Shock Nova

I think Shock Nova should be revamped so that it works more like Plasma Field from Razor(Dota 2). Instead of a static ring that deals damage, it should expand outward from the character dealing more damage to closer enemies and less to further enemies, then the ring would contract dealing damage again as it shrinks.

should remove the dead zone, and have the shock nova with the same radius as frost nova, but with higher damage, but no slowing

I appreciate the unique mechanics of the dead zone and its interaction with increased / decreased aoe modifiers; it changes the way the skill is played on a fundamental level. But having just finally decided to try this gem out, I feel that the active portion of the aoe is too narrow, making it difficult to actually hit anything. I spent a good while in the Rocky Climb using only this to kill foes (2-3 hits depending upon the damage roll), and even when I was completely surrounded by enemies (~75% of the screen filled) after more than a dozen casts only a few enemies were dead, and most were otherwise unharmed. It's simply not hitting anything; the active aoe is, imo, far too narrow of a band (which doesn't even seem to extend to the edge of the skills animation).

I would consider increasing the active aoe by a good bit, so it has a fair chance of hitting something (30+ casts to clear a screen is nigh but useless when an average of 2.5 casts should kill a mob), while leaving the dead zone unchanged (it is kind of fun to play with, and at the very least makes this skill unique). As is the only way I see this skill as being viable is with concentrated aoe support, and a skill should not have to be supported to be viable.

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LoneDeltaWolf wrote:

I think Shock Nova should be revamped so that it works more like Plasma Field from Razor(Dota 2). Instead of a static ring that deals damage, it should expand outward from the character dealing more damage to closer enemies and less to further enemies, then the ring would contract dealing damage again as it shrinks.

Razors nuke actually does more damage to further enemies then close ones, and hits twice. Once on the expand and another on the way back. Actually if Shock nova worked more like it, that would be really cool.

it used to work as a non expanding, one hit version of that. it was also much larger but the damage at caster's face was so negligible that it might as well have already had the deadspace.

it was also very cluttersome to always focus on the edge. which at the time, so few people didn't understand and felt like they NEEDED something like minions (totems weren't around then) to ensure the highest damage. people who were smart abused the "guaranteed" damage they were getting via positioning, which was a very bad for the game overall. lightning is high random damage not high damage period. i'll miss the size though lol >.>

Would making it so the dead zone won't increase with bonus Area of Effect be imbalanced?

I honestly don't see any other way to make this spell viable.

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Lionguild wrote:

Would making it so the dead zone won't increase with bonus Area of Effect be imbalanced?

I honestly don't see any other way to make this spell viable.

What about using it with Concentrated Effect supported by Knockback Gem?

Imho one of the worst skills atm (perhaps the worst).

Frost nova always hit, slows enemys, has bigger AoE and because of that a much much much!!! higher killspeed AND better defense!

Shock Nova should be:
- no "dead zone"
- same Aoe radius as frost nova
- more dmg than frost nova because of no chill/freeze


or:
- with "dead zone"
- a lot!!!! more dmg than frost nova (at least twice the dmg of frost nova)



perhaps instead of an dmg boost a cast speed buff? or casting nova while walking (kiting?)


never saw a single player using shock nova in public games ever. That shows how bad that skill really is.... imho almost unplayable

I agree that this spell needs to be buffed in some way. It has a pretty slow cast speed, and low crit chance, on top of being hard to land. A nova spell shouldnt be tricky to use...in my opinion. The 'dead zone' was an interesting way to make the spell more unique, but I think it fails. Surely the spell could be made special in another way? Perhaps varying damage depending on the distance of the enemies?

The dead zone must be removed for this spell to ever be viable in any build... right now it is the second most frustrating skill in the game.