Smite: The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Builds and Strategies

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Chandler
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Smite, developed by Hi-Rez Studios, is a free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) that lets you control gods and mythical creatures from diverse mythologies, including Greek, Norse, Chinese, Egyptian, and many others. The unique third-person perspective sets Smite apart from other MOBAs, offering a fresh experience that demands not only strategic thinking but also precision aiming and positioning.

Whether you are just starting or looking to improve your skills, mastering your god builds and understanding strategies are key to winning matches. In this in-depth guide, we’ll explore various aspects of the game, from the fundamentals of building your character to advanced strategies that can give you an edge over your opponents.

What is Smite?

Before we dive deeper into the strategies, let’s briefly review the core mechanics of Smite:

  • Genre: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)
  • Perspective: Third-person view, offering a more immersive gameplay experience.
  • Platform Availability: PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch
  • Game Mode: Primarily 5v5, 3v3, and 1v1 modes, with objective-based gameplay.
  • Objective: Destroy the opposing team’s Titan while defending your own. This is done by attacking enemy structures, clearing waves of minions, and working with your team to control objectives on the map.

Key Elements of Building Your God

1. Understanding the Roles

Smite offers a diverse cast of gods, and each one is tailored for a specific role on the battlefield. Choosing the right god and playing to their strengths is essential for your team’s success. Let’s break down the primary roles in Smite:

1.1. Assassins
  • Playstyle: Fast, high burst damage, but fragile.
  • Strengths: Assassins excel at eliminating squishy targets like Mages and Hunters. They often have high mobility and escape mechanisms, allowing them to dive into the fray, deal damage, and quickly retreat.
  • When to pick them: If you want to roam the map and look for kills, assassins are the right pick.
1.2. Warriors
  • Playstyle: A mix of offense and defense, balanced champions.
  • Strengths: Warriors are versatile gods that can soak up damage while still dealing solid damage to enemies. They are great for initiating fights and disrupting the enemy team’s positioning.
  • When to pick them: If you need a front-liner who can tank damage while still contributing to the team’s damage output.
1.3. Mages
  • Playstyle: Powerful ranged spellcasters with devastating abilities.
  • Strengths: Mages can deal high burst damage from a distance, often controlling large areas with their spells. However, they are generally fragile and need protection from their teammates.
  • When to pick them: If your team lacks high magic damage or you need crowd control.
1.4. Hunters
  • Playstyle: Ranged physical damage dealers.
  • Strengths: Hunters are excellent at sustained damage, especially in the late game. They rely on auto-attacks and items to maximize their damage output, and they typically scale very well into the late game.
  • When to pick them: If you need reliable DPS and want to contribute to the team’s objectives from a distance.
1.5. Guardians
  • Playstyle: Defensive, support-oriented champions.
  • Strengths: Guardians excel at crowd control and protecting their team. Their abilities usually provide shields, heals, and crowd control effects to disrupt enemies.
  • When to pick them: If your team needs an anchor to absorb damage, initiate team fights, or protect fragile damage dealers.

2. Mastering Item Builds

The items you choose for your god can make or break your gameplay. Items provide vital stats such as damage, defense, speed, and utility. Below is a breakdown of essential items for each role.

2.1. Essential Items for Different Roles:
Role Core Items Recommended Starting Items Recommended Active Items
Assassin Transcendence, Jotunn’s Wrath Warrior Tabi, The Crusher Blink, Sprint
Warrior Berserker’s Shield, Midgardian Mail Warrior Tabi, Deathbringer Cursed Ankh, Shield of Thorns
Mage Book of Thoth, Rod of Tahuti Shoes of the Magi, Chronos’ Pendant Aegis of Protection, Beads
Hunter Devourer’s Gauntlet, Kinsize Warrior Tabi, The Executioner Death’s Toll, Steroid Active
Guardian Sovereignty, Mystical Mail Shoes of Focus, Thebes Blink, Relic Dagger
  • Role-Specific Focus: Assassins generally focus on items that increase their damage output and mobility. Mages need items that enhance their magical abilities, while Guardians focus on tanking damage and providing utility to the team.
  • Active Items: Active items like Blink, Aegis of Protection, and Beads offer crucial in-game advantages, such as mobility, invulnerability, or crowd control cleansing. Be sure to integrate them into your build!
2.2. Building for Specific Gods

Each god in Smite has unique abilities, so your item build may vary depending on the specific god you choose. For instance:

  • Neith (Hunter): Focus on Devourer’s Gauntlet and The Executioner for high damage and sustain.
  • Ares (Guardian): Prioritize Sovereignty and Mystical Mail for Tankiness, along with Cursed Ankh to reduce enemy healing.
3. Ability Leveling Order

The order in which you level up your god’s abilities directly impacts your effectiveness. Here’s a general guide to leveling up:

  • Assassins: Max out their damaging abilities first, followed by their utility or escape ability, and save the ultimate for key team fights.
  • Warriors: Start with utility or crowd control abilities to help your team early on, then prioritize offensive abilities.
  • Mages: Focus on leveling up the most damaging abilities to ensure that you can deal significant damage from range.
  • Hunters: Max out your auto-attack-enhancing abilities, followed by utility and healing abilities.
  • Guardians: Prioritize abilities that provide crowd control or protection, then focus on defensive abilities that benefit your team.

Smite Strategies for Dominating the Battleground

Winning a match in Smite isn’t just about picking the right god and building them correctly. You need to work with your team, understand the map, and control objectives.

1. Early Game – The Laning Phase

  • Farming: Early in the game, focus on clearing minion waves to gain gold. The more minions you kill, the quicker you can buy crucial items that will make you stronger.
  • Warding: Place wards to ensure vision in key areas like the jungle, the Gold Fury, and the Fire Giant. Warding allows your team to avoid surprise ganks from the enemy.
  • Avoid Overextending: Don’t push too far into enemy territory early on, as this can leave you open to attacks. Play safe until you have your core items.

2. Mid-Game – Objectives and Team Fights

  • Gold Fury and Fire Giant: Securing these objectives will provide significant buffs to your team. Always aim to control these objectives as a team.
  • Engage in Team Fights: Positioning in these fights is critical. Stay behind your tank if you’re a damage dealer, and use your abilities wisely to maximize your impact in fights.
  • Use Your Ultimate Wisely: Ultimate abilities can turn the tide of battle. Make sure you’re using them at the right moment—whether it’s to secure a kill, initiate a team fight, or escape a dangerous situation.

3. Late Game – Securing the Victory

  • Push the Enemy Team’s Base: Late game is all about teamwork. If the enemy team is wiped out, it’s time to push forward and target their towers and Titan.
  • Group as a Team: Team fights are extremely important in the late game. Ensure you’re grouping up and using abilities strategically to disable or kill key enemy gods.

Advanced Tips for Smite Masters

If you’re already familiar with the basics and looking for an edge over the competition, consider these advanced strategies:

1. Split Pushing

Split pushing involves taking a lane and applying pressure on enemy towers while your team is elsewhere. This tactic forces the enemy team to respond, often allowing your team to secure other objectives while the enemy is distracted.

  • When to use: If you are ahead in levels and items, and your team can handle fights without you, use split pushing to create pressure.
  • The best gods for split pushing are assassins and Hunters with good mobility.

2. Map Control and Warding

Warding is one of the most underrated aspects of Smite. Without proper vision, you’re at the mercy of enemy ganks and surprise objectives. Always ensure your team is warding the map, especially around key objectives like Fire Giant and Gold Fury.

Conclusion: Mastering Smite’s Builds and Strategies

Mastering Smite takes time and effort, but understanding the basics of god builds, items, and strategies is essential for rising through the ranks.

  • Focus on Roles: Choose gods that complement your playstyle.
  • Build Efficiently: Tailor your items to maximize your god’s potential.
  • Master the Map: Objectives like the Gold Fury and Fire Giant can give your team a huge advantage—don’t neglect them.

By following these guidelines, you’ll not only be a more effective player but also a key contributor to your team’s success. Keep practicing, and soon you’ll be ready to face off against the best Smite players in the world.

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