Ability
Impale
Rock spikes burst from the earth along a straight path. Enemy units take damage, then are hurled into the air and stunned.
↻ 17 / 15 / 13 / 11 sec.Mana 90 / 100 / 110 / 120
Nyx Assassin
Abilities, roles and builds with an explanation for every purchase.
HERO GAME PLANWhat I want to do in the game
I find a squishy target from fog and use Spiked Carapace against suitable damage.
Nyx Assassin is always hunting for fragile targets. Sneaking invisibly through the forest, when he spots his prey, he swipes them with his deadly claws and impales them on stunning spikes, then reverses any counterattack with his reflecting carapace.
Abilities at hand
01 / ROLE IN THE TEAM
A pick is not a plan yet.
My recommendation is a starting point. We choose another position together with the team and for its needs.
04
Support · position 4
Initial recommendationI contribute through laning, control and movement. I adapt the expensive core route to my budget.
03
Offlane · position 3
My resource is the team's space: I hold the lane and build for initiation or team protection.
02 / ITEMS FOR A PURPOSE
What I buy and why.
This is an editorial starting plan based on hero mechanics. It is not presented as a match I have already tested or a popularity ranking.
Support · position 4
My starting plan
Here is my initial plan: I do my role's job first, then choose the items the team needs. I adapt the order and expensive purchases to the opponent.
01 / First stepArcane BootsProvide mana for laning and regular ability use.
02 / FoundationDagonAdds quick magical burst against a squishy target. I get it when there are real openings for that kind of kill.
03 / FoundationBlink DaggerChanges the entry angle and lets me reach a target quickly. Damage taken can prevent its use.
04 / Next choiceEthereal BladeCreates a window for magical burst or protection from attacks; I coordinate its use with allies’ physical damage.
05 / Next choiceAghanim's ScepterUnlocks or upgrades Burrow. The exact effects are shown below in the abilities section.
What I change for the situation 3 options
Force Staff ↗Moves me or an ally out of danger; direction depends on the target's facing.
Aghanim's Shard ↗Unlocks or upgrades Vendetta. The exact effects are shown below in the abilities section.
Aeon Disk ↗Protects against sudden focus fire. I account for the cooldown and the fact that my damage is limited while it triggers.
I see the minute on the clock. And the situation too.
I do not assign one ‘correct’ minute to every purchase. I look at my gold, the next fight and the problem: am I missing mana, target access, control or protection? If an expensive slot will arrive too late, I get a useful answer earlier.
03 / HERO ABILITIES
Abilities. As in the game.
Original Valve icons and descriptions. Cooldowns and mana are shown by level from the data snapshot; talents and upgrades can change the values.
Ability
Mind Flare
Deals damage to the selected enemy proportional to its maximum mana and burns a portion of that mana. Also repeats a portion of the damage the ability’s owner dealt to the target over the last 15 sec.
↻ 11 / 9.5 / 8 / 6.5 sec.Mana 100 / 105 / 110 / 115
Details
Deals damage to the selected enemy proportional to its maximum mana and burns a portion of that mana. Also repeats a portion of the damage the ability’s owner dealt to the target over the last 15 sec. The accumulated damage counter resets when this ability triggers.
Ability
Spiked Carapace
Fully blocks damage from an attack or ability, reflecting damage and stunning each attacker once. Does not break the invisibility from Vendetta.
↻ 20 / 16 / 12 / 8 sec.Mana 40
Details
When activated while above ground, Spiked Carapace reflects and negates damage dealt to Nyx Assassin (max once from each source), as well as stunning the source of the damage. Activating Spiked Carapace will not break Vendetta invisibility. While Burrowed, Spiked Carapace instantly stuns nearby enemies when cast.
Ability
Vendetta
Makes the hero invisible and increases his movement speed. Attacking from invisibility deals massive bonus damage and applies break to the target.
↻ 80 / 70 / 60 sec.Mana 180 / 240 / 300
Details and upgrades
Nyx Assassin becomes invisible and gains a speed bonus. If Nyx Assassin attacks to break the invisibility, massive bonus damage is dealt with the attack that applies a break to the target. Nyx Assassin has 75 additional attack range and a 70% faster attack animation for this attack.
Aghanim’s Shard
Reduces cooldown by 10 sec. Grants the owner unobstructed movement and maximum movement speed for the first 15 sec.
Innates, upgrades and other forms2 abilities +
These abilities are not necessarily available at the same time. I check the condition beside the name: innate ability, another form or an Aghanim purchase.
From Aghanim’s Scepter
Burrow
The hero quickly burrows into the ground. While underground, he is invisible, takes reduced damage, and has enhanced abilities: Spiked Carapace affects all nearby enemies, Mind Flare and Impale gain increased cast range, and Impale…
Full description
Nyx Assassin buries himself beneath the battlefield over a short duration. Once burrowed, Spiked Carapace instantly stuns nearby enemies when cast, the range of Mind Flare and Impale is increased, and Impale's cooldown is decreased. While burrowed, Nyx Assassin is stationary, unable to attack, and invisible. Nyx Assassin gains damage reduction from all damage sources.
Innate
Mana Burn
Nyx Assassin's damage on enemies also burns mana as a percentage of the damage dealt.
Full description
Nyx Assassin's damage on enemies also burns mana as a percentage of the damage dealt.
Valve base stats +
- Health · base
- 494
- Mana · base
- 327
- Damage · Valve field
- 26–30
- Armour · Valve field
- 4
- Movement speed
- 310
- Attack range
- 150
- Strength · base / gain
- 17 / 2.7
- Agility · base / gain
- 18 / 2.9
- Intelligence · base / gain
- 21 / 2.6
These are fields from the official source. The hero's final values in the client account for attributes and other active mechanics.
KEEP EXPLORING
One hero. Many decisions.
Items, slang and real episodes help connect abilities with what happens in a match.