Baron Nashor LoL Guide

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A common feature in MOBAs is the neutral units. They spawn in areas called woods (otherwise called jungle), and they provide another source of gold and experience. Some of them are very strong and will give you special items and buffs. One such unit is Baron Nashor.

This is the strongest monster in League of Legends. It spawns in the river after 20 minutes, and, as the game progresses, he becomes stronger and stronger. Killing Baron Nashor provides your team with a strong buff called Hand of Baron. With it, you can quickly take down the enemy base.

In this Baron Nashor LoL guide, we will take a look at this ancient monster, his spells and abilities, and how to take him down without suffering any casualties.

Key Info Up Front

Baron Nashor is the strongest neutral unit in League of Legends. He is the strongest entity on the map, and it commonly takes the whole team to take him down. When you kill Baron Nashor, all alive team members will gain a significant gold and experience boost, as well as Hand of Baron buff.

Who is Baron Nashor?

Baron Nashor is a void-born monster who lives in Runeterra and is the largest creature of its kind in the world. He is so famous and revered that there’s even a constellation named after him. According to some legends, Baron ascends to the skies every night and shines upon the denizens of Runeterra. Others claim that he made the constellation out of spite and vengeance.

He always lived in Serpentine River, a body of water that splits Summoner’s Rift in two. However, when defenses around Summoner’s Rift were constructed, the monster suddenly perished. To this day, historians don’t know why he left or where he has gone to.

His features are similar to that of a river serpent. Furthermore, he can only be found on the Summoner’s Rift map, always occupying Baron Nashor’s Pit. He never moves and protects his territory feverously.

While he has characteristics of a serpent, what sets him apart are his numerous arachnid appendages. Baron Nashor also has three mouths from which he spews bile acids. The Baron’s 12 eyes help him see things in front of him as well as behind him. That way, adventurers can never surprise him. Nevertheless, you can still notice the marks of the previous battles as some of these eyes are permanently damaged.

Among other notable characteristics, we have to mention his sharp teeth and head crests. The Baron also has strong burrowing tentacles, which can emerge at any place, at any time. Besides his enormous size, you can easily spot the monster by his purple/teal colors.

Why Is the Significance of Baron Nashor in League of Legends?

First off, with the introduction of Baron Nashor, Riot paid homage to Roshan, the strongest unit in Dota 1 and Dota 2. Even the name implies so (Nashor is reverse Roshan). Similar to its predecessor, this epic monster provides benefits to the team that killed it, helping them finish the game much faster.

By killing him, the whole team will gain a major experience and gold reward. All champions on the map will get 600 experience and, if they’re close to the pit, they’ll get an extra 200 experiences for a total of 800. Everyone will get 300 gold, and the Baron’s killer will get an extra 25 on top of that.

However, there is an even more important reason why you would target the monster. By killing Baron, everyone on your team gets a buff called Hand of Baron. This is an extremely potent boost that will increase champions’ ability damage, ability power, and provide an aura that strengthens nearby minions. You will also be granted a spell called Empowered Recall for the duration of the buff. The effect lasts for 180 seconds.

With this buff, it is much easier to penetrate the enemy base taking down turrets and inhibitors. For maximum efficiency, you should stay close to your minion wave, so they also benefit from the Hand of Baron buff.

Dead teammates will not get the boost, and the effect will vanish as soon as the champion is killed. Unlike other monster buffs, Hand of Baron does not transfer to the killer. It is worth noting that nearby minions will get the effect as long as one team member has the buff. In theory, you can use it to push all three lanes simultaneously.

Although the buff doesn’t last that long, you can kill Baron Nashor several times during the game. After each death, he will need 6 minutes to respawn. Basically, you can have the buff for 3 minutes, spend 3 minutes without it, and reacquire it once again after 6 minutes.

However, the effect is so strong that it will usually end the game after the first acquisition.

Baron Nashor Stats and Abilities

Baron Nashor becomes stronger as the game progresses. The developers added this feature so that it is slightly harder to take him down. For example, attacking Baron at the 20-minute mark shouldn’t be significantly harder than attacking him at the 40-minute mark.

Nevertheless, as the whole team gains levels and items, killing the monster will be much easier regardless of Baron buffing up. Baron has various abilities that would help him defend against different champions and strategies. Among others, he has passives and spells that would prevent a cheesy takedown. In other words, the team is forced to spend a certain number of resources to gain the buff.

Health: 9,000 (+180 extra health per minute)
Health regeneration: 15 (+0.375 bonus regeneration per minute)
Attack damage: 285 – 435 (285 at the beginning; increased by 15 every 2 minutes)
Range: 955
Attack speed: 0.625
Armor: 120
Magic resistance: 70
Passives: Presence of the Baron, Void Corruption, Voracious Corrosion, Debuff Immunity, Baron’s Gaze
Abilities: Acid Shot, Acid Pool, AOE Rear Attack, Tentacle Knockup

Baron Nashor Spells and Abilities

Baron Nashor has certain passives, such as Debuff Immunity, that make him the strongest unit on the map. You cannot stun-lock the monster, nor can you reduce its stats. Instead, you need to have a high DPS to take him down quickly. Furthermore, Voracious Corrosion prevents you from taking a prolonged engagement, so it is very difficult to kill the Baron with an underleveled team.

While certain champions can solo him, this is not an advisable strategy. If you try to solo Baron, the opposing team will eventually notice your absence. And, if they catch you doing Baron while his health is low, they can easily steal the kill. Always remember that the buff, gold, and experience reward goes to the team that lands the last hit.

Baron Nashor utilizes three auto-attacks, including melee attack, ranged attack, and rear attack. In the majority of the cases, it will use its ranged attack that deals 100% AD physical damage to the target. With each hit, the champion will be debuffed with 2 stacks of Voracious Corrosion.

If the target is in a melee range, which is usually the case as you need a tank to absorb the damage, Baron will sometimes utilize a melee attack causing 100% AD physical damage to the target and 50% AD physical damage around the champion. Luckily, the monster uses the attack infrequently. Otherwise, it would decimate the nearby teammates.

Lastly, we have a 100% AD physical damage rear attack. The auto-attack goes on a single target and can only be used if there is a champion behind the Baron. The most troublesome auto-attack is the ranged attack as it applies Voracious Corrosion. The effect reduces the attacker’s magic and physical protection, which prevents you from tanking the monster for a prolonged period.

Baron Nashor’s Passives

The monster’s passive abilities are well thought off. In many ways, they resemble Roshan’s passive. Like in most RPGs, where bosses have special protection from debilitating debuffs, Baron Nashor cannot be instant killed, stun-locked, or taken advantage of in some other tricky way.

This kind of protection is especially important for MOBAs as you don’t want teams picking the same champion over and over, exploiting his abilities to quickly kill Baron.

Presence of the Baron

Baron Nashor is completely immovable. No matter what, he will spawn in the same spot every time. This is important as it prevents teams from using ledges and walls to exploit the monster. The presence of the Baron is an ability that knocks backward, units, champions, and any other object that might appear in the Baron’s designated spawning spot. Furthermore, you cannot ghost through the monster.

Void Corruption

Void Corruption is an ability that helps Nashor spread damage on all the surrounding champions. To be exact, Void Corruption is an attack that activates every 0.75 seconds, together with your regular auto-attacks. It does 60 magic damage and +20% attack damage.

What is more important, the passive applies a stack of Voracious Corruption to a nearby champion who has the lowest number of stacks. So, while your tank will have the biggest number of stacks, as he is continuously attacked, your other units will also be affected. In other words, it won’t be so easy to switch up tanking duties if your main frontliner dies.

Voracious Corrosion

Aside from Debuff Immunity, Voracious Corrosion is the main reason why Baron Nashor is so troublesome. It is a debuff passive that is applied to various attacks and abilities. Depending on an attack, Baron Nashor will place one or two stacks of Voracious Corrosion on a target.

Each stack reduces magic resistance and armor by 0.5, up to 100 times. So, in a prolonged fight, your defenses can be reduced by 50. As a result, certain lineups will have a hard time killing Baron. The effect lasts for 8 seconds so, if you accrue too many stacks, you can always go out from the pit, wait for the debuff to expire, and restart the fight (if we presume you have enough health to continue fighting).

Debuff Immunity

Baron Nashor cannot be stunned, silenced, rooted, or affected by any other debuff. You also cannot alter his stats, damage, and resistance. In other words, things such as armor penetration won’t help you kill the monster faster.

However, he can be affected by stasis, which can be important if one of the champions is close to death and you need to make a quick retreat. Keep in mind that the monster will still take damage from these spells, but he won’t receive a debuff.

Baron’s Gaze

Baron’s Gaze reduces incoming damage by 50% from the Baron’s most recent target. In other words, whoever is tanking the monster will deal only half of his normal DPS. This effect lasts for 8 seconds, but it is usually present for the whole duration of the fight (unless you have several tanks that can take the damage). Baron’s Gaze is especially debilitating if you try to solo the monster or go inside the pit with a small team.

Baron Nashor’s Abilities

While somewhat strong, Baron Nashor’s abilities can easily be avoided. Unlike auto-attacks, the spells are meant to cover a larger area and deal damage to several champions. Baron will use an ability after 6 auto-attacks.

They are used in a rotation, so he can’t use the same spell twice before casting all the previous spells. During the first rotation, you don’t know which ability will be used first, second, and third. However, as the rotation remains the same throughout the fight, you can predict the upcoming abilities after the first rotation.

Baron will use his abilities faster or slower depending on your proximity.

Acid Shot

Acid Shot is a wind-up ability that takes 2 seconds to prepare. Baron spews acid in a straight line causing 20% AD damage to all the champions affected. The projectiles will fly for 2 seconds. As there is a ground marker, you can predict the trajectory of acid goo.

Acid Pool

As the name implies, Nashor will create Acid Pools beneath your feet. Like Acid Shot, it is an ability that takes 2 seconds to wind up.

Once ready, the monster will spew three acid projectiles creating three pools on the ground. Each one of them deals 10% AD magic damage. They last for 2.5 seconds and will reduce the champions’ speed by 50%. While not particularly strong, the spell can cause issues with positioning.

AOE Rear Attack

This specific ability can only be activated if there are 3 or more champions behind Baron. It is an upgraded version of the rear attack that causes 50% AD physical damage and stuns affected champions for 0.5 seconds.

AOE Rear Attack is probably the Baron’s strongest ability. Keep in mind that the ability doesn’t go in the normal ability rotation. In other words, there are cases when Nashor will not even use it.

Tentacle Knockup

Baron Nashor’s tentacle protrudes from the ground knocking up units and champions and stunning them for 1.25 seconds. All affected characters will take 25% AD magic damage. Units and champions positioned at the end of the tentacle will be slightly tossed to the side. It takes Baron 1.25 seconds to wind up the ability.

Taking down Baron Nashor

Baron Nashor is a strategic objective. In other words, the opposing team won’t allow you to kill it. Figuring out that the enemies are taking Baron is pretty easy. If the whole team is missing from the map, there is a good chance they’re trying to take Nashor. You should always start by presuming they’re already in the pit.

Here are a few things you need to consider before attacking Baron:

Create Numbers Advantage

Whenever you’re in the pit, you have a terrain disadvantage. Being backstabbed in this situation often results in a team wipe, unfavorable trade, or enemies taking the kill for themselves.

So, even if you’re leading, it is important to create a numbers advantage before attempting Baron kill. You should kill at least 2 enemy champions to ensure Baron kills goes smoothly. You might even be able to pull it off with just one kill, but having a 3 vs. 5 situation is much safer. Then again, it depends on how strong each team is at the moment and how well they can fight within the pit.

Ward the Surrounding Area

Even if the opponents are at a disadvantage, there is a good chance they’ll try to contest the kill or steal it for themselves. Enemy using Smite on Baron Nashor can destroy the morale of your team, spiraling the match out of your control.

The best way to prevent this is toward the whole area above the pit. Wards are especially important if the enemy team is alive and can run at you as five. At the same time, you should try to remove any vision that the enemy possesses so that, even if they try to attack you, they won’t be able to execute a clean initiation.

Push Other Lanes

You shouldn’t neglect the vision that your minions provide. Before trying Baron Nashor kill, you should push middle and top lanes. While opposing team’s champions usually come through the jungle, you will see them in the lane before they change the direction. So, you will have more information for the upcoming engagement.

A cool trick is to try and force the bottom lane. If there is a large minion wave going towards the enemy base, they might be forced to react by sending one of the champions down there. This would create a numbers advantage even though you haven’t killed anyone.

In terms of pushing lanes, the minion waves are much more lethal if there are no turrets in their way. While you can sacrifice tier 1 turret and even tier 2 turret, you are forced to react if minions reach tier 3. Furthermore, the lack of turrets would prevent champions with Teleport from quickly reaching Nashor and contesting you.

Keep in mind they will still be able to teleport towards nearby champions, which is another reason why you should reward before a Nashor attempt.

Attack Him From the Front

The pit usually feels very constrained. There isn’t much space for moving around, so the champions often go behind the monster. Unfortunately, coming from behind can cause a few issues. It can activate AOE Rear Attack, stunning your whole team. Furthermore, this allows free entrance to the pit, making it easier for enemies to contest you.

While it’s ok to have one or two champions in the back, the majority of your forces should be in the front. Furthermore, you need a character with a strong zoning ability to push back anyone who might come close.

Important Tips and Tricks for Taking Down Nashor

While Baron Nashor is generally protected from exploits, there are still certain lineups and champions that perform better against him. In an ideal situation, you will have 1 tank and 4 squishy champions with enormous DPS. Of course, while this kind of lineup might be good for killing Nashor, it might not be ideal for team fights.

Here are a few things you need to consider before going into the pit and challenging the strongest unit in the game:

Having a tank makes everything that much easier. While you can still survive without one (if you have enough damage), having a squishy lineup with limited damage makes you prone to ambush from behind.
Voracious Corrosion is introduced as a way of preventing long, drawn-out Baron fights. Make sure to quickly kill the monster. Stacking buff can be disastrous, especially if you try to take Baron early in the game.
Always place yourself in front of the monster. Having one champion as a safety outside of the pit can also help.
Generally speaking, it is rather easy to avoid Nashor’s spells. Although they don’t cause much damage, they can be a bit troublesome because of the debuffs and status effects.
If a carrier has a good game, they might try and take Baron Nashor by themselves or with a small group. This is highly inadvisable. Even if you’re feeling overpowered at the moment, you should always consider Nashor as a strategic goal for which you need the whole team (like when you’re pushing inhibitors).
Make sure you’re full health when attempting the kill. Upon killing the Baron, you can teleport to base to heal and regroup.
When trying to kill Nashor, it is much better if all your teammates are alive. Given that dead allies will not receive the buff, this will stifle the upcoming push. The only exception is when the teams are very close in power, and you’ve just won a big engagement that cost you a champion or two. In that case, claim the buff as soon as possible and push with the advantage.
Spreading the allies around the pit will make it harder for enemies to contest. You need to position yourself according to allies’ abilities so that, in case of scrap, you can utilize their ability kit in the best way possible.
Baron continues attacking champions around the pit no matter what’s going on. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Depending on the situation, you should have enough awareness to know when you should continue attacking the Baron and when to disengage.

Experience is crucial for killing Baron Nashor and for engaging enemies around the pit. In certain occasions, you should continue focusing on the monster even if you’re getting pummeled on the outside. Sometimes, your team will be so weak that the only play you can make is stealing the buff.