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Sands of Time is the starter of choice for gods that want early CDR and good mana sustain. Start on your first item, which will provide flat pen from the Spear tree. Sands of Time is the starter of choice for gods that want early CDR and good mana sustain. Start on your first item, which will provide flat pen from the Spear tree.
Pick up potions for early sustain.
Sands of Time
Magic Focus
Healing Potion
Mana Potion
Horn Shard
Nox in the Mid-lane. It contains the damage basics (flat pen, % pen) and provides 30% CDR for ability spamming.
Divine Ruin is shown here to provide anti-heal, but if you don't need it, it can be swapped out for 
Soul Gem for some lifesteal and additional CDR.
Rod of Tahuti is optional (and you can upgrade to either glyph), but it's a solid choice as it provides high power and % pen; you can choose any other item in the 6th slot as preferred. Sands of Time to 
Pendulum of Ages once you reach level 20.
This is a generic, balanced damage-centric direction for Nox in the Mid-lane. It contains the damage basics (flat pen, % pen) and provides 30% CDR for ability spamming.
Divine Ruin is shown here to provide anti-heal, but if you don't need it, it can be swapped out for Soul Gem for some lifesteal and additional CDR.
In the 6th spot, Rod of Tahuti is optional (and you can upgrade to either glyph), but it's a solid choice as it provides high power and % pen; you can choose any other item in the 6th slot as preferred.
Upgrade Sands of Time to Pendulum of Ages once you reach level 20.
Pendulum of Ages
Book of Thoth
Spear of Desolation
Divine Ruin
Obsidian Shard
Calamitous Rod of Tahuti
Conduit Gem, which will eventually be upgraded into 
Gem of Focus for the variety of stats it provides.
Lost Artifact into 
Chronos' Pendant for great early CDR.This start uses Conduit Gem, which will eventually be upgraded into Gem of Focus for the variety of stats it provides.
Build Lost Artifact into Chronos' Pendant for great early CDR.
Pick up potions for early sustain.
Conduit Gem
Lost Artifact
Healing Potion
Mana Potion
Horn Shard
Gem of Focus, which benefits from high CDR. Divine Ruin is shown here, but can be skipped if anti-heal isn't needed. Soul Gem and 
Pythagorem's Piece are options. 
Staff of Myrddin is optional, but increases CDR along with providing additional % pen. 
Soul Reaver can be replaced with Rod of Tahuti if preferred.
This build example focuses on utility via Gem of Focus, which benefits from high CDR.
Divine Ruin is shown here, but can be skipped if anti-heal isn't needed.
If you feel you need some lifesteal / health sustain, Soul Gem and Pythagorem's Piece are options. Staff of Myrddin is optional, but increases CDR along with providing additional % pen. Soul Reaver can be replaced with Rod of Tahuti if preferred.
Gem of Focus
Chronos' Pendant
Divine Ruin
Staff of Myrddin
Obsidian Shard
Soul Reaver
Divine Ruin (Anti-Heal): Consider anytime you face enemy healing or significant lifesteal. Spear of Desolation (Universal Offense): Provides power, CDR, and some pen, all of which are helpful for any mage. I do feel there are better options in most cases.
Spear of the Magus (Team Offense): The passive provides enhanced damage from all teammates against your target. Pythagorem's Piece (Group Power / Lifesteal): Provides an aura of power and lifesteal to nearby teammates, which is great for teamfights and objective pushes. CDR is also appreciated. Soul Gem (Lifesteal Alternative): Different utility compared to Pythag's, this item can give some group healing and the potential for burst damage at full stacks. Rod of Tahuti (High Power): Useful for stronger offense in any build, this is an item you'll pick up late-game only for a significant increase in damage potential.
Charon's Coin (Penetration / Utility): Solid % penetration (preferred currently over Obsidian Shard) that provides an interesting passive mechanic, giving some health sustain and movement speed. Obsidian Shard (Penetration Option #2): Provides a higher "burst" amount of penetration that can be helpful against tankier compositions. This is an alternate option to Charon's Coin with higher damage potential but less utility.
Ethereal Staff (Health Steal): Provides some survivability by stealing health from enemies. Soul Reaver (Anti-Tank Burst): Provides bonus damage on ability hit, with higher damage potential against high health targets.
Divine Ruin (Anti-Heal): Consider anytime you face enemy healing or significant lifesteal.
Spear of Desolation (Universal Offense): Provides power, CDR, and some pen, all of which are helpful for any mage. I do feel there are better options in most cases.
Spear of the Magus (Team Offense): The passive provides enhanced damage from all teammates against your target.
Pythagorem's Piece (Group Power / Lifesteal): Provides an aura of power and lifesteal to nearby teammates, which is great for teamfights and objective pushes. CDR is also appreciated.
Soul Gem (Lifesteal Alternative): Different utility compared to Pythag's, this item can give some group healing and the potential for burst damage at full stacks.
Rod of Tahuti (High Power): Useful for stronger offense in any build, this is an item you'll pick up late-game only for a significant increase in damage potential.
Charon's Coin (Penetration / Utility): Solid % penetration (preferred currently over Obsidian Shard) that provides an interesting passive mechanic, giving some health sustain and movement speed.
Obsidian Shard (Penetration Option #2): Provides a higher "burst" amount of penetration that can be helpful against tankier compositions. This is an alternate option to Charon's Coin with higher damage potential but less utility.
Ethereal Staff (Health Steal): Provides some survivability by stealing health from enemies.
Soul Reaver (Anti-Tank Burst): Provides bonus damage on ability hit, with higher damage potential against high health targets.
Divine Ruin
Spear of Desolation
Spear of the Magus
Pythagorem's Piece
Soul Gem
Rod of Tahuti
Charon's Coin
Obsidian Shard
Ethereal Staff
Soul Reaver
Purification Beads (Anti-CC): A core relic for most mages, used specifically to counter CC. Commonly picked up 1st.
Aegis Amulet (Anti-Burst): Common 2nd relic for most mages, helpful to prevent anticipated burst damage.
Blink Rune (Initiation): Spicy pick to surprise enemies that think they're at a safe distance.
Purification Beads (Anti-CC): A core relic for most mages, used specifically to counter CC. Commonly picked up 1st.
Aegis Amulet (Anti-Burst): Common 2nd relic for most mages, helpful to prevent anticipated burst damage.
Blink Rune (Initiation): Spicy pick to surprise enemies that think they're at a safe distance.
Purification Beads
Aegis Amulet
Blink Rune
Siphon Darkness for the main burst damage. 
Night Terror is usually leveled when possible due to the reducing CD. 
Shadow Lock is prioritized after that, with lowest priority to 
Shadow Step.
Priority is typically Siphon Darkness for the main burst damage. Night Terror is usually leveled when possible due to the reducing CD. Shadow Lock is prioritized after that, with lowest priority to Shadow Step.
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Recent Updates:
2024/1/23: Guide is current as of Patch 11.1, "Year 11." Updated builds. Starting process & maps are WIP.
 Revision History |
Title's Song Inspiration feat. The Rolling Stones Nox's gameplay. If you want details on general info, I invite you to check out my other guides:
Nox is a utility mage, whose unique, CC-heavy kit allows her to disrupt enemy lines through Shadow Lock and Siphon Darkness. She has a strong dash / escape ability that passes through enemy gods and can allow her to accompany (and safely hide in the shadows of) teammates, giving her some interesting synergies with select gods. She is great in a teamfight due to her ult's AOE ability to decrease enemy damage output.
...... Strengths ......
... Weaknesses ...
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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. When Nox takes damage from an enemy god, one of her candles is blown out. Stacks up to 4 times, for a total of 12% bonus magical power. Discussion: You won't really think about this passive. However, this is a good reason to spam abilities and avoid damage, and supports a high power build, especially late-game. Tips: At the beginning of a match, cast abilities in base (other than Assault) to build up your passive stacks. |
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Skill #1:
Shadow Lock |
Nox extends her shadow, damaging enemies. If this shadow hits an enemy god it stops, rooting and crippling them in place and dealing damage over time instead. Nox must channel and stay within range to maintain hold on the target, but may cancel this ability early. Nox will continue to channel this ability even if she is hit by Crowd Control effects. While channeling this ability Nox suffers no directional movement penalty. CD 10 seconds. Leveling Priority: Prioritize this 2nd. General Use: Damage / Peel / Control Discussion: This is your main form of control, and will often (but not always) be paired as the follow-up combo ability to Siphon Darkness. A 2 second root is extremely powerful, allowing teammates to easily focus a single enemy. Note that this ability can be cast through walls, rooting enemies that are trying to escape.Tips: Common practice sees this ability cast immediately after using Siphon Darkness, to catch enemies in its AOE and deal massive damage. However, you may want to show some restraint, and wait for the enemy to react before casting. This allows you to better predict the direction they will head to escape.Even if they escape the Siphon's AOE, confirming the lock is arguably much more important; with the help of teammates, it can set up an easy kill. In bigger teamfights, or if you are playing a Support Nox with low damage focus, you may want to split the abilities up to perform individual tasks, with this ability being used specifically to lock down problem enemies. |
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Skill #2:
Siphon Darkness |
Nox creates a void of darkness that silences all enemies within. After a short duration it explodes, dealing damage. CD 13 seconds. Leveling Priority: Prioritize this 1st. General Use: Damage / Minion Clear / Zoning / Ability Interruption Discussion: This is Nox's strongest and most defining ability, providing your main minion clear function, and a level of utility matched by few others.Anyone in the AOE is silenced. This means you can prevent enemies from casting any abilities, or interrupt enemies that are channeling abilities. Use this to cause massive disruption. When using this for wave clear, you can deploy this ahead of a moving minion wave to get an edge on the enemy mid-laner. Tips: More important than using this for damage, your main focus should be to use this for control. Initiate a 1v1 engagement with this (followed by Shadow Lock), or hold onto it in a teamfight specifically for its zoning threat or ability interruption via the silence. |
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Skill #3:
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. Nox can stay in an ally's shadow for up to 8 seconds. CD 15 seconds. Leveling Priority: Prioritize this last. General Use: Escape / Initiation / Damage / (Situational) Global Mobility Discussion: This is the most interesting and flexible ability in her kit. You'll generally hold onto this for use as an escape. However, when the situation is favorable / safe, you can:
Tips: The greatest (but most situational) utility is through your ability to leap into a teammate's shadow. Dash into them, and you will go where they go. For massive burst function, dash through an enemy into a nearby teammate, then immediately cancel and you'll hit them in the secondary AOE. Situationally, you can use this to transport large distances, especially with global ults. Examples of Gods where Nox can hitch a ride:  Apollo,  Arachne,  Athena,  Chernobog,  Jormungandr,  Mercury,  Ratatoskr,  Thanatos,  Thor.In addition, you can use this offensively for huge gank potential, particularly with gods that have teleports or stealth (.e.g.  Loki,  Izanami,  Ao Kuang,  Da Ji,  The Morrigan). |
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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 40% less damage for the duration. CD 90/85/80/75/70 seconds. Leveling Priority: Level this whenever it becomes available. General Use: Damage / Teamfights / 1v1 Kills / Kill Secure / CC Immunity Discussion: This ability has incredible range, allowing you to target retreating / damaged enemies. Kill secure is arguably its most popular (and satisfying) use. However, it provides arguably better utility (via the damage reduction) especially in teamfights, where the AOE burst can hit multiple enemies. Remember that the short charging animation provides you with CC immunity, so you can ult in an emergency to prevent things like an Ares / Cerberus / Da Ji ult pull. Tips: In teamfights, don't save this for kill secure. The 5 second damage reduction is incredibly useful, and can easily give your team the upper hand. When in the process of casting this, Nox can go through  Janus'  Portals. |
Core Combo |
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This is your main combo. Initiate with Siphon Darkness to prevent enemy ability use. This will typically trigger 1 of 3 reactions:
Siphon Darkness with Shadow Lock. If you connect before they leave Siphon's AOE, you will deal damage from both abilities.Tips: In most cases, you will try for max damage, meaning you want to cast Shadow Lock immediately after Siphon Darkness, to trap them while they're still in the AOE. You need to pay attention to the direction the enemy is heading. It is easier to hit the Lock if you're very close to them, but if they're further away, you'll need to lead your aim a bit ahead of them.However, you may decide a bit of patience is preferable, possibly allowing the enemy to escape the AOE but allowing for a higher probability of connecting with the Lock. Remember, Siphon Darkness is first and foremost a setup tool, and although it has higher burst damage potential, Lock is really your most important ability. If you have teammates with you, it will allow them to more easily connect on their damage. |
Initiation Combo |
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This is your chase and 1v1 kill combo, without using your ult. Initiate and close distance with Shadow Step. If the enemy is retreating and has some distance on you, you'll likely only use this to get close enough to connect with Shadow Lock. However, if you're fighting a 1v1 and are confident in your ability to get a kill, you'll use this within closer range to connect with it for the damage.Follow it up with the standard combo of Siphon Darkness and Shadow Lock. Since you're going for damage/kill, you'll pretty much always use Shadow Lock immediately after Siphon Darkness to keep them in the AOE...your close proximity to the enemy should help you confirm the Lock.Remember that you're blowing your escape, so use this combo with discretion and awareness. |
Teamfight Ability Use |
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This is your teamfight "combo," used when multiple enemies and teammates are likely present. Both Night Terror and Shadow Step are used situationally; your core is still Siphon Darkness to Shadow Lock.Considerations:
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Mid-Lane - Start & Early Game
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Wards.|
Mid-Lane - Mid-Game
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Siphon Darkness is leveled close to max, it should be able to handle a minion wave fairly easily. When you get Chronos' Pendant online, you'll start wanting to be a bit more aggressive, and going for your 2-1 combo anytime you can, to get good poke damage and put the enemy on their heels. If they stick around too long at low health, you can go for a kill with your ult as well.|
Mid-Lane - Late-Game
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Shadow Lock, interrupt enemy abilities with Siphon Darkness, and use Night Terror at the start of any teamfight, as the damage reduction is more important than kill secure potential.
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Support - Start & Early Game
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Support - Mid-Game
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Sentry Wards on key objectives (or common defensive ward locations of enemies to help you surprise them).|
Support - Late-Game
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Benevolence
Glowing Emerald
Gauntlet of Thebes
Multi Potion
Breastplate of Valor
Spirit Robe
Prophetic Cloak
Oni Hunter's Garb
Void Doumaru
Heartward Amulet
Stone of Binding
Magi's Shelter
Spectral Armor
Compassion
Heroism
Sentinel's Gift
Sentinel's Embrace
Magi's Cloak
Pridwen
Contagion
Midgardian Mail
Pestilence
Erosion
Bewitched Dagger
Shogun's Kusari
Heavenly Wings
Magic Shell
Bracer of Radiance
Sundering Spear
Divine Barrier
Odin
Ring of Spears
Ares
Cerberus
Yes, Ob Shard potentially for ult use, but also in a general sense it's just a generally good pen item. I'm definitely aware that if you use the standard 2-1 combo, Ob would likely be proc-ing on
- I have
Charon's Coin as an option; my items are not set in stone.
- In the build examples, Ob Shard is being built fairly late in the build. When possible, I like to grab Charon's earlier in the build to help with stacking, but it's not an end-all.
- In those builds, I prioritized other items first. BoT obviously for stacking and mana, Deso for the spread of stats including CDR, Divine Ruin because double-flat pen against squishies is quite nice and obviously for the anti-heal (when needed).
- As these are just examples, many times I would probably consider both Myrddin and Tahuti and not get Ob or Charon's.
- I like Charon's more with gods that have 0 escape, as the MS is at least somewhat helpful. That said, with no lifesteal in these builds, Charon's HP5 is helpful if not super high.
In a joust setting, I would consider Charon's / Ob more with a double-tank enemy comp. I would consider a double-flat pen build with more utility in a double-squishy enemy comp. And for the HP5 / healing factor, I would strongly consider just grabbing aIn the other build, Chronos' just obviously nice for the early CDR, and wanted more CDR in Myrddin as it at least also has some % pen.
Does this explanation help?
In the case of a really mobile jungler, it could be significantly more helpful than Binding, but I guess you probably shouldn't be out that far if it's that dangerous anyway.
Blessing > Shoes > Divine > Breastplate > Charon's > etc.
The position of divine and breastplate are interchangeable.
Meh, I'll just get rid of the Tyrannical build. I do like having a off-meta build type, and IMO Nox can get away from meta more than some other mages because she's not just about burst due to her strong CC / lockdown potential when she has other teammates with her.
Lol
Okay so I've honestly never considered ethereal for Nox. She has a great escape, and cc up the wazoo, and so I don't really consider a somewhat bruiser item for her in that sense. Uhhh wait... Are you talking about the support build? Cuz if so... Lol Hmmm... What's your thought process here?
Sad that your friend left :/
Thanks for the feedback. Note that I do talk about placing a ward in the middle of the lane, though it's not marked on the map itself. That writeup says:
"Per Estidien: You can also placing a ward directly in front of the enemy tower, which can give you a lot of information if you keep an eye on the mini-map. If they are sitting on the ward in mid, you know where they are. If their icons push further into the lane, you can assume they are pushing. If they go towards the right or left jungles you can make early calls on "Be Carefuls" or "Enemy Incoming" or you can assume they are doing their buff camps. If their icons move backwards towards their tower you can generally assume that they are going to one of the back pathways into the jungle, likely to clear camps."
nothing to thank though, i'm here to help u
Paragraph below the comic.
You're welcome.
Fixed. It's the AOE ult's ability to reduce damage by 40%...that's huge in a teamfight.
Paragraph below the comic.
You're welcome.
Ability to do what, exactly?