Ana's Best Nano-Busters

[Valhalen 1,484]

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Changelog:

• May 07, 2019 - Created.
• August 20, 2019 - Added Qhira.
• May 18, 2020 - Added Tassadar, following his rework. Re-arranged Alarak.

As a Ana enthusiast (she pratically became my main over Deckard and Auriel, specially after the rework), I absolutely love trying out combos with Nano Boost. In a similar fashion to my Auriel's Best Hope Bearers topic, this list aims to rank my personal experiences with Nano Boost (as well Nano Infusion) and the best Heroes to use it with.

Heroes that already have some sort of cooldown-reduction talent will often work wonders with Nano Boost, as their effects stack.

This guide will be updated constantly as new Heroes are launched and/or existing Heroes are reworked in a way that affects their DPS.

1. Cho'gall: unsurprisingly, Cho'gall is arguably the best candidate for Nano Boost as it affects both Cho AND Gall, meaning they can use their already low cooldown abilities much faster, and with greater impact. Under the effects of Nano Infusion, Cho'gall is pratically unkillable, specially if Gall has picked Shadow Bolt Volley with the Shadowfury upgrade, resulting in a massive self-sustain.
2. Malthael: given Soul Rip's very low cooldown, Malthael can madly spam it while under the effects of Nano Boost, melting everything. He can become pratically unkillable by using Tormented Souls (with Reaper of Souls) combined with Nano Infusion, with an uptime almost matching Nano Boost itself (even more if he manages to kill Heroes while under it, thus resetting the duration).
3. Jaina: can annihilate the entire enemy team with Nano Boost in mere seconds, specially when combined with Icy Veins and Ring of Frost.
4. Chromie: with Nano Boost, Chromie can destroy even high health tanks with her combo combining Temporal Loop and Blessing of the Bronze, allowing her the to achieve the highest cooldown-reduction rate in the entire game.
5. Kael'thas: in a similar fashion to Jaina, he can deal nasty damage with Nano Boost, particularly with Living Bomb. Pyroblast can one-shot low health Heroes while Nano Boosted.
6. Kel'Thuzad: can one-shot most enemies with his combo when Nano Boosted. If the conditions are right, he can use his combo up to two times before Nano Boost ends.
7. Sonya: has a lot of potential under Wrath of the Berserker, which, combined with Nano Boost AND Nano Infusion, can make her more destructive than Malthael. However, Sonya requires to be really close to deal damage consistently, and unfortunately she can be kited easily, which is why she ranked lower than Malthael.
8. Tassadar: following his rework, he became a powerhouse, being able to deal absurd amounts of damage with Shock Ray, and if built into it, he can use it even more consistently through Nano Boost.
9. Sylvanas: after her rework, Sylvanas became a deadly mid-range Assassin that can deal surprisingly high burst damage with the proper build, making her a fantastic candidate for Nano Boost.
10. Genji: even after the nerfs to this combo a long time ago, it still is a very powerful one, assuming Genji has enough crowd-control by his side to make the fullest of Dragonblade.
11. Greymane: can deal massive damage regardless of his build. Nano Infusion also provides Greymane with very needed self-sustain, which is his greatest weakness.
12. Gul'dan: can spam Fel Flame like crazy under the effects of Nano Boost. If the circumstances are right, he can use Corruption up to three times or more before Nano Boost ends; assuming Bound by Shadow is taken and he hits as many enemies as possible with Fel Flame.
13. Valla: being a hybrid of basic attacker and spell damage dealer, she can deal surprisingly high damage under the effects of Nano Boost regardless of her build, although her Hungering Arrow can be relatively easy to avoid.
14. Cassia: can make a mess with Nano Boost regardless of her build, although she is particularly more effective with the Lightning Fury build with Ball Lightning.
15. Zeratul: absurdly high burst that becomes even more insane under the effects of Nano Boost. Not ranked as high as other Assassins because he requires a LOT of skill to make the fully use of Nano Boost.
16. Li-Ming: innate cooldown resets upon takedowns combined with already low cooldowns makes Li-Ming a beast under the effects of Nano Boost. If the circumstances are right, she can spam her abilities like crazy. However, her skillshots are relatively easy to avoid.
17. Mephisto: innate cooldown reduction on his abilities due to his trait, Lord Of Hatred, makes him a fantastic candidate to Nano Boost. However, much like Li-Ming, he is ranked lower than the other "mages" because he can not guarantee to get many resets in succession. On the other hand, Consume Souls (with Consumed by Hatred) can potentially wipe the entire enemy team.
18. Orphea: quick resets on Shadow Waltz combined with strong sustained damage makes her a good candidate for Nano Boost, however she falls in a similar category as Li-Ming, since her skillshots are relatively easy to avoid; plus she is a mid-range "mage", which makes approaches harder.
19. Qhira: can deal a huge burst damage with Blood Rage and either Heroic Ability, making her a viable candidate for Nano Boost.
20. Azmodan: when fully stacked, Azmodan can decimate the entire enemy team with a Black Pool-infused Globe of Annihilation while under the effects of Nano Boost. He is not ranked so high, however, because his cooldowns are very long, resulting on him not making full potential of the 8 second duration of Nano Boost, even with 150% recharge rate.
21. Kerrigan: in a similar fashion to Greymane, can deal massive damage in seconds, and Nano Infusion makes her even more durable. However, she is ranked lower than him because her combo requires proper setup to work.
22. Thrall: he falls in a similar category as Sonya, as he can deal a lot of damage but can be relatively easy to kite, making his usefulness under Nano Boost not the best one, but still very powerful, specially with the Chain Lightning build.
23. Alarak: low cooldowns and obscene damage output with high stacks of Sadism makes Alarak a fantastic candidate for Nano Boost, allowing him to deal eye-watering damage.
24. Junkrat: with the Frag Launcher build, Junkrat can deal A LOT of damage when Nano Boosted. He is ranked low, however, because his grenades are easy to avoid. On the other hand, RIP-Tire can really make a mess.
25. Ragnaros: much like Kerrigan and Sonya, he must be really close to deal proper damage, but can deal a lot if given the chance, making him a potential candidate for Nano Boost. He cannot be Nano Boosted while on Molten Core, and will not retain its effects if he gets Nano Boost and then activates Molten Core.
26. Zul'jin: with the Twin Cleave + Guillotine build, he can deal a LOT of damage in quickly succession. However, given the high cooldowns of both abilities, as well the condition of requiring lower health to deal maximum damage with Guillotine, he doesn't work as good under Nano Boost compared to other characters.
27. Maiev: while she has a lot of potential under the effects of Nano Boost because of her Fan of Knives resets, she needs to hit at least two Heroes with it, making the combo more situational.
28. Fenix: while being mostly a basic attacker, he can deal surprisingly high damage with Plasma Cutter, and both his Heroic abilities become even more dangerous with Nano Boost.
29. Murky: can become ridiculously hard to kill with the Slime build + Living the Dream + Fish Tank. Combine that with Nano Infusion, and the murloc can go on a rampage! Not ranked so high because of his low health.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Valhalen

[Valks 2,375]

nano jaina is ? its so much fun if you pop icy veins at the same time, you just walk through enemy teams

[Valhalen 1,484]

44 minutes ago, Blainie said:

nano jaina is ? its so much fun if you pop icy veins at the same time, you just walk through enemy teams

I'm actually considering on ranking her above Alarak, but from many tests I've seen Alaraks obliterating entire enemy teams with Lightning Surge spams. On the other hand, Jaina packs way more punch if the conditions are right. So it is really hard to measure.

Edited May 10, 2019 by Valhalen

[Valks 2,375]

1 hour ago, Valhalen said:

I'm actually considering on ranking her above Alarak, but from many tests I've seen Alaraks obliterating entire enemy teams with Lightning Surge spams. On the other hand, Jaina packs way more punch if the conditions are right. So it is really hard to measure.

If the Blizzard and Cone land at the right time, especially at above level 20 with Water Ele duplicate spells, it's just like a bomb going off. I'd say their ranking depends on the point in the game and what level the teams are at.

[Valhalen 1,484]

17 minutes ago, Blainie said:

If the Blizzard and Cone land at the right time, especially at above level 20 with Water Ele duplicate spells, it's just like a bomb going off. I'd say their ranking depends on the point in the game and what level the teams are at.

Yeah. I'm ranking characters based on overall performance, but it is trickier than that. Too many variables; for instance, are summons affected by Nano Boost, such as the aforementioned Summon Water Elemental? Still, I suppose it is a good parameter, nevertheless. Will run more tests in the future.

Edited May 10, 2019 by Valhalen

[Valhalen 1,484]

Update: added Qhira.

[Valhalen 1,484]

Upadate: Added Tassadar, following his rework. Re-arranged Alarak.