Nova's Null Star Augment

[(PSN)NemitheNem]

People have rightfully complained about Null Star and about how when you need it (Spova builds) you are probably loosing due to use of overextened.

Arguments have been made that you can recast it with an augment, just like Rhino.  I tend to agree, but Iron Skin and Null Star are different abilities--Null star is innately somewhat offensive.

So I'd like to propose that either her augment be changed or she gets a new one where in instead of detonating her stars, which has a set range based on the augment, they are all used up at once and shoot out towards enemies.  This change/new augment would tie into the range players use in their builds and preserve the style of the ability itself.

[BiancaRoughfin]

I wouldnt disagree in a different function to her Augment mod being added as long as the current function being implemented into the Skill as a Hold button option, so players could still detonate her Null Stars.

Currently Null Star is used for making a Nova Tank build which grants her increased survivability by taking advantage of the Null Star charges which reduce in 5% damage she receives for each and up to 90% total. This combined with Adaptation mod really makes Nova really hard to be killed but making said build requires sacrificing Range mostly which in turns causes her 2 to become a Single-Target skill, her 3 to be come useless and her 4th wile not suffering too much from it, the blast from one enemy wont affect the other but the skill still spreads in a very large area and applies the Slow/Speed debuff.

Edited January 9, 2019 by BiancaRoughfin

[(PSN)JCM_Unlimited]

29 minutes ago, BiancaRoughfin said:

I wouldnt disagree in a different function to her Augment mod being added as long as the current function being implemented into the Skill as a Hold button option, so players could still detonate her Null Stars.

Currently Null Star is used for making a Nova Tank build which grants her increased survivability by taking advantage of the Null Star charges which reduce in 5% damage she receives for each and up to 90% total. This combined with Adaptation mod really makes Nova really hard to be killed but making said build requires sacrificing Range mostly which in turns causes her 2 to become a Single-Target skill, her 3 to be come useless and her 4th wile not suffering too much from it, the blast from one enemy wont affect the other but the skill still spreads in a very large area and applies the Slow/Speed debuff.

Her 2 isn't affected by range mods whatsoever. It has a hard 15m range that can't be changed

[1thurts]

And right now she got another augment [Molecular Fission], enjoy your eternal 90% damage reduction.

[(PSN)Elvenbane]

3 hours ago, BiancaRoughfin said:

Currently Null Star is used for making a Nova Tank build which grants her increased survivability by taking advantage of the Null Star charges which reduce in 5% damage she receives for each and up to 90% total.

If you get a chance to try the new Molecular Fission augment I'd be interested in hearing how it works out. Seems like it might be interesting to work into a tank build; it will likely be a month before it makes it way to console.

[Gurpgork]

1 hour ago, (PS4)Elvenbane said:

If you get a chance to try the new Molecular Fission augment I'd be interested in hearing how it works out. 

It’s a pure upgrade to Neutron Star. It plays virtually the same as the Neutron Star variant, only there are no dips in your survivability when you refresh Null Star. It’s just 90% DR forever. 

Like it’s awesome, and it’s an improvement, but it’s bland as all hell. 

[Xzorn]

It's a shame Nova now has two augments as QoL for one ability.

To anyone who's curious Molecular Fission does not allow you to go over the Max Particles your duration allows.

The augment performs the exact same purpose as her Null Star augment. The only difference is that one is active and the other passive.

It's a shame that Nova can't simply re-cast her 1st ability and get two augments that actually provide well...  Augmentation.

[TKDancer]

7 hours ago, 1thurts said:

And right now she got another augment [Molecular Fission], enjoy your eternal 90% damage reduction.

6 hours ago, Gurpgork said:

It’s just 90% DR forever. 

it is far from eternal, unless u have very low negative range the orbs will still consntantly go out of their way to waste themselves needlessly for virtually no effect

 

plus theres the issue that the DR from null star only affects health, no effect on shields

 

 

[Gurpgork]

4 hours ago, TKDancer said:

unless u have very low negative range

Which you most likely will for anything but speed Nova. 

4 hours ago, TKDancer said:

plus theres the issue that the DR from null star only affects health, no effect on shields

That really does need to be fixed, though. 100% with you on that. I dream of using Taxon for absurd EHP on Nova just so I can laugh even harder at the days when Nova was considered squishy. 

___________________________________________________________________

Mostly unrelated side note. It does kinda bother me a little that Nova's kit is held up by really weird math that's set up specifically in the way that benefits her the most. Like Speed Nova, and honestly Slowva as well, really only exist because M-Prime uses ability strength in a way that's totally inconsistent with the way that literally every other ability in the game uses it. And then how M-Prime's radius and Null Star's DR both scale off of duration in a way that benefits you stacking as much of it as possible, while her big nuke doesn't get hurt by Narrow Minded. The math of most Warframe abilities is set up where building for one ability might sacrifice something from another, but Nova's put together so that she pretty much completely circumvents this problem entirely. 

But that's probably a rant for another thread. 

[TKDancer]

8 hours ago, Gurpgork said:

Which you most likely will for anything but speed Nova. 

with the new focus on open world, negative range nova = bads

 

i like actually using wormhole

[Sloan441]

1 hour ago, TKDancer said:

with the new focus on open world, negative range nova = bads

 

i like actually using wormhole

It's not and wormhole has always been borderline useless. 

 

[TKDancer]

Just now, Sloan441 said:

It's not and wormhole has always been borderline useless. 

its the fastest method of moving around, save for glitched speed boosts, if those werent patched out already

[Sloan441]

Fastest? Doubtful. 

Most annoying? Definitely. 

Most useless? Indubitably--especially considering her kit has developed in a manner that requires it hitting the ash heap of tenno history. 

I like Valkyr's Ripline myself, but I don't pretend it's particularly good for anything. It's not and flies in the face of some of her better builds. You might find it fun to use, but don't pretend it adds anything significant to her capabilities. 

[(PSN)Elvenbane]

1 hour ago, Sloan441 said:

You might find it fun to use, but don't pretend it adds anything significant to her capabilities. 

I find it very useful. Just yesterday I was using it to jump between nodes on the sortie interception mission (my go to Nova config has a wormhole range that's perfect for interception missions). I also use it for spy missions, yes, I do bring Nova for spy missions. The point being, it's fun and I don't have any difficulty working it into normal game play...isn't that enough? 

[Xzorn]

Hotkey Archwing Launcher and spam Itzal's 1st ability.

Nova still has no reason to use Power Range outside Anti-Matter Absorb and that's pretty niche.

Wormhole has been 90% dead since Parkour 2.0 and open world doesn't help that argument. Just hurts it.

[Sloan441]

18 hours ago, (PS4)Elvenbane said:

I also use it for spy missions, yes, I do bring Nova for spy missions. The point being, it's fun and I don't have any difficulty working it into normal game play...isn't that enough? 

Point. 

I used it that way for quite a while as well. However, Nova's lack of survivability (and the existence of Ivara) ultimately meant a low range Neutron Star build came to the fore. 

The fundamental issue here is that it's niche to the point of irrelevance and it isn't particularly useful (amusing...maybe) much of anywhere else. 

16 hours ago, Xzorn said:

Hotkey Archwing Launcher and spam Itzal's 1st ability.

...and that's anywhere else in the new open world areas. 

[(PSN)Elvenbane]

23 minutes ago, Sloan441 said:

However, Nova's lack of survivability (and the existence of Ivara) ultimately meant a low range Neutron Star build came to the fore. 

I don't know why people say this. You don't need 90% DR to play Nova and not die on any normal content (sorties/Arbitrations/max alert level in Orb Vallis, etc.). She has a large energy pool for Quick Thinking, she has an augment for her 2 that is front shield, she has Molecular Prime, you have the invincible operator with arcanes that top off your frame's heath, you can move, etc.

I don't want to play Ivara, I don't like having to work around Prowl's movement speed. Yesterday's sortie 1 was on the plains...worm hole was sure handy for getting out of that annoying cave fast, can't deploy an AW in a cave...

[Sloan441]

1 hour ago, (PS4)Elvenbane said:

I don't know why people say this. You don't need 90% DR to play Nova...

Because it's better to have it than not have it and it doesn't cost you anything particularly useful in other abilities. 

The only real downside is the increased energy cost of keeping it up and there are several ways to mitigate that--and it is worth the trouble. 

[Gurpgork]

1 hour ago, Sloan441 said:

Because it's better to have it than not have it and it doesn't cost you anything particularly useful in other abilities. 

^^That. 

Plus, if you want extra mobility, you can slot Escape Velocity in your exilus slot. Then you have Wormhole for mobility, only it's more easily controllable, better in enclosed spaces, and scales off of your duration instead of range. 

[Don_T_Shoot]

I found that Molecular Fission works well for ESO because you have a captive audience of  constant enemies.  It's very easy to Prime the whole map to guarantee that you never run out of Null Stars.   It seemed energy efficient as well to me since you are already going to be priming regularly anyhow.

What I haven't tested yet is Molecular Fission in a run and gun situation, or  a high alert level toroid farm. Where enemies are spread out or not dying fast enough to refill your stars.   I suspect those situations might favor Neutron Star but can't wait to find out!