The Imperials Guide to: Nova by BlueImperial

The Imperials Guide to: Nova

By: BlueImperial
Last Updated: Nov 8, 2015
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Nova

Build: My Favourite Build!

Level 1
Level 4
Level 7
Level 10
Level 13
Level 16
Level 20

Threats to Nova with this build

Threat
Low
High
Show all
Threat Hero Notes
1
 Falstad If you catch him while he isn't paying attention, you can easily burst him down and there is nothing he can do about it.
1
 Nova You catch her, shes dead.
2
   No Threat
3
   No Threat
4
   No Threat
5
 Abathur If he goes mine build he will cause many problems for you and you have to be really careful.
6
   No Threat
7
   No Threat
8
   No Threat
9
 Zeratul Higher mobility than you and has the same burst potential, you're very easily if not careful killed by him.
10
 Tassadar If the Tassadar uses his trait effectively, he makes your life a lot harder. He can easily Psi-storm you from stealth and dimensional shift out of your moves.

Nova

Build: Le Long Range Sniper

Level 1
Level 4
Level 7
Level 10
Level 13
Level 16
Level 20

Threats to Nova with this build

Threat
Low
High
Show all
Threat Hero Notes
1
 Falstad If you catch him while he isn't paying attention, you can easily burst him down and there is nothing he can do about it.
1
 Nova You catch her, shes dead.
2
   No Threat
3
   No Threat
4
   No Threat
5
 Abathur If he goes mine build he will cause many problems for you and you have to be really careful.
6
   No Threat
7
   No Threat
8
   No Threat
9
 Zeratul Higher mobility than you and has the same burst potential, you're very easily if not careful killed by him.
10
 Tassadar If the Tassadar uses his trait effectively, he makes your life a lot harder. He can easily Psi-storm you from stealth and dimensional shift out of your moves.

Nova

Build: Twins! Quadruplets! Oh my!

Level 1
Level 4
Level 7
Level 10
Level 13
Level 16
Level 20

Threats to Nova with this build

Threat
Low
High
Show all
Threat Hero Notes
1
 Falstad If you catch him while he isn't paying attention, you can easily burst him down and there is nothing he can do about it.
1
 Nova You catch her, shes dead.
2
   No Threat
3
   No Threat
4
   No Threat
5
 Abathur If he goes mine build he will cause many problems for you and you have to be really careful.
6
   No Threat
7
   No Threat
8
   No Threat
9
 Zeratul Higher mobility than you and has the same burst potential, you're very easily if not careful killed by him.
10
 Tassadar If the Tassadar uses his trait effectively, he makes your life a lot harder. He can easily Psi-storm you from stealth and dimensional shift out of your moves.

Introduction and About Me! Top


The names BlueImperial, i've been around since the middle of closed Beta and its been a blast, the best thing for me is playing my main Nova.

I'm an average player who plays whenever they're not busy but it hasn't prevented me from picking up some "Do and Do Nots" as Nova.

P.S: This is my first guide, any tips/comments are much appreciated!

I'm going to talk to you about Nova , Nova is an amazing assassin but thats all she is, she has no wave clear except . I'm also going to talk to you about her biggest threats to the people she has no problems with!

I will also be covering information about her traits and the things which can make or break her during a game, trust me... there is a lot of things.

Now! lets get started!

Lets talk about the heroes which make her day a pain! Top

Highest Threats

If the Tassadar uses his trait effectively, he makes your life a lot harder. He can easily Psi-storm you from stealth and dimensional shift out of your moves. To counter him you need to catch him when you know his Oracle and Dimensional Shift is on cooldown then burst him down! (If he shields and you don't think you can get him in time, retreat)
This little man called "Zeratul" will be a pain in the bum if you do not keep an eye out for him, you can easily trick him with a decoy then burst him down, but he has much more mobility than you and can easily dodge your attacks then burst you down, also Void Prison will end you if he catches you in it.

Lowest Threat


Falstad is a very squishy hero, you can easily burst him down if you sneak up on him, always do this in a corner where he cannot Barrel Roll through a wall and escape! Also if he uses everything on one of your decoys, hes just a sitting duck.
This is going to sound weird but... Nova counters Nova. Most heroes will just battle each other for ages when they fight with eachother because they have the same abilities but Nova is just straight up burst and squishy, so you catch an enemy nova and burst her down, shes dead.

Abilities Overview Top


Permanent Cloak Snipe Pinning Shot Holo Decoy Triple Tap Precision Strike
Gain Stealth when out of combat for 3 seconds. Taking damage, attacking, using Abilities, or channeling reveals you.Basic Attack range is 20% further than other ranged Heroes, and you see 10% further than other Heroes. Her first ability is Snipe. Nova fires a projectile in a straight line that will damage the first target it hits. This is Nova's signature spell due to its incredibly high damage and long range. Her second ability is Pinning Shot. Nova fires a targeted shot at an enemy, damaging and slowing their movement speed by 30% for 2.25 seconds. Hey third ability is Holo Decoy. This is Nova's only defensive ability and it allows her to place a clone of herself at a target location. This clone looks and acts exactly like Nova, firing her same abilities but dealing no damage. This ability does not break stealth upon use. Nova's first heroic ability is Triple Tap . This is a long-raged targeted channelled spell that fires three projectiles. These shots strike the first Hero or Structure they come in contact with, dealing damage each time. I recommend you use this with a team without roots and stuns to kill them in an area. Finally, her second heroic ability is Precision Strike. Nova calls down a nuke at a targeted location that will detonate after a 3 second delay, damaging all enemies caught within its blast. This ability has an unlimited range. I recommend you use this with a team with roots and stuns to kill them in an area.

Talents! Top

Conjurer's Pursuit Psi-Op Rangefinder Ambush Snipe Tazer Rounds
Not Recommended
This talent just isn't worth it, it increases your mana regeneration by so little and there are much more viable talents at level 1.		 Usable
Its not the most useful talent but its still usable.		 Recommended
This talent is by far the best at level 1, it increased your damage by 20% by just staying stealthed!		 Not Recommended
Its not incredibly useful, snipe talents are more important but if you believe this talent is useful, you can still take it
Perfect Shot Remote Delivery Gathering Power Envenom
Not Recommended
You don't need it because you can easily go back for mana when not needed, much more useful talents on this level.		 Not Recommended
I do not recommend this because you don't need it, the range isn't very important for this build and the 3 second cool-down reduction just isn't worth it in my opinion		 Recommended
Take this, this increases your damage out put by so much, if you're dying as a Nova 4+ times a game and losing stacks constantly you're not playing Nova right, shes meant to burst and run.		 Not Recommended
Its just not worth it, Nova is about bursting someone down before they know it happened, this just gives them a chance to possibly heal up. She is not meant to be doing damage over time.
Explosive Round One in the Chamber Anti-Armor Shells Covert Ops
Not Recommended
Not needed, much more viable talents on this level, its just not worth it.		 Recommended
This is the best talent at this level! and once we get into the rotation part of this build I will tell you why, its far superior to Anti-Armour Shells if used correctly		 Not Recommended
In this build, its not useful. Also the slower attack speed is something which just isn't worth it. If you're comfortable with it though, take it. (Its just not useful for this build)		 Not Recommended
You come out of stealth a lot, so this talent just isn't that useful.
Triple Tap Precision Strike
Recommended
If you're not comfortable with landing Precision Strike take this, but remember you need to be patient otherwise you'll just keep wasting your Triple Tap		 Recommended
I use this all the time, in my opinion its far more useful and combos with so many heroes, it also denies enemies entering an area, say if 2 people on low health are chasing an ally with low health, you don't need to hit those two people but you can cut them off from chasing your ally.
Lethal Decoy Advanced Cloaking Headshot Spell Shield
Recommended
This is such a good talent, with our rotation this will increase our damage out-put by a large amount!		 Recommended
This is a very useful talent, it allows you to chase enemy heroes more effectively and escape from them depending whats happening. (Hopefully you're chasing them...)		 Not Recommended
I'm not a fan of it, its just not that useful compared to the first 2 talents.		 Not Recommended
Same as before, I'm not a fan of it, its just not that useful compared to the first 2 talents.
Railgun Crippling Shot Double Fake Overdrive
Not Recommended
If this talent was at level 4, it'd be much more useful... but it isn't so don't take it.		 Usable
This talent is actually very useful, if you use it effectively you can shoot up your damage. (Puns)		 Recommended
This talent is super useful, with the rotation is ramps up your damage and confuses your enemies into insanity.		 Usable
Its useful, but just not that useful for this build.
Fast Reload Precision Barrage Rewind Bolt of the Storm
Usable
If you pick triple tap, its recommended that you take this upgrade, if used effectively, RIP the enemy team.		 Usable
This is super useful when combo-ing with your team, it can help wipe the enemy team or finish of this escaping enemies more often.		 Recommended
This is the part of the build which makes the rotation and will just make you a massive problem in the battlefield!		 Not Recommended
As a Nova you shouldn't be getting into these situations in the first place, seriously... you shouldn't.

Play-style! Top


The rotation of this build is what makes it, its the cherry on top!

The rotation its self is very basic but if done wrong you risk losing a high amount of damage.

Step One Of Rotation

 → → → → → →

Step Two Of Rotation

 → → → → →

This is where your "One In The Chamber" shines, it increases your damage out put by SO MUCH, if you catch anyone walking a tiny bit off from their group... you can kill them and all those decoys mean that persons team doesn't know where you are (Hopefully).

Just Remember you need to do Step-1 and Step-2 as fast as possible, if not you will not get the burst off.

Final Words Top


Nova is a super fun hero once you get to play her effectively. I've enjoyed it and I'm currently at level 16 and I'm still not bored of her. I do believe she does need some buffs here and there but she is great.

Just remember these little things:
- Do not first pick Nova in Hero League or the enemy will just pick up someone who can easily counter you, you should be Second to last/Last pick to be useful.
- You rely on your team so much! if you fall behind on levels you suffer more than any other hero, you cannot help get back to a high level because of your lack of wave clear.
- Have fun, she is a great hero which can be a joy!

P.S: I've said this before, but this is my first guide so any tips/feedback is much appreciated <3

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