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Since we're trying to be [ia bit[/i] aggressive early on, we'll start with Magic Focus and Sands of Time, which gives us a crazy amount of power, CDR and some MP5. The pots depends on your preference, but Nu Wa does suffer from the lack of fast mobility, which leads me to normally get a Healing Potion.
195 Magical Power and 20% CDR, both stats leading you into quite a powerful mid game.
Choose one of these Lifesteal items depending on the enemy team. Soul Gem is a nice item to have if you're facing an enemy team with a lot of poke potential. Pythagorem's Piece is an overall amazing item, the one I would recommend you to get if you think you won't be one of the main damage dealers of your team.
Makes you into a glass-cannon mage, focused on dealing major damage to a specific target in the fastest way possible, betting on the raw damage from the 3 items, plus their passives, together with the penetration established earlier, to chip away large chunks of health.
This doesn't mean you're playing support. This means you're trying to provide some additional support to your team instead of being a glass-cannon mage. Also, you might want to consider using Shoes of Focus instead of Shoes of the Magi.
Items that you might consider changing Shoes of the Magi for after you get Elixir of Speed. Gem of Isolation is good for creating a mobile slow-zone with Mysterious Fog. Spear of the Magus and Charon's Coin are both good for their passives and additional damage (even if just a few decimals above Shoes of the Magi). Mantle of Discord is for when you're up againts a comp that can and is trying to burst you ASAP. Think something like The Morrigan + Serqet + Xbalanque. Divine Ruin is a lovely item to go againts healers AND teams with a lot of regeneration (HP5). Bancroft's Talon insanely increases your damage and lifesteal, which can come in handy. Rod of Tahuti is a staple glass-cannon mage item, and works in almost every single damage-oriented build. Shaman's Ring is a nice 7th Item as it gives you movement speed and almost as much (if not more) damage as Rod of Tahuti .
Nu Wa benefits A LOT from Purification Beads and Aegis Amulet. CC Lockdowns affect Nu Wa a lot since she doesn't have a fast escape, and she's a mage, making her quite a squishy target.
Tap each threat level to view Nu Wa’s threats
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ABILITIES
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STRENGTH OF WOOD
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Strength of Wood is a vary straightforward passive. It gives your basic attack a root by succesfully hitting it 5 times, which means that on the sixth basic attack, the root will take place
This ability can not be leveled, and is active at all times.
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MYSTERIOUS FOG
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Mysterious Fog is an AoE projectile ability, which advances fowards for 6s, that increases your movement speed and stealths you, and applies an initial damage and a DOT each second an enemy stays within the AoE
This ability should be leveled second, after Shining Metal and before Clay Soldiers
Use this ability for the following circumstances:
- Zone out enemies / slow them with Gem of Isolation. - Getaway and Chase - Clear Wave with Shining Metal. |
CLAY SOLDIERS
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Clay Soldiers is a ability that summons up to three soldiers constructed from clay, that chase after marked enemies and decrease their magical protection, and when used in unison with her third ability, they break and create an AoE stun that applies high amounts of damage.
This ability should be leveled third, after Mysterious Fog and before Fire Shards
Use this ability for the following circumstances:
- Aggress on enemies. - Start your combo to deal massive damage - Remove backdoor protections from towers. |
SHINING METAL
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Shining Metal is an projectile ability, which deals a considerable high amount of damage, that increases if you use it together with her second ability
This ability should be first
Use this ability for the following circumstances:
- Clear the Wave. - Poke the enemies - Apply major damage with her second ability. |
FIRE SHARDS
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Fire Shards is a global ultimate that applies damage, to every enemy currently alive, and also reveals their location for you entire team during it's casting
This ability should receive a point at level 5, after that, you should level it whenever possible
Use this ability for the following circumstances:
- Reveal the enemy position on the map - Secure kills - Deal a considerable amount of damage before a teamfight - Temporarely make yourself CC and Damage Immune |
Starter item #1 - Power / MP5 / Passive
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Core item #1 - Power / Mana / CDR / Movement
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Core Item #2 - Power / Penetration / CDR / Passive
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Lifesteal Option #1 - Power / Health / Lifesteal / CDR / Passive
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Lifesteal Option #2 - Power / Health / Lifesteal / Penetration / Passive
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Damage-Oriented #1 - Power / Passive
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Damage-Oriented #2 - Power / Mana / Penetration / Passive
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Damage-Oriented #3 - Power / MP5 / Passive
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Utility-Oriented #1 - Power / Penetration / Passive
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Utility-Oriented #2 - Power / Health / CCR / Passive
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Utility-Oriented #3 - Power / Health / CCR / Passive
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Starter Item Evolution - Power / MP5
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Relic #1
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Relic #2
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Combo #1 "Iconic"
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Combo #2 "Not Today"
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Farming and Poking
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Focus and Strategy
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Teamfights and Objectives
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Nu Wa is, by far, one of the most unique mages of this game. With solo and jungle potential, Nu Wa is pretty versatile for a lot of stuff, from Split Pushing to changing the fate of a enemy/ally. If you are going againts a Nu Wa, be on your feet. If you are Nu Wa, prepare to save the Heavens and fulfill your role as Guardian of Heaven.
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....All of my other guides, awaiting your review ! Go check 'em out !....
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07-18-15 ~ Added that Mysterious Fog and Shining Metal can go through walls. 09-25-15 ~ Special Thanks Tab and Auto-Attack Build correction. 10-25-15 ~ Corrected old information. 11-03-15 ~ Shadow of Olympus Patch, Added Other Guides tab. 11-06-15 ~ Spelling adaptation 11-27-15 ~ The Black Friday Update 01-01-16 ~ No Update, just making it still Up-To-Date 03-03-16 ~ S3 UPDATE YAY ! 04~02~16 ~ No real update, just to make it Up-To-Date 04~30~16 ~ Updated missing BBCoding 07-10-16 ~ General Update 07~16~16 ~ Solo Aphro Guide Advertasing 09~11~16 ~ Guide Update 10~20~16 ~ Guide Update #Yay 12~03~16 ~ Guide BBCoding Update ! 04~30~19 ~ Guide Update for Season 6! Major BBCoding rework and build update! 05~05~19 ~ Build update for efficiency, disregarding the "Baby Steps" idea 06~01~19 ~ Added Shaman's Ring and Match History section 07~18~19 ~ Corrected BBCoding errors, added a new match to the Match History and updated the Other Guides tab! 07~27~19 ~ Updated complete oversight on the 7th Possible Item tab. 08~20~19 ~ Updated Shaman's Ring mentions 02~01~20 ~ S7 Update. Replaced Obsidian Shard for Charon's Coin and changed the reccommended start. 03~25~20 ~ Updated typos 04~24~20 ~ Updated Boots and new Match for Match History 06~12~20 ~ Added Obsidian Shard as a possible item. 07~27~20 ~ Added Spear of the Magus, updated build and old numbers. 09~08~20 ~ Updated guide to keep it up to date. 11~23~20 ~ Guide still revelant and up to date, updating for freshness 12~17~20 ~ Mobile Compatibility Update! 01~29~21 ~ S8 Guide Update! 03~04~21 ~ Guide update, changing starter item and adding new information. 04~26~21 ~ Added BBcoding changes, informaiton updates and the S8 Mage Guide Win! ~Thx to Zilby for his BBCoding. |
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Especially since your example builds gets pen very late, in the form of Charon's (I would recommend Obs Shard since the tier 2 has percentage pen).
I think you should delay Soul Gem a bit, now that Shoes of the Magi will give you some lifesteal so you can sustain yourself in lane for a longer period of time.
I see two build paths for Nu Wa:
• Core: Chronos' Pendant > Shoes of the Magi > Divine Ruin/ Spear of Desolation (Divine most of the time tho, global anti-heal with her ult is too valuable to pass up.)
• Path 1: Damage
Charon's Coin > Soul Reaver > Rod of Tahuti.
• Path 2: Utility
Charon's Coin > Ethereal Staff > Gem of Isolation
• Boots replacement (Both paths):
• Soul Gem.
What are your thoughts?
I'm exclusively a Nu Wa main but I only just started playing recently. This whole guide was very eye opening. My old builds didn't even have most of these items in them...
My build before this guide used to be along the lines of...
Shoes of Focus - Book of Thoth - Polynomicon - Book of the Dead - Bancroft's Talon - Obsidian Shard.
I do need to point out that I don't play conquest or ranked. I mostly play joust or siege. Also, I'm not a highly aggressive player with Nu Wa. When I made that build I was playing around tower and making sure my teammates were able to engage easy.
Good guide. Complete, consistent and very informative for all new players.
I'm no expert in Nu Wa, so i might ask you; Does Spear of the Magus procs on Clay Soldiers? cause if it does, it can be pretty overpowered and you should include it.
I'm pretty new to this site being that this is my first ever comment. Recently I've taken up Nu Wa and have been enjoying her quite a bit. I've only played her in Arena, so it's hard to say how Conquest would go. I immediately found your guide when I was considering giving Nu Wa a try, and it's been so helpful.
I'm curious though if the build that I have been defaulting to within my games is good though. Yes, I've been using the same build on repeat, haven't needed to switch anything out.
The build I've been going is as follows:
I also have Rod of Tahuti and Ethereal Staff in mind for backup items to substitute in if I ever need what those items offer.
I go with this build because it gives a pretty decent magical power increase but also has quite a bit of life steal and superb cooldown reduction. I know that I probably don't need so much life steal and that magical power is my best friend when it comes to Fire Shards, but I still struggle to find a better combination of items.
In your opinion, and anybody else's, should I switch out anything? I know builds are very situational and items are subject to being swapped out but I can't help thinking that this build is good in most cases where I don't need to build protection.
Any advice on this would be very much appreciated.
In Arena, I think Nu Wa plays better with a bit of surviveability and utility. Getting Gem of Isolation instaed of Bancroft's Talon and Ethereal Staff instead of Typhon's Fang is already a better direction to you build! Gem will allow you to use your 1 as a zoning tool, which the enemy needs to decide : "Is it worth passing through this? Should I wait till it passes? Should I back off and not engage?", because he will be punished by the slow and possibly even punished by yourself if you're looking to kill them.
Ethereal Staff will give you pretty much guaranteed extra 25% health and 40% extra mana, which does make it interesting to have in Arena. Ulting while your health is still somewhat good (and not ulting cuz you're being focused by the enemy team) will give you a slight advantage in the terms of numbers, but you're still wasting your ult for this, but Ethereal Staff helps her wonders with surviveability and damage (If it didn't have 90 damage I would switch it up with Spirit Robe)
I hope you have fun with Nu Wa, and that you keep me updated with your games with her!
I would swap Bancrofts and typhons for Soul Reaver (or Obsidian Shard) and Rod of Tahuti (or Obsidian Shard).
Also matches where you need Divine Ruin I would swap Spear of Desolation for it. Besides, you can get that last 10% CDR to reach the 40% cap from Potion of Magical Might.
Gem of Isolation is an optional utility item, but Ethereal Staff would be the better option or just a normal damage item.
Thank you.
I did some alterations to the guide, and would like to see what you think! I didn't do the pros and cons BBCoding reevaluation cuz I had some problems while trying to tinker with this preset on one of my private BBCoding-Testing builds. so maybe expect that later!
The builds look good. I will say, if you can, it's good to give some more precise direction about when you'd want to build certain items. Generally, for example, Obsidian Shard would be something you'd build in the 4-7 slot, while Divine is typically picked up 3-4, and Deso is picked up anytime. Things like that.
Ugh. Did you even read the guide?! He clearly says he put that in there as a joke.
I think that would be better yes, but even then in most games you're probably going to build it that I wouldn't consider it situational, and more say... core.
Yes, especially considering you already have Chronos' Pendant and you switched out Bancroft's Talon for Soul Gem. Also if you need anti-heal then Divine Ruin (300 gold cheaper) will take the place of Spear of Desolation.
Example build (anti-heal): Shoes of the Magi, Chronos' Pendant, Divine Ruin, Obsidian Shard, Soul Gem, Soul Reaver. (sell boots for Elixir of Speed and Rod of Tahuti/ Gem of Isolation/ Ethereal Staff or some alternative)
Another example build: Shoes of the Magi, Chronos' Pendant, Soul Gem, Obsidian Shard, Soul Reaver, Rod of Tahuti. (sell boots for Elixir of Speed and Gem of Isolation/ Ethereal Staff or some alternative)
You can get Obsidian fifth item instead of fourth like I suggested, just don't delay it to sixth item or as a boots replacment as that is generally too late.
You could also get Soul Gem at the end of the build instead, after Soul Reaver.
However, if you wanted to go Book of Thoth then: Book of Thoth, Shoes of Focus, Spear of Desolation, Obsidian Shard, Soul Gem, Soul Reaver. (sell boots for Elixir of Speed and Book of the Dead or some alternative). (if you need anti-heal swap Spear of Desolation for Divine Ruin, sell boots for Chronos' Pendant - as that's 30% CDR if you include Soul Gem which is enough).
Another possible build, no pendant or thoth: Shoes of Focus, Divine Ruin, Soul Reaver, Obsidian Shard, Spear of Desolation, Soul Gem. With this build you would start Mage's Blessing + Magic Focus and pots. (and you would sell boots late for Elixir of Speed and Rod of Tahuti or some alternative).
There, 3 different build styles to use. 1 focused on early cdr and item passives for Nu Wa ult (if you don't need divine and can fit reaver/tahuti/soul gem before selling boots - there's also boots replacement which could be E-Staff or Iso) , 1 for lategame high power with Book of Thoth, and 1 for getting soul reaver and divine early to counter anti-heal + tanks building health (like Blackthorn).
You just want to make sure the build doesen't have 40% CDR once you sell blessing (or more), as Potion of Magical Might does exist.
One last thing, consider adding Dynasty Plate Helm (buffed at start of season) as an alternative to Celestial Legion Helm (which was nerfed).
But your reasoning makes sense and you gave solid build options. Personally, I like to rush CDR and Lifesteal on her (Chronos > Boots > Soul Gem > rest of the build), but all the other options work.
I still think Celestial Legion Helm is the go-to if you're a Mid and need some physical defense.
I still think Celestial Legion Helm is the go-to if you're a Mid and need some physical defense.
Celestial only has 5 more base protections, and the passive is only relevant for the first burst ability/tick of damage you take. Also Celestial only has 5 more power than Dynasty while Dynasty has 10 pen which is better.
Also Dynasty is 1700 gold compared to 2150 gold for Celestial.
Also Dynasty is 1700 gold compared to 2150 gold for Celestial.
Celestial has more protections (you'll reach 70 prots with full stacks), power and MP5. Plus, you don't have to replace it lategame.
The 2 items are viable, but I still think Celestial has the upper hand because its not a bridge item.
The text that was marked as a quote was my response, not a comment you made. Sorry about the confusion, its fixed now.
It's only a problem once you start finishing your build and sell blessing. It's not maxing the potential of your build. Also this is conquest not arena, so matches last longer where Potion of Magical Might can be considered a factor, as well as Elixir of Speed. 30% CDR plus Chronos' Pendant passive should be over enough CDR.
• Chronos' Pendant will subtract 1 sec of your cooldowns, so you can ult more often.
• Spear of Desolation will also reduce your ult cooldown when you get assists (something you should be getting a lot hanks to Fire Shards).
• Soul Gem helps with your burst damage.
The thing is, even if these items didn't provide CDR, their passives would be extremely valuable on a ult-focused build.
Good question, only im going to ask you the same thing, where are YOU looking? Because it doesen't seem that you look at your own comments.
Because where I was looking, it says "Possible 7th Items" aka Boots replacement, where Obsidian is listed.
I now understand what you meant.
I love Nu Wa! She's probably my safest mid, because her abilities are easy to confirm and her ult allows you to
steal killshelp other lanes without the need to actually be there.I have two questions/propositions to make.
1. On the Damage Oriented items, I'd replace Bancroft's Talon with Soul Gem. Not only it provides CDR, but it boosts Fire Shards' damage when fully stacked, so I think its a superior option than Bancroft's.
2. On the Support Oriented items, I'd suggest to replace Divine Ruin with Ethereal Staff. I understand the concept behind getting Divine, since applying a global anti-heal is really helpful, but not always needed. I also think Divine Ruin should replace Spear of Desolation in the situations where it should be built.
Thoughts?
• I find it hard for me to replace Bancroft's Talon for Soul Gem for Nu Wa, but don't get me wrong, I think Soul Gem is an amazing item on some mages (like Poseidon) but I think it also creates a hesitation on the player to not "waste it" on an ability that isn't Fire Shards or Shining Metal, and I didn't want to create said hesitation for newer players/new Nu Wa players.
• Healing reduction affects all forms of Healing (Hp5, Lifesteal, ability heal, etc.) and therefore is helpful in every match. I did write on the guide that, if you are facing an enemy team with a major healing factor, Divine Ruin should be bought 3rd item, replacing Spear of Desolation. While e-staff is cool and helpful, I didn't have good experiences with it on my play testing, but it coul be a mention for 7th item
I will update the guide to replace Bancroft's Talon with Soul Gem, while also warning 3 trillion times that it's useful no matter when you proc the passive.
Example build: Shoes of the Magi, Chronos' Pendant, Divine Ruin, Obsidian Shard, Soul Gem, Soul Reaver. (if you don't need Divine, get Tahuti instead last item, and get soul gem before obsidian).