Nox - Harness the Darkness

This is my guide for Nox, the Goddess of Night.

Nox is a very versatile burst mage, who specializes in setting up easy ganks and disruption in the early game. She then transitions into an incredibly bursty late game powerhouse that with proper coordination, can carry games quite easily.

While she finds most of her success in mid lane, she is also quite potent as a solo god. This guide will outline the builds and play strategies for both positions.

Passive: Flame of the Night

"Nox's candles gather energy from all abilities she uses. For every ability Nox casts a candle is lit. For every candle lit Nox gains +3% magical power, up to a mx of 12%. When Nox takes damage one of her candles is blown out."

- Always try to ensure you are reaching max candles before trying to burst an opponent in lane
- It is very easy to just forget about this ability all together, but ensuring to stay at max candles will aid in Nox's clear and burst potential



1st Ability: Shadow Lock

"Nox extends her shadow, rooting a single enemy god in place and dealing damage over time. Nox must channel to maintain hold on the target, but may cancel this ability early."

- This will serve as Nox's main poke in lane
- Shadow Lock has NO effect on anything other than gods, so do not try to clear minions with it
- Putting Shadow Lock on insta-cast may make it easier to land, especially when used in tangent with Siphon Darkness
- Do keep in mind that if the root is broken, the damage will also discontinue


2nd Ability: Siphon Darkness

"Nox creates a void of darkness that silences all enemies within. After a short duration it explodes, dealing damage."

- This will be used as Nox's main clear and burst ability
- This ability silences for the ENTIRE 2 seconds it takes to deal it's damage
- When using to clear, be sure to "lead" the minion wave, that is, to make sure to cast it slightly ahead of the moving wave so they run into the circle as it explodes
- Putting Siphon Darkness at an enemy's feet, and following it up with a quick Shadow Lock serves as Nox's main burst combo, silencing the god for 2 seconds, and holding them in place of Siphon Darkness for it's damage


3rd Ability: Shadow Step

"Nox dashes forward, dealing damage to all enemies. If she hits an allied god, she leaps into their shadow, traveling with them. When Nox exits a shadow, she deals damage again in a radius around her. Nox may cancel this ability early to exit shadows."

- Early, this ability can be used to aid Nox's clear by walking behind the minion wave and dashing THROUGH it back towards your tower, much like Agni would
- When clearing camps with your jungler, dash through the camp minions and into your teammate, then explode out of your teammate, thus dealing the ability's damage to the nearby minions twice
- When in trouble, always look to dash into a teammate for safety as opposed to just dashing away


Ultimate: Night Terror

"Nox unleashes a vortex of dark energy that explodes on contact with an enemy god, dealing damage to all enemies in range 20 and applying damage over time. Enemies hit are also weakened, dealing less damage for the duration."

- While useful as a final long-range execution, Night Terror should be used as part of an initiation late game in order to apply the 30% dealt-damage reduction to as many enemies as possible at the start of a fight
- Be wary of the massive range on Night Terror, and always look to snipe unsuspecting enemies, as this ability can be quite easy to dodge if seen coming

For the most part, Nox will build like a standard burst mage, much like a Scylla or Vulcan.

In mid, our goal will be to deal as much damage as possible to both gods and minions without expending a crazy amount of mana. Starting with Soul Stone can really help Nox through her relatively weak early minion clear, so long as you be sure to only use Siphon Darkness at full Soul Stone Stacks. When not clearing minions, poke the enemy with basic attacks to try and stack Soul Stone in order to gain MP5 and to be ready for the next wave.

Chronos Pendant will be your first item to finish, as Nox's cooldowns are far too high to deal with a lane efficiently. This will also help her MP5.

Next will be Shoes of the Magi. Not much is to be said here. The bonus power is great, and the penetration works really well with Shadow Lock when poking the opponent. You may opt for Shoes of Focus if you want more cooldowns, But keep in mind you will be lacking some early power/pen.

Book of Thoth gives lots of Mana, and lots of power. It also has great synergy with Soul Reaver, and Breastplate of Valor if you choose it later on. Not much to say here. Get those stacks.

Spear of the Magus > Obsidian Shard. Ticking damage off of Shadow Lock makes great use of the passive and flat penetration, and ensures the enemies protections are lowered a ton when Siphon Darkness goes off.

Rod of Tahuti is just massive power. We like power. We like Rod of Tahuti.

The final item is optional, but I prefer Soul Reaver. As mentioned, the bonus mana works well with Book of Thoth. I also love the passive when it procs from the 2+1 combo. Commonly, enemies will break out of your Shadow Lock before Siphon Darkness has a chance to explode (probably because beads), thus denying your burst. If Soul Reaver's passive kicks in on that initial Shadow Lock hit, you at least confirm some damage before they walk out of your combo.

Replace with Divine Ruin if you're against healers. Consider grabbing it early if thats the case, like after boots.

Breastplate works great against physical gods, like say a Neith mid. Grab it after Book of Thoth. You will have over capped your CDR with this however. Oh well.

Pythagorem's Piece will help you and your team if you have a lot of magical, like say a magical jungler or solo laner. Also, bonus CDR is always great, and this will not over-cap with just Chronos Pendant.

Void Stone can be ok if you are very behind and need extra protection.

In solo, you will not be bursting like you would be in mid. Hopefully, your mid laner will be able to deal a majority of your team's burst damage, leaving you for a more supportive, disruptive role. If thats not the case however, feel free to use the mid build. just be wary that you will be much easier to kill in solo lane, and will be much more susceptible to gsnks.

MP5 is not as important here, because you have blue buffs. Therefore, you will focus on being a little healthier as opposed to mana-rich.

Start with Vampiric Shroud for more sustain. You don't need MP5 from Soul Stone, and the returned health will help you stay in lane longer, which is important in solo.

Finish Chronos Pendant because cooldowns are great.

Shoes of the Magi = pen = power = clear = good things.

Next up, get that Warlock Sash stacking! You need health to be tankier and harder to kill. It also provides a decent amount of power by the end, which is always nice. It will really work well with Ethereal Staff if you choose it later.

Spear of the Magus > Obsidian Shard. See the Mid Item Explanation for further explanation.

You probably have another magical mid laner and/or support, which means Pythagorem's Piece is fantastic. You get lifesteal for sustain, power, CDR, and help your magical teammates. Win-win-win.

Rod of Tahuti for obvious reasons.

Switch out Pythagorem's Piece for Ethereal Staff if you don't have much magical damage on your team. Massive boosts to health and mana are always great.

Divine Ruin for healers, Void Stone for defence if needed.

Regardless of where you play her, Nox has a rough time in the early game. Her clear is sub-par, and she doesn't have much to answer aggressive counter-laners. So, I will break down how to survive your first 10 minutes and become a monster.

Clearing Lane

- For the first 4-6 waves, you can use Shadow Step to help clear, much like Agni would
- Carefully make your way to the back of the wave, trying not to gain aggro from the minions, or take too much poke from the enemy laner
- Quickly dash straight through the wave, turn around, and use Siphon Darkness on the minions
- A couple basic attacks will pick off the stragglers
- BE CAREFUL OF USING YOU DASH TO CLEAR, if you get ganked and don't have Shadow Step available, you are in trouble


Clearing Camps

- When with your jungler, dash through the minions, dealing damage, and into your teammate
- Explode from your teammate, dealing damage again to the minions
- If you are alone, just use Siphon Darkness and basic attacks


Poking the Enemy

- DO NOT DISCOUNT SHADOW LOCK AS A BAD POKING TOOL
- When the wave is clear, look to hit the enemy with a Shadow Lock now and then
- The damage adds up over time, and can really disrupt the enemy, or set them up for an easy gank from your teammates
- DO NOT POKE until AFTER you clear the wave, you do not want to aggro the minions


If you are facing an aggressive laner/jungler, do not waste Shadow Step. This is first and foremost an escape, and if you use it to clear, you could leave yourself in a bad position.

If you are against an enemy with a weak early game like yourself, PUNISH THEM. Clear wave and Shadow Lock them into submission. Call your jungler to gank often and you can feed their brains out if you time your locks and silences correctly.

Alright, you've made it to about 15 minutes and you're ready to come online. However, what "coming online" entails is different depending on what position you are playing.


Mid Lane Burst Carry

You will now STICK WITH YOUR TEAM. You may have over 900 magic power, but you're still one Loki stab from death at any time, so be careful. If you have the team CC and communication, try to stray away from initiating with Shadow Lock. Have a Ymir freeze, Sylvanus pull, or Hercules knock-up help you get people inside Siphon Darkness if possible. This way you can save Shadow Lock to either grab a straggler for your team to punish, or save yourself from that previously mentioned Loki stab.

When you initiate, start with Night Terror. I know it's tempting to use it as a kill confirmer, but it's much more useful as a burst ability and a power reducer.


Solo Lane Disrupter

You are most likely very farmed, and extremely tanky if you've stacked up that Warlock Sash. Do not go about the rest of the game thinking you are going to get a ton of kills, because you probably wont. You don't have a TON of damage, but you do have some very valuable disruption now.

Use Siphon Darkness as a silence. Nothing is more disruptive than a massive circle that stops you from using abilities and forces you to move out of it lest you be erased from existence. Use Shadow Lock to hold people for your teammates, and possibly confirm your damage from Siphon Darkness if you want. Use your ult to lessen incoming damage and cause a massive amount in return. Good job you are now the most annoying player in the game. (except for Loki).

Surprisingly, Nox has some decent counter-play potential. She doesn't lose too many match-ups, and she does fairly well in quite a few.

THE GOOD

Isis
- One of the strongest early-game mages due to her amazing clear and utility
- However, this clear can be shut down by Siphon Darkness's silence very easily
- Silence her out of Wing Gust, then root her
- Dashing away from Spirit Ball is also very easy


Scylla
- The only god with worse early clear than yourself
- Crush cannot be detonated when silenced, Siphon Darkness can
- Wait for her to try and hit you with Crush, then hit her with the 2+1 combo, side step out of Crush while channeling, and watch her get erased
- So long as you're not crippled from Sic'Em, you can dash out of Crush before it's detonated, likewise for I'm A Monster


Fenrir
- While he CAN play mid, you will most likely face this guy from the jungle
- Brutalize, the flavour to Fenrir's kit, is easily shut down by Siphon Darkness
- After stopping Brutalize, Fenrir is also probably in a very easy position to be Shadow Locked from point-blank range
- RIP Fenrir


Hel
- Hel has great clear, but must get directly into the wave to use it
- Siphon Darkness, when timed correctly, can hit Hel AND the minions whenever she tries to clear
- It is also worth noting that any god with 6 abilities is going to get hurt by a silence
- Divine Ruin after boots will also help




THE BAD

Poseidon

- Let's be honest, there's not much that Poseidon DOESN'T win at
- You are crippled out of Shadow Step
- His movement speed makes Shadow Lock more difficult to hit
- His clear cannot be shut down


Agni

- Between his safe clear and quick dash, Agni is incredibly hard to lock down
- Be wary of him poking you with his ult whenever you try to clear
- Do not contest him at a camp, you will lose unless your jungler is on point at helping

Well, that just about concludes everything you need to know about my favourite character in Smite. Nox is an incredibly fun god to play, and when treated properly, she can really turn a game to her favour.

I am sitting comfortably at 1900 followers with her, with many more to come hopefully!

Thanks for reading!