip — my W shield eats his W rocket poke but his stacked turrets wall the wave and deny my hook angle.
Level 6Even / skillAt 6 my Depth Charge is undodgeable and homes past his turret screen for a kill, but he can E-stun on my engage and reset the trade — genuinely even.
First itemEven / skillOn first item he buys Liandry's/Rylai's while my engage tank components add no kill pressure, so the lane stays a skill matchup around my hook timing.
Two+ itemsHeimerdingerBy 2+ items he owns it — his percent-HP turret and rocket damage ignores my tank stats while my low base damage can't punish him through the turret wall.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Level 1 is a wash — I have no all-in without W or E, but my passive root makes any auto-trade favorable if he steps up to last-hit. The real prize is Level 2-3: once W (shield + splash burn) and E (Riptide slow) come online, I hook him with Q off his turret nest, passive-root on the first auto, and E-slow so he can't kite out. Dodge his E grenade — if I Q in and he lands the stun first, my whole combo dies. Bait that grenade, then commit.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Nautilus vs Heimerdinger report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.

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Playing the other side? Heimerdinger vs Nautilus guide →
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