Arena of Kings – Ultimate Nihilist Class Guide

Definitive Guide to Nihilist Class

Terms used in the guide

Term – Definition

• AoE – Area of Effect
• CC – Crowd Control
• CD – Cooldown
• DoT – Damage over Time
• HoT – Heal over Time
• DPS – Damage per Second
• GCD – Global Cooldown
• LoS – Line of Sight

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

• Can give life steal to allies, allowing you to potentially deal more damage yourself during down time.
• Strong instant single target healing when using ‘Infuse’ Correctly.
• Huge potential depending on Orb usage.
• Instant cast ‘Siphon Mana’ for Mana burning comps.
• Instant cast ranged fear with built in Lifesteal, very useful tool to help you try and survive melee comps as well.

Weakness

• Can be blown up during CC/Interrupt chains due to a small amount of defensive CD’s and relies on orbs which cost you multiple Globals to set up.
• Lacks AOE healing if team spreads out / Enemies clear Green orb.
• The only available mobility spell deals damage to yourself (Which can also crit btw).
• Quickly falls behind the other healer if forced to cast Shadow Affinity.
• Orbs have little to no value if misplaced/mistimed.
• Meditate reliant class that struggles with mana if facing high pressure teams.
• Difficult class to correctly play vs competitive players.

Suggested Builds

This is the build I play 100% of the time. Every spell on this bar is pretty much invaluable to support my “Infuse only” healer playstyle which I will go into further below.

If I were to have to take out a spell it would probably be either Chaos wave or Orb of Absolution.

Gameplay/Tips

Tips for all orbs:

The general rule is to cast out of range from melees, most preferably behind pillars so the orb LoS’s the entire enemy team while still being in range of your own team.

Figure out ideal spots for each map as there are some tricks like casting them above/below the bridge when fighting on the bridge @Sand map making it virtually impossible for your enemies to clear them efficiently.

And yes, orb effects go through anything that would normally be considered LoS such as walls, pillars etc.

When your team has the upper hand on the pressure game and your team could both benefit from certain orbs it’s okay to sacrifice a full duration orb for the short benefit to both your teammates should the situation need it.

• Shadow affinity: I basically try to never use this ability and rather focus on using Infuse with the correct orb additions. Casting this ability is only for emergencies and will OOM you way too fast if forced to spam.
• Orb of Replenishment: Most beneficial to never cast out in the open and rather use it as an ‘Infuse buffer’ spell than the raw healing the orb does itself. If your playing with a ranged in your team it’s very possible to have the orb in a safe space most of the time and both benefit from its passive healing.
• Orb of Absolution: So first of all this Orb doesn’t work as the descirpütion currently shows, there is no initial cleanse when you first place it. Instead it only cleanses in a small AoE once after 2 seconds. So if you are to use this ability make sure to always get max value out of it in the way of Infuse casts.

You can use this Effect to counter incoming CC effects on you by applying it to yourself right before whatever CC hits you. Perfectly timing it according to your opponents cast Timer means you can instantly remove the effect, just beware that casting it early like this potentially leaves you vulnerable to your enemy fake casting and you essentially wasting your cleanse CD. This trick is essential to surviving the double melee opener for the Nihilist healer.

• Orb of Smoke: Often underrated, this orb is invaluable for this playstyle to work. It keeps your team healthier during the Infuse CD with the reduced dmg it provides while also increasing your own crit chance with infuse. Always try to get max value out of this orb for as many team members as you can (Obviously the damage buffs are really beneficial for them as well), while keeping the orb itself alive for as long as possible.
• Orb of Wisdom: Not much to say here.. cast it off CD in a safe place while affecting as many players as possible. Using an Infuse combination on yourself or casters is a good way to help upkeep mana.
• Infuse: Your bread and butter Spell. Always cast in combination with orb buffs. In a lot of situations you are most likely casting it off CD as it is your main source of healing. Either you’re doing this or you are 1. supporting your team with damage or 2. Meditating.
• Spell Breaker: Use only on a team mate that is the main kill target to get the most out of the 50% returned heal your shielded target benefits from taking damage.