Nana

Understanding Nana's inherent qualities is key to playing her effectively. Her kit provides distinct advantages while also presenting specific vulnerabilities that require careful management.

• Strengths: Nana boasts extremely high magical offense, making her a potent damage dealer capable of significant burst. Her low difficulty rating means she is relatively easy to pick up and play, allowing players to quickly grasp her mechanics. She possesses some of the best crowd control in the game with her transformation and stun abilities, which can completely neutralize key enemy threats. Furthermore, her passive, Molina's Gift, offers a unique form of self-preservation, allowing her to escape fatal situations and potentially bait enemies.
• Weaknesses: Despite her magical prowess, Nana suffers from low durability. This means she is squishy and can be easily eliminated if caught out of position or focused by enemies. While her crowd control is powerful, she often relies on her teammates to follow up with damage to secure kills once enemies are disabled. Her passive, while strong, has a very long cooldown, leaving her vulnerable if it's on cooldown. This necessitates careful positioning and awareness of her passive's status.

Nana's kit revolves around long-range poke, disruptive crowd control, and burst damage. Mastering each ability's timing and application is crucial for success.

• Molina's Gift (Passive): Upon taking fatal damage, Nana removes all debuffs, becomes untargetable and invincible, and gains 30% Movement Speed for 2 seconds. She also recovers 10% Max HP over the duration. This passive can only activate once every 150 seconds. This ability is a game-changer, allowing Nana to survive what would otherwise be fatal blows. It enables more aggressive positioning or serves as a critical escape tool. Knowing when it's available allows you to take calculated risks.
• Magic Boomerang (Skill 1): Nana hurls her Magic Boomerang in a target direction, dealing damage to enemies on its way out and back. It deals 320 flat + 100% scaling (Total Magic Power, Magic) to the first enemy hit, with subsequent enemies receiving 20% reduced damage (max 60% reduction). This is your primary poking and wave-clearing tool in the laning phase. The high Magic Power scaling means this skill benefits immensely from items that boost your Magic Power, making it a significant source of damage throughout the game. Aim carefully to hit multiple targets or secure last hits from a safe distance.
• Molina Smooch (Skill 2): Nana throws Molina to a target location, dealing 250 flat + 50% scaling (Total Magic Power, Magic) to enemies and transforming the first enemy hero hit into a small animal for 1.5 seconds. The transformation reduces the target's Movement Speed by 30% and Magic Defense by 25%, preventing them from attacking or using skills. If Molina doesn't hit a hero directly, she waits and chases the nearest enemy. This is Nana's signature crowd control. Use it to initiate fights, disengage from threats, or peel for your allies. The Magic Power scaling adds a decent chunk of damage, but the true power lies in the transformation, which can completely shut down an enemy carry or initiator.
• Molina Blitz (Ultimate): Nana summons Molina to strike a target area 3 times, each strike dealing 440 flat + 160% scaling (Total Magic Power, Magic) to enemies and slowing them by 50% for 1 second. Enemies hit consecutively will be stunned for 1 second. This ultimate provides immense area-of-effect damage and crowd control. The incredibly high Magic Power scaling on each strike means that with enough Magic Power, this ability can decimate enemy teams. It's best used in teamfights to disrupt multiple enemies, or to follow up on your Molina Smooch to guarantee a stun and burst down a single target. Practice timing to maximize the stun potential.

Nana's recommended build focuses on maximizing her magical damage output, sustaining her mana, and providing a touch of survivability to compensate for her low base durability. Each item plays a crucial role in enhancing her kit.

• Enchanted Talisman: This item is a core first purchase for Nana. Its unique passive, Mana Spring, regenerates 15% of your Max Mana every 10 seconds. Given Nana's reliance on constantly casting skills for poke and crowd control, this mana regeneration is vital for sustaining her presence on the map without frequent recalls.
• Magic Boots: These boots provide essential movement speed, allowing Nana to position safely, rotate between lanes, and escape danger. The cooldown reduction they offer also helps Nana cast her impactful skills more frequently.
• Genius Wand: This item significantly boosts Nana's damage potential. Its unique passive, Magic, reduces the target's Magic Defense by 3-7 (scaling with level) for 2 seconds when you deal Magic Damage, stacking up to 3 times. This passive allows Nana to shred through enemy magic resistance, making her spells hit much harder, especially against tankier opponents.
• Holy Crystal: A massive power spike for Nana, Holy Crystal provides a substantial amount of Magic Power. Its unique passive, Mystery, grants an additional 21%-35% extra Magic Power (scaling with level). This item directly amplifies the high Magic Power scaling on Nana's Magic Boomerang and Molina Blitz, turning her into a significant burst threat.
• Divine Glaive: As enemies begin to build Magic Defense, Divine Glaive becomes indispensable. Its unique passive, Spellbreaker, grants 0.1% extra Magic Penetration for each point of the enemy's Magic Defense, capped at 20%. This item ensures that Nana's damage remains relevant throughout the game, allowing her to penetrate even the toughest magical defenses.
• Blood Wings: This late-game item provides a huge amount of Magic Power, further enhancing Nana's damage. More importantly, its unique passive, Guard, grants a shield equal to 200% of her Magic Power. This shield regenerates after 20 seconds of not taking damage and also provides 30 Movement Speed while active. Blood Wings significantly boosts Nana's survivability, giving her a much-needed buffer against burst damage and allowing her to sustain in prolonged teamfights.

Nana's playstyle revolves around safe positioning, effective use of her crowd control, and maximizing her magical damage. Given her low durability and high magical offense, a strategic approach is key.

• Early Game Poke and Lane Control: In the laning phase, utilize Magic Boomerang to constantly poke enemies and clear minion waves from a safe distance. This skill is your main source of damage early on and helps you maintain lane pressure. Always be aware of your positioning, as your low durability makes you an easy target for ganks.
• Strategic Crowd Control: Your Molina Smooch is one of the most powerful crowd control abilities in the game. Use it to initiate fights by transforming a key enemy target, allowing your team to focus them down. Alternatively, save it to peel for yourself or your carries if an enemy assassin or fighter dives your backline. Its ability to interrupt dashes and channeled skills is invaluable.
• Teamfight Disruption and Burst: In teamfights, position yourself safely behind your front line. Look for opportunities to land a well-placed Molina Smooch on a high-priority target, then follow up immediately with Molina Blitz. The combination of the transformation, slow, and stun from your ultimate can lock down multiple enemies and deal massive area-of-effect damage. The high Magic Power scaling on your ultimate means it can turn the tide of a fight.
• Molina's Gift Awareness: Always be mindful of your passive, Molina's Gift. When it's off cooldown, you have a crucial second chance at life. This allows you to play slightly more aggressively, knowing you have an escape. However, once it's used, play very cautiously until it regenerates, as you become extremely vulnerable.
• Vision Control: Use Molina Smooch to check bushes or choke points. If it transforms an enemy, you gain valuable vision and can potentially set up a pick-off with your team.

Understanding which heroes synergize well with Nana and which ones she struggles against can significantly impact your performance in a match.

• Best Mates: Nana pairs exceptionally well with Aurora. Mages like Aurora, with her high damage kit, benefit greatly from Nana's crowd control. Pairing Nana with Aurora allows Aurora to easily land her skills on transformed or stunned enemies, making them a potent and annoying combo to lane against due to their combined CC and burst.
• Counters: Nana can be a strong counter to highly mobile heroes like Fanny. With so many Fanny roaming around, your Molina Smooch (Skill 2) comes in handy in disabling her. Transforming Fanny mid-dash can completely halt her momentum and leave her vulnerable for your team to eliminate.
• Countered By: Nana can struggle against heroes like Natalia. The silence and her damage could shred you before you can even do anything. Natalia's ability to stealth, silence, and burst down squishy targets makes her a significant threat to Nana, who has low base durability and relies on casting skills to survive or retaliate.

Imagine you're in a teamfight, and an enemy fighter is diving your backline, or a key enemy carry is slightly out of position. Here's a typical engagement sequence for Nana:

1. Initiate with Molina Smooch (Skill 2): Aim your Molina Smooch directly at the highest priority target or the enemy diving your team. The goal is to transform them into a small animal, rendering them immobile, unable to attack, and reducing their Magic Defense.
2. Follow with Molina Blitz (Ultimate): Immediately after the transformation, cast your Molina Blitz in the area where the transformed enemy is located. The slow from the first strike will ensure they remain in the area for subsequent strikes, guaranteeing the stun from consecutive hits. This also deals massive burst damage due to the ultimate's high Magic Power scaling.
3. Finish with Magic Boomerang (Skill 1): While the enemy is stunned or heavily slowed, quickly cast your Magic Boomerang through them. This adds additional magical damage, especially if they are the first target hit, and helps to secure the elimination.
4. Reposition and Repeat: After executing your combo, reposition yourself to a safe distance. Look for opportunities to use your Magic Boomerang for poke or wait for your Molina Smooch to come off cooldown to set up another pick or peel for an ally. Remember to utilize Molina's Gift if you take fatal damage, allowing you to escape and potentially re-engage.

To truly master Nana, focus on these key aspects of her gameplay:

1. Prioritize Molina Smooch for Target Isolation: Use your Skill 2 to transform and isolate key enemy threats, enabling your team to focus fire or allowing you to escape dangerous situations.
2. Position Defensively Due to Low Base Durability: Always maintain a safe distance from the front lines in teamfights and be aware of enemy assassins or divers, as Nana is very squishy.
3. Maximize Magic Power for High Skill Scaling: Build items like Holy Crystal and Blood Wings to significantly boost your Magic Power, directly increasing the damage output of your Magic Boomerang and Molina Blitz.
4. Utilize Molina's Gift for Aggressive Plays or Escaping Danger: Be aware of your passive's cooldown. When available, it grants you a crucial second chance, allowing for more aggressive positioning or a guaranteed escape from fatal damage.