My name is Simon and this is my guide to everything Nigel. I've been a Nigel main since the first day of beta in December of 2014. Since then I've competed in six different tournaments and have been a member of MajorLeagueParty, Don't Blink!, Team Glue, LimeParty, GodSquad and Building is Awesome. I have well over 1500 wins with Nigel, so hopefully you will be able to learn something from this guide.

Nigel, the sniper of BlockNLoad. Easy to play, but difficult to master. In this guide I will first cover the basics of the weapons and their stats as well as tikies. Feel free to skip this part if you are more interested in my advice and guidelines on how to play.

Nigel’s main weapon is his sniper rifle, Nellie. A perkless Nellie carries four shots per magazine, with a maximum of 28 additional shots. As it is a sniper, it does require accuracy to be effective. Right mouse button to aim and left mouse button to shoot. Nellie’s accuracy decreases when the player is moving, and the scope is not aimed in. The accuracy is at it’s maximum when the player is laying still. Nellie is the prefered weapon for a Nigel at long and medium range. Nellie’s stats can be altered by the use of the hero perk “High Caliber Rounds”.

General stats (Stats not affected by perks)

• Backup ammo: 28 (25 with Quick Fingers)
  
• Reload time: 3 seconds
  
• Ammo regeneration rate: 0.5 per second
  
• Range at which weapon does maximum damage: 80 blocks (Damage decreases if the enemy is further away)
  
• Maximum range: 100 blocks (Enemies that are further away will not take damage if hit)
  
• Movement speed when aiming: 2 times slower than usual walking speed

Stats without perks

• Magazine size: 4
  
• Damage: 40
  
• Headshot damage: 60

Stats with High Caliber Rounds Level 1

• Magazine size: 3
  
• Damage: 44
  
• Headshot damage: 66

Stats with High Caliber Rounds Level 2

• Magazine size: 3
  
• Damage: 46
  
• Headshot damage: 69
  

Stats with High Caliber Rounds Level 3

• Magazine size: 3
  
• Damage: 48
  
• Headshot damage: 72

The secondary weapon of Nigel is a revolver. It has shorter range and does less damage than Nellie, but in return has more ammo in it’s magazine and a quicker rate of fire. It carries 6 shots in the magazine, and a maximum of 36 additional shots. It is a good alternative when the enemy is close. Unlike Nellie, the revolver’s stats can not be altered by the use of perks.



Stats

• Damage: 18
  
• Headshot damage: 25
  
• Magazine size: 6
  
• Secondary ammo: 36 (32 with Quick Fingers)
  
• Reload Time: 2 seconds
  
• Ammo regeneration rate: 3 per second
  
• Range at which weapon does maximum damage: 20 blocks
  
• Maximum range: 40 blocks

Nigel’s digging tool is a machete. It is has identical stats to all other digging tools. This means that despite its appearance, it should only be used for building and breaking blocks, so do not use it for attacking enemies.




Spot prey is Nigel’s active ability. It functions like a temporary radar wherever you shoot it. Once the spot prey has hit everything that was spotted will stay spotted even if it moves outside of the range, but in return even if someone enters the range after the spot has hit they will not be spotted. Players and devices that have been spotted will have a red outline seen through blocks and will also appear on the minimap. The spot prey is great for finding spawns on your territory or for scouting the enemy base.

Stats:

• Range: 10
  
• Duration: 10
  
• Charges: 3
  
• Cooldown: 25 seconds, cooldowns queues meaning that if you use all three charges at once it will take 75 seconds for all three charges to be ready.

Nigel has bounty as his passive ability. Bounty gives bricks to everyone on your team when you kill an enemy. This is great help, giving defenders bricks for reinforcing the defense, and giving the attackers bricks for spawns and explosives. The amount of bricks given can be altered with the use of the perk “For the Empire!”


Stats:

• Bricks given to each player on the team: 100
  
• Bricks given with level 1 perk: 150
  
• Bricks given with level 2 perk: 175
  
• Bricks given with level 3 perk: 200

Tiki heads are Nigel’s hero blocks. Tiki heads are a one block tall device that shoots four poisonous darts when an enemy player walks in front of them. The darts deal a small amount of damage when they hit, and gives a bleed effect similar to O.P Juan Shinobi. Tikies also gives a dizzying effect and spot preys enemies when hit. Tikies are the best friends of any experienced Nigel. The range of tikies can be altered by the use of the perk “Tiki Terror”.

Stats without perk:

• Darts fired: 4
  
• Damage per dart: 2
  
• Bleed damage: 3 damage per second, lasting 5 seconds (15 total), bleed effects do not stack (more darts hitting does not mean more bleed damage)
  
• Range forward: 5 blocks
  
• Range up/down: 4 blocks
  
• Range left/right: 1 blocks
  

Stats with Tiki Terror Level 1:

• Darts fired: 4
  
• Damage per dart: 2
  
• Bleed damage: 3 damage per second, lasting 5 seconds (15 total), bleed effects do not stack (more darts hitting does not mean more bleed damage)
  
• Range forward: 6
  

Stats with Tiki Terror Level 2:

• Darts fired: 4
  
• Damage per dart: 2
  
• Bleed damage: 3 damage per second, lasting 5 seconds (15 total), bleed effects do not stack (more darts hitting does not mean more bleed damage)
  
• Range forward: 7

Stats with Tiki Terror Level 3:

• Darts fired: 4
  
• Damage per dart: 2
  
• Bleed damage: 3 damage per second, lasting 5 seconds (15 total), bleed effects do not stack (more darts hitting does not mean more bleed damage)
  
• Range forward: 7.5
  
• Range up/down: 6 blocks
  
• Range left/right: 2 blocks

Like all skill heroes, Nigel doesn’t have a lot of “necessary” blocks he needs for battle. There is no perfect block loadout as Nigel, but I will try to give some advice on what the different blocks are good for and my opinion of how useful they are to a Nigel.

Tiki heads:
You have no choice, but it doesn’t matter as they are, without a doubt, the best block as a Nigel. They are great for protecting your cubes and spotting enemies sneaking behind.



Caltrops:
Spikes covering one block. They deal a small amount of damage when stepped on. Unlike many other traps, they do not get destroyed when stepped on. They have no time to place making it easy to cover your base in them. They are good for damaging attackers heading towards your cube, as attackers often pay no attention to them and walk right through them. They also work good as a second layer of blocks covering your cube without obstructing your vision of the cube. I would highly recommend them.

Crates:
The only building block with no time to place. This makes them good for building cover wherever you need it. If you are a more experienced player then these are a must, as you want to speedbuild, Highly reccomended.



Glue:
Slows down enemies when stepped on. These are useful blocks for slowing down attackers, making them easy targets. They have no time to place so can be placed in large amounts. Attackers will often actively avoid them making them pointless at times, but with a large enough amount of glue, enemies will accidentally step in them. I would recommend bringing these.

Speed pads + bounce pads:
Pads that will bounce you high up into the air. Combined with speed pads, they are good for launching your attackers into the enemy base. Using two slots in your block loadout might be a bit too much for this small launcher pack. They can be good if you are the only skill hero on your team, if not, tell one of the other skills to bring it. I would only bring these two together.

Bricks:
Stronger than crates, weaker than sandbags. Good for building quick yet durable walls. These are not a must as some of your of other teammates can bring them instead.



Sandbags:
The strongest building blocks out there. These have very limited uses, but are very good for bricking in the cube, if that is what you want for your defense.





Bear trap:
Traps covering one block. They deal a large amount of damage and slows down enemies that steps on them, but are destroyed in the process. Seems like a great block, but sadly has a time to place making it hard to place large amounts of them without spending a lot of time. I would not recommend bringing them unless you have a good plan on how to use them, but would instead use caltrops.

Fake blocks:
Blocks that will take the appearance of the blocks they are placed on. Although they look shiny from your point of view, do not worry, they look like the real thing to the enemy. These blocks be destroyed in one hit, so are not good for any sort of wall or structure, but used for traps instead. The blocks are destroyed when enemies step on them, making them good for pit traps with bear traps and tikies. I would not recommend bringing these.


Dynamite:
A small bomb for the price of 600 bricks. I would not recommend bringing these as you are playing defense, making bombs useless in most situations.





Big Bombs:
Just like dynamite just better, but once again you are defense, so I would not recommend.

As Nigel your main worry during the build phase is to place tikies around the cube for the defense and around the sides to prevent enemies from sneaking behind. Building walls and stuff of that nature is something you should not be concerned with.

Always use the beginning of the build phase to do some cuts, cuts are needed so that both you and your team gets some bricks to build with. Here is a great video playlist of cutting guides by MeasuringLaser

Once you’ve gathered some bricks you are ready for your main focus of the build phase, placing tikies. Tikies have an escalating cost, so while it is good to place many of them, make sure you don’t just blindly spam them. When placing tikies it is important to remember the range of the tiki. It is common for players to place tikies two blocks into a wall as it provides good cover for the tiki, while it still allows the tiki to hit players running past.

Where do I place my tikies?
I like to separate tiki placement into two categories, by the cube and away from the cube.

By the cube
When placing tikies by the cube there are two main points to think about:

• Do the tikies reach the cube?
  
• Can the tikies be destroyed from distance?

Always make sure enemies are unable to see and destroy your tikies from distance. If none of the two points above are a problem, then just keep on placing them and make sure all sides of the cube are covered

Away from the cube

• Will enemies run past it?
  
• Can the tikies be destroyed from distance?

Although it is good to cover as much of the map as possible, just make sure you place the tikies places where enemies will actually run. Placing tikies around corners are often a good choice, as it will make it difficult for the enemy to see it before they are shot.

It is important to remember where you place your tikies, as enemies will often block them in to remove them, while still keeping the escalating cost high.

Once the tikies have hit the enemy, make sure you come running in to finish off the kill, as the tiki will not be able to kill on their own.

Once you’ve placed all the tikies you want to, find out where you want to snipe from and ask your brains class heroes to place some health and ammo nearby, just remember to say please. It’s smart to have several spots to snipe from, making it difficult for enemies to predict where you are coming from and also giving you different angles of view.

If you still have some extra bricks, run around and spam some caltrops. If you brought speed- and jump pads place them now.

Here is a good example of how I like to use the build phase. Please pay no attention to my block loadout, it's an old version of the game, when I liked different bricks then now.

Once the barrier drops it’s time to defend. I like to start the game off by using my spot prey on the enemy base, letting the attackers on my team know what is waiting for them. During this part of the game your main objective is damaging enemies before they reach your cube. Although Nigel is a strong hero, he is not able to do well on his own. Make sure to work together with your other defender. If you are using voice communication, call out all the enemies you see and if they are low health, your job is not just being a sniper, but also a scout. Teamwork makes the dream work!

As Nigel it is your responsibility to find enemy spawn points in your territory. When doing so your active ability will be great help.

This should give you a general sense of what direction they are coming from. Move into this area, and maybe use Spot Prey once or twice if you think you know where it is.

If your team has good radar coverage, but a couple blindspots, then these blind spots might be a good indicator of where the spawn might be.

The minimap will often see enemies that you won’t. Keep on looking up and down from your game screen to the minimap.

Once you kill an enemy attacker, who you know will spawn forward, start looking at when he will respawn. Use this to figure out how much time it takes him to get from the spawn point to where you are. This should give you a rough indication of the distance to the respawn.

Listen for the sound of enemies.

Just do it!

So your defense is strong enough to last until the 15min, 25min, 35min 40min 45min etc. blockbuster drop. This is where the pace of the game changes. The blockbuster can sway the game into your favor, or break your defense in seconds. It is currently the most important part of any game. You know when they are coming, but the preparation begins long before.



If you ever get a minute or more where the enemy team is not attacking, you should not be standing in your base. You should be making your way to one of the three drop points for the blockbuster on the map. What do I do once I get there?

• Build a wall facing the enemy (make blocknload great again) to prevent them from shooting you, your setup and your team once the bb drops.
  
• Place some tikies, these will be so important once the bb actually drops.
  
• Place caltrops and glue all around, making it difficult and dangerous for the enemies to get close to the blockbuster.
  
• If you brought bear traps, place some of them. This is one of the few times where they are very effective. A lot of people will blindly jump over the wall you’ve built, straight into your traps.

Once the blockbuster actually drops you do not want to be at the drop point. Nigel’s strength is from the distance. At this point just focus on killing. Your main priority should be Elizas, ninjas, and Nigels as they are good for bb. Although if you see someone else do not be afraid to kill them as well.

Once the blockbuster gets weak and your team still doesn’t have control, run in and try to grab it.

In this part I will repeat myself a lot. This is because Nigel is all about damaging heroes before they reach you, and luring them into your traps. With all of these heroes, once they get weak, pull out your revolver to finish them off. When running away placing glue in front of you when running is smart as it might hit the enemy, slowing them down.


Every noob and Nigel’s kryptonite. Four main points.

• Damage him before he reaches you
  
• Make him run into your tikies and caltrops/bear traps/ glue
  
• Get help from your team
  
• Pray to God

It is no shame in losing to a ninja, he is a good counter to Nigel.




As a wise man once said “You should never 1v1 a Nigel as a Nigel”. Turns out he was not a wise man and had no clue what he was talking about,

What you want to do is stand on health, with a one block high wall in front of you. He can not kill you in one hit. If he hits you once, crouch behind the wall and heal until you have enough health to fight again. When fighting you want to crouch up and down and strafe from side to side while shooting. If you do all that, the only thing that can stop it is your own aim.



Asterella is weak and squishy. She can be quick, but should be an easy target. Just focus on hitting your shots and she should be no problem. Just make sure she doesn’t stack saucers under you or let her get right next to you. If she does just run to your tikies to slow her down.







Kira chan is only good at close range. She should be dead long before she become a threat to you, if she is able to get close, then once again let your tikies and traps take care of her.









Kreepy can be tricky. A good Kreepy can keep you bouncing up and down in the air, making your accuracy terrible. You just have to hope he misses, and then shoot him. He is a melee hero though, so once again, make sure you keep your distance.








You know the drill by know (get it drill, because you know you drills in the military and stuff), shoot him from distance. Once he gets close and pulls out his rocket launcher, get even closer. Not only does it make him uncomfortable, it also makes him hit himself with the rocket launcher.








I know I’ve said that you people from distance a lot, but with cogwheel this is very important. He has a lot of health and can do a lot of damage once he get close. Luckily he is slow moving so you will have plenty of time to shoot him. Once he gets close, start hiding behind corners. When you hear that he has stopped shooting quickly peek out, shoot him, and hide again. Cogwheel’s main weapon uses some time to shoot so you should be able to shoot him before he shoots you.





Shoot from distance. This time there is no, “if he gets close run to tikies”. You can try to do it, but you’re probably not going to make it. Run away 5 seconds before you think you need to. He will pull you straight to him, this is especially dangerous when you are close to a ledge, as you will die from fall damage or lava.








Yuris also like to fight from distance. Too bad Nigel is the superior hero from distance. Shoot him, simple as that.











Rolys are no real threat as you can beat them up close and from distance. Your main worry is them reaching your cube as they are great at eating bullets. Just make sure you kill them before they can get there.








Watch out for her gas. Once again, don’t let her get close.











Tony only carries a shotgun, so kill him from distance. If he gets close then let your tikies do the trick.










Another easy target. You should be able to kill her no matter the distance. Snipe her from distance, then finish it off with your revolver.









Make sure he doesn’t place any of his teslas or gets you with his active ability and you should be good. Easy target.

My suggestions for what perks you should use, there is no “correct” perk setup, but I’ll give you my recommendation.

Healthy
Remember when I said there are no “correct” perks? I lied. Use healthy. At level 3 it will give you 15 additional health and lower your speed by 7.5%. It’s the best defensive perk for Nigel, trust me.



Fast Restock
One of the main weaknesses of Nigel currently is that you have to stay on an ammo crate all the time to make sure have enough ammo. A fix for this is using fast restock. At level 3 it will increase your ammo and health regen speed by 20%. The downside of the perk is that your brick income will be decreased by 10%.

Quick Fingers
Quicker reloads means more shots fired, means more kills? Another good choice for your offensive perks. At level 3 it will decrease reload times by 20%. The downside will however, make one of Nigel’s weaknesses even weaker. Less ammo means more camping on ammo crates.

Nerves of Steel

Increases your accuracy. This means you are able to move around more, while still keeping a high accuracy. Good for those who strafe and jump a lot. At level 3 it will increase your accuracy by 20%. The downside is ammunition regeneration will be decreased by 25%. Once again, make a weakness even weaker.

Killer Ammo

This gives you more ammo when you kill an enemy. This is very useful if you want to be mobile, so you don't have to sit on ammo all day. The downside of this perk is a smaller ammo pool

Unlike many heroes, on Nigel all the hero perks are viable, it is all about using the one that fits you.

For the Empire!
Good for being a team player. It will increase the amount of bricks gained by your passive ability (more details in the “Nigel’s loadout” section”. This will let your entire team have a good source of brick income during the match. This will of course be dependant on you getting kills. At level 3 it will double the amount gained from bounty, but will in return increase all build costs by 10%

High Caliber Rounds
This is one for those with good aim. Increase the damage per shot, but decrease the amount of shots. At level 3 this perk will increase the damage done by Nellie by 20%, but decreasing the size of the magazine down to 3.



Tiki Terror
A very good perk, making the already strong tikies even stronger. At level 3 this perk will increase the range of tikies by 50%, but increase the build cost of tikies by 20%

• Making a sniper tower - These are not good, you have no place to run and made yourself a sitting duck.
  
• Having “self respect” - Camping is fine, this is not like other games. Running out of your base isn’t pro, it’s stupid. Also, don’t be afraid to kill steal, you are giving your entire team bricks.
  
• Overestimating yourself - Not everyone is good at aiming, some Nigels are simply better than you, do not stick your head out against them for a 1v1. See a ninja or sweet science heading your way, and you are far away from your setup, RUN! Do not stay and fight, you will get wrecked.
  
• Moving a lot - Your accuracy decreases, this doesn’t mean that you should stand still, but 360 noscopes won’t work
  
• Having max brick counts - Most nigels, myself included, forget that you are allowed to place more tikies as the game goes on. Having 7500 bricks helps no one.
  
• Keeping your tikies - Once your cube drops, remove all tikies defending it. You get some of your bricks back and the escalating cost decreases.
  
• Thinking Nigel is just about aim - Tikies are important as well.
  
• Thinking Nigel isn’t just about aim - Aim is the most important part of Nigel.
  
• Seeing enemy turrets and doing nothing - Your rifle is great for destroying turrets

How do I get better aim?
Play, a lot. Nothing else to say, I used to struggle getting a .5 k/d when I first started. Don’t worry if you suck in the beginning, you’ll get there.

How do I kill ninja?
Read my tips in the “Killing other heroes section”, but most likely you are not going to be able to. Nigel is awful for killing ninja.

Is Nigel good?
If played correctly, yes.




Made it to the end? Great! Have this dabbing Nigel I made when my internet stopped working.