esports

How to win at League of Legends' Nexus Blitz

Get tips, tricks and more in our essential guide to Riot's new play mode.

Written by James Busby

7 min readPublished on 10.12.2018 · 15:16 UTC

League of Legends’ winter festivities are in full swing and Summoners around the world have been jumping into Riot’s beloved Nexus Blitz mode. The experimental mode proved incredibly popular among fans when it underwent alpha testing back in patch 8.16, so it’s no surprise that Nexus Blitz has made areturn to live servers.

Nexus Blitz sees two teams juke it out across a compact, two-lane map with a constant flurry of action and map-wide events. You’ll need to have your wits about you if you wish to survive the fast-paced team fights and ever-changing objectives of this flashy mode, but with a little help from our handy Nexus Blitz guide, conquering your foes should become a lot easier.

Have a read up what the mode has to offer, and scroll further down to check out our Nexus Blitz tips.

The brief

The map is split into two zones
© Riot Games

Nexus Blitz is a 5v5 game mode that sees two players jungle and three players battle it out in a single lane. Two lanes are located at the bottom of the map and are separated by chunks of terrain and a central brush. Players can pass through this brush to make a stealthy play or help an allied player with a swift gank. Meanwhile, the top section of the map is where each team’s two junglers fight for control of the key camps and buffs.

Jungle experience and gold are split between both players and only the strongest duo will be able to impact the various in-game events that pop up throughout game’s duration. The bloody nature of Nexus Blitz means that games typically last around the 13-15 minute mark, but failing that, a special end-game event will bring things to a close.

Nexus Blitz events

While League of Legends’ usual turret-pushing antics may be present in Nexus Blitz, there are several events that aim to shake up this tried and tested formula. Riot has packed a whole host of creative minigames into its new mode, all of which encourage map-wide brawls and good old jolly cooperation. If you have a thing for payload pushing, battle royale, king of the hill, 2v2, 1v1, prize fights, and sudden deathmatch, then you’ll love Nexus Blitz.

Winning any of these minigames will give your team game-changing buffs that you can all use to swing the Nexus Blitz battle in your favour. Random events happen every few minutes and the first takes place just five minutes into the game. With seven unique events on offer and an average of two-to-three minigames per game, expect plenty of variety and replayability in this game mode. A list of the events and their objectives can be found below:

Bardle Royale

Those familiar with the ever-popular battle royale modes that seemingly crop up in every multiplayer game will know exactly what to expect here. Both teams must battle it out in an ever-shrinking circle until only one player is left standing. Getting caught outside the circle will chunk huge amounts of your health and staying alive can be incredibly difficult, especially when the enemy team is fed. However, the reward will be worth it if you win.

Prize Fight

Teams face off in a gauntlet of 1v1s and 2v2s. Matchups are decided by how much gold each player has, and whichever team wins the most duels claims the victory. Simple.

Loot Teemo

Riot’s resident punching bag spawns on an area of the map and players must barrage him with attacks to claim his gold. However, the mischievous Yordle is on the larger side and his extensive health pool and mobility can make last hitting him a little tricky.

It’s often best to work together to take down Teemo, so be prepared to chase him down for your reward.

Push the Cart

Payload pushing has always been a popular way to increase bloodshed in any game, so it makes sense that Riot has included this minigame in Nexus Blitz. When this event appears, a payload cart will spawn in the middle of one of the lanes. To win, you’ll need to push the cart to the closest enemy objective and blow it up. The cart will move whenever you stand next to it. However, enemies can stop your push by also standing next to the cart, so make sure you wipe them out and force them away from the cart to claim victory. If the cart doesn’t make it to the objective after a certain amount of time has passed, then the team that pushed the least will lose the round.

King of the Hill

A control point will spawn on a random area of the map and your team will need to take control of this sector to win. Of course, this is easier said than done. Either wipe out your foes by coordinating your ults or stealthily send one player up to the point while the rest of your team jukes it out. Just remember that if an enemy player is standing within the sector, then neither team will be able to claim the objective.

Ultra Rapid Fire Deathmatch

Get ready to unleash a flurry of attacks
© Riot Games

Everyone is given URF powers and has three lives. Ability cooldowns are majorly reduced and can be spammed to your heart’s content. Unleash a flurry of attacks until only one team is left standing.

Sudden Death

At 18-minutes, each team’s Nexus will start walking towards the enemy’s base. This is the final event and is the one that decides which team will take the Nexus Blitz crown. These monolithic beasts are incredibly tanky and deal a lot of damage, so work together to protect your own Nexus and destroy your opponent’s one.

Top tips and tricks

Teamwork makes the dreamwork
© Riot Games

A team that sticks together wins together. Playing solo and diving head first into 1v5 situations is a sure fire way to lose any game of League of Legends, especially in Nexus Blitz where teamwork is vital. By sticking with your team and coordinating your movements and attacking with them, you’ll naturally have an advantage when the events are announced.

When the event timer appears, head towards the middle of the map and wait for the event location to appear. Congregating in the middle of the map will give you easy access to every lane, so be sure to ping your team for assistance when the event countdown begins. Sticking together will increase your overall survivability, giving you more opportunities to claim kills and keep your On Fire! Buff.

Getting kills or assists without dying in Nexus Blitz will grant you a huge boost to your stats, but also increases the amount of damage you take from enemy champions. If you get caught and end up dying, you’ll lose these game-changing buffs and gift a large amount gold to your enemy. As a result, it’s often best to stick with your teammates and let them sponge some of the damage.

Make sure you save your ultimate and head back to base to purchase items and recover any missing health before each event starts. Each event is randomised and usually starts every five minutes, so make sure you’re prepared well before the timer appears. In fact, it’s often best that you try to kill as many enemy champions before the event even begins. This will give you a huge numbers advantage and will make claiming the King of the Hill zones, Loot Teemo gold and the payload cart much easier. Meanwhile, the small nature of the map makes it incredibly difficult to dodge skill shots, so don’t be afraid to capitalise on allied CC and AoE spells to neutralise key damage threats.

Champions with potent stuns and knockbacks like Poppy and Alistar are fantastic picks, as they can zone enemy champs away from various objectives and are incredibly potent in the Bardle Royale mode. For the best results, try to build a varied team comp that can deal a decent amount of damage, while also keeping your foes on their toes with tanky disengagements.