Dota 2 Nyx Assassin Guide – Tips and Tricks

This Nyx Assassin Dota 2 guide will reveal things that make this hero special.

Every “assassin” in Dota 2 is interesting to play, and Nyx is definitely not an exception. Although he is among the underrated heroes in Dota 2, he can make a difference, especially in certain matchups. That’s why this Nyx Assassin Dota 2 guide will try to reveal everything about the hero.

Nyx Assassin is a melee Universal hero that starts with 48-52 damage. His starting armor is 4, and the hero has a 310 movement speed, meaning he is pretty tank early on. Even though most people use him as a support, the hero can be a carry or even a midder, depending on the scenario.

Abilities

Whether you want to try out the Dota 2 Nyx Assassin support or carry build, you must know something about the hero’s abilities.

• Impale – This ability stuns a target for up to 2s and deals 280 damage. It can hit multiple units.
• Mind Flare – This ability deals damage to enemy heroes by multiplying their intelligence by 5x and dealing 25% bonus damage of what the hero received from Nyx in the past 15 seconds.
• Spiked Carapace – This ability lasts for 2s and reflects the next damage the hero takes. The reflected ability deals 125% damage and turns the target for 1.6s. Nyx Assassin can activate this ability even while in Vendetta, and it won’t break it.
• Vendetta – This ability turns Nyx Assassin invisible for up to 60s. During that time, the hero has 20% bonus movement speed, his first attack deals 600 damage, and 50% of the target’s mana is removed.

People who decide to try a given Dota 2 Nyx Assassin build can get an Aghanim’s Shard, and this will allow Vendetta to provide even more movement speed and increase the target’s spell damage it takes. Players who choose the Aghanim’s Scepter will have an ability called Burrow. The latter regens HP and Mana, allows Nyx to take 40% less damage, and he has bonus range and reduced cooldown on Impale, bonus range for Mind Flare and increases Spiked Carapace range.

Talents

After choosing your preferred Nyx Assassin Dota 2 build, you also need to check the hero’s talents.

• Level 10 – +0.2s Impale Stun Duration or +6% Spell Amplification
• Level 15 – +0.75x Mind Flare Intelligence Multiplier or +0.5s Spiked Carapace Reflect Duration
• Level 20 – +130 Impale Damage or + 0.45s Spiked Carapace Stun Duration
• Level 25 – Vendetta Unobstructed Pathing or 300 Mind Flare Radius

Dota 2 Nyx Assassin Guide – Tips

Nyx Assassin is one of those heroes that can fill in different roles in the game. If we assume that the hero is the team’s soft support, his job will be to make the life of the enemy’s INT heroes a living hell. He can easily do that with his Mind Flare.

Regardless if you choose a Dota 2 Nyx Assassin carry build or something else, Nyx has two things to focus on – killing squishy supports and preventing disabling the enemy’s cores for as long as possible. Considering his abilities, the hero can almost always solo kill the squishy supports and other heroes on the map. Moreover, his two stuns mean he is excellent at preventing initiations or initiating a team fight.

With that said, Nyx Assassin is a hero that shines more against specific Intelligence cores. He is excellent against the likes of Enigma, Skywrath Mage, Storm Spirit, Zeus, Tinker, and so on. Since the hero is inefficient in all lineups, he remains a situational pick in almost every meta.

Aside from the magical damage build, a lot of people who play Nyx decide to test the physical damage one. Even though it can work well, Nyx is not the best carry in the game because he doesn’t farm that fast. Consequently, this can only work in certain situations.

Nyx Assassin Dota 2 Guide – Pros and Cons

Before revealing the go-to Nyx Assassin Dota 2 item build, here are a few pros and cons about the hero.

Pros:

• Excellent against squishy targets
• Can be difficult to kill
• Annoying to play against
• Highly efficient against intelligent heroes

Cons:

• Not that good against tankier opponents
• Having a lot of sentry wards makes Vendetta rather difficult to use

Dota 2 Nyx Assassin Guide – Items

Besides checking the Nyx Assassin Dota 2 wiki page, you also need to know more details about the best items for this hero. 

Starting Items

The best starting items for this hero include a Tango, Mango, a few branches and a Clarity. Of course, if the hero’s in the support role, he should also get an Observer Ward.

Early game

Nyx usually needs to get Arcane Boots, Magic Wand, and Urn of Shadows to be effective in the early-game.

Mid-game

The mid-game items that you can use depend entirely on your position. Regardless of the Nyx Assassin Dota 2 skins you have, if the hero’s support, he usually has Glimmer’s Cape/Force Staff or Eul’s Scepter of Divinity. However, core Nyx Assassin players can get Dagon, Ghost Scepter, Link Dagger, and Meteor Hammer.

Late game

If Nyx is a core, his items can include Dagon 5, Ethereal Blade, Orchid, and Scythe of Vyse of the magical damage build. People who prefer the physical one can get an Abyssal Blade, Daedalus, Monkey King Bar, Butterfly, and so on. Support players can’t really get much other than Scythe of Vyse, Force Staff, and similar utility items.

Dota 2 Nyx Assassin Counter

Despite the fact that Nyx Assassin can work against almost everything, there are a few counters that the hero is just not good against.

• Lifestealer – Naix is among the best STR heroes against Nyx because he has a build-in BKB and can easily kill him in seconds.
• Bounty Hunter – The hero’s track means Nyx can’t really use his Vendetta freely, which limits his potential.
• Slardar – Similar to BH, Slardar can reveal Nyx Assassin. Furthermore, this hero has a stun and deals tons of damage.
• Bloodseeker – Nyx relies on his extra movement speed from his ult to chase enemies, but once BS ults him, this ult becomes less potent.

Final Thoughts

The idea of this Nyx Assassin Dota 2 guide was to show you that this is a versatile hero capable of fulfilling multiple roles. Although he won’t work in all setups, there are certain situations where he can do an excellent job.