Richard Rider Nova blasts his way into the Marvel Contest of Champions game this Thursday.
“The Ultimate Nova Force is truly on his side,” the game developer teases.
Players can play as the Human Rocket, listed as a “Cosmic” character, check out the ability and stats below, with gameplay footage around the :46 mark.
Nova Marvel Contest of Champions stat sheet:
Nova Marvel Contest of Champions gameplay footage:
CHAMPION SPOTLIGHT – NOVA
About NOVA
All was normal for New York high-school student, Richard Rider until he came into contact with the Nova Corps, a peace-keeping force based on the planet Xandar. After the planet Xandar was invaded and destroyed by a space pirate known as Zorr, the last surviving member of Xandar’s elite Nova Corps, Rhomann Dey, selected Richard Rider to replace him. Rider is given a uniform and powers of a Nova Centurion but little instruction on how to use them. Calling himself Nova, Rider becomes a Super Hero, teaming with other heroes such as Spider-Man and Thor to use his powers for the good of Earth and the universe while serving as its protector.
NOVA’s Mechanics
Nova wields the power of the Nova Force. This force manifests itself in the form of powerful gravimetric energy beams, protective shielding, and flight for its user. Nova is a powerful and mobile Defender who generates his power by actively moving around the arena. As he attains more and more power, Nova unlocks new abilities of the Nova Force: increased Energy Damage, the ability to Auto-Block while Stunned, and will eventually become Unblockable for a short period if his power is left unchecked.
Base Stats & Abilities
* All stats based on 4-Star, Rank 5, Level 50, Signature Level 99
HEALTH: 15660
ATTACK: 1148
MAX PI:
- WITHOUT SIGNATURE: 3849
- WITH SIGNATURE (99): 4799
*All stats based on 5-Star, Rank 5, Level 65, Signature Level 200
HEALTH: 31398
ATTACK: 2301
MAX PI:
- WITHOUT SIGNATURE: 7758
- WITH SIGNATURE (200): 10640
Character Class: Cosmic
Basic Abilities: Fury, Auto-Block, Nova Force, Unblockable, Energize
STRENGTHS:
- Medium Dash Attack
- Nova’s Medium Attacks give him access to his main source of Energy Damage. With his Signature Ability, players can see he is at his strongest when he winds up a Dash Attack from full screen distance.
- Power Gain / Energize
- As Nova travels forward across the arena, he gains Power, giving him more reason to aggressively pressure his opponents and use Special Attacks. Activating Special 1 also gives Nova access to increased Power Rate while he has his Energize Buff active.
- Defensive Abilities
- Nova Auto-Blocks if Struck while dashing forward as long as he has a Fury Buff active. Nova is also very resilient against Attackers with True Strike, Unblockable, or Guaranteed Critical Hits. This gives him considerable defense and protection while he moves around the arena, and makes him very tricky to deal with as a Defender.
- Long Buff Duration
- Nova’s Signature Ability also boosts the duration of Buffs that are applied to him. This gives him a considerable advantage being placed as a Defender in Alliance War.
WEAKNESSES:
- Nullify – Symbiote Supreme, Mephisto, Doctor Voodoo
- Nova’s primary source of power is his permanent Fury Buff. If it is Nullified, he briefly loses connection with the Nova Force and can no longer activate his Auto-Block.
- True Accuracy – Proxima Midnight, Night Thrasher
- Nova’s Auto-Block is a major threat, so any champion that can bypass his Auto-Block via True Accuracy has a considerable advantage over him.
- Power Manipulation – Gwenpool, Magik
- Nova’s main Offensive threats also come from his Special Attacks. Champions that are able to Burn, Drain, Lock, or Steal his Power will keep him from activating his most potent abilities
- Limited Space
- Nova’s main resource, Nova Charges, is generated faster when he dashes around the arena. This means when Nova does not have room to maneuver, he does not generate Nova Charges very quickly, thus limiting his abilities.
ABILITIES:
Passive
- When successfully striking opponents Nova has -30% Offensive Power Rate.
- While dashing forward, Nova passively gains up to 20% of a Bar of Power based on the distance travelled.
- Nova’s Medium Attacks do not make Contact and deal Energy Damage.
- Nova starts the fight with a permanent Fury Buff increasing Attack Rating by 803.6. If Nullified, Removed, or prevented in any way this Buff goes on cooldown for 12 seconds.
- When Nova is struck with True Strike, Unblockable, or guaranteed critical hits Opponents have -70% Attack Rating.
Developer’s Note: Nova’s Passive strengths make him a very resilient Defender. Champions such as Corvus Glaive and Ghost will have a hard time breaking through Nova on Defense. Players who try to stun Nova using the Parry Mastery will have to find another way to attack Nova. Nova’s Power Gain while dashing is also an ability players will want to utilize on offense.
Worldmind Intervention
- While Nova has a Fury Buff active, being struck when dashing forward activates Auto-Block allowing Nova to automatically block incoming Basic Attacks. Triggering this ability removes all Fury Buffs and consumes 25 Nova Charges.
Developer’s Note: This Auto-Block gives Nova some extra protection and safety when going on the offense. Players will find that while he is able to move around the arena with relative ease, they can still pay the price if they are too reckless with this ability.
Nova Charges – Max: 100
- Nova enters the fight at 0 Nova Charges and passively generates them over time. Nova Charges passively generate slower the more charges he has.
- While dashing forward Nova generates additional Nova Charges. More Nova Charges are generated the farther he travels.
- If struck with True Strike, an Unblockable attack, or a guaranteed critical hit, generate 50 Nova Charges.
- When one of Nova’s Buffs is Nullified, remove 25 Charges, and prevent Nova Charges from being generated for 6 seconds.
Developer’s Note: The main resource that powers Nova’s abilities is generated by dashing. A full-screen Medium Dash Attack will grant roughly 10 Nova Charges, while a half-screen Dash Attack grants 5.
Nova Force
- Nova’s Medium Attacks deal 30% of damage done as a burst of Energy Damage.
- At 25+ Nova Charges: Nova’s Second Medium Attack deals an additional 20% of damage done as burst Energy Damage. Activating this ability consumes 25 Nova Charges.
- At 50+ Nova Charges: Auto-Blocks can be triggered while Stunned. Activating this ability Purifies Stun Debuffs.
- At 75+ Nova Charges: Gain a Fury Buff increasing Attack Rating by 172.2 for 7 seconds and refresh Nova’s active Fury Buffs while below maximum stacks. Max 4 stacks.
- When reaching 100 Nova Charges: Gain an Unblockable Buff for 2.5 seconds. This ability consumes 100 Nova Charges when this Buff expires, is Nullified, or prevented and prevents Nova Charges from being generated for 6 seconds.
- Against Tech Champions, consuming Nova Charges inflicts an Armor Break Debuff reducing Armor by 500 for 24 seconds. This can only stack once.
Developer’s Note: Players need to note that Nova unlocks his abilities every 25 Nova Charges. To get the most damage out of the Nova Force, knowing when to consume Nova Charges with Medium Attacks, then hovering between 70 to 95 Nova Charges will grant Nova the biggest benefit.
Special 1: Centurion Tackle
- This attack pauses all Fury Buffs for 3.50 seconds.
- Consume 25 Nova Charges to gain an Energize Buff increasing Power Rate by 30% for 7 seconds.
- If activated at 75+ Nova Charges, gain a True Strike Buff allowing Nova to ignore Armor, Resistances, Auto-Block and Evade effects for 7 seconds.
Developer’s Note: Opting for this ability while playing Nova gives him considerable utility depending on when this Special Attack is used. Likewise if players fight Nova, this special attack is worth trying to bait out.
Special 2: Gravimetric Cannon
- Gain a Nova Surge Buff granting +100% additional Nova Charge generation for 9 seconds.
- Consume up to 50 Nova Charges to deal up to 50% of damage done as burst Energy Damage with each hit of this attack.
Developer’s Note: Special 2 is Nova’s main source of Energy Damage. This can be used to spend Nova charges for big damage or to generate even more Charges for the future.
Special 3: Gravimetric Hold
- Consumes all Nova Charges and deals 0.5% of damage done as an additional burst of Energy for every Nova Charge consumed.
- Re-activate Nova’s permanent Fury Buff if it is on cooldown.
Developer’s Note: This does not appear to deal a large amount of damage at first glance, but considering Nova can attain up to 100 Nova Charges, and can increase the base damage of this attack with stacking Fury Buffs, these factors easily multiply into large bursts of Energy Damage.
Signature Ability – The Human Rocket
Passive
- Nova’s Medium Attacks gain up to 2870.68 Bonus Attack Rating based on the distance travelled in the last executed dash.
- At 75+ Nova Charges: Nova’s Auto Block triggers the Parry Mastery. This effect cannot interrupt Special Attacks.
- The duration of Buffs is increased by 80%.
Developer’s Note: Nova’s Signature Ability highlights the main threats of his abilities while on Attack and on Alliance War Defense. Nova’s Medium Attacks become much more threatening from full-screen with this Signature. Being able to trigger Parry from Nova’s Auto-Block means players need to pay attention to his Nova Charges while fighting against to avoid being Stunned. Once Awakened, Nova is better placed on Alliance War Defense, on nodes with Buffs such as Buff Toggle (Unblockable), (Unstoppable), and Aegis (Intercept).
SYNERGY BONUSES:
New Warrior Blood – Unique Synergy
Nova
- Heavy Attacks have a 50% chance to refresh Nova Surge Buffs.
Night Thrasher
- The Shock Baton Gadget Debuff passively reduces Defensive Power Rate by 30%.
Darkhawk
- Starts the Fight with a Permanent Armor Up Buff increasing Armor Rating by 45%.
Total Annihilation – Unique Synergy
Nova
- Nova gains +40% Perfect Block chance when triggering Auto-Block.
Annihilus
- +65% Physical Resistance while Unstoppable.
Maximum Output – Unique Synergy
Nova
- Gain 1 Nova Charge each time Nova receives Energy Damage.
Bishop
- Receiving Energy Damage generates 1 additional stack of Prowess.
Havok
- 10% chance to place a new Plasma Build Up Debuff on the Opponent when it is Removed or Purified.
Phalanx Feud – Unique Synergy
Nova
- Increase the potency of Fury Buffs by 15%.
Gamora, Drax
- When performing a Dash Attack, 30% chance to gain an Aptitude Buff increasing the Potency of Fury by 15% for 12 seconds.
Full Speed Ahead – Unique Synergy
Nova
- Starting a Dash Attack immediately after Dashing Back generates 5 additional Nova Charges.
Rhino
- 30% Chance to refresh Fury Buffs when striking with Medium Attacks.
Iron Fist
- Medium Attacks gain +5% chance for each Armor Break Debuff on the Opponent to inflict a Stun Debuff for 1.5 seconds.
RECOMMENDED MASTERIES:
Parry / Limber / Stupefy
Along with being a must have for any new Summoner, the Parry Mastery is especially useful for Nova, as it triggers when Nova triggers Auto-Block above 75 Nova Charges. The added stun gives Nova a bit more offensive strength when dashing with Medium Attacks.
Stand Your Ground
Choose this Mastery when placing Nova on Alliance War Defense. Nova is left wide open if he misses with his Heavy Attack, so adding a counter measure with Stand Your Ground gives Nova a solid defensive boost.
Block Proficiency / Perfect Block
Any Masteries that enhance the strength of Nova’s Auto-Block will ensure Nova minimizes the damage he inevitably takes when dashing towards his opponents.
