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Tag: Visual edit
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| [[Elite marine]]
 
| [[Elite marine]]
 
| Elite all-purpose infantry.
 
| Elite all-purpose infantry.
  +
Can attack ground and air units.
 
| {{cost|600|0|4|SC2|Terran}}<br />for 4 marines.
 
| {{cost|600|0|4|SC2|Terran}}<br />for 4 marines.
 
|
 
|
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| style="background: #111;"| [[Marauder commando]]
 
| style="background: #111;"| [[Marauder commando]]
 
| style="background: #111;"| Elite heavy assault infantry.
 
| style="background: #111;"| Elite heavy assault infantry.
  +
Can attack ground units.
 
| style="background: #111;"| {{cost|500|130|4|SC2|Terran}}<br />for 2 marauders.
 
| style="background: #111;"| {{cost|500|130|4|SC2|Terran}}<br />for 2 marauders.
 
|
 
|
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| [[Spec ops ghost]]
 
| [[Spec ops ghost]]
 
| Elite sniper. Can use Snipe and is permanently cloaked. Can be upgraded to use EMP Rounds.
 
| Elite sniper. Can use Snipe and is permanently cloaked. Can be upgraded to use EMP Rounds.
  +
Can attack ground and air units.
 
| {{cost|1000|500|4|SC2|Terran}}<br/>for 2 ghosts.
 
| {{cost|1000|500|4|SC2|Terran}}<br/>for 2 ghosts.
 
|
 
|
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| style="background: #111;"| [[Hellion ranger|Hellion]]<br><small>and</small><br>[[Hellbat ranger|Hellbat ranger]]
 
| style="background: #111;"| [[Hellion ranger|Hellion]]<br><small>and</small><br>[[Hellbat ranger|Hellbat ranger]]
 
| style="background: #111;"| Hellion: Elite fast scout. Has a flame attack that damages all enemy units in its line of fire. Can transform into a close range combat unit.<br> Hellbat: Elite close range combat unit. Deals damage in a small frontal cone. Can transform into a fast scout unit.
 
| style="background: #111;"| Hellion: Elite fast scout. Has a flame attack that damages all enemy units in its line of fire. Can transform into a close range combat unit.<br> Hellbat: Elite close range combat unit. Deals damage in a small frontal cone. Can transform into a fast scout unit.
  +
Can attack ground units.
 
| style="background: #111;"| {{cost|500|0|4|SC2|Terran}}<br />for 2 hellbats.
 
| style="background: #111;"| {{cost|500|0|4|SC2|Terran}}<br />for 2 hellbats.
 
|
 
|
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| [[Strike goliath]]
 
| [[Strike goliath]]
 
| Elite heavy-fire support unit.
 
| Elite heavy-fire support unit.
  +
Can attack ground and air units.
 
| {{cost|750|250|4|SC2|Terran}}<br />for 2 goliaths.
 
| {{cost|750|250|4|SC2|Terran}}<br />for 2 goliaths.
 
|
 
|
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| style="background: #111;"| [[Heavy siege tank]]
 
| style="background: #111;"| [[Heavy siege tank]]
 
| style="background: #111;"| Enhanced heavy tank. Can switch into Siege Mode to provide long-range artillery support. Can be upgraded to use Spider Mines.
 
| style="background: #111;"| Enhanced heavy tank. Can switch into Siege Mode to provide long-range artillery support. Can be upgraded to use Spider Mines.
  +
Can attack ground units.
 
| style="background: #111;"| {{cost|800|600|6|SC2|Terran}}<br />for 2 siege tanks.
 
| style="background: #111;"| {{cost|800|600|6|SC2|Terran}}<br />for 2 siege tanks.
 
|
 
|
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| [[Covert banshee]]
 
| [[Covert banshee]]
 
| Improved tactical-strike aircraft. Can be upgraded to permanently cloaked.
 
| Improved tactical-strike aircraft. Can be upgraded to permanently cloaked.
  +
Can attack ground units.
 
| {{cost|700|375|6|SC2|Terran}}<br>for 2 banshees.
 
| {{cost|700|375|6|SC2|Terran}}<br>for 2 banshees.
 
|
 
|

Revision as of 18:43, 26 November 2018

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"Agent reporting for duty. The Dominion’s best Ghost, Nova Terra, joins the ranks as our newest Co-op Commander. Backed by the most advanced Terran technology and the highest tier of trained combatants, Nova controls the battlefield with the speed and power of a nuclear explosion."

- Commander blurb(src)

Nova Terra is a commander in Co-op Missions introduced in Patch 3.7. She takes the field with a hero unit, and has the ability to blink, shield herself and call down nuclear strikes against her enemies.[1] Her army consists of elite special ops units that deploy instantly and have more hit points, but have substantial resource costs over normal units.

Overview

Nova has simplified base and production when compared to other commanders - much of the player's focus will be on combat. She does not require supply depots, and only one of each production facility is available. Her army has a supply cap of 100, and her combat units are called down to the battlefield instantly, without any construction time. Nova herself has high burst damage, but is relatively fragile, and relies on stealth and gadgets to be effective. Part of her covert ops theme is "having all the right toys at the right time." Nova has two different equipment sets and can adapt to any situation by swapping between them on the field.[2]

Nova can only produce one barracks, one factory, and one starport. Each functions the way a mercenary compound does, dropping units onto the field. The units are expensive and generally arrive in batches (for instance, Nova can summon four elite marines). When a unit-producing structure is first created, it cannot immediately create many units, and can only store up to 4 charges.

Info

  • Recommended for experienced players
  • Control Nova and her army of elite units
  • Use advanced tech to sustain and support your forces

Mastery

Power Set 1
Nuke and Holo Decoy Cooldown: -3 sec – -90 sec
Griffin Airstrike cost: -10 minerals – -300 minerals (down to a minimum of 700 Minerals)
Power Set 2
Nova Primary Ability Improvement: +1.67% – +50% (applies to the damage dealt of Snipe, Penetrating Blast, and Sabotage Drone, as well as the shielding of Blink)
Unit Attack Speed: +0.5% – +15%
Power Set 3
Nova Energy Regeneration: +1% – +30%
Combat Unit Life Regeneration: +0.2 – +6 life/every second (after being out of combat for 10 seconds)

Game Unit

Nova is able to switch between Assault Mode and Stealth Mode as a hero unit, changing her weapons and abilities. In Assault Mode she is more suited for frontal combat, wielding a hellfire shotgun and wearing a damage-absorbing phase reactor suit. Her Stealth Mode abilities are geared towards infiltration and subterfuge, equipping her with a tactical stealth suit, ghost visor, and sabotage drone. This allows her to infiltrate the enemy base ahead of her army and take out critical enemy forces before her army commits to an engagement.[2]

Nova takes 4 min to spawn at her base. If Nova is ever killed, she will respawn 90 seconds later at the player's primary command center.

Abilities

Nova AC Ghost Visor SC2 Icon1
Ghost Visor

Nova becomes a detector and reveals cloaked and burrowed units in her sight radius. Allows Nova to see enemy units within 20 radius in the fog of war.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available
Acquisition
Purchased from Ghost academy
Hotkey G
Basic
Cost 150 Minerals 150 Vespene gas 90seconds
With Research and Development
Cost 75 Minerals 75 Vespene gas 45seconds
ve
SC2 Nova AC - AssaultMode
Assault Mode

Unlocks the ability to swap between two equipment loadouts in the field. Nova gains access to different abilities and a different weapon with each loadout.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 3
ve

Stealth Mode

Nova AC Snipe SC2 Icon1
Snipe

Deals 200 damage to target enemy unit.

Usage
Hotkey Q
Cost 50 Energy
Range 10
Notes

Mastery: +3.34 ability damage per Nova Primary Ability Improvement mastery point. Up to a maximum 300

ve
TacticalStealthSuit SC2-NCO Icon1
Stealth Suit

Nova is permanently cloaked.

Infiltration Specialist: Nova gains permanent Super Cloak that ignores detectors. Nova loses Super Cloak for 4 seconds upon attacking or using Snipe.

ve
Nova AC SabotageDrone SC2 Icon1
Sabotage Drone

Sends a sabotage drone to target location. The sabotage drone can root, becoming immobile, and ten seconds later explodes, dealing 200 damage (+200 vs structure) to ground enemies within a radius 4.

Infiltration Specialist: Increases the Sabotage Drone splash radius from 4 to 6 and reduces cooldown by 50%.

Usage
Hotkey E
Cost 100 Energy
Duration 10 seconds
Cooldown 45 seconds
23 (with Infiltration Specialist) seconds
Notes

Mastery: +3.33 (+3.33 vs structure) ability damage per Nova Primary Ability Improvement: mastery point. Up to a maximum 300 (+300 vs structure)

ve
Nuke SC2 Icon1
Tac Nuke Strike

Calls down a nuclear strike to target area after 5 seconds, dealing 600 damage to all enemies within a radius 8.

Infiltration Specialist: Increases the Tac Nuke Strike splash radius from 8 to 12 and reduces cooldown by 50%.

Usage
Hotkey R
Cost 5 seconds
Range 15
Cooldown 420 (210 with Infiltration Specialist) (Initial cooldown=600)seconds
Mastery: -3 (-1.5 with Infiltration Specialist)seconds per Nuke and Holo Decoy Cooldown mastery point. Down to a minimum 330 (165 with Infiltration Specialist) (Initial cooldown=600) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 9
ve

Assault Mode

Nova AC PenetratingBlast SC2 Icon1
Penetrating Blast

Deals 50 damage (+50 vs light) to all enemies in a frontal cone.

Usage
Cost 50 Energy
Range 4
Duration Q seconds
Notes

Deals 100 (+100 vs light) with Stance Dance for 5 seconds.
Mastery: +0.835 (+0.835 vs light) ability damage (up to 1.67 (+1.67 vs light) damage for 5 seconds) per Nova Primary Ability Improvement mastery point. Up to a maximum 75 (+75 vs light) (up to 150 (+150 vs light) damage for 5 seconds)

ve
Nova AC PhaseSuit SC2 Icon1
Phase Reactor Suit

Nova has increased movement speed (+30%).

ve
Nova AC Blink SC2 Icon1
Blink

Nova teleports to a targeted location and gains a temporary 200 points shield. Can store up to 3 charges, recovers a charge every 8 seconds.

Usage
Hotkey E
Cooldown 8 seconds
Notes

Mastery: +3.34 shield health per Nova Primary Ability Improvement mastery point. Up to a maximum 300

ve

Nova spawns a Holo Decoy at target point. The Holo Decoy is invincible, cannot be controlled and automatically seeks out and attacks enemy units. Holo Decoy's normal attacks deal 100 damage and can use dashing attack that deals 50 area damage.

Usage
Hotkey R
Range 6
Duration 60 seconds
Cooldown 420 (Initial cooldown=600)seconds
Mastery: -3seconds per Nuke and Holo Decoy Cooldown mastery point. Down to a minimum 330 (Initial cooldown=600) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 9
ve

Upgrades

Researched

Nova AC CaduceusReactor SC2 Icon1
Caduceus Reactor

Increases Nova's HP regen rate by 5.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 8
Acquisition
Purchased from Ghost academy
Hotkey C
Basic
Cost 150 Minerals 150 Vespene gas 90seconds
With Research and Development
Cost 75 Minerals 75 Vespene gas 45seconds
ve
Nova AC SnipeUpgrade SC2 Icon1
Operational Efficiency

Nova recovers 25 energy when killing an enemy unit with Snipe.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 14
Acquisition
Purchased from Ghost academy
Hotkey E
Basic
Cost 200 Minerals 200 Vespene gas 120seconds
Required Armory
With Research and Development
Cost 100 Minerals 100 Vespene gas 60seconds
Required Armory
ve
Nova AC ShotgunUpgrade SC2 Icon1
Infernal Projectiles

Penetrating Blast has +2 range.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 14
Acquisition
Purchased from Ghost academy
Hotkey H
Basic
Cost 200 Minerals 200 Vespene gas 120seconds
Required Armory
With Research and Development
Cost 100 Minerals 100 Vespene gas 60seconds
Required Armory
ve

Talents

SC2 Nova AC - StanceDance
Stance Dance

Reduces the cooldown of Stealth Mode and Assault Mode by 15 seconds. Nova gains maximum energy when switching modes.

Switching to Stealth Mode grants temporary invulnerability and switching to Assault Mode grants a temporary bonus to damage dealt (100%).

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 15
ve

Calldown Abilities

SC2 Nova AC - MilitaryHardware
Defensive Drone

Provides friendly units with shields that absorb up to 200 damage. Lasts for 60 seconds. Can store up to 3 charges.

Military Hardware: Reduces the Defensive Drone cooldown by 30 seconds and allows up to 5 charges to be stored.

Usage
Cost 100 Minerals
Duration 60 seconds
Cooldown 90seconds
60 (with Military Hardware) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.
ve
SC2 Nova AC - GriffinAirstrike
Griffin Airstrike

Call the Griffin to strafe an area and drop bombs, dealing 500 damage to enemy ground and air units in the area (within length 18 and width 6) after a brief delay.

Tactical Dispatcher: Increases the Griffin Airstrike cooldown by 300%.

Usage
Cost 1000 Minerals
  • Mastery: -10 Minerals per Griffin Airstrike cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 700 Minerals
Cooldown 30 (Initial cooldown=120) seconds
120 (with Tactical Dispatcher) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 2
ve
SC2 Nova AC - TacticalAirlift
Tactical Airlift

Load all allied units in target area into Griffin, then immediately transport them to second target area.

Tactical Dispatcher: Reduces the Tactical Airlift cooldown by 75%.

Usage
Cost 200 Minerals
Cooldown 120 seconds
30 (with Tactical Dispatcher) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 5
ve
NovaRevive LotV Game1
Instant Regeneration

Instantly revives Nova at the target location. Resource cost is determined by the amount of time remaining.

Usage
Cost Varies on time remaining (Full time (90seconds)=450) Minerals
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially available.
ve

Talents

SC2 Nova AC - MilitaryHardware
Military Hardware

Nova's Defensive Drone calldown stores 2 additional charges and has its charge cooldown reduced by 30 seconds.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 13
ve

Army Composition

Units and Structures

Nova has the following units and structures unique to her.

Icon Unit Details Production Damage
Icon Elite Marine Elite marine Elite all-purpose infantry.

Can attack ground and air units.

600 Minerals 4 Supply
for 4 marines.
Icon Marauder commando Marauder commando Elite heavy assault infantry.

Can attack ground units.

500 Minerals 130 Vespene gas 4 Supply
for 2 marauders.
Icon Spec ops Ghost

IconFemaleSpecOpsGhost

Spec ops ghost Elite sniper. Can use Snipe and is permanently cloaked. Can be upgraded to use EMP Rounds.

Can attack ground and air units.

1000 Minerals 500 Vespene gas 4 Supply
for 2 ghosts.
IconHellionRanger

Icon Hellbat Ranger

Hellion
and
Hellbat ranger
Hellion: Elite fast scout. Has a flame attack that damages all enemy units in its line of fire. Can transform into a close range combat unit.
Hellbat: Elite close range combat unit. Deals damage in a small frontal cone. Can transform into a fast scout unit.

Can attack ground units.

500 Minerals 4 Supply
for 2 hellbats.
Icon Strike Goliath Strike goliath Elite heavy-fire support unit.

Can attack ground and air units.

750 Minerals 250 Vespene gas 4 Supply
for 2 goliaths.
Icon Heavy Siege Tank

IconHeavySiegeTankSiegeMode

Heavy siege tank Enhanced heavy tank. Can switch into Siege Mode to provide long-range artillery support. Can be upgraded to use Spider Mines.

Can attack ground units.

800 Minerals 600 Vespene gas 6 Supply
for 2 siege tanks.
Icon Raid Liberator

IconRaidLiberatorDefenderMode

Raid liberator Elite stationary defender. Deals heavy single target damage to ground unit. Can switch into Fighter mode to provide air support. 750 Minerals 750 Vespene gas 6 Supply
for 2 liberators.
Icon Raven Type-II Raven Type-II Prototype aerial support unit. Can use Railgun Turret, Bio-Mechanical Repair Drone and Predator Missiles. 100 Minerals 200 Vespene gas 2 Supply
Icon Covert Banshee Covert banshee Improved tactical-strike aircraft. Can be upgraded to permanently cloaked.

Can attack ground units.

700 Minerals 375 Vespene gas 6 Supply
for 2 banshees.
Icon Railgun Turret Railgun turret Automated defensive turret. Damages all enemy units in a straight line. 200 Minerals 
Nova MissileTurret SC2 Icon Missile turret Anti-air defensive structure. 100 Minerals 

Talent Progression

Nova acquires the following talents as she levels up.

SC2 Nova AC - CovertOps
Covert Ops

Nova has a 100 supply maximum, but her units and structures have increased life, deal additional damage, and are resistant to stun effects. Trained units are instantly deployed onto the battlefield.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Initially unlocked
ve
SC2 Nova AC - GriffinAirstrike
Griffin Airstrike

Call the Griffin to strafe an area and drop bombs, dealing 500 damage to enemy ground and air units in the area (within length 18 and width 6) after a brief delay.

Tactical Dispatcher: Increases the Griffin Airstrike cooldown by 300%.

Usage
Cost 1000 Minerals
  • Mastery: -10 Minerals per Griffin Airstrike cost mastery point. Down to a minimum 700 Minerals
Cooldown 30 (Initial cooldown=120) seconds
120 (with Tactical Dispatcher) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 2
ve
SC2 Nova AC - AssaultMode
Assault Mode

Unlocks the ability to swap between two equipment loadouts in the field. Nova gains access to different abilities and a different weapon with each loadout.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 3
ve
SC2 Nova AC - BarracksUpgrades
Barracks Upgrade Cache

Unlocks infantry upgrades at the tech lab.

  • Elite marines can use Super Stimpack, healing them over time and increasing attack and movement rates.
  • Marauder commandos can use Magrail Munitions, gaining a secondary attack that deals additional damage.
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 4
ve
SC2 Nova AC - TacticalAirlift
Tactical Airlift

Load all allied units in target area into Griffin, then immediately transport them to second target area.

Tactical Dispatcher: Reduces the Tactical Airlift cooldown by 75%.

Usage
Cost 200 Minerals
Cooldown 120 seconds
30 (with Tactical Dispatcher) seconds
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 5
ve
SC2 Nova AC - FactoryUpgrades
Factory Upgrade Cache

Unlocks factory unit upgrades at the tech lab.

  • Hellbat can leap towards enemy units, stunning them on impact.
  • Heavy siege tanks gradually gain range in siege mode over time.
  • Strike goliaths stun mechanical air units they attack.
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 6
ve
SC2 Nova AC - AutomatedRefineries
Automated Refineries

Nova's refineries upgrade to automated refineries.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 7
ve
SC2 Nova AC - CovertOpsUpgrades
Covert Ops Upgrade Cache

Unlocks upgrades for Nova at the ghost academy and spec ops ghosts at the tech lab.

  • Increases Nova's HP regeneration.
  • Snipe fires two additional shots.
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 8
ve
SC2 Nova AC - NovaTacNukeHoloDecoy
Tac Nuke Strike and Holo Decoy

Unlocks Nuclear Strike ability for Nova in Stealth Mode and Holo Decoy ability in Assault Mode.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 9
ve
SC2 Nova AC - StarportUpgrades
Starport Upgrade Cache

Unlocks upgrades for air units at the tech lab

  • Covert banshees can use Rocket Barrage, dealing area damage to ground units.
  • Raid liberators transform to and from defender mode faster.
  • Liberator can attack structures while in defender mode.
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 10
ve
SC2 Nova AC - ResearchUpgrade
Research and Development

Upgrades research time and resource costs are halved. Does not affect weapon and armor upgrades.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 11
ve
SC2 Nova AC - RavenUpgrades
Raven Upgrade Cache

Unlocks upgrades for the raven Type-II at the tech lab

  • Allows the raven Type-II to store up to three charges for its abilities.
  • The raven Type-II's Bio-Mechanical Repair Drones heals faster and cloaks units it heals.
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 12
ve
SC2 Nova AC - MilitaryHardware
Military Hardware

Nova's Defensive Drone calldown stores 2 additional charges and has its charge cooldown reduced by 30 seconds.

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 13
ve
SC2 Nova AC - NovaUpgrades
Nova Upgrade Cache

Unlocks upgrades for Nova at the ghost academy.

  • Upon killing an enemey with snipe, Nova recovers 50% of the energy used to cast it.
  • Increases range of Penetrating Blast.
Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 14
ve
SC2 Nova AC - StanceDance
Stance Dance

Reduces the cooldown of Stealth Mode and Assault Mode by 15 seconds. Nova gains maximum energy when switching modes.

Switching to Stealth Mode grants temporary invulnerability and switching to Assault Mode grants a temporary bonus to damage dealt (100%).

Campaign Acquisition
Unlock Reach Nova Level 15
ve

Strategies

Nova demands quite a bit of micro of her units to get the most usage out of her. Proper usage of Nova herself to weaken enemy positions before attacking is crucial, utilizing Sabotage Drone and Snipe to destroy defensive structures and soften up stronger enemies. By herself Nova is rather easily overwhelmed and killed, however. Her base management is very simple thanks to her unique mechanics, so the player can build their base, hotkey their structures, and not have to worry about keeping an eye on them while they are busy managing their army in the field.

Recommended masteries

Power Set 1: Griffin Airstrike Cost

☀Griffin Airstrike cost: -10 minerals - 300 minerals (down to a minimum of 700 minerals)
Even with all 30 points sunk into reducing their cooldown, Nuke and Holo Decoy have a cooldown of several minutes. By contrast Griffin Airstrike can do just as much damage as them and has a rather short cooldown.

Power Set 2: Unit Attack Speed

☀Unit Attack Speed: +0.5% - 15%
Nova's army benefits greatly from the attack speed increase. However, for those who enjoy hero unit micro, combining Primary Ability Improvement with Nuke and Holo Decoy cooldown and Energy Regen can be viable.

Power Set 3: Combat Unit Life Regeneration

☀Combat Unit Life Regeneration: +0.2 - 6 life/every second after being out of combat for 10 seconds
Nova is rarely strapped for energy unless the player is recklessly spamming Snipe and Penetrating Blast. By giving her combat units passive regeneration their durability is remarkably improved, saving the player resources required to replace them and, if they wish, allowing them to forego ravens which are otherwise their only way to heal damaged units.

Synergies

Protoss Commanders

All Protoss commanders can use Chrono boost to accelerate the cooldowns on Nova's unit producing structures, allowing her to produce multiple squads of the same type more often.

Alarak synergizes moderately with Nova, as her small army won't give him nearly as much power when he uses Empower Me. Nova can cover for Alarak's anti-air, but neither one is truly strong at defenses (since Alarak's Structure Overcharge has cooldowns on its charges). Both can transport their units quickly across a map using a combination of Nova's Tactical Airlift and Alarak's Death Fleet, creating some redundancy. Alarak's havocs can extend the range of Nova's army and, if microed, can keep them safe from harm with forcefields, while Nova's ravens can heal Alarak's units as needed.

Artanis has decent synergy with Nova, as his Guardian Shield and Shield Overcharge help a great deal in keeping Nova's expensive army alive. Nova can provide better anti-air than Artanis' dragoons, and the two can ravage bases with their abilities if Nova acts as a spotter. Nova's airlift isn't the most helpful to Artanis since he can deploy a power field to any location he wishes.

Vorazun is a perfect match for Nova, with her Strike from the Shadows passive boosting Nova's damage and that of her ghosts, banshees, and any units cloaked by her healing drones. Black Hole can set up Nova's airstrikes, nukes, banshees and ravens for area damage, and Emergency Recall will save any of her costly cloaked units from death. In return, Nova can heal Vorazun's units with her ravens and provide better ground-to-air damage than Vorazun's stalkers are capable of doing. Heavy siege tanks in a dark pylon field in numbers should be almost unstoppable against ground forces given more range than any unit in the whole game and spider mines for proximity foes trying to destroy the dark pylon.

Karax is an effective teammate for Nova. His strong static defenses mean that Nova can focus on securing enemy positions while Karax focuses on holding ground. Combining Karax's Spear of Adun calldowns with Nova's airstrike and/or nuke can quickly decimate a fortified position. As they both have relatively expensive units, Reconstruction Beam, defensive drones, and ravens are invaluable for increasing the longevity of units from both commanders. Finally, Nova greatly benefits from the increased research speed and faster cooldown-rate of her facilities granted by Chrono Wave.

Fenix works well with Nova. Of all commanders, he benefits the most from defensive drones, as it can protect his praetor armor or a small number of champion units and help hold back attack waves of enemy attackers. Both are high damage armies, and both recall and airlift give both armies high mobility. Nova's airstrike and nuke makes up for Fenix's lack of offensive calldowns on heavy enemy waves, while the solarite dragoon can also serve as a more consistent burst damage that allows Nova to spend more minerals on constructing her army.

Terran Commanders

Raynor is the polar opposite of Nova, relying on a strong economy and a large number of standard units as opposed to a small focused army. However, due to Raynor's use of medics to heal both biological and mechanical units, Raynor can aid with sustaining Nova's army while Nova can aid Raynor's units with defensive drones and the ability to move his large army around the field with tactical airlifts.

Swann has decent synergy with Nova, with his vespene harvesters providing Nova much-needed gas to afford her costly units, especially liberators, ghosts and siege tanks. His static defenses also cover for Nova's poor defenses, allowing her to devote herself to offensive pushes. Additionally, Swann's laser drill can contribute to Nova's base-wrecking play.

Han and Horner and Nova have moderate synergy. Both have armies designed to take a beating, and Horner’s fleet is composed of powerful, but difficult to replace units much like Nova's. However, Horner's fleet and Nova's units cover different roles. Han’s units meanwhile can provide a screen for Nova’s smaller unit amount, but their large numbers mean they don’t benefit all that much from defensive drones. However, both have powerful calldowns, with Nova’s airstirike regularly being up while Han and Horner can save theirs for key situations. Horner's strike fighters can benefit from enemies detected with Nova's ghost visor, albeit without the unit identification capabilities of imaging radar. Furthermore, they can spot enemies in the fog of war for Nova's siege tanks or snipe detectors allowing them to clean up positions with a smaller force of cloaked units. However, both have a lack of powerful defensive options, especially on pure defense maps.

Zerg Commanders

Kerrigan has good synergy with Nova, as her Assimilation Aura will let her give Nova precious resources to get off the ground. Her Malignant Creep can also help Nova's army in sustaining itself, while Kerrigan's zerglings and ultralisks tank damage for Nova's troops. The creep can also help Nova by providing vision, letting her use airstrikes and nukes more easily. Immobilization Wave can set Nova up for a nuke, and Nova can provide detection so that Kerrigan doesn't have to get overseers. Kerrigan's Nydus Worms create some redundancy with Nova's Tactical Airlift.

Zagara doesn't have great synergy with Nova, as the two combined field small armies and Zagara doesn't help in keeping Nova's troops alive. However, Zagara's army can attack a position earlier, giving Nova a chance to plan ahead and target-firing down detectors and dangerous enemies. Both are strong at destroying bases, and Zagara can constantly apply pressure with her rapidly-respawning armies while Nova recovers if she suffers a big loss.

Abathur has decent synergy with Nova, with his Mend and Swarm Queens providing excellent healing for her army. Abathur's very tanky units can absorb damage for Nova's forces, allowing her to make use of longer-ranged units like ghosts and siege tanks. Nova also compensates for Abathur's lack of destructive abilities via her nukes and sabotage drones.

Stukov and Nova, in spite of functioning as exact opposites, complement each other fairly well. As with most terran commanders, Stukov can help form a buffer from Nova's high damage units, while Nova's army can take out key area of effect targets that may deal heavy damage to Stukov's forces. Nova and her elite marines can serve as the early game anti-air Stukov lacks while "Infest Structure" can aid in early game attacks. Nova's mobility with her Griffin transportation can allow her to take key targets while Stukov pushes using waves of infested, while the Apocalisk and the Aleksander can aid in pressuring key targets or supporting a position Nova is struggling to take. Finally, Nova can provide early-game mobile detection, one of Stukov's biggest weak points.

Dehaka and Nova overlap in a lot of ways, but are still powerful. Both have a powerful hero unit that can reliably function against group of light enemies or single big enemies, and both have powerful global presence and armies usually on the smaller side (albeit Nova’s much smaller). However, Nova’s tactical airlift ability can move Dehaka’s units around the map, whereas Dehaka, his wurms, creeper hosts and Glevig are the only units that can deep tunnel in Dehaka’s forces. However, this means both players can be anywhere they need to be, with Dehaka’s main army working with Nova and tying up enemies while Dehaka and his calldowns can be in another place. Nukes and holo decoys also allow Nova to clear a landing area for Dehaka's forces to push or deep tunnel into.

Achievements

Gameplay

DroneItOut SC2AchiveImage Drone It Out
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Absorb 10,000 damage for your ally with Nova's Defensive Drone in Co-op Missions.

Edit
AirRaid SC2AchiveImage Air Raid
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Deal 50,000 damage with the Griffin Airstrike in Co-op Missions.

Edit
CloakandDagger SC2AchiveImage Cloak and Dagger
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Deal 200,000 damage with Nova while she is in Stealth Mode.

Edit
RidingShotgun SC2AchiveImage Riding Shotgun
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Deal 200,000 damage with Nova while she is in Assault Mode.

Edit
NovaCommander SC2Portrait Dominion Agent
Points

20 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Complete all the Commander Nova achievements.

Rewards
NovaCovertOps SC2 Portrait2 Nova portrait
Edit

Levels

Nova5 SC2AchiveImage Nova: Level 5
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 5 with Dominion Ghost Nova in Co-op Missions.

Edit
Nova10 SC2AchiveImage Nova: Level 10
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 10 with Dominion Ghost Nova in Co-op Missions.

Edit
Nova15 SC2AchiveImage Nova: Level 15
Points

10 Achievement SC2 Game1

Criteria

Reach level 15 with Dominion Ghost Nova in Co-op Missions.

Edit


Development

When designing Nova as the next commander, the developers knew that she had to be a hero on the field. It was also decided to be a focus of her army composition. The theme of covert ops played a big part of her design (ghosts, nukes, stealth, gadgets), along with the concept of a small but powerful army of elite units, helping bring the feel of espionage.[2]

Data in the Galaxy Editor points to Nova also having access to reapers, cyclones, medivacs, bunkers and orbital commands, and being able to build regular versions of some of her elite units in early stages of development. There is also data indicating that she would have been able to summon an Odin to the field at some point in development. Unused equipment includes a penetrator round, stun grenades, stimpacks for Nova, a monomolecular blade, a psi rifle, pulse grenades, a weapon named the Invictus Longshot, a defensive matrix ability, smoke grenades, and the ability to unequip all weapons.[3]

Trivia

  • Nova's units each have individual randomized names attached to them in place of a kill count rank. These units are given ranks depending on which unit they are.

References

Blizzard Entertainment. Co-op Missions. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Nova Terra (in English). 2018.

  1. 2016-10-03, StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void Patch 3.7 Overview . Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2016-10-03
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2016-10-13, Patch 3.7 Preview: New Co-op Commander Nova. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2016-10-15
  3. Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void Map Editor. (Activision Blizzard) (in English). November 10, 2015

External Links

TeamLiquid Co-op Commander Guide: Nova