Is Nakoruru good in Honor of Kings?

Current HOKMeta data lists Nakoruru as Tier B, with 50.9% win rate and 0.5% pick rate. Nakoruru is worth playing if your team needs reliable Jungling pressure, but you should avoid blind-picking into Diaochan, Fang, Garo without peel or defensive item planning.

How do you play Nakoruru in teamfights?

In teamfights, Nakoruru should respect enemy engage range first, then play around the hero's Assassin job: dealing damage, protecting carries, or entering after key control is used. When behind, clear waves and preserve cooldowns instead of face-checking fog.

BJungling

Nakoruru Build, Items, Arcana & Counters

Nakoruru is a Tier B Jungling pick. Get the best build, core items, arcana, battle spell, counters, and tool-backed item decisions.

WR 50.9%Pick 0.5%Ban 0.0%

Build answer

Nakoruru best build for S15 (June 2026)

International server

Updated: 2026-07-20

Reviewed by: HOKMeta

Role, lane, difficulty

Jungling · Assassin · Tier B · Medium

Current patch rates

50.9% WR · 0.5% Pick · 0.0% Ban

Core 3 items

Axe of Torment, Rapacious Bite, Overlord's Might

Best arcana

Lvl 5: Mutation, Lvl 5: Unparalleled, Lvl 5: Stealth

Battle spell

Smite

Best into

Wukong, Athena, Xiang Yu

Watch out for

Diaochan, Fang, Garo

Nakoruru TL;DR

Tier B50.9% WRJungling

Nakoruru: After hitting an enemy with a skill, the next Basic Attack is enhanced, dealing extra damage.

Fast conclusion

Nakoruru is a Tier B Jungling pick with 50.9% win rate.

AMUBE YATORO → RERA MUTSUBE → KAMUI MUTSUBE → weave basic attacks

Core 3 items

Axe of Torment

Rapacious Bite

Overlord's Might

Pick when

Enemy carries lack reliable peel, and your side lanes can help secure early jungle tempo.

Avoid when

Main threats: Diaochan, Fang, Garo.

Open full counter pageMatchup notes, strong targets, and heroes that punish Nakoruru.

Current patch decision guide

How to decide if Nakoruru is the right pick

Pick Nakoruru if

Pick Nakoruru when your team needs a Tier B Jungling option and the draft gives this hero enough space to play around core cooldowns.

Avoid Nakoruru if

Avoid Nakoruru when the enemy composition directly attacks the hero's main weakness or your team cannot support the Jungling game plan.

Power spikes

First completed core item: check whether the hero can now contest lane or jungle tempo.
Two to three item point: decide whether to group for objectives or keep farming toward the late-game plan.
Final defensive or damage item: adapt to the enemy threat instead of following the build blindly.

Build decision

Start from the recommended build, then adjust based on whether the enemy is forcing burst survival, anti-tank damage, anti-heal, or safer positioning.

Matchup logic

Use the counter page and build compare tool together: first identify the threat, then test whether damage, defense, or utility gives the better answer.

Common mistakes

Following the build without checking the enemy draft.

Taking fights before the first meaningful item spike.

Ignoring wave state and vision before rotating.

30-day trend

Last 30 days of win rate, pick rate, and ban rate

Use daily snapshots to see whether this hero is heating up, cooling down, or simply staying popular without converting that attention into wins.

Win rate

Current 50.87%

7d change +0.31 pts

30d change +0.22 pts

Pick rate

Current 0.54%

7d change -0.01 pts

30d change -0.07 pts

Ban rate

Current 0.04%

7d change 0.00 pts

30d change -0.02 pts

Trend read

Nakoruru currently sits at 50.87% win rate, with a 30-day move of +0.22 pts and a 7-day move of +0.31 pts.

Win rate is climbing by +0.22 pts.

Pick rate is falling by -0.07 pts.

Ban rate is falling by -0.02 pts.

Patch reason

There is no current-season official balance entry to cite in the last 45 days.

Tools

Test Nakoruru damage and item builds

Use the calculator for combo damage, or compare two item builds side by side before changing your ranked setup.

Damage calculator Compare builds

Best Build for Nakoruru

End-game item order with gold costs and slot notes. Purchase path may differ in-match.

Build philosophy

Nakoruru benefits from Physical attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration — match items and runes to kit scaling.

Passive: Enhances her next Basic Attack after landing a skill hit, dealing extra damage.

Physical attackCooldown reductionPenetration

Arcana: Prioritize runes that boost Physical attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration for this hero's passive and skill scaling.

4 presets — switch by draft, lane, or CN meta. Default matches Jungling when available.

Recommended item build order
#	Item	Gold	Stats	Why
1	Axe of Torment	2,090g	PATK +80, CDR +10%, HP +500 Anti-squishy	Fits On-hit priority — Passive - Devastating Blow — Basic Attacks and skills deal physical damage equal to 7% HP to minions and monsters, and restore Health equal to 50% of the damage dealt (halved for ranged attacks).
2	Rapacious Bite	2,160g	PATK +90, MSPD +5%, CDR +7.5% Monster kills boost ATK	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Maim — Skills slow the first enemy hero hit by 10%–20% and reduce damage taken from that enemy by 20% for 3s.
3	Overlord's Might	2,540g	PATK +150, CDR +5% High-damage attack	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Siege Breaker — Deals 30% extra damage to enemies below 50% Health.
4	Starbreaker	2,080g	PATK +90, HP +700, MSPD +7.5% Anti-tank	Fits Survivability priority — Passive - Revive — Resurrects the wearer 2s after dying and restores 2,000–3,000 Health. This effect can be triggered up to 2 times per match.
5	Eternity Blade	2,110g	PATK +120, Crit Rate +20% High crit damage	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Dark Curtain — When taking fatal damage, instead of dying immediately, the hero gains invincibility and a 15% Attack Speed and Movement Speed increase for 1s (0.75s for ranged heroes). After equipping this item, its effect duration increases by 0.01s every 5s, up to a maximum of 0.5s.
6	Sage's Sanctuary	2,280g	HP +900, PDEF +150, MDEF +150 Resurrect on the spot	Fits Physical attack priority — Passive - Apoplexy — Basic Attacks deal an extra (1.5% HP) physical damage. When Health drops below 50%, this damage increases by 25%–50%.

Best Arcana & Spells

Arcana and battle spell setup
Slot	Choice	Effect
Primary	Mutation	Recommended for Assassin Jungling
Spell	Smite	Adjust Purify/Execute based on enemy dive.

Abilities

Skill Order

Skill 2 → Skill 1 → KAMUI MUTSUBE (max Skill 2 first)

RERA MUTSUBE provides mobility or stick—max first. AMUBE YATORO second for damage. KAMUI MUTSUBE on every level.

Passive

DANCING SWORD ARTS

Enhances her next Basic Attack after landing a skill hit, dealing extra damage.

Skill 1

AMUBE YATORO

Deals damage to a selected enemy and marks them. Damaging a marked enemy triggers the mark, dealing extra damage and reducing the cooldown time of the skill.

Skill 2

RERA MUTSUBE

Dashes forward, dealing damage to enemies and recovering Health.

Ultimate

KAMUI MUTSUBE

Gains a Movement Speed boost. Using the skill again deals damage to enemies in the target area, slows them, and reduces their damage output.

Combos

1. Standard trade
AMUBE YATORO → RERA MUTSUBE → KAMUI MUTSUBE → weave basic attacks
When: Jungling skirmish or objective fight
2. All-in
KAMUI MUTSUBE after full rotation when Flash is down
When: Gank or backline dive with team CC

Counters & Matchups

🏛️ Camp Official Counter Data

Official counter reference from Camp HOK rank statistics.

Nakoruru is strong into

Pick Nakoruru when the enemy drafts these heroes.

Nakoruru struggles into

Avoid Nakoruru or ban these when they appear on the enemy team.

Full counter analysis →

vs Similar Heroes

Nakoruru vs Wukong (Assassin, Tier S): Wukong is 1.3% pick / 49.7% WR. Nakoruru has +0.9% WR vs Wukong in Camp data. Choose Nakoruru when you need Jungling identity; choose Wukong for Jungling comfort.
Nakoruru vs Musashi (Assassin, Tier A): Musashi is 1.1% pick / 50.7% WR. Musashi wins 0.0% more often globally. Choose Nakoruru when you need Jungling identity; choose Musashi for Jungling comfort.

Playstyle & Ranked Tips

Laning Phase

Clear to level four, then gank the lane with the least escape. Secure Tyrant when your bot or mid has crash wave.

Teamfight Role

Wait for CC from your team, then dive carry with full combo. Exit with reset or flash if focus fired.

High Rank (Diamond+)

Nakoruru is a viable Tier A pick in high rank with 50.7% win rate — strong in one-trick hands or as a counter-pick.

Related decisions

Keep researching Nakoruru

Nakoruru full guide

Lane plan, teamfight rules, ranked mistakes, and matchup notes.

Nakoruru counters

Best counter picks, matchup notes, and draft risks.

Nakoruru damage calculator

Test item damage against marksman, mage, fighter, and tank templates.

Nakoruru build compare

Compare two item builds and get matchup-specific conclusions.

Best Assassin heroes

Compare this pick with other heroes in the same role.

Nakoruru Build 2026 FAQ

Quick answers for Nakoruru builds, arcana, counters, lane choice, and ranked value.

What is the best Nakoruru build in 2026?

The best Nakoruru build in 2026 uses Axe of Torment, Rapacious Bite, Overlord's Might, Starbreaker, Eternity Blade, Sage's Sanctuary. Play Nakoruru in Jungling, take Lvl 5: Mutation, Lvl 5: Unparalleled, Lvl 5: Stealth arcana, and usually run Smite. This recommendation is aligned with S15 (June 2026) and the 2026-07-20 HOKMeta data snapshot.

What is the best arcana for Nakoruru?

The best Nakoruru arcana setup is Lvl 5: Mutation, Lvl 5: Unparalleled, Lvl 5: Stealth. Keep the core damage arcana first, then adjust movement speed, pierce, or sustain only when the matchup makes your lane unsafe.

What should Nakoruru build first?

Nakoruru usually wants Axe of Torment first because the first item should stabilize Jungling clear speed, trading power, or tempo. If the lane is unsafe, adjust boots or a small defensive component first, but do not delay the core damage curve too long.

What should Nakoruru build against tanks?

Use the HOKMeta damage calculator or build compare tool to test penetration, sustained damage, and survivability against tank templates. The best anti-tank item choice depends on whether Nakoruru can keep attacking safely or needs a defensive item to survive the first engage.

Who counters Nakoruru?

Nakoruru is most vulnerable to Diaochan, Fang, Garo. Draft peel, respect engage range, and adjust items when the enemy lineup can dive or chain crowd control.

What lane does Nakoruru play?

Nakoruru is mainly played as a Assassin in Jungling. In ranked games, prioritize a stable farm pattern and only rotate early when the wave state keeps your economy safe.