Nocturne is a dive assassin. His R darkens the entire map and dashes to a target. He plays like a point-and-click delete button — R onto the carry, kill them, fight or escape. Simple but devastating.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Umbra Blades
Passive
Every few seconds, Nocturne's next attack strikes surrounding enemies for bonus physical damage and heals himself. Nocturne's basic attacks reduce this cooldown.
Umbra Blades: every few autos hit all nearby enemies and heal. Great for AoE clear.
Q
Duskbringer
Skillshot · Trail · AD Buff
Nocturne throws a shadow blade that deals damage, leaves a Dusk Trail, and causes champions to leave a Dusk Trail. While on the trail, Nocturne can move through units and has increased Move Speed and Attack Damage.
CD: 8 · Cost: 60/65/70/75/80
Q creates a dusk trail. Standing on it gives bonus AD and MS. Always fight on your Q trail.
W
Shroud of Darkness
Spell Shield · AS Buff
Nocturne empowers his blades, passively gaining Attack Speed. Activating Shroud of Darkness allows Nocturne to fade into the shadows, creating a magical barrier which blocks a single enemy ability and doubles his passive Attack Speed if successful.
CD: 20/18/16/14/12 · Cost: 50
W blocks one ability and gives attack speed if successful. Time it for key CC abilities.
E
Unspeakable Horror
Tether · Fear
Nocturne plants a nightmare into his target's mind, dealing damage each second and applying fear to the target if they do not get out of range by the end of the duration.
CD: 15/14/13/12/11 · Cost: 60/65/70/75/80
E tethers to a target and fears them after 2 seconds. Stay close to maintain the tether.
R
Paranoia
Global Vision · Dash
Nocturne reduces the sight radius of all enemy champions and removes their ally vision in the process. He can then launch himself at a nearby enemy champion.
CD: 140/115/90 · Cost: 100
R removes ALL enemy vision for 4 seconds, then dash to any visible enemy champion. Use for picks, not teamfight engage.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q first, then E, then W · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Q — trail + AD | ||||
| 2 | Take W — spell shield | ||||
| 3 | Take E — fear tether | ||||
| 4 | Level Q | ||||
| 5 | Level Q | ||||
| 6 | R — Paranoia | ||||
| 7 | Level Q | ||||
| 8 | Level E | ||||
| 9 | Q maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level E | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 — longer range | ||||
| 12 | Level E | ||||
| 13 | Level E | ||||
| 14 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level W | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level W | ||||
| 18 | W maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter Items
Gustwalker Smite
MS burst.
450g
Long Sword
AD.
350g
Refillable Potion
Sustain.
150g
Core Build
Duskblade of Draktharr
Invisibility on kill after R dive.
3100g
Berserker's Greaves
Attack speed for on-hit passive.
1100g
Edge of Night
Double spell shield with W. Near-immune to CC during engage.
2900g
Youmuu's Ghostblade
Lethality + MS.
2900g
Situational
Death's Dance
Bleed passive for survival.
3300g
Black Cleaver
Armor shred + HP vs tanky targets.
3100g
Guardian Angel
Second life after R dive.
3200g
Duskblade → Edge of Night → Youmuu's. Full lethality for one-shotting from R.
Runes
Precision Primary
Lethal Tempo
Stacking AS in extended fights. Passive + Lethal Tempo = rapid AoE autos.
Triumph
Heal on takedown.
Legend: Alacrity
Attack speed.
Coup de Grace
Execute damage on low HP.
Domination Secondary
Sudden Impact
Lethality after R dash.
Treasure Hunter
Gold on unique kills.
Shards
Attack Speed · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Nocturne
01
Early Game
Fast Clear, R Ganks at 6
- Start Red → Raptors → Krugs → Wolves → Blue → Gromp. Passive AoE makes clear fast and healthy.
- Pre-6 ganks are decent with Q trail MS + E fear tether. Run at them from behind.
- W spell shield blocks one ability. Time it for the enemy's key CC (Lux Q, Morgana Q).
- Your 1v1 is strong early. Q trail gives bonus AD — always fight on your trail.
- Full clear to 6 as fast as possible. R is your biggest spike.
02
Mid Game
R Pick = Free Kill
- R is a semi-global dash that removes ALL enemy vision. They can't see each other or you.
- R onto isolated targets. The 4-second darkness means their team can't help them in time.
- E fear guarantees your full combo lands. R → E tether → Q → autos → kill.
- W + Edge of Night = double spell shield. You're nearly immune to CC during your dive.
- Push side waves then R from lane to pick off an enemy. Split-push + R is Nocturne's identity.
03
Late Game
Assassinate the Carry
- R the enemy carry. You delete ADCs and mages in 2-3 seconds with lethality items.
- Darkness removes enemy team vision. Even if you don't kill someone, 4 seconds of no vision disrupts their coordination.
- Split-push a side lane. When enemies come for you, R away to a different fight. When they group, you split.
- W spell shield the most dangerous ability. Block Malzahar R, Lux Q, etc.
- If behind, R for utility. The darkness alone is worth casting even without a kill target.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Nocturne
Nocturne dives the backline. R onto the carry, kill them, then clean up or escape.
1
Darkness — R for Vision Denial
Opening
01
R to darken the map. Enemy team can't see each other.
02
Wait 1 second for the panic, then dash.
03
Target the carry.
Don't R into 5 grouped people. R isolated targets or wait until the fight splits them apart.
2
Dive — Kill the Carry
Assassination
01
R dash to target.
02
E tether immediately for the fear.
03
Q through them and fight on the trail for bonus AD.
3
Fight or Flight
After kill
01
Duskblade invis on kill. Walk away or re-engage.
02
W to block counter-CC.
03
Q trail MS to escape if needed.
R darkness lasts 4 seconds regardless of whether you dash. Sometimes casting R for the darkness alone (without dashing) disrupts the enemy enough to win.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Nocturne.
Basic
Q Trail
Q creates a shadow trail. While on it, you get bonus AD and MS. Always fight on your Q trail — never step off it.
Intermediate
W Timing
W blocks ONE spell and gives AS if successful. Time it for the enemy's key CC. Don't waste it on poke — save it for stuns.
Basic
E Tether Range
E tethers to a target and fears after 2 seconds. Stay close — if you walk too far away, the tether breaks and fear is cancelled.
Advanced
Split + R
Push a side lane, then R to a fight elsewhere. Your split-push pressure forces responses, then R lets you join fights globally.
Intermediate
R as Vision Denial
R darkness removes ALL enemy vision for 4 seconds. Even without dashing, this disrupts enemy coordination in teamfights.
Basic
Passive AoE Clear
Passive hits all nearby enemies and heals you. Stand in the middle of camps for the cleave. It makes your clear fast and healthy.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Nocturne struggles against champions who can peel him off the carry or survive his burst. He excels against isolated squishies.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Rammus taunts you after R dash, and thornmail reflects your auto damage.
Don't R into Rammus. R the carry when Rammus is far away.
Lee Sin kicks you away from the carry after R dash. His early pressure outpaces yours.
Wait for Lee Sin to use kick before R-diving. Or R a different target.
Lulu W polymorphs you after R dash. R ult makes the carry unkillable. She counters your entire identity.
W spell shield her polymorph. If she has R ready, don't dive her carry.
Wins Against
Karthus can't survive your R dive. Zero mobility, zero peel.
R him at any point. He dies instantly. W blocks his R if needed.
R reveals the map briefly, countering her stealth. You also one-shot her.
R her when she's visible. She dies before charm can fully charge.
Amumu can't stop your R dive. W blocks his Q. You kill his carries before he can engage.
Ignore Amumu. R his backline while he tries to engage yours.