Nodachi Class Guide

Playstyle Summary

The Nodachi is a medium-armor melee class wielding a large two-handed sword that excels at cutting down groups of lightly armored foes. Its playstyle centers on self-sustain and area damage – the Nodachi can regain health through lifesteal and shrug off crowd-control, allowing it to stay in the fight longer than most. In exchange, it has only modest mobility and is vulnerable to being bursted or heavily crowd-controlled if caught off-guard. Overall, the Nodachi is a bruiser that thrives in prolonged brawls, using wide swinging attacks to hit multiple enemies and heal itself with every strike, while timing its engagements carefully to avoid being locked down.

Core Playstyle Highlights

Sustained Lifesteal: Builds up a unique Bloodlust resource that grants life-drain on all attacks, triggering Bloodbath (30% life-steal and damage reduction for 8 seconds) at max stacks.
Wide AoE Attacks: Huge sweeping strikes hit multiple targets in front. The Nodachi’s basic attack chain shows impressive cleave—the 3rd and 4th swings especially hit hard in an arc.
Burst Damage Option: While most damage is sustained, the Nodachi does have a high-burst ultimate. Dragon’s Leap is a charge-up, leaping slash that can one-shot or severely injure targets if fully charged.
Survivability & Control: Multiple tools keep the Nodachi in the fight through lifesteal, healing, and crowd control.

Strengths

Excellent Sustain: Through Bloodbath lifesteal and healing skills, Nodachi can restore a huge amount of HP in combat, allowing it to outlast opponents if not bursted down immediately.
Strong AoE Damage: Wide swings and skills make it very effective at clearing groups of units.
Crowd-Control & Disruption: With multiple knockdowns and knockbacks (via Bloodthirsty, Tiger’s Claw, Dragon’s Leap), it can disrupt enemy lines and juggle foes. It also offers tools to ignore or cleanse enemy crowd-control effects.
Solid in Skirmishes: In small-scale fights or messy brawls, Nodachi shines as a sustain bruiser. It can duel reasonably well against many heroes—especially when it lands its crowd-control—and its wide swings heal it back over time.

Weaknesses

Burst Vulnerability: Despite its healing, Nodachi wears medium armor and typically spends attribute points on offense, leaving its effective defenses lower than true tanks. A Nodachi caught in a heavy burst combo or chained crowd-control can be killed before its lifesteal kicks in.
Struggles vs. Shields: Almost all Nodachi attacks can be blocked by a shield’s guard (the sole exception is Dragon’s Leap). Shielded units or heroes can therefore negate your damage and interrupt your lifesteal by denying hits. Flanking or waiting for an opening is crucial.

Recommended Gear, and Attribute Distribution

Armor & Weapon

As a medium armor class, the Nodachi can use any mix of light or medium armor (heavy armor is not allowed). Generally, you’ll want to use the heaviest medium armor available for better protection. The go-to equipment set is Carnifex’s Armour – a crafted rare medium set that provides a good balance of stats. For endgame, Black Sun Anchorite’s Armour (an epic set) is the premier choice. The Black Sun set is especially potent because its 4-piece bonus grants immunity to crowd control during your combo strikes, which synergizes perfectly with Nodachi’s sustained swinging style.

Attributes (Stats)

Distribute attribute points by investing heavily in Agility (which increases your slashing armor penetration and a bit of attack) until you reach a healthy penetration value—aim for around 1800 Slashing Penetration for endgame. After that, add remaining points into Strength for more raw damage, or Toughness for improved survivability. In most scenarios, the priority order is Agility > Strength ≥ Toughness.

Key Skills and Traits

Bloodlust / Bloodbath (Passive Lifesteal): Every hit from most Nodachi skills builds Bloodlust—a stackable buff where each stack grants 2% life-steal on damage and 3% damage reduction. When you reach 5 stacks, Bloodlust converts into Bloodbath, granting 30% life drain, 25% damage reduction, and 15% speed for 8 seconds.
Bloodthirsty: A gap-closer and control skill that charges you forward with your Nodachi, dealing damage and knocking enemies down. It also removes any daze or knockdown effects on you.
Dragon’s Leap (Ultimate): The preferred ultimate for Nodachi, this skill lets you charge for up to 2+ seconds before leaping forward to unleash a massive slashing strike. At full charge, it deals enormous damage and knocks foes flying while reducing damage taken during the charge by 50%. Crucially, Dragon’s Leap cannot be blocked by enemy shields.
Recommended Build: For a general-purpose build, a typical loadout is Bloodthirsty, Tiger’s Claw, Fearless & Steadfast, and Dragon’s Leap. This setup offers mobility, lifesteal, and a powerful ultimate. You may substitute alternative skills such as Monstrous Blade (for maximum lifesteal) or Blood Oath (for combo resets) based on your playstyle.

Pro Tips

Master the Normal Attack Combo: The Nodachi’s basic attack chain is very powerful—especially the 3rd and 4th swings that hit in a wide arc and deal heavy damage.
Utilize Mount and Dismount Attacks: Use your mounted charge attack to knock down enemies, then dismount with a heavy overhead slash to start the fight with a bang.
Monitor Bloodlust Stacks: Keep an eye on your Bloodlust stack icons. With 4 stacks, you’re one hit away from triggering Bloodbath, so getting that extra hit may be wise before entering danger.
Play Around Crowd Control: While Nodachi has CC immunity tools, anticipate enemy crowd-control. Time your use of Fearless & Steadfast to cleanse incoming effects, or use Bloodthirsty’s immunity to avoid being locked down.
Practice Makes Perfect: Train on dummies or low-level missions to master your combo sequencing, timing, and even animation cancels for smoother, more effective actions.

TL;DR (Summary)

Class Identity: A self-sustaining, high-damage melee bruiser that uses wide AoE swings and a unique lifesteal mechanic. Thrives in extended fights but has limited mobility.
Recommended Build: Use Bloodthirsty, Tiger’s Claw, Fearless & Steadfast, and Dragon’s Leap. Focus on Agility to reach around 1800+ slashing penetration and then add Strength for extra damage (or Toughness for survivability).
Playstyle: Engage with a dash (Bloodthirsty) to knock foes down, cleave with your basic attacks to build Bloodlust for healing, and use Dragon’s Leap to burst or escape as needed.