Hello,
My name is Raynes. To cut straight to the chase, I will never claim to be an expert but anything I state has been tested vigorously and has experience to back it up.
A lot of people have been complaining about the recent rework on Nova. There's been a lot of complaints that her burst has dropped and that she's now useless.
I personally find that most of this stems from simply not playing Nova to her fullest. Yes, she's got burst, and yes she's fragile but she can be of way more use to your team if you use her in team fights and reconnaissance instead of simply trying to snipe weak heroes.
Positioning is key and knowing when to engage and when not to. This guide is intended to provide useful information and tips on playing Nova to her fullest that hopefully will help people enjoy her more.
I will continue to update this guide and provide a few alternative builds. Please let me know what you think. Thanks.
Nova is what is known as a "carry" hero. This means she's not very effective early game but becomes a major force in the later game. (Your team has to carry her early, hence the name). She is a
high-risk, high-reward hero because all of her effectiveness rests on one ability: Snipe. If you miss your Snipe, you are not benefiting your team.
Take your time, engage carefully (not quickly) and always keep your position in relation to your escape route and you enemies in mind! Keeping your position in mind is even more important than damaging your opponent - you are of absolutely no use to your team if you're dead.
Early Game
Depending on both team's composition and your team's strategy, you'll either be helping push a lane or roaming. Most teams will have Nova roam and try to Snipe early kills. Depending on your assigned role, how you play early game will change.
Pushing: If you're assigned to help push a lane, always make sure you do not cross the half-way point between your gate and the enemy's gate. Nova is very easy to gank early game. Find a buddy on your team and push with them, keep yourself on your team's side of the enemy minions so you have an easy escape route and use your range to your advantage. If you see an enemy hero, use your Snipe to lay down damage and make them your priority to keep them to keep their distance - absolutely DO NOT CHASE and don't get in range to use your Pinning Shot unless they stay too long and you can get the kill by preventing them from fleeing.
Roaming: Do not cross lanes in vision range of enemy minions or heroes, astute observers will see your blur and communicate your location with their team. Instead, use grass patches and stay close to your base to move into position - remember, the longer the enemy team does not know your whereabouts, the more helpful you are to your team. When you engage on a called target, engage from a position where you have an easy escape route because you will likely be jumped on the moment you reveal yourself. Do not chase fleeing enemies unless your allies are as well. Be patient with your Snipe - it's a complete waste if you miss, it's the whole reason you're on the team.
Middle Game
As the game enters the middle stage, your ability to lane clear diminishes rapidly. The longer you are exposed, the greater the danger to you. As such, you should no longer be assisting in pushing a lane if that was what you were doing at the start. Your priority at this point in the game is keeping eyes on the enemy team - yes, that's right, you're the scout.
Move around the map carefully and use grass patches and alternate routes to move between mercenary camps or objective points and keep your team informed on enemy movements. This will take practice, a lot of it, but if you can become good at scouting and predicting enemy movements, your team will benefit greatly - information is a very, very powerful weapon.
Absolutely DO NOT ENGAGE alone, especially if you have no escape route and no back up. The longer you remain unseen, the more carefully the enemy team has to move and the less likely they are to split up to try accomplish too much at once. Single out any heroes that over extend or isolate themselves and let your team set up a gank. Call any objectives or camps the enemy team is working on and let your team respond in the manner it chooses to do so. Remember, you are not a one-man show and you are not the hero. Your job is to report your findings and engage with your team.
When team fights occur, your job is to lay down immediate burst damage on the team's target which should be the enemy support or main DPS. Always engage with an open escape route (keep yourself positioned with your base closer to you than your enemy's base) and don't get yourself into corners.
Late Game
Late game is your play ground but don't think that means you can relax. Positioning and careful engagement are still key but the enemy's movements are going to be a lot more predictable and your ability to punish heroes that over extend or isolate themselves is at its peak. Your play style is similar to mid-game, you'll be moving around the map carefully and keeping tabs on your opponent but there's one additional thing you must keep in mind - always be near your team. Team fights happen
a lot late game and your team is going to need you nearby to put down damage on the enemy. Your positioning doesn't change, keep an easy escape route, avoid corners and walls, stay closer to your base than theirs.
If your team is going for a final push, stick with the team but move along the outside of a path, don't move with the group because AoE will be common and you don't want to be caught in it.
Tips and Tricks
- You're cloaked NOT INVISIBLE. Remember to use the bushes, grass and alternate paths to your advantage. You're hard to see in the open unless they're looking for you, but you're very hard to see in vision impairing areas.
- Positioning is king. Always keep three things in mind: Your escape route, your team's positions, your enemies' positions.
- Decoy was recently reworked, it is much more convincing now if placed carefully. Try to imagine where your enemy would suspect you'd be hiding and use your Decoy to prove them "right." Put it in bushes or other areas where you would normally hide and bait as much out of your opponent as you can.
- TAKE YOUR TIME! The absolute worst thing you can do is miss your Snipe. Take your time and aim it carefully, don't rush to try and get it off quickly or you'll increase your chances of missing. Practice your accuracy and speed will come naturally.
- Do not panic. If you get caught out-of-position by a hero like Illidan, the chances of survival are already negligible. Panicking will make them effectively zero. Instead, take your time, aim your Snipe carefully, use your Pinning Shot to buy some distance and do your best to get to an ally or behind a wall.
- Don't get frustrated. Sometimes you're going to play poorly. Sometimes your enemy is going to be on point and seem to know exactly where you are and sometimes you're just going to get unlucky and get hit by a random AoE. It happens. Don't let it beat you. The good news about Heroes of the Storm is death is just a setback.
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