Year 3 Champion Guide: Nova, the Genasi Warlock
Last Updated: Initial Post
This is a stand-alone information guide for this Champion that will be updated as necessary for use during Events or when doing a Time Gate.
If you have questions about this Champion or find something that needs updated, feel free to let me know in the comments. Please know reddit archives posts after a certain amount of time, so PM me if something needs updated and the comments are locked.
You can find all 100+ of my Idle Champions guides here.
#Year 3 Champion - Nova, the Air-Genasi Hexblade Warlock
- Source: HighRollers "Aerois" stream as played by Kim Richards
You can read their original Champion Spotlight here.
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Slot 11
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Good with: Heroes of Aerois; High INT DPS/Champions
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Affiliation: Heroes of Aerois - Aila, Lucius, Nova, Qillek, Sentry
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Eligible for Patrons: Mirt, Vajra, Strahd
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Time Gate Priority: Average
| Race | Class | Alignment | Gender | Age | Role(s) | Overwhelm Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air-Genasi | Warlock | Chaotic Good | Female (She / Her) | 20 | Support / Tank | 20 |
| Strength | Dexterity | Constitution | Intelligence | Wisdom | Charisma |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 8 | 20 |
Bio: Nova V'ger has a voracious appetite for knowledge; she needs to know anything and everything about anything and everything. Her magic powers have been gifted to her by a mysterious entity called Tiangong. She dreams of traveling to the stars and discovering the location of the true genasi homeworld.
Basic Attack: Dissect — Nova leaps out and slices through the nearest enemy with Tiangong. The slash produces a spark of green flame. If her attack kills the enemy, and the enemy is a normal mob, it is guaranteed to drop a monster heart (once Curiosity is unlocked).
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Base Attack Type: Melee
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Self-DPS Buff: 7.05e13%
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Base Attack Speed: 3.9 seconds
Ultimate: Activate Tiangong — Nova levitates up in the air as Tiangong floats in front of the formation, releasing three waves of blue energy that deal big damage (each deals 1/3rd of her stated ultimate damage) to all enemies. The damage is increased by 1% for every 20 monster hearts Nova has collected, stacking additively.
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Base Ultimate Cooldown Time: 260 seconds
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Health Upgrades: 1.06e05
##Interesting Abilities
Curiosity: Nova is intrinsically curious about the world around her. When monsters are killed, there is a chance she will collect a trophy from it. Trophies augment her abilities and reset every run. Bosses always drop monster brains, which provide big buffs but only drop once per boss per run. Normal monsters have a 10% chance to drop monster hearts, which can be farmed indefinitely and provide smaller buffs.
Gaar's Note: This is core to Nova's buffing. You want her in as early as possible in a run so she can gather these for as long as possible, especially off bosses. The further you can push with Nova, the stronger she gets.
- No upgrades
Discovery: Nova increases the damage of the five Champions in the formation with the highest Intelligence score by 100%. In the case of a tie for fifth place, all Champions with the given INT score are affected. This effect is buffed by 0.1% for each monster heart she has collected (stacking additively and then applying multiplicatively), and 10% for each monster brain she has collected (stacking multiplicatively and then applying multiplicatively).
- 4.78e08% after upgrades; Supported by an Item & a Feat
Close Encounters: Nova increases the effect of Discovery by 100% for each enemy attacking her and each point of enemy/boss enrage, stacking additively and then applying multiplicatively.
- No upgrades; Supported by a Feat
Slow: Nova's attacks slow the movement of enemies she damages by 50% for 5 seconds. Enemies that are Slowed by this ability deal half damage to Nova. This effect does not stack if it is applied again before it expires, but the cooldown is refreshed.
- No upgrades
Failsafe: When Nova becomes Overwhelmed, Tiangong creates a protective barrier around Nova, giving her 250 points of temporary HP and stunning her until the shield is broken or she is no longer overwhelmed. This can only trigger once per area (changing areas resets it so it can happen again). The amount of temporary HP granted is increased by 5.75% for each monster brain she has collected, stacking multiplicatively.
- No upgrades
Protective Field: Nova increases the max health of all other Champions by 25% of her base max health.
Cosmic Resonance: Heroes of Aerois are automatically buffed by Discovery and are not included in the calculations for the highest INT score.
- No
Aerois Synergy: Nova contributes to the Aerois Synergy Pool as follows: 60% per Champion buffed by Discovery (multiplicative). Discovery is then increased by 25% of the total Aerois Synergy Pool.
Gaar's Note: This effect means you want to have as many Champs as possible receiving her Discovery buff. Your Spec choice can affect this.
- No upgrades
Global DPS Buff: 1.10e07%
##Specializations
Mass Appeal: Discovery now applies to the top eight Champions by INT score, up from the top five.
Gaar's Note: This is the Spec you want to choose unless you already have 8 Champs receiving her buff.
Journaling: Increase the effect of Discovery by 100%
Gaar's Note: If you already have 8+ Champs receiving her buff, you choose this Spec.
##Equipment
| White | Green | Blue | Purple | Gild Priority | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slot 1: Increases the damage of all Champions | 10% | 65% | 120% | 230% | 3 |
| Slot 2: Increases the damage of all Champions | 10% | 65% | 120% | 230% | 3 |
| Slot 3: Increases the health of Nova | 10% | 30% | 50% | 100% | 2 |
| Slot 4: Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability | 25% | 87.5% | 150% | 275% | 1 |
| Slot 5: Buffs Nova's Ultimate Attack Damage | 25% | 87.5% | 150% | 275% | 4 |
| Slot 6: Reduces the cooldown of Nova's Ultimate Attack | 7s | 13s | 26s | 65s | 4 |
##Legendary Effects
- Increases the damage of all Champions by 10% for each Champion in the formation
- Increases the damage of all Champions by 135% for each Non-Binary Champion in the formation
- Increases the damage of all Genasi Champions by 150%
- Increases the damage of all Champions with a CHA score of 11 or higher by 100%
- Increases the damage of all Champions with an INT score of 11 or higher by 100%
- Increases the damage of all Champions by 20% for each Champion in the formation with a Chaotic alignment
Gaar's Note: Find more information on the Legendary system here.
##Feats
First slot is available at TBD while the second is available at TBD.
| Obtained | Recommended | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Selflessness | Increases the damage of all Champions by 10% | |
| Default | Tough | Increases the health of Nova by 15% | |
| Default | Naive | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 20% | |
| Default | Defensive Duelist | Nova takes 5 more enemies attacking to get overwhelmed | |
| Regular Gold Chest | Inspiring Leader | Increases the damage of all Champions by 25% | |
| 12,500 Gems | Survivability | Resilient | Increases the health of Nova by 30% |
| 12,500 Gems | Pushing | Explorer | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 40% |
| Regular Gold Chest | Pushing | Mathematics | Increases the effect of Nova's Close Encounter ability by 40% |
| Regular Gold Chest | Calm Under Pressure | Nova takes 10 more enemies attacking to get overwhelmed |
##Level Upgrades
Gaar's Note: Level Cost is the cost to go from your current level to the stated level. It is not a cumulative total. However, since we're dealing with very large numbers, it's in the ballpark.
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.00e17 | Add to Formation |
| 10 | 1.20e18 | Curiosity |
| 20 | 2.54e18 | Discovery |
| 30 | 5.00e18 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 40 | 9.83e18 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 300% |
| 60 | 5.74e19 | Protective Field |
| 80 | 2.22e20 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 90 | 2.90e20 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 100 | 5.70e20 | Ultimate |
| 110 | 1.21e21 | Close Encounter |
| 125 | 4.01e21 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 140 | 1.11e22 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% |
| 150 | 1.68e22 | Slow |
| 160 | 3.30e22 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 170 | 6.49e22 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 180 | 1.28e23 | Increases the health of Nova by 290 |
| 190 | 2.51e23 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 200 | 4.94e23 | Specialization Choice |
| 230 | 6.65e24 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 250 | 2.20e25 | Failsafe |
| 270 | 8.50e25 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 290 | 3.29e26 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 310 | 1.27e27 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 320 | 1.66e27 | Cosmic Resonance |
| 335 | 5.94e27 | Increases the health of Nova by 510 |
| 350 | 1.64e28 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 380 | 1.70e29 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 400 | 5.61e29 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% |
| 430 | 5.00e30 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 450 | 1.65e31 | Aerois Synergy |
| 480 | 1.47e32 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 500 | 4.87e32 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 550 | 1.87e34 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 565 | 3.40e34 | Increases the health of Nova by 890 |
| 590 | 2.36e35 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 620 | 1.92e36 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 690 | 2.49e38 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 715 | 1.11e39 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 775 | 7.77e40 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 800 | 3.50e41 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% |
| 815 | 7.55e41 | Increases the health of Nova by 1,555 |
| 830 | 2.08e42 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 880 | 9.29e43 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 925 | 1.92e45 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 950 | 8.95e45 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 1000 | 3.12e47 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 1010 | 3.12e47 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 1065 | 2.56e49 | Increases the health of Nova by 2,725 |
| 1080 | 4.62e49 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 1140 | 4.13e51 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 1150 | 4.06e51 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 1200 | 2.35e53 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 1225 | 1.08e54 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 1290 | 1.06e56 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 1300 | 1.04e56 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 1315 | 3.71e56 | Increases the health of Nova by 4,770 |
| 1345 | 3.85e57 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 1400 | 1.79e59 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 1500 | 1.59e62 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 1530 | 1.05e63 | Increases the damage of Nova by 200% |
| 1555 | 5.36e63 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 1565 | 6.35e63 | Increases the health of Nova by 8,345 |
softcap upgrade - December 16th, 2020
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1610 | 2.58e65 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 1650 | 3.79e66 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 1690 | 5.68e67 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 1700 | 5.88e67 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 1740 | 1.67e69 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 1810 | 2.02e71 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 1820 | 1.98e71 | Increases the health of Nova by 14,600 |
softcap upgrade - September 15th, 2021
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 2.29e73 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 1930 | 6.63e74 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 1980 | 1.95e76 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 2000 | 5.80e76 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 2060 | 4.45e78 | Increases the health of Nova by 27,000 |
softcap upgrade - June 1st, 2022
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 2120 | 2.58e80 | Increases the effect of Nova's Discovery ability by 200% |
| 2180 | 1.49e82 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 2240 | 8.66e83 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% |
| 2310 | 9.96e85 | Increases the damage of Nova by 100% |
| 2320 | 9.72e85 | Increases the health of Nova by 45,800 |
Current max upgrade level is 2320
#Formation & Mission Information
Once you complete the first mission, three Variants and a Free Play show up. It uses a formation that holds 10 Champions. It has a Champ-specific format that I've done my best to re-create below.
| Back Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | |||
| 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | |||
| 0 | 0 |
New Player Formation & Specializations:
While I recommend learning to build your own formations, here's a set of starter formations for brand new players to use while they get the hang of things. Anyone with other options should check that link for how to figure out how to make the best of them. You can also ask for help in the #formations channel in the official Discord.
| Back Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minsc - Beasts | Bruenor - Battle Master | ||
| NA | |||
| Asharra - Elves & Dwarves | Celeste - War Domain | ||
| Calliope - College of Valor | Nayeli - Oath of Devotion | ||
| Jarlaxle - Leader of Bregan D'aerthe | |||
| Hitch - More Daggers | NA |
This formation is for the first couple of runs where you're just not going to get enough Gold to get everyone on the field, let alone level people up into their power curves. At this point, Jarlaxle is focusing on being your Primary DPS while everyone else is set up to support him.
The following formation is for once your Hitch starts doing more damage than your Jarlaxle. You can find this out by pulling Asharra out of the formation and swapping Jarlaxle and Hitch around to see whose damage is better. If Hitch is higher, next run change Asharra's Spec to buff Hitch instead.
| Back Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makos - Dark Blessing | Bruenor - Battle Master | ||
| Nova - Mass Appeal | |||
| Asharra - (Swap) | Celeste - War Domain | ||
| Calliope - College of Valor | Nayeli - Oath of Devotion | ||
| Hitch - Charismatic | |||
| Jarlaxle - Leader of Bregan D'aerthe | Tyril - Wild Shape |
This formation should get you through the Event as a new player. If you have other options or think a different DPS is geared better, try it out and see what happens! Swapping DPS around like this can help you figure out what works best for you with your specific items.
These are the rough Favor values you need to reach to make a Variant say Difficulty: Easy. Keep in mind that this is just a generic rating system and some Variants may be harder than others, even with Favor in this range.
| Variant | Favor Level (Normal) | Favor Level (Scientific Notation) |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | 20,000 | ~2e04 |
| 125 | 15,000,000 | ~1.5e07 |
| 175 | 150,000,000 | ~1.5e08 |
##Initial Adventure: Let Sleeping Dragons Lie (Nova)
Cost: 25 Dragon Claws
Complete: Area 50
Reward: Nova + whatever Waukeen's Favor you earned
Info: No restrictions.
Gaar's Notes: This Event requires over-leveling Champs a lot more than usual due to the AoE damage and stuns coming off the Boss. You may want to add extra Tanks for health share as well. Efficiently farming Favor is very important in this Event and it may require farming all Event long to reach the gains you're used to seeing from Events due to the Favor-check status of the Boss.
Boss Abilities (as best as I can tell):
- Claw Swipe - Attacks a random Champion
- Roar - Strikes fear in any Champions that fail their saving throw, preventing them from attacking or using abilities for a short time.
- Breath Weapon - AoE damage to your Champions
##Second Mission: Failed Perception
Cost: 250 Dragon Claws
Complete: Area 75
Reward: Gold Nova Chest & whatever Waukeen's Favor you earned
Info: Only Champions with WIS 14 or lower can be used. Whenever an enemy spawns, there is a 25% chance that it will be an illusory enemy, and won't count towards quest progress or drop gold. When an illusory enemy is killed with a normal attack, the Champion that killed the enemy is stunned for 4 seconds.
Gaar's Notes: This one can be rough for new players. If you don't have many available Champs, make sure to instead have more Favor than necessary to make the variant show as Easy (green) before attempting. Maybe even have all the variants show as Easy (green) before trying this one.
##Third Mission: Tranced Travelers
Cost: 625 Dragon Claws
Complete: Area 125
Reward: Gold Nova Chest & whatever Waukeen's Favor you earned
Info: Two of the slots in your formation are affected by a magical spell that's causing folks around Luskan to start snoring! The affected slots change every 15 seconds by moving to a random adjacent slot. Heroes in affected slots must concentrate on not falling asleep, so they do not attack and all their formation abilities and ultimate abilities are disabled.
Gaar's Notes: Due to the random nature of the debuff here, you just have to build the best formation you can and have enough Favor to ensure you can keep your Tank line over-leveled compared to the enemies so they can stay alive while your Primary DPS is potentially incapacitated. Outside that, just plan on always being down two buffers.
##Fourth Mission: Dolgrim Incursion
Cost: 1,250 Dragon Claws
Complete: Area 175
Reward: Gold Nova Chest & whatever Waukeen's Favor you earned
Info: Only Champions with INT 14 or higher can be used. Nova begins in the formation and cannot be moved or swapped out. Two Dolgrims appear with each wave of monsters. They drop no gold and do not count towards quest progress. Dolgrims have increased movement speed and their damage is increased by 400%.
Gaar's Notes: This will absolutely require that you have tons and tons of Favor to complete if you do not have many Champs to use. Get it to show Easy (green) and then get even more Favor. Like e12+.
##Free Play
Cost: 500 - 2500 Dragon Claws (Cost scales based on how many you do to a max of 2500)
Complete: Area 50 to earn a random Nova chest
Reward: See above + whatever Waukeen's Favor you earned
Info: No restrictions.
#Achievements
Recruit Nova - 1%
Recruit Nova, the Air-Genasi Warlock
Experiments Begin - 1%
Complete all three variants of the "Let Sleeping Dragons Lie (Nova)" adventure. (This achievement can be earned via Time Gates.)
Questions Answered - 1%
Obtain a piece of gear for each of Nova's six equipment slots. (Event Champ gear does not come from regular Silver/Gold Chests. You can earn Event Champ gear from their specific Event Chests, Time Gates, qualifying Patron Chests, and other Chests as noted.)
Measurements Complete - 1%
Complete area 275 in any "Let Sleeping Dragons Lie" free play. (This achievement can only be earned during the Dragondown Event, but it can be earned in any Champion's free play.)
Samples Collected - 1%
Have Nova collect 5000 monster hearts
Gaar's Note: Nothing to do here but use Nova a lot. This can't be farmed.
#Adventure Information
| Indoor # | Outdoor # |
|---|---|
| 15 | 35 |
##Type Summary
Bosses
| Boss Type | # in this Event |
|---|---|
| Humanoid | 5 |
| Beast | 2 |
| Dragon | 2 |
| Elemental | 1 |
Normal Mobs
| Enemy Type | # in this Event |
|---|---|
| Beast | 32 |
| Humanoid | 16 |
| Elemental | 7 |
| Dragon | 4 |
##Type by Level - repeats after 50
| Level | Indoor/Outdoor | Enemy Type | Boss Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 2 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 3 | Outdoor | Beast & Elemental | |
| 4 | Outdoor | Beast & Elemental | |
| 5 | Outdoor | Elemental | Elemental |
| 6 | Outdoor | Beast & Elemental | |
| 7 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 8 | Outdoor | Beast & Humanoid/Kobold | |
| 9 | Outdoor | Humanoid/Kobold | |
| 10 | Outdoor | Humanoid/Kobold | Humanoid/Kobold |
| 11 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 12 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 13 | Outdoor | Humanoid/Human | |
| 14 | Outdoor | Humanoid/Human & Barricade | |
| 15 | Outdoor | Dragon | Dragon |
| 16 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 17 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 18 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 19 | Outdoor | Humanoid/Human & Humanoid/Half-orc | |
| 20 | Outdoor | Humanoid/Human & Humanoid/Half-orc | Humanoid/Human |
| 21 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 22 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 23 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 24 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 25 | Outdoor | Dragon | Humanoid/Elf |
| 26 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 27 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 28 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 29 | Outdoor | Humanoid/Kobold | |
| 30 | Outdoor | Humanoid/Kobold | Humanoid/Kobold |
| 31 | Indoor | Humanoid/Kobold | |
| 32 | Indoor | Humanoid/Kobold | |
| 33 | Indoor | Humanoid/Kobold | |
| 34 | Indoor | Humanoid/Kobold | |
| 35 | Indoor | Humanoid/Kobold | Humanoid/Kobold |
| 36 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 37 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 38 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 39 | Outdoor | Beast | |
| 40 | Outdoor | Beast | Beast |
| 41 | Indoor | Elemental | |
| 42 | Indoor | Elemental | |
| 43 | Indoor | Beast & Elemental | |
| 44 | Indoor | Beast | |
| 45 | Indoor | Beast | Beast |
| 46 | Indoor | Beast | |
| 47 | Indoor | Beast | |
| 48 | Indoor | Beast | |
| 49 | Indoor | Beast & Dragon | |
| 50 | Indoor | Beast & Dragon | Dragon |
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Posted Jun 8, 2022, 6:16 PM UTC · edited