“The Nova's rock-bottom price tag makes it a great ambush weapon for a cash-strapped team.” ― Official description
Review
The Benelli Nova is an Italian-made shotgun that can hold 8 rounds of 12 gauge. This weapon is available for purchase by both the Counter-Terrorist and Terrorist teams.
Being the most budget-friendly of all the guns in the game, the Nova does not boast the greatest stopping power. However, it remains a good investment due to the high rewards for killing. The pump-action mechanism makes the rate of fire of this gun relatively slow - it is slightly inferior to that of the Sawed-Off and MAG-7, amounting to 68 rounds per minute versus 71.
In close combat, the gun is capable of sending an enemy to the next world with one single shot to any part of the body, provided that all the pellets reach the target. But due to the weakest armor penetration of any gun, it takes more hits to instantly kill a protected enemy than other guns, significantly reducing its effectiveness against armored opponents. However, the Nova makes up for this by having the smallest spread of any shotgun, increasing its kill potential at a distance.
The Nova is reloaded by loading cartridges one at a time through the weapon's power port. Interestingly, the reloading process can be interrupted and fired by activating the main attack button while reloading.
As with all guns, the Nova offers a 3x kill reward multiplier. Thus, in Classic Competition mode, $900 is awarded per kill, and in Classic Normal mode, $450 is awarded per kill.
Tactics
Given its compact spread and favorable conditions for shooting at maximum range, as well as its reduced damage modifier, the Nova shotgun can be a smart choice to buy early in the round. The Nova's distinctive feature is its vertically oriented spread, creating a "fork" shape, with the bulk of the pellets clustered in the center of the target. This frees the shooter from having to search for the perfect aiming angle.
It must be taken into account that pellets grouped in the center usually have a slight offset to the left, which is important to remember when adjusting the sight. However, over time, the effectiveness of Nova begins to noticeably decrease after the first couple of rounds due to the lowest damage of an individual pellet and weak armor penetration.
For the counter-terrorist side, the logical step is to switch to the MAG-7, which offers higher damage and better armor penetration ability, simplifying the strategy of the game. Meanwhile, terrorists often avoid using Sawed-Off due to its difficulty in mastering. So, if you intend to continue playing with a gun, the Nova remains one of the few options, especially since the slower movement speed with the XM1014 can be a hindrance when assaulting and capturing points.
However, using Nova comes with the risk of unpredictable damage at any range. In one case, you can successfully “sniper” an enemy from a distance and recoup the cost of the gun through a successful exchange; in another, you can fail to kill, even after aiming directly at the target.
Interesting Facts
The Nova borrows its reload animations from the Sawed-Off and shares the same pump action sounds with it and the MAG-7. Fun fact: The Nova's pump sounds were carried over from the Pump Shotgun in Left 4 Dead 2. If you look closely at the left side of the weapon, you'll notice "BENETTI", which is likely a creative re-imagining of the Benelli manufacturer's name to avoid copyright infringement. .
Despite the fact that the Nova has a stated magazine capacity of 8 rounds in the game, the visual model represents a standard 4-round tubular magazine. During the CS:GO beta, Nova's pump animation was identical to that of Sawed-Off.
Behind the scenes
The Nova, like many other weapon models in the first versions of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, featured a variety of color options and some small details. In the alpha version of the game, the Nova icon showed it with an aiming device. Additionally, in the game's initial documentation and audio files, the weapon was referred to as the Leone Eclipse, adding another mystery to its origin story.
Nova in numbers
- Price $1050
- Purchasable by Counter-Terrorist Terrorist
- Statistics Damage 26 (1 pellet) 234 (1 shot)
- Armor penetration 50%
- Rate of fire 68 rounds per minute
- Accurate range (meters) 3.2 m
- Reload time 0.5 seconds per shell
- Magazine capacity 8
- Reserve ammo limit 32
- Kill award $900 (Competitive) $450 (Casual)
- Penetration power 1
- Stopping power 220
- Ammunition type 12 gauge caliber
- Firing mode Pump-action
- Recoil control 1 / 26
- Range modifier 0.7
- Other Entity weapon_nova
