Natalya:Arcane Master DX

Build and Guide Natalya:Arcane Master DX

Cheat Sheet
Skill Build

Start by unlocking Arcane Spirits and unlock the rest as you go. Put any point into Arcane Spirits whenever able – unless Lethal Rayss will accept one.

Items

Orb of the Magi, Flashy Boots, Hecate's Didem, Frosty's Revenge , Boomstick, Holy of Holies

Arcana

Ability Power, Magic Life Steal and Magic Pierce is everything you'll ever need. Each tier and each colour has perfect choices for this, with an easy Tier-1 spread being Talisman, Absorption and Disruption. Other tiers follow the same pattern.

Talents

Sprint, Flicker, Disrupt

Introduction
If you've seen Thor: Ragnorok, Natalya may seem familiar. Intentional or not, she has the Hela vibe about her when you ignore the spawn of Satan spewing poison by her side, but just think of it as that wolf the Marvel villain rode into battle. Her 'Shutterbug' skin in the best in the game, too. Don't disagree.

Natalya has a lot going for her. Making up for the general low defense of most mages with an ultimate that melts her opponents while granting herself a shield, she's a formidable (and expensive) harassment mage that really goes all out. If she isn't casting, she isn't happy; and when she is casting, she's dishing out more damage each time. The key to Natalya is never letting up while doing anything you can to keep her mana reserves topped up ready for the next fight. Short cooldowns, long range and a passive that has her just keep slinging spells makes Natalya a 'blast' to play.

Skill Build
Short but sweet, Natalya's passive – Arcane Fire – is what makes her tick, but not entirely what makes her strong. Each of her ability hits causes the next to deal more damage. Able to stack up to 10 times in a short period of time, You won't see much of a tell for this mid-match, but it's there. Just don't use it as an excuse to rush into a fight you can't win just to keep your stacks up. Life is more important.

Arcane Spirits, a barrage-style spell, fires out multiple magical missiles out in the target direction. They all fire off at the same time and centre before crossing over. They're relatively short range and will regularly hit the same target for slightly less damage, but blasting an enemy champion with the full assortment while shave down their HP by a fairly large degree. So long as they're not dancing around erratically, it's an easy hit. Champions hit will take the full amount, while a monster won't be enough to stop their travel, meaning any minions within range will get shot down and can't act as a shield for their master.

Another example of her love of the arcane arts,Arcane Nova is the gateway to Natalya's controlling methods. Similar to Arcane Spirits, this is a projectile-based attack in a concentrated ball. Upon reaching the end of its path (or being cut short by an enemy in the road) the ball pops for damage, stuns enemies around it for a quick second and begins to slowly travel along its original route ticking for additional damage and applying 'slow' as it does.  For someone who screams about her being in charge now, this is her only way of keeping her targets within her grasp. The stun and slow is more than enough time to line up your assault.

Lastly, there's Lethal Rayss – Natalya's more entertaining weapon. Channelled over a fairly lengthy period of time, this long-range beam roots Natalya in place while melting any foe who happens to be on the receiving end. Natalya can still pivot on the spot to track targets as they attempt to break free, but she does so rather slowly. Not a great one to use with a melee attacker in your face, the shield and crowd-control immunities granted during use can certainly keep her alive long enough to dissolve her assailant in some situations – or to damage an approaching army when you've lost the will to live.

A tricky question for the most part, picking out Natalya's preferred skill order is more a question of the match itself, but we can boil it down for those looking for a straight answer.

Arcane Spirits will, and always will be, your shortest cooldown, and it's more potent for it. Focus on maxing out this before all else as pouring points into Arcane Nova don't do all that much for its damage potential. Start with Arcane Spirits to help with early harassment, unlock Arcane Nova on your first level up and put your focus back into Arcane Spirits while dropping one into Lethal Rayss whenever prompted.

It may sound good to keep the cooldown of Arcane Nova low by levelling it up, but each rank doesn't reduce it by all that much – 25% off at max level. When it comes to Cooldown Speed, you'll see most of that come gradually through items to the point where everything will fall in line before long

Recommended Talents
To aid with Natalya's relatively non-existent getaway capabilities, Sprint is an easy to use Talent that should serve you will. Being a harassment mage at heart with plenty of killing potential, anything that helps you get the drop on another lane or back out of a sketchy situations is a good option. It can even help you ambush the enemy jungle to pick up monster buffs when you really need them. More on that later.

Flicker, another strong mobility tool, is a little more situational. It won't help you get from a long 'A-to-B' lane hop, but it can allow you to teleport right behind your enemies to properly position Arcane Nova before they have time to disperse. This is good for heading into the middle lane to help out with an enemy push where using Sprint might cause them to back off before you can launch your assault.

As a last resort that doesn't attempt to turn Natalya into a fleet-footed magic rabbit, consider something like Disrupt to keep enemies on their toes. Nothing says harassment more then a good tower dive, so pushing your opponent back before dissolving their 'home free' feeling by shutting down their tower and attacking again is going to cheese them off something good. It's a dangerous pick for sure, but it can really turn the tide of a team fight too if your allies know when to lead in.

Items
With a staggering amount of wins, it's hard to ignore the current 'Pro Build' offered up through in the in-game Armory. Around 14x more tried and tested than the next best, we have a clear winner when it comes to custom item choices for Natalya – but there's always a little room for tweaking.

With fast cooldowns early on Natalya certainly suffers at the hand of her own mana pool. To support her growing need to cast spells, building into Orb of the Magi first thing should help those mana reserves stay topped up in the early game while shedding off further Cooldown Speed and granting her an ever-increasing Ability Power bonus over time. The pick of Flashy Boots only solidifies her desire to bring down her ability recast times as much as possible.

As most mages will agree, Hecate's Diadem is something they just can't live without. Offering a fixed 35% Ability Power bonus even after purchase, it's the gift that keeps on giving as Natalya picks up more and more from her item picks later in the game. With a sizable 200 Ability Power right off the bat and a tasty 75 points into Magic Pierce, Natalya will learn to take on tanks in no time at all. Grabbing Frosty's Revenge soon after isn't a massive boost to her offensive capabilities in terms of raw power, but the slowdown effect of her constant barrage of spells will make things easier for everyone in the long run.

Lastly, most opt to pick up Apocalypse here give auto-attacks a little time to shine. Bolstered by a massive 200 extra Ability Power and that all-important 10% cooldown reduction, it's easy to see why allowing auto-attacks to scale from all this power may be nice, but for those who tend to focus on long-range Ability assaults, Boomstick or Rhea's Blessing are very valid options. One caters to raw power, while the other offers survivability bonuses through another shield and some respectable Magic Life Steal. There's no cooldown reduction on Boomstick, though, so keep that in mind.

After that, it's the holy grail of Ability Power picks AKA. Holy of Holies. Something that will really shine with Boomstick, it's a perfect pick in any situation thanks to its massive 1400 HP boost. If the fighting still rages on after this, swap out Orb of the Magi (or your boots) for another and just cast like crazy.

Arcana
Focusing on being nothing but a powerhouse from every angle, Natalya doesn't look for much in her Arcana picks. Ability Power, Magic Pierce and Magic Life Steal for good measure. Lowering cooldown times can absolutely come into this, but there's sure to be diminishing returns before long.

For low-level players Natalya arcana picks are really simple; Talisman, Absorption and Disruption in Red, Purple and Green slots respectively. This grants those core stats with no fluff in-between. Even Tier-2 arcana can be boiled down to a simple Corruption, Revelation, Corrosion spread.

Tier-3 arcana changes things up a bit, but not by much at all. Violate is your own only viable Red arcana choice due to Natalya's non-existent auto-attack dependence. Devour is a strong Purple choice for both Ability Power and Magic Life Steal, but feel free to grab Sap if you're looking to focus on the latter. For Green, go greedy with Hex for that added Cooldown Speed boost; otherwise, Consume is your friend.

Early Game
Changing out of the gate, Natalya is ready to burn down her foes thanks to a potent main ability. Whether you're up against one, two or even no heroes at all, Arcane Spirits can sizzle through anything and anyone it hits (bar towers, anyway).

Keep the pressure high on your targets by throwing Arcane Spirits their way whenever you get the chance. It might be a good idea to conserve mana by not blowing your attacks on creep every 6 seconds, but clearing a couple of waves this way into a bad option – just remember to use your restore skill to keep your mana topped up; don't just use it for health like you normally would. The same goes for the restore available behind your tower, too.

Try to anticipate where your target will be before firing off your spirits, as they don't make contact instantly and targets will know to keep on their feet around you. Firing through minions is absolutely the way to go against melee champions, but ranged attacks shouldn't be difficult to line up a direct shot.

Once you've unlocked Arcane Nova the idea is to hit a target with that first and priming yourself to take advantage of the stun and slow effect granted should it hit its mark. With ticking damage and a barrage of magical wrath coming their way, they'll be running for the tower before long. Gaining more potency with each successive strike, Natalya is all about the combo deal.

Mid Game
If you're rocking Sprint of Flicker as your Talent of choice, it's usually a good idea to help out with the middle lane from time to time. If you've been doing your job properly, you should have more than enough to lend a hand up there before your bottom lane rival as time to heal up. You don't do much to towers early on, anyway, so you're best utilized as a mobile mage between waves.

With one or two enemies pushing against your mid-lane friends, using the brush to sneak up behind (from a distance) gives plenty of room to fire off Arcane Nova through their own trail, stunning and slowing the rival team in the process. Assuming your own people make the most of the situation, follow up with Arcane Spirits to break them down further. If you have Lethal Rayss at this point, consider using this from the middle brush immediately after Arcane Nova if it looks like aiming won't be a problem. With the shield in affect, the opposite team shouldn't have enough to locate you and break down your shield without risking everything.

The key here is to be aggressive while you have the chance. The movement impairments offered by Arcane Nova and the shield granted over the course of Lethal Rayss gives Natalya plenty of reasons to flaunt her excessively high natural Ability Power. Just keep an eye on your mana reserves.

Late Game
By the time inner towers start to fall, Natalya should still pose a sizeable threat to the opposite team. Capable of tackling 1v1 situations assuming some hot-headed melee forgets to zigzag along the lane, she's perfectly capable of dispatching foes on her own – but her mana will hold her back in prolonged team fights.

The best way to combat this is to keep on top of Jungle monsters. Might Golem buffs won't mean too much to Natalya, but the Sage Golem awards everything she's ever wanted – Cooldown Reduction and increase mana regeneration. Attempting to keep this buff on as much as possible is a dangerous experiment, but one that will certainly pay off if it means blasting her opponents more than ever before. You won't have to worry about it toward the end of a match, but any downtime for Natalya's turret-like assault will be noticed.

Like any mage, Natalya doesn't have high natural defense, but makes up for it with her abilities boons and long range. Any damage taken can be recouped through a continuous assault if your Magic Life Steal is up to the task, but taking Rhea's Blessing over Apocalypse will make this far easier. Your aim is to remain relevant on the battlefield for as long as possible and blast down the opposing team from afar while making it easier for your own team to charge into a winning battle.

Stick around with some mana buffs and just rain hell into the opposite team. Rapid cooldown times and a passive that rewards your own aggression is temping, and boosted mana regeneration only makes it more easily achievable. Stay behind your team and launch spell after spell to make good on your own passive ability, your role, and to create more opportunities for your team to strike.

Once you're holding the enemy back at their own inside towers, keep the assault going – fire your Arcane combo into the tower space to render their safe space completely unusable while your team focuses on what matters. Natalya excels are keeping the opposite team on their toes and rooting them in place when she's ready to lay down the law. Tanks, due to their slower nature and more predicable movements, are good targets to prioritize with your piercing magic.

FAQ/Tips
Natalya's 3-shot combo is Arcane Nova, Arcane Spirits and Lethal Rays. A single pinpoint strike on the stun, and a long beam of pain during the slowdown.

You can cancel Lethal Rays by pressing the ability again, allowing Natalya to back off if trouble is closer than anticipated.

Arcane Spirits can travel through minions, but not champions. This leads to rapid wave clears or devastating hits on player targets.

Use your self restore and tower restores to keep Natalya's mana at a worthwhile level. Cutting a combo short through mana starvation can be fatal.

The shield granted by Lethal Rays can be more than enough to kill a target before you take much damage, and you can always cancel the move. Don't be scared to launch an assault.

Matchups
As always, a mage like Natalya will always benefit from Alice's 'Hissy Fit', but her lack of true AOE abilities won't make the most of it, although her shield will allow for more aggressive plays. Anyone offering a similar debuff – like by carrying Soaring Aura – will greatly aid Natalya's stopping power.

Heroes who can pin or hold a target in place give Natalya more than enough to follow up with her pinpoint strikes and slowdown abilities, making someone like Grakk the perfect parter for shutting down high-value targets. Tanks like Lumburr, Gildur and Mina work well here, too. Those easily able to rush into battle after Arcane Nova will reap the benefits of her only true 'Control' skill.

Facing off against Natalya can be difficult, but fast-moving champions will see a severely reduced threat due to her need to line up the perfect shot. Tanks aren't the best for this, as even their massive health pools can be chopped down by her combo with Lethal Rays blocking incoming damage long enough to melt through what remains. Fast melee characters like Butterfly, Murad and Airi will make quick work of her with sudden, sharp movements keeping them out of harm's way.