Starcraft 2 news » Patch 3.7 Preview: New Co-op Commander Nova

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Agent reporting for duty. The Dominion’s best Ghost, Nova Terra, joins the ranks as our newest Co-op Commander. Backed by the most advanced Terran technology and the highest tier of trained combatants, Nova controls the battlefield with the speed and power of a nuclear explosion.

When designing Nova as the next Co-op Commander, we knew she needed to be a hero on the field. She also needed to be a big focus of power. The Covert Ops theme played a big part of her design: Ghosts, nukes, stealth, gadgets, and a small but powerful army of the most elite forces help bring that espionage feel to life.

We wanted Nova to have ways to influence the battlefield from anywhere on the map and her global abilities achieve this goal. These abilities are unique because they cost minerals instead of energy and have relatively short cooldowns. Nova is able to affect the battlefield practically anywhere, any time.

Nova also has simplified base and production affording you much more time to focus on the combat. With no supply depots to build and only one of each production ability available, you can spend more of your time using Nova, her abilities, and her elite army to their maximum potential.

Nova is the first Terran Commander that you’ll control directly in battle. Nova has high burst damage but is also relatively fragile and relies on her stealth and high tech gadgets to be effective. Part of her Covert Ops theme is having all the right toys at the right time. Nova has different equipment sets and can adapt to any situation by swapping between them on the field. She can use her Tactical Stealth Suit and Sabotage Drone, infiltrate the enemy base ahead of her army and take out critical units and base defenses before her army commits to an engagement. She can then decide to go loud and go toe-to-toe using her Hellfire Shotgun and damage-absorbing Phase Reactor Suit. The Hellfire Shotgun deals massive area damage and can clear weaker enemies in one shot.

Nova has very powerful base and production mechanics. She has a maximum army limit of 100 supply but she does not need Supply Depots. Her production structures call down units to the battlefield instantly without any training time. Remember, these elite units are the best of the best and are much more powerful than their standard counterparts. They have increased life and damage values and are deployed in small squads.

The Griffin abilities located at the top of the screen allow you to be effective anywhere on the map. The top bar abilities cost minerals, but they make the difference between victory and defeat. The Defensive Drone helps keep your forces alive as well as giving you the option to help your partner no matter where they are. The Griffin also has the ability to transport units—including your ally’s units. In an emergency, you can also call down an airstrike or revive Nova and drop her back into the fight.

These abilities can be cast from the menu bar at the top of the screen.

Defensive Drone
Provides friendly units with shields that absorb damage. Griffin Airstrike
Calls down the Griffin to deal massive damage to all targets in its flight path after a short delay. Tactical Airlift
Instantly transports friendly units in the target area to a targeted location. Instant Regeneration
Instantly revives Nova at the target location. Resource cost is determined by the amount of time remaining.

These are Nova’s personal abilities. Assault mode unlocks at level three.

Stealth Mode Assault Mode

Tactical Stealth Suit – Allows Nova to remain permanently cloaked.

• Snipe – Deals high damage to target enemy ground or air unit from long range.
• Sabotage Drone – Deploys an undetectable explosive drone that deals damage to enemy ground units in the target area.
• Tac Nuke Strike – Calls down a Nuclear Strike at target location, dealing massive damage in a large radius after 5 seconds.

Phase Reactor Suit – Increases Nova’s movement speed but disables cloaking

• Penetrating Blast – Deals damage to enemy ground units in a wide arc.
• Blink – Teleports Nova to a nearby target location. Nova gains a temporary shield that absorbs damage for several seconds. Can store up to 3 charges.
• Holo Decoy – Deploys a holographic duplicate of Nova that automatically attacks enemy units.

Elite Marine

• Super Stimpack – Heals the Elite Marine over time and increases its attack and movement speed.

Marauder Commando

• Suppression Shells – Temporarily slows the attack and movement speeds of enemies hit by the Marauder.
• Magrail Munitions – Deals damage to target enemy unit every 30 seconds.

Spec Ops Ghost

• Snipe – Deals high damage to target enemy biological unit at high range.
• Triple Tap – Snipe fires 2 additional shots for extra damage.
• EMP Round – Deals damage to shields and depletes the energy of enemy units in the target area as well as temporarily reveals cloaked units.

Hellbat Ranger

• Jump Jet Assault – Launches the Hellbat toward nearby enemy ground units, briefly stunning them on impact..
• Infernal Pre-Igniter – Upgrades weapon to deal additional damage to light units.

Strike Goliath

• Lockdown Missiles – Stuns and disables the detection of mechanical units hit by the Strike Goliath’s anti-air attacks for a few seconds.

Heavy Siege Tank

• Deploy Spider Mines – Can deploy Spider mines that will pursue enemy ground units and detonate for heavy area damage.
• Graduating Range – Increases the Heavy Siege Tank’s attack range over time while in Siege Mode, up to a maximum value.

Raid Liberator

• Smart Servos – Raid Liberators transform between modes four times faster.
• Raid Artillery – Raid Liberators can attack structures while in Defender Mode.

Covert Banshee

• Rocket Barrage – Deals damage to enemy ground units in a target area.
• Covert Banshees are permanently cloaked.

Raven Type-II

• Bio-Mechanical Repair Drone – Deploys a drone that heals nearby biological and mechanical units.
• Railgun Turret – Deploys an automated defensive turret that damages all enemy grounds units in a straight line.
• Predator Missile – Deploys a missile that purses target enemy dealing damage in a wide radius upon contact.

Covert Ops Nova has a 100 supply maximum, but her units and structure have increased life, deal additional damage, and are resistant to stun effects. Trained units are instantly deployed onto the battlefield. Griffin Airstrike Unlocks the ability to call down the Griffin, which deploys several explosives along a targeted path. Assault Mode Unlocks the ability to swap between two equipment loadouts in the field. Nova gains access to different abilities and a different weapon with each loadout. Barracks Upgrade Cache Unlocks the following upgrades at the Barracks Tech Lab:

• Unlock the Elite Marine’s Super Stimpack ability, which increases their attack and movement speeds while healing them.
• Equip Marauder Commandos with an addition weapon that attacks their current target.

Tactical Airlift Unlocks the ability to call down the Griffin to rapidly transport your units to a targeted location. Factory Upgrade Cache Unlocks the following upgrades at the factory Tech Lab:

• Enable Strike Goliaths to stun enemy mechanical air units and disable their detection.
• Increase the Heavy Siege Tank’s attack range over time while in Siege Mode

Automated Refineries Refineries automatically harvest vespene gas without the need for SCV’s. Covert Ops Upgrade Cache Unlocks an upgrade at the Barracks Tech Lab that enables Spec Ops Ghosts to fire two additional shots when using Snipe. Also unlocks an upgrade at the Ghost Academy that increases Nova’s life regeneration rate. Tac Nuke Strike and Holo Decoy Unlocks the Tac Nuke Strike ability, which allows Nova to call down a nuke while in Stealth Mode. Also unlocks the Holo Decoy ability, which allows Nova to create a duplicate of herself that will attack on its own while in Assault Mode. Starport Upgrade Cache Unlocks the following upgrades at the Starport Tech Lab:

• Unlock the Covert Banshee’s Rocket Barrage ability, which deals damage to all enemy ground units in a target area.
• Allow Raid Liberators to transform faster.

Research and Development Reduces the cost and time required to research upgrades by 50%. Raven Upgrade Cache Unlocks the following upgrades at the Starport Tech Lab:

• Increase the healing of the Raven Type-II’s Bio-Mechanical Repair Drone and allow it to cloak units while healing them.
• Allow the Raven Type-II to store an additional charge for each of its abilities.

Military Hardware Increases Nova’s maximum number of Defensive Drone charges and reduces their cooldown. Nova Upgrade Cache Unlocks the following upgrades at the Ghost Academy:

• Allow Nova to regain 50% of Snipe’s energy cost after killing a unit with it.
• Increase the range of Nova’s Penetrating Blast.

Stance Dance Reduces the cooldown of Stealth Mode and Assault Mode. Nova gains maximum energy when switching modes. Switching to Stealth Mode grants a temporary damage bonus and switching to Assault Mode grants temporary invulnerability.

• Don’t underestimate the power of the Defensive Drone. In the early game, one Defensive Drone and a squad of Elite Marines can hold off an entire attack wave on their own.
• Nova starts with a Ghost Academy on the field. The Ghost Academy houses Nova’s research options and also allows you to deploy Spec Ops Ghosts early in the game. Nova can also research “Ghost Visor” which allows her to detect enemy units.
• The Barracks, Factory, and Starport deploy units directly into the field, but at a high resource cost and a significant cooldown. Try to keep your units alive and choose which units to deploy carefully to counter the enemy composition.
• Nova is incredibly powerful. Use her to scout ahead of your army and soften up enemy bases before sending them in.
• In Stealth Mode, use her Sabotage Drone to take out critical defensive structures, detectors, and powerful enemy units. The Sabotage Drone cannot be detected by the enemy, even with detectors in range, but has a long fuse time so it may be difficult to use in active combat.
• At level 9, Nova will unlock Tac Nuke Strike while she is in Stealth Mode and Holo Decoy while she is in Assault Mode. These are on separate cooldowns and can be monitored on her command card without having to switch modes.
• If Nova falls in battle, “Instant Regeneration,” can bring her back in a critical situation. The mineral cost is reduced based on the amount of time remaining on her revive timer.
• The Raven has the “Bio-Mechanical Repair Drone,” which allows you to heal and repair friendly units. Coupled with Defensive Drone, Nova’s army can survive fights others would fall to.

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Nova and her team are ready for deployment and can be acquired for $4.99. Whether you prefer to take out your opponents from long range under the protection of stealth or drop fire from the sky and unload your shotgun, Nova has an answer for every situation.