Smite Nu Wa Build Guide: Stealing Killz with Nu Wa Skillz!

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Not Updated For Current Season

This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page

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Smite God: Nu Wa

Tap Mouse over an item or ability icon for detailed info

Nu Wa Build

Shoes of the Magi

Chronos' Pendant

Spear of Desolation

Soul Gem

Soul Reaver

Rod of Tahuti

Situational

Notes for Anti-heal
against a tanky opposition

*Replace with either of these, as its really there for the extra CDR and extra burst with the passive.

Divine Ruin

Obsidian Shard

Defensive Items

Notes If you want to buy a defense item, which i generally don't do on mages in Arena, Any of the above items can be viable depending on what you're up against.

, good for the stun since Nu Wa has no escape.
offers good defense against hard CC with it's "pseudo-Beads"

I didn't include or in the example build since they'd overcap your CDR if you pick up blue buff or get a , but they're viable if you're not going to pick either of those up. Make sure to replace an item that gives CDR so that you're not overcapping. e.g.

Mantle of Discord

Magi's Cloak

Consumables

Notes Elixers are a good way to boost your damage, or defense at the end of the game when you're full build and have gold falling out of your pockets

Typically I get Elixer of Power if we're ahead, and Elixer of Defense if we're behind, but it's completely situational

I included mostly because it feels wrong not to add it as it is a very good sustain item that is very cheap in a game mode like Arena. Also not critical to success but can help, especially in the early game if you have less than ideal mana management, or if the enemy team ganks you while clearing your buffs and you don't want to go back after you punish them for it.

Elixir of Power

Elixir of Defense

Baron's Brew

Introduction

Hi Everybody,

This is the first guide I've done so try to bear with me. I chose to do Nu Wa because she's very straightforward and can frag out in Arena if played right.

I haven't been playing her for very long, but she's surprisingly easy to pick up if you give her a chance.

Note that this guide is exclusively for Arena, and shouldn't be used in Conquest.

Also note, I'm still novice level with BB coding, so for the sake of progress, I'm going to update this guide regularly based on feedback, and after I read more in depth in the BB coding guides on this site.

Skills

Strength of Wood - 5 SUCCESSFUL basic attacks. Note that you have to hit a target for this to progress. Also, minions WILL get rooted if you hit them, so count that 5th auto as an ability and aim true.

Mysterious Fog - Early game, I use this ability mostly for zoning because it doesn't do a ton of damage, but enemies will still avoid it like the plague for some reason, so it's useful to disrupt enemy movement more than as an actual damaging ability. Once you start putting levels into it later in the game, it will clear the minion wave, so its a good "fire and forget" wave clear ability. Also, when someone is chasing a teammate towards the fountain, its good to fire to give them some invisibility and to shred down the enemy protections if you built Spear of the Magus.

Clay Soldiers - Early game, this ability is basically a stun tool in Arena, late game, you can detonate these bad boys for upwards of 800 damage assuming your hit the enemy with Shining Metal as well. Very good burst damage. Also, I like to throw these out at enemy Minotaurs and let them attack it for as much of their life as I can and then detonate them when they're about to die.

Shining Metal - Put at least 3 points in this ability as soon as you can. This will be your minion clear until late game, so it helps to have it to real damage to build stacks. It also can be a bit of a skill shot, since its only a little bit bigger than a regular auto attack.

Fire Shards - This ability is the ultimate troll ability. Especially if the enemy decided not to get Aegis Amulet. I basically use this either as a kill secure when they're running back to heal, or as a good bit of burst damage in the middle of a heated team fight. Also, if you're getting pushed back, I think this does make you travel a little bit between going up and coming down, you might be able to use this when you're pressed against your fountain to jump over to the other side of the wall.. I'll have to test it more to confirm though.

Summary

I plan to flesh this guide out a little more over time, it is starting as basically an experiment to get acquainted with the guide making process, so any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Just remember when playing Nu Wa.. you're squishy and slow moving.. Don't overextend unless very confident you can make it back out again.

Change Log

- 12/13/18 - Added Consumables, and changed the name of the build.

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(5) |

This looks pretty solid. I wasn't even thinking about trying her out, but I already own her and I did the promotional arena battle thing one week where they give you the 100,00 gold and like 75% cooldowns and I did pretty well. I didn't think I would like her style but it was fun. This build is pretty close to what I run with Vulcan in arena and I usually only change it by swapping deso for ruin and/or soul reaver for obsidian late. I'm pretty certain i will be back for a +1 here, but want to see this build in action as I learn her first. Well put together guide, pretty straight to the point(which i need to work on with mine. lol.)

edit: got that +1 for you. 14 or 15 matches in and rocking a 4.79 kda and my first character so far with over a 1 kd ratio listed on my smite history with a 1.93. I am sure that number will average out a bit but at this point I don't know that i'll find another mage I feel as comfortable with as her. This build helped give me the start I needed and since it is so similar to the build I use on Vulcan I knew it was going to be a sort of sluggish start and helped curb me from being too aggressive. I don't know what her normal damage range should be but I have been doing about 35 to close to 40k a lot of matches.

Very cool guide and I like the suggestions about using the skills, an update would be great!

(81) |

Outside of including skill leveling there isn't much that needs to be updated. Sure has undergone changes, but it's still good against a team building a lot of health.

(35) |

The build looks a lot better now in my opinion.

I respect you for being open and tolerant to feedback, and I commend our community members for offering sound, helpful advice.

(81) |

Oh yeah, much better. I pretty much always get , but I can see the case for instead.

(2) |

Thanks DV-8, I appreciate all the advice from everybody.

(46) |

@Branmuffin thoughts on the new iteration? High power is looking good, but not sure if +25 flat pen is gonna cut it. A support just has to build heartward to negate most of this pen.

Build is looking better than its first iteration.

Some advice:
1) describe which item you would replace in your example build with the situationals you posted.
2) don't think the bancrofts is a good idea on her. Sure she could get use out of it: low on health, she could unleash a strong ult, but i still think soul gem is a better option.
3) replace hide with mantle.

(394) |

Standard build example is much better.

Keep in mind, 25 flat pen is fine unless you really need to get for tanks. will be plenty of add...up to 60 protections lost on their target. That even without pen will allow you at full stacks to do true follow-up damage to a squishy with ...but the flat pen will help deal more damage with the first hits.

The situationals are good, with the exception of , which I don't think I'd build on her. I would actually list as a situational, even though it's present in the example build, because it really should be situational. It's not a core item.

As for defensive, I continue to agree on being the preferred protection item over . Urchin really is a protection item for tanks or bruisers, while Mantle is generally used across the board. At least list it as a defensive option.

But overall...this is now solid and an upvote.

(2) |

Thanks Bran, for future info, how do you determine if a specific item is or is not good on a particular god? Bancrofts for example, It's got good power, a bit of mana, which is good for Nu Wa i think because she has a "one combo" kit basically, and the passive might get her out of a sticky situation if she gets ganked or focused and lands a wombo combo to get some extra life. Also, if she's low she can just use her ult, get a bunch of lifesteal instead of backing just because it'd probably be pretty funny to watch..

Load more comments (8 more replies) →

(394) |

That's a tough answer, as obviously every item is different. Some are also more obvious than others.

's strength specifically has to do with the passive. Think of the main stats. 100 magical power is good...but not the highest, so it's not an outstanding feature. 15% magical lifesteal is fine, but nothing it excels at at the base level, as other lifesteal items outclass it, like . 150 mana is nice, but not really a reason you get it. 2,500 gold isn't expensive, but it's not cheap. It's pretty average.

So it's again, about the passive. You gain a bunch of power (up to 200 power which is huge in all honesty) and lifesteal (up to 20% higher, for a total of 35%, which at this point beats out all other lifesteal items).

But the key word is "up to." You're not getting that unless you're very hurt. And so you think about the god...is this a god that's going to dive in and constantly be at less than full health? Are they a bruiser or an exchanger like , , , or ? Do they have to be in close to deal their damage so they expect to take a good amount of damage themselves? If they can roughly exchange damage equally but win in the end, like via an execute a la ?

And so for ...is that really her style? Not really. She's looking to send out her soldiers, burst with the crystal, damage from far away with her ult. Yes, it could absolutely help if she's getting ganked, and the lifesteal keeps her health up (and adds to her damage). But that's not the normal situation you want to be in. So Bancroft's, to me, isn't optimal.

Also...another thing to keep in mind is how that lifesteal works. For physical gods, with the exception of unique healing through things like , lifesteal is a function of basic attacks. Almost all basic attacks are single target hits. (Exceptions are cleaves like from , , , , etc.).

Magical lifesteal comes from basic attacks AND abilities...which is great...but most magical gods aren't using basics...they're using abilities. And most of those abilities have an AOE function, where it can hit multiple gods in 1 cast. For those abilities, a 0.33x coefficient is applied...meaning lifesteal is only 1/3 effective for those abilities. This turns 15%-35% lifesteal into 5-12%. Still okay if you're outputting a lot of damage on multiple targets, but just something to keep in mind.

If you want me to provide other explanations, give me an item or two and I'll run through my thought process...maybe it'll help get you to a point where you'll better understand how to think of the items.

(143) |

Soul gem is the only lifesteal item that should be considered on Nu Wa

(394) |

I was using Pythag's as an example of having higher base lifesteal than Bancroft's. Soul Gem wouldn't have worked for that example.

(143) |

In assault maybe get Pythags but not arena

(394) |

Agreed.

(2) |

Thanks for the explanation, I understood the power and passive thing with bancroft's but never thought about which situations it would function better in.. That being said, I have a friend who's a pretty big fan of , and I personally have only ever thought of it as an item to put on a , or and don't typically build it at all. What's your breakdown?

(143) |

Only build poly on Freya, Kukulkan, Chronos, Scylla, Morrigan. Also usually only when building Book of Thoth.

(394) |

And reason for getting only with BoT is due to the high guaranteed power, since Poly's bonus damage is based on the amount of power you have.

-4

(143) |

Why is this a top rated guide? Like did you just completely ignore the builds? Can not even user votes be trusted?

(2) |

Guide has been updated. I got rid of everything stacking and went with a more traditional build. I didn't want anyone's PC or console to start smoking or catch on fire if they decided to build a stacking item in Arena... :) That said, Kriega, let me know how it looks now, I appreciate your feedback.

(394) |

I'm not Kriega, but I'm going to offer some additional feedback.

In arena, for gods where CDR is extremely important, I've found personally that getting Chronos' Pendant ASAP is extremely helpful. Chronos has the highest CDR of any item in the game, due to the passive which gives you an extra second of CD every 10 seconds. This counts as 2-3 of any other typical offensive CDR item. In this situation for Nu Wa, I would probably rush it 2nd.
But you've already gotten Shoes of Focus 1st, and immediately after Chronos, you've gotten Spear of Desolation. 2 things with that.

1) For an offensive build, you're getting power, but delaying any pen until you get Deso. That's a bit late IMO.

2) You're maxing CDR, and fairly early at that. Remember as I had said below, you don't need to go 40%. You can get a temporary 10% from the mana buff...and you can also get it from a Potion of Magical Might.

It's okay to max CDR, but when you can get other items that have utility and still have a means to hit max, I think you are possibly missing out on optimization.
To fix the early pen, it's easy...get Shoes of the Magi. Then, as stated, Chronos. If you want more CDR at that point, Spear of Desolation immediately after is fine, and it also gives you pen. Or you might consider a Divine Ruin at that point instead (it's fine that you list as a situational item).
Doom Orb has some unique features and is actually fairly powerful for the price. In a quick game like Arena, you could see benefit from that early power boost...but based on my above preferences, it would just get squeezed out of my build. I'd prefer getting the early pen and rushing CDR immediately after. But can it work? Sure...just remember, the additional benefit is gained from killing or assisting minions. If I really needed to focus on the minions because no one on my team had decent clear (or heaven forbid, were ignoring the minions), then this would be of more direct benefit. Otherwise, it's iffy to me. Guess it's easy enough for you to stack just by throwing Fog through the wave...but then you lose that utility if you could use it in a fight immediately after. See why I'm not all that high on Doom Orb?
Ethereal Staff is another questionable pick for me. It's got good power, but the main focus is survivability. You'll be able to stack this pretty easily, and maybe it's a decent option...but as a standard item in the example build, I'd question it, as your main job in this build is damage. I'd keep it as a defensive option.
In its place, Soul Reaver would be nice. More helpful against tanks, but still provides extra damage against all enemies. And it's got higher power than Ethereal.
I'm fine with Tahuti last. Makes sense especially for her global damage ult, to help finish off a hurt enemy.
I think you're okay keeping Soul Gem as a situational item...you had it in your build but got rid of it in this revision. It might be a good option to replace Spear of Desolation, where perhaps just a bit later you get Obsidian Shard instead for more significant pen against tanks.

Load more comments (4 more replies) →

(2) |

You're 100% right about CDR... I think I even mention the potion in the notes for the build, definitely miscounted my CDR. I was thinking of going mostly for the extra mana early since getting the blue buff is basically a fight in itself most games for me at least. I'll revise with a more well rounded build. Thanks Bran

(46) |

Unless you have multiple mages (shouldn't ever have more than 2), then it's courtesy to give the mage mana buff.

(2) |

Seems like most of the time the first spawn goes to whatever idiot is walking down the suckers throat auto attacking it. After that it gets better. Lol

(394) |

Lol...that typically doesn't happen to me as much any more, but I know what you mean. Either way, 10% CDR that early in the game isn't a HUGE difference, and the early pen is something I feel is helpful, especially since pen on the magical side is just not as flexible as physical items. Spear of the Magus has unique stacking that only fits well with specific gods, and Obsidian Shard is very underwhelming unless facing multiple tanks.

If you need, grab a couple of mana potions (or a or )...you'll be backing fairly often anyway, and you'll get some MP5 when Chronos is online.

(45) |

It's at the top because it's the only build/guide which was updated for 5.22, not because of the votes (the bar clearly shows that it hasn't only received upvotes).

(81) |

What do you suggest instead?

(143) |

Not Warlocks in arena?

Load more comments (2 more replies) →

(46) |

Kriega, relax. DrFlaskers is pretty good about responding to feedback, and he did mention he'll update the builds after Bran gave advice.

(81) |

Also what Boogie said.

(81) |

While I agree, I don't see why that would prevent us from recommending this build. It's not like the op is suggesting building crit on Loki.

-3

(143) |

Still a bad build and you’re not helping by upvoting it.

(46) |

Kriega, no disrespect meant, but you're not helping either by being an *** and shaming the author for his build. Especially since he's trying to learn. If you hate him and his build so much, just give your downvote and move on with your day.

DrFlaskers, some feedback from me:
1) you have a lot of power, but you're missing out on any sort of major penetration.
Get . It's good you listed as a viable option.

2) is really good on her, and i agree with bran about it being preferred to .

3) is ok, but I'd personally get something else. Maybe a or .

4) there's nothing wrong with stacking in arena. You just have to be aware of your team mates. If you have a hunter, two mages, and an assassin like on the team, you're probably gonna have a bad time stacking. But if it's just a mage and a hunter that need to stack, there's usually less of a problem. And of course, as bran mentioned, some gods have weak wave clear. A is gonna have an easier time stacking compared to a .

5) is ok on her, but I'd prefer other items.

6) remove and add . It will help your survivability better.

7) So overall, what do you think about this build?

(2) |

I do like that build a little more, did the recent nerf to affect it's viability at all? It seems like a 1% change isn't going to affect it a whole lot, unless it's against a tank with 3500 health or something.

As for Hide vs. Mantle, I think the price point of Hide makes it a still viable choice since by the time you realize you're getting stomped on and need defense you're probably going to be 7-10 minutes in, and you'll only have a few minutes realistically to buy a defense item, assuming that you're not halfway through buying another item of something..

Either way, thanks for the tips :)

(46) |

The reason I prefer mantle is for the passive and CDR. It'll help you out when you're in a pinch (but long cooldown on the passive means you gotta be careful).

I'm actually not sure when to buy hide of the urchin (in arena). I just don't pick that item up on my tanks and bruisers anymore as I give more priority to other items. But definitely mantle > hide of urchin on nu wa.

Sure you could consider warlocks staff to go with mantle for more tankiness (health + protections is always more beneficial than protections by itself). But like Bran mentioned, it'll be tough to stack it on nu wa in arena.

But overall, counter building has to be done according to the situation. In the future, Post some of your games and we can give you further advice on building according to your situation.

(81) |

Urchin shouldn't be bought any later than 3rd, but I agree that mantle is a better choice for Nu Wa.

(46) |

You can actually get away with it 4th item, although it does lose some effectiveness because adcs and mages have more damage built up.

(81) |

I'd only get it on bruiser mages like and . Mantle and Magi's are fine for everybody else.

(7) |

Even on mages like that, surely there are better options? I do not play much hades or zhong qui, so what is your typical full build on them?

(81) |

I don't play Hades unless I'm forced to in assault, but I generally build Zhong like this, but with hide instead of oni's.

(394) |

Looks like the team zhong was countering had 4 magical... So onis was a good call.

(81) |

Damn right it was. :p

(46) |

Typical arena players... instalocking 3 mages.

(143) |

Urchin is a bad idea, rather magi’s, winged or mantle if you need defense. The recent soul reaver nerf doesen’t mean anything. Against heavy physical comps you can consider celestial helm.

(13) |

Use these for BBCoding :)
https://www.smitefire.com/smite/guide/a-template-for-guides-11963
https://www.smitefire.com/smite/guide/spruce-up-your-words-a-guide-to-bb-coding-15438

(143) |

Why are you building stacks on arena?

(394) |

I build on my hunters sometimes in Arena...

(81) |

I usually only build on hunters if I build a stacking item that's not , though I'll build that as well. Don't worry, I don't build trans on every hunter, just most of them. ;)

(143) |

Rush bloodforge instead. Especially when your damn teammates don’t let you get minion stacks if you’re stacking something other than soul eater.

Load more comments (2 more replies) →

(394) |

Hahahaha...that's true. But I do like the higher lifesteal when going crit. If I think I'll have to fight for waves, then BF is the better choice.

(143) |

That’s not the only benefit though, don’t forget you get the higher power from bloodforge straight away.

(394) |

Hey Flaskers,

Alright, arena guide. Welcome to guide-making by the way. It can be fun, but it can also be a pain in the ***.

Build 1: First thing I would say is...if you can figure out a way to get away with it, try to avoid Warlock's Staff in Arena. Outside of her Clay Soldiers -> Shining Metal combo, she doesn't have good wave-clear, and you're going to be fighting to get stacks (of which Warlock's has a very high amount). You don't want to blow your main combo on minions, as you really want to be focusing on the enemy gods. Yes, it's nice because it provides high health and she doesn't really have an escape (other than her ult, which just delays things).

If you want to keep Warlock's, that's fine, but I probably wouldn't use Rod of Tahuti, because you've dropped your peak power potential to a degree (at least in comparison to Book of Thoth). I think allowing her to be a bit more scrappy would be functional, so you could consider Mantle of Discord, and make it so she's harder to kill and can stay in fights longer.

Another thing to keep in mind...you've maxed CDR. That's not bad, necessarily, as having a full 40% is extremely reliable, but remember you can get 10% CDR from the blue buff or a Potion of Magical Might. With the presence of Chronos' Pendant, that alone is almost like having 30ish% just by itself due to the passive. It means you can get more pen via Shoes of the Magi if you'd like.

If you're looking to hang around more in fights, you might consider an alternative to Soul Reaver...something with a bit more group utility. Soul Gem would get you back up to 40% (unless you switched Spear of Desolation out for Obsidian Shard against a tanky comp, for example), but that provides some decent group function. Just ideas, rather than having just one set build list, it'd be nice to see alternatives (like Divine Ruin).
Build 2: Still stacking, but this time with Book of Thoth. Since this is arena, you might consider a 3rd build with no stacking. This build looks fine overall though...but I don't remember how Spear of the Magus works with her kit. The key here is hits from the soldiers...I don't think they provide Magus stacks, but I could be wrong. You can get stacks also from Fog, but that's easy to avoid in most cases so a bit unreliable. Should have an option for Obsidian Shard, I think.
Redesigned Build Listing: Rather than a set build, you could present the builds differently. The build 1 tab could be stacking, and you break it down with options. Show both Magi and Focus Shoes under "movement options" or something, show "stacking options" with both Warlock's and Thoth (still suggest dropping Warlock's), etc. See some of my god guides for examples on how to present item options in a single tab.
Your writeup on Mysterious Fog is hilarious and also true. People (including me) definitely avoid it most of the time. I know it doesn't cause much damage, but I would say I also prefer not taking any damage if it doesn't hurt me to just go around it.
If you're looking to add tips on how to use the abilities, you might mention letting the Soldiers hit their target multiple times to stack protection reductions before exploding them with Metal. And you might mention good use for her ult in a fight is after she's blown all of her other abilities, since they have somewhat long CD even with CDR. It takes her out of the fight for a few seconds, and if she doesn't have any other abilities up, she's not doing all that much.

(2) |

Thanks for the feedback Bran, I made a couple preliminary changes so far. I added an alternate build on the build 1 page and added as an option. Im not 100% sure about the passive and whether it affecting the clay soldiers is even beneficial or not, but I'll do the same for the Book of Thoth build.

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