GAF, how do you play Nu Wa in Arena? She feels lame compared to my main mages Janus/Scylla/Anubis/Isis.
My main issues with Nu Wa:
1. Her wave clear requires both her 1 and 3.
2. Her ult is almost useless early on.
3. Clay soldiers, arguably the most important skill in her kit, is unreliable. You have to depend on the AI of your summons, and it sucks. They often charge the wrong god or a minion instead of your target. And if god forbid you're facing a Loki, he can completely shut them down with his Decoy. Or the hunters and mages kill them. It's Nu Wa's only form of CC and it's telegraphed right there for everyone to see. It's probably the easiest stun to avoid in the game... and without it Nu Wa is nothing.
Janus feels pretty lame in Arena to me, actually, as well as early Scylla. I'd much rather than Anubis, Posiedon, or Zeus with me, as they offer so much more control and presence. Janus also can end up SAVING enemies from death with his warps at times, and he basically just doesn't play well with others, and his real utility (warping people about) isn't strong in a map with few walls.
Scylla is great once she has a max skill or 2, but before that, she's so limited and straight-forward, taking a long time to do things Anubis would have already done.
Anywho, Nu Wa is more of a lane-pusher than a killer, but she really can be both, even in Arena. There's many a time when I'd rather have her than Janus behind me, as a guardian, warrior, or assassin.
The AI on the Soldiers is straight forward: they seek out troops before gods. So you must clear the troops out before trying to engage in god battles. If your team has people who do this well, then her children will do great at lowering magic defenses, causing burst, and assisting in stun CC loops.
But if she's in the front row alone, no one is controlling the flow of enemies, and there's general chaos... yeah, she's hard to manage.
Generally, I love playing her in arena if I have a good guardian, or a second area-effecting mage with me. Her first priority is guarding your own gate, and pushing to there. Her second is to pick off runners, especially if the enemy team doesn't build to counter her. Those who build Instant HP restores and Invincibility will nullify her ULT, but they'll also be taking spots that could be used for anti CC beads or warps.
You play her in Arena as a goddess of opportunity. You're not trying to land your skill trifecta constantly. You send off mist to weaken the enemies, and the decide if you want to use metal to finish them off, and get the troops out to anti-god, or summon troops first, since they last a LONG time when left on their own. Mist can cause tick damage in areas no player character has any business being (like in the enemy gate), same as soldiers. And you have a great way to finish off those who survive team fights, without you even needing to be close and in danger. Of course, if you ARE close, having a mist that's constantly applying tick-damage friendly effects (like reduced healing, lower magic defense, or slow) makes all your teammates seem better than they actually are.
If your team has no good wave clearer, build stacks with her, to get that extra damage needed to meteor people to death. This also makes her tools better at one-skill-shotting waves, which means you can keep more skills ready for self-preservation & attacking.
If your team has few good defensive options, build tankier Nu + Soldiers, and use them as fight instigators. Don't be afraid to build Mist before soldiers, if the situation calls for it. You'd be surprised how many assassins will kill themselves in your own mist, trying to kill you, if you get Physical Cooldown armors. If you can, save her rooting Auto attack for when gods approach, and simply use skills to thin enemy waves.
