Inaros vs Nova
Same Support / Healer fantasy — which support kit fits your squad and mission rota?
TL;DR — Quick Pick
Pick Inaros if…
- Inaros commands the fearsome desert — that's the Inaros pitch you want on the roster.
- You'd rather build around Scarab Shell than live in Nova's Wormhole loop.
- You're buying into Inaros's passive — when Inaros takes lethal damage, he entombs himself in a sarcophagus and incarnates as sand to….
Pick Nova if…
- You're sold on Nova's fantasy (Harness antimatter) more than another Support / Healer option.
- Inaros's pitch (“Inaros commands the fearsome desert”) isn't what you're missing — Wormhole is.
- You value Nova's orb-efficiency passive for longer ability spam on dense holds.
Verdict
Both fill the Support / Healer lane. Lean Inaros for Scarab Shell and Scarab Shell; lean Nova for orb economy and Wormhole. Mission Usefulness is where they split: Steel Path (Strong vs Excellent — edge Nova).
At a Glance
Inaros
Stat
Nova
Support / Healer
Role
Support / Healer
NaramonAura
NaramonMatch the priority to your main ability
Mod Priority
Match the priority to your main ability
Desiccation
Kit Opener
Null Star
Mission Usefulness
Mission
Inaros
Nova
Steel Path Survival / Defense / Disruption
Winner
Mobile Defense / Excavation
Exterminate / Capture Speed Runs
Spy / Rescue / Nightmare
Open World / Bounties
Long-Range Gunplay / Eidolon-Style Content
When Each Shines
Inaros
- Scarab Shell carries mid-mission casts; Scarab Swarm is the density payoff.
- Mod focus stays on match the priority to your main ability so the cast loop doesn't fall over mid-rota.
- Inaros shines on tile clears where ability damage — not just weapons — carries the pack.
Nova
- Wormhole carries mid-mission casts; Molecular Prime is the density payoff.
- Long holds where energy comfort matters — Nova's loop stays online without babysitting orbs.
- Nova shines on tile clears where ability damage — not just weapons — carries the pack.
Mod Scaling Focus
Inaros
Match the priority to your main ability — Strength or Duration first for most kits, then Efficiency, then Range.
- STR
- Raises damage and effect potency across Inaros’s Strength-scaling abilities.
- DUR
- Extends channeled / timed effects — often comfort on Inaros if the kit leans on buffs or zones.
- RNG
- Helps radius / targeting tools. Dump it if Inaros is mostly self-buff or exalted weapons.
- EFF
- Keeps ability uptime comfortable, especially on longer Steel Path missions.
Nova
Match the priority to your main ability — Strength or Duration first for most kits, then Efficiency, then Range.
- STR
- Raises damage and effect potency across Nova’s Strength-scaling abilities.
- DUR
- Extends channeled / timed effects — often comfort on Nova if the kit leans on buffs or zones.
- RNG
- Helps radius / targeting tools. Dump it if Nova is mostly self-buff or exalted weapons.
- EFF
- Keeps ability uptime comfortable, especially on longer Steel Path missions.
Who Should You Pull?
- Scarab Shell into Scarab Swarm is the cast story you want to master — not a random subsume mashup.
- Your favorite clear starts on Desiccation and ends on Scarab Swarm — Inaros is built for that arc.
- Nova's Wormhole loop asks for a different muscle memory than you want to practice.
- Naramon on the aura slot matches the school you're already building weapons around.
- Potato + Forma budget this month has Inaros's name on it.
- Energy / health orb rooms are common in your rota and Nova gets more mileage out of every pickup.
- Squad comps where someone has to own tile clear alone — Nova is the frame you trust for that job.
- Inaros can stay on the shelf; Nova is the one you'll actually Forma twice.
- Nova rates higher on Steel Path holds (Excellent vs Strong) — that rota is where you actually play.
- Your endgame loadout screen should show Nova before it shows another same-role experiment.