So you just made Nova or Nova Prime. Congratulations! You now own the premier (read: only) antimatter-themed Warframe in Warframe. As you can see, she is very pretty.



Very pretty.

But part of my interest in building her was simply her desirability right now; the thrill of haggling and finding good deals while trading drove me ever onwards to get her chassis and eventually the complete blueprint for Nova Prime. So here I was, three days later, with a shiny new frame, almost no platinum, and no idea how to use her.

That sucks.

I want to make sure that players new to Nova can learn about her quirks without having to experiment on the fly. To do that, I've divvied up the guide so each ability has a quick rundown. a practical explanation of what it does, and some general suggestions on how to use it.

Let's get started!

When you first cast your 1 in Warframe, you except an immediate targeted or short-AoE damage spell that'll be just spammy enough where you can hold on until you've unlocked your next three abilities. On Nova, however, it's a bit of a different case.

You get some spheres circling around you.

What do these spheres do, though?

They are (depending on level) three to six antimatter particles that autoattack enemies within seven to twelve meters, inflicting slash damage. According to the wiki, you can increase the amount of particles with Power Duration, with every 17% increase equating to one more particle.

So we know what it's called and what it does. What's the point?

Well, Null Star gives you free damage that stays up as long as it's cast. You can cast it at the start of the mission and try to keep it up, and it serves as a fine way to expend some energy to make sure you're getting the most use out of all the energy pickups that spawn.

The only drawback is that it's a bit like a Garand in WWII shooters: you can't reload recast until you've expended all the rounds particles in the clip spell. This can be alleviated by the syndicate mod Neutron Star, which expends all remaining particles for 120 blast damage each in an eight-meter radius, but that's up to you.

While it's little more than a bonus in the main game, you can get some fine use out of Null Star in Conclave by activating it before engaging with a pesky bunnyhopper to not deal damage, but drain their energy. Combine with Buzlok for maximum lockon!

Your 2 is a nuclear bomb. This is not a joke.

In the spirit of the Cold War and all things fear-inducing, you launch a sphere that absorbs incoming fire from allies and enemies alike that, upon contact with a surface or an enemy, will deal a set amount of base damage and then 100% to 400% of the absorbed damage as Radiation.

Assuming a decent amount of damage went into Antimatter Drop, enemies within five to fifteen meters of the explosion will then proceed to do this:



Pretty cool, right?

Try throwing an Antimatter Drop down a crowded hallway, and keep in mind that even if it doesn't kill everything, it may inflict a Radiation status effect, which will turn your enemies against each other.

The only issue with Antimatter Drop is that it follows your cursor as you move it. This means that if you throw it down that hallway and then turn around to handle something else, it'll probably crash into a wall or the floor short of its destination. By the time it arrives, you probably could have killed those enemies with weapons.

There are two mods for Antimatter Drop:

• Antimatter Absorb, when maxed, adds a three-meter radius field around the sphere that absorbs enemy fire, providing more defensive benefits and making it more likely to absorb (and deal) more damage.
  
• Antimatter Mine is for Conclave only, but transforms the slow-moving sphere into a mine that goes off in either six seconds (maxed) or "within enemy proximity". You can catch some early match kills this way, and god help your enemies if they don't have audio on to hear your mines hum.

Your three is a rectangle!

That's a new shape!

Unfortunately, I've only found Worm Hole to be useful for getting myself unstuck on unfamiliar tilesets, to avoid complicated jumping, to reach difficult-to-access areas...

Actually, strike that. It's okay. 75 energy is a bit steep for it to have much practical use, but getting a portal that puts you and your teammates 50 meters in the right direction can definitely come in handy.

Just please, don't launch people off cliffs.

Aha, there's the pun!

Nova's 4 is her selling point. Everything up until now has been some variation on situationally okay, but Molecular Prime is in a league all its own.

Enemies in a sizable radius around Nova are primed, giving them a visual effect that matches your Warframe's power color. When they're primed, they move slower, take 200% more damage, and explode upon death. These explosions often chain to make fabulous displays of horde-killing.

Wait for a wave to fully spawn or a lot of enemies to show up on radar before popping Nova's Molecular Prime, as it's a costly ability even with mods for power max and power efficiency. Feel free to use it to slow down and debuff bosses as well.

Your team will probably thank you.

I hope this will help you get started with the wonderful frame that is Nova! For more numbers, details, and builds, check out the Warframe wiki and some of the fabulous Steam guides out there.

Feel free to comment and rate this guide! After all, your input is always welcome, and apathy is death.