How to win lane as Olaf against Nautilus · 53.69% win rate over 3,215 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | You both have unremarkable level 1s — deny his autos so he can't stack the passive root and set up your Q-slow first contact. |
| Level 2 | Olaf | With Q-slow into E true damage you burst a flat health bar his armor can't reduce — he has no answer at 2. |
| Level 3 | Olaf | Chained axe pickups keep him perma-slowed while E nukes him; his even trade-pattern can't beat guaranteed true damage. |
| Levels 4-5 | Olaf | W omnivamp out-sustains his auto-and-E poke and your short trades snowball — he can't disengage a slowed target. |
| Level 6 | Olaf | Ragnarok cleanses his hook, passive root and R knockup, so you walk through his entire kit and all-in freely. |
| First item | Olaf | Black Cleaver / Bramble lets you perma-slow and chunk him every trade — this is your most oppressive lane window. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | He out-scales the lane: full-tank Nautilus flash-hooks your dive and his CC chain resets the moment Ragnarok ends. |
Nautilus trades evenly into you only if you let his autos proc the passive root and his Dredge Line hook lands clean — don't stand in melee letting him stack that. Throw Q to slow him, walk up for an auto, and pull the axe back to reset it so he's permanently slowed and can't reposition. At Level 2-3 your E true damage cuts straight through his tankiness while your passive ramps attack speed as you take his poke — he simply can't match a guaranteed true-damage burst on a flat health bar.
The full Olaf vs Nautilus 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? Nautilus vs Olaf guide →
All Olaf top lane matchups →