The popularity of MOBA games has been constantly increasing these past few years. LoL has become a powerhouse when it comes to multiplayer gaming, with one of the biggest online communities, followed by DOTA in the second position and Smite in third.

Smite, is a free-to-play, 3D-action, multiplayer only game, developed by Hi-Rez Studios, that brings a new perspective to the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) genre. Although, it has some similar features to Dota (Defense of the Ancients) and LoL (League of Legends), it brings a breath of fresh air to this type of gaming.

Unlike the point and click style of other MOBA games, in Smite you get to play from a third-person perspective. This adds an element of constant panic and, at the same time, the mini-map becomes your best friend. Warding is more necessary than ever before, because, without the elevated view, you can get caught out of position very easy.

In this game, there is no passive dodge skill, so you have to do it manually, with the help of “WASD”. The same thing applies when it comes to aiming, you don’t just get to right-click on your opponent in order to make  your character auto-attack. Here, you have to aim yourself, making everything, from basic-attacks to the abilities you use,  a “skill shot”.

Smite is also a very beautiful game, with bright, vivid colors and “cartoonish” graphics. It is build in the “Unreal Engine 3” and it utilizes the awesome physics engine from Havoc.

Before we get into details about roles, play-styles and gods (your hero in Smite is actually a god from a wide range of mythologies), first you must check if your PC can run the game. It is not a particularly demanding game, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Minimum System Requirements

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Althon 64 X2 2.7 GHz
• RAM: 2 GB on Win XP, 3 GB on Win 7
• OS: Win XP SP2, Win Vista or Win 7
• Video Card: ATI or Nvidia graphics card with 512MB video ram or better and Shader Model 3.0+ support.    (ATI Radeon 3870 or higher, Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT or higher).
• HDD Space: 10 GB

Recommended System Requirements

• CPU: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
• RAM: 4 GB
• OS: Win 7 or better
• Video Card: ATI or Nvidia graphics card with 1GB video ram or better (Nvidia GeForce GTX 560+ or ATI Radeon 6950+).
• HDD Space: 10 GB

With the technical part out of the way, let us install Smite. First, navigate you way to “www.hirezstudios.com/smite/nav/game-info/download-game” and click on the download game button. After that, open the game installer, from your downloads folder and follow the given steps.

I have played Smite since early closed alpha and I have more than 10,000 in-game hours, with over 2,000 matches played and I will try, to the best of my abilities, to give new players a complete heroes guide and a few tips.

Running Smite for the First Time

When you’ll run Smite for the first time, after you log into the game, by using your account name and password, you will see that the game wants to show you a few introduction videos. I strongly recommend that you watch them, for they will show you all of the basic steps that you need to take in order to be an efficient Smite player.

At the beginning, you will only own 5 random generated heroes from a total of 64 gods. You will also gain 4 free gods, that you will be able to use for a limited period only. With every new patch, the 4 free gods will rotate.

Currency

In Smite, there are three types of currency.

“Favor”, is the in-game currency that you get from completing games and from leveling up (once you reach level 30, the leveling up feature will no longer be available). It is used for unlocking new gods and for purchasing new god-skins. At the beginning, you might also consider spending a little “favor” on renting a hero for a match, so you can try him out, before you decide to permanently buy it.

“Gems”, are usually bought with real life money and you can use them to buy heroes (not recommended, because eventually you will own all gods by simply playing the game), or to unlock new, special god-skins and ward-skins. You can also buy voice packs, that you can use during games. Hi-Rez are hosting a lot of special events, where you can win free “gems” by completing in-game activities, so keep your eyes open for those events.

“Gold”, is the in-game currency used to buy items, potions, wards and abilities from the shop. Every player will passively gain gold in time, but killing and last-hitting minions,  will get you more. The more gold you have, the more items you can buy, the stronger your hero will be, it is as simple as that.

You also have the option to buy the “Ultimate God Pack”, that will get you all of the released gods and all of the gods that will be released in the future, for only $29,99. Also, if you have already unlocked a hero with “favor” and you decide to buy the pack, then all of the spent “favor” will be returned to you.

Roles

Smite, is a team game and, in order to win, everybody needs to play their selected role to the best of their abilities. Just one weak link in your team can mean defeat.

There are five hero types in this game:

Assassin: Mostly used as  junglers, they can deliver their opponents a swift death.

Warrior: Just like the name suggests, they are strong warriors, with a good defense and attack rating , great for team fights. They are mostly used as support or as solo-laners.

Guardian: They are the tanks of the game, with strong defenses and a lot of abilities meant to get the opponents out of position or to keep them out of the fight. Because of their high base defenses, combined with high hit points, they are ideal for new players.Guardians are mostly used as support characters.

Mage: In Smite, the mage can be used in, basically in any role, depending on which one you chose. Most of them are better is mid-lane or in solo-lane.

Hunter: They are the hard carries of the game, very fragile in the beginning, but can make the difference in the later stages of the match.

In Smite, there are two types of defenses and, of course, two types of attacks: magical and physical.

When you are picking your hero, you must keep an eye on what type of god your teammates have selected. If your team has, for example, only magical attacks, then the enemy team will very easily counter-build. You need to aim for a balanced team composition.

There are, also 5 roles available in a normal, “conquest” match:

Mid-lane: Best for a mage, with high lane clearance. You are the heart of your team in early and mid game. You must always keep an eye on the other lanes (especially the one with your carry) and look to rotate, in order to create  superior numbers and get those important early game kills. Also, you and the jungler must coordinate, so you can clear the big neutral creep camps located on both sides of the middle lane. Try and get the attack buff whenever you can, for better lane clearance.

Jungler: Any hero type can fulfill this role, but until you get more familiar with this game I suggest that you choose an assassin or a warrior. Except for the first three minutes of the game, they will not be restricted to any lane, but, instead roam around the jungle, killing neutral creeps, collecting buffs (always get the speed buff, or if it is available, get the damage buff, but never pick up the mana buff, because, if you do that, then you’ll ruin your carry’s laneing phase) and ganging. Always look for the easy kill, but do not overdue it and try to find a balance between ganging and farming. An under-farmed jungler in the late-game, is extremely useless.

Solo-lane: The smaller lane is always reserved for the solo-lanner. Every hero type can fulfill this role, but mages and warriors are better for an inexperienced player. In my opinion, this is the most boring role, because all you do, is stay in your lane and farm up. Remember to ward your side of the jungle, so you will not get caught out of position during gangs.

It is very important for you to push your lane, because, in Smite, every minion hit by a tower, will not yield any gold for the opposition. It is better to stay in your lane and farm-up, but if your team needs you somewhere else, do not be afraid to rotate.

Support: This is a role best for guardians and warriors, but there are some mages that can be very effective too. The support will always go in the duo-lane and do everything in his power to protect his carry and help him farm. If you have o choice to make, between saving your own skin, or saving your carry, then you must understand that you are the most expandable asset in your team. You must always ward in early-game so you can be prepared, in case a gang is coming your way.

Carry: It is, by far, the most important role in the team. The carry, must be protected in early-game, but once he buys good gear, he will destroy the enemy team. You will be very fragile at the beginning of the game, so you must stay safe and avoid team fights at all cost.

Even if you have an overzealous player in your team, that tells you to help out, you must ignore him/them and continue farming, for it will pay off in the end. Kills are very important for this role, so do not hesitate to take them, even if you have to steal them. Your teammates might get upset, but the end goal is to win the game.

The Worshiper System

Hi-Rez has implemented this system, in order to make sure that you know, at least, the basics of your hero, before you jump into ranked matches.

You will get worshipers after every finished game, and depending on the matches duration and on the end result (win or lose), you will get more or less.

Once you have 50 worshipers on a specific god, then that hero will gain rank I “mastery”. The more you play with that hero, the higher his mastery will go.

At “God Mastery I”, you will be able to buy the “golden skin”, for 9500 favor, or for 200 gems. Once you reach “God Mastery V” you will be allowed to purchase the “legendary skin”, for 12,500 favor, or for 300 gems. The maximum “God Mastery ” you can get is X, and, at that point, you will be able to buy the “diamond skin”, for 15,000 favor, or for 400 gems. Once you unlock a mastery skin, it will be available for that specific god only, so keep that in mind before you make your investment.

You will not be able to play ranked matches, until you reach level 30 on your account and own at least 14 gods, with level I mastery.

Game Modes

There are six game modes in Smite:

Arena Mode

The Arena game mode, is a 5 v 5 players, brawling, death-match, where your goal is to defeat the enemy players and their minions, by reducing their team ticket count to zero.

Each side starts with 500 tickets. By killing an enemy player, you will reduce that count by 5, while killing an enemy minion will reduce it by 1. If your team manages to kill 10 enemy gods, then a powerful siege-engine will spawn and it will fight alongside you.

A portal is located at the front of each base. If you help a friendly minion reach that portal, then a ticket will be deduction from the enemy team, while helping a siege-engine reach the portal will deduct 10 tickets from your opposition.

As I said above, the first team to run out of tickets, will lose.

Conquest Mode

This is the standard map for competitive, ESports matches.

The mode features a three-lane map surrounded by a jungle area. In order to win, you will need to kill the enemy’s Titan, that is sitting comfortably in their base. In order to do that, you will first need to destroy two towers and a Phoenix, in each lane. You do not have to destroy all three Phoenixes, but the more you kill, the weaker the Titan gets.

Be careful while fighting the Titan, for it packs quite a punch.

Assault Mode

Here, you have the same objectives as you do in Conquest, but there is only a single-lane, without a jungle. Everybody will be given a random hero, that will start at level 5, with 3,000 gold. You can chose to re-roll your god for 250 favor or for  25 gems, or you can try and swap it with a teammate’s.

Remember that in “Assault” once you leave your base, you’ll not be able to return, until you die, so buy items and potions accordingly. Try and get Meditation at the start of the game, because it will help you stay in lane for a longer period, and upgrade it to Salvation later on.

Be careful and try to not over-commit. Play smart and don’t rush the Titan, unless you are 100% sure that you can bring it down. I’ve seen a lot of good “Assault” teams dominating the whole game and then, losing at the end because they were impatient.

Joust Mode

Here, small teams of three players will fight in a one-lane map. There is a jungle area, attached to both sides of the lane.

A balanced team, with a support, a mage and a carry/assassin is highly recommended here. If you are a new player, and you own Hercules, try and pick him in Joust matches. He has great HP (hit points), a lot of regen and he is deadly in small areas.

Siege Mode

This is their latest game mode. It features a 4v4, conquest-like, smaller, two-lane map, with a dense jungle in between the lanes. The objective is still the same, destroy the enemy’s Titan, but in order to do that you must acquire siege weapons.

You must kill jungle camps, players and minions, that will give you siege points and once you reach 100 points, a siege-weapon will spawn for your team.

You can get an instant siege-weapon, by killing the central jungle camp, but remember to bring friends, because this is one tough NPC (Non-Player-Character).

Match of the Day Mode

Each day you will get a different game mode, with different objectives and a large variety of maps. Not much else to say here, because you’ll never know what you will get, but trust me when I say, that in time, you will get very familiar with all of them.

If you want to be prepared, then you can go to “https://smite.gamepedia.com/Match_of_the_Day” and read about each “Match of the Day”.

Characters

All gods in Smite are different, so you might want to know a little bit about each one before you decide to spend favor or gems to buy them. The game does a great job in explaining their abilities, roles and item builds.

They all have one unique passive ability, three normal abilities and an ultimate ability. You can also purchase two abilities from the shop, but be careful, because once bought them, they cannot be sold.

I will now present you with my top 10 favorite gods

Agni

Pantheon: Hindu

Class: Mage

Attack Type: Range

Damage Type: Magical

Cost: 1,250 favor/ 200 gems

This is one of the best gods for middle lane, although he will struggle a bit at the beginning, until you reach level 5. He has a great lane clearance with his ultimate ability, called “Rain Fire”, and he’s very good in a team fight as well. You can use his third ability, called “Path of flames” to easily get in and out of combat.

Ah Muzen Cab

Pantheon: Mayan

Class: Hunter

Attack Type: Range

Damage Type: Physical

Cost: 5,500 favor/ 200 gems

He uses bees to fight of his enemies as a physical carry. He can place bee hives (up to six), that will provide him with a movement speed buff, an attack speed buff and he will be healed for a small amount of health, if he remains in close proximity to his hives. This will help him stay in the lane for a longer period of time, but because he has no escape ability, I do not recommend you get this hero until you are more familiar with the carry role.

Anhur

Pantheon: Egyptian

Class: Hunter

Attack Type: Range

Damage Type: Physical

Cost: 5,500 favor/ 200 gems

He is one of the strongest hitters in the game, but you do need a little bit of practice to pull off his ability combo. I recommend that you set his second ability, called “Impale” on instant-cast. He is not a hard hero, but not an easy one either.

If you get good with Anhur, then you will practically be able to play any hero in the game.

Anubis

Pantheon: Egyptian

Class: Mage

Attack Type: Range

Damage Type: magical

Cost: 5,500 favor/ 200 gems

You need a lot of courage to play this hero. He has two channeled abilities, that will make him very vulnerable, because he is standing still. The trick is, to attack them before they attack you and take advantage of his passive life-steal.

Consider purchasing “combat blink”, so you will have a good escape method. Once you hit level 5, and you have a point in your ultimate ability, go for it. Even if you don’t get the kill, you will force you opponent out of the lane.

Another good thing to do, is to set all of your abilities, except “Grasping Hands” on instant-cast. This way you will be faster when executing a stun-third ability-ultimate combo.

Artemis  

Pantheon: Greek

Class: Hunter

Attack Type: Range

Damage Type: Physical

Cost: 575 favor/ 200 gems

She is one of the first hunters that were added to the game. Has a very powerful basic attack (passive critical chance), and a great ability kit. Her ultimate ability, called “Calydonian Boar” will summon a boar that will damage and stun enemies. If you are fast enough, once an enemy has been stunned by the boar, you can quickly place a trap at his feet, that will root him in place.

Very good carry for new players.

Neith

Pantheon: Egyptian

Class: Hunter

Attack Type: Range

Damage Type: Physical

Cost: free

She is, by far, my favorite hunter. You must put her first ability, called “Spirit Arrow” on instant-cast and use it to clear the lane. Do not roam from your lane, but instead, farm as much gold as you can.

Her ultimate ability, called “World Weaver”, fires a single arrow across the map. As long as any of your teammates has vision on your target, you will be able to fire and hit them, regardless of your location on the map. Upon impact, the target will be damaged and sunned. The more you channel it (you will see a circle filling up), the more damage it will do. Use this ability to also help your team (great stun) and not just to get kills, because, at the end of the day, assists will grant you gold too.

Odin

Pantheon: Norse

Class: Warrior

Attack Type: Melee

Damage Type: Physical

Cost: 5,500 favor/200 gems

With the help of his second ability, called “Raven Shout”, he has the highest, early-game, damaging ability. Activate your shield and then use your first ability to jump into the action. This will detonate the shield, for a large amount of damage.

He is very good as a support character and also, as a solo-lanner.

Hercules

Pantheon: Roman

Class: Warrior

Attack Type: Melee

Damage Type: Physical

Cost: 5,500 favor/200 gems

He is one of the most durable warriors in Smite. His third ability, called “Mitigate Wounds” will heal him for a percentage of the damage that he received.

He is best as a solo-lanner, but can also be used as a support. I strongly recommend, that this is the first warrior that you pick up.

Bastet

Pantheon: Egyptian

Class: Assassin

Attack Type: Melee

Damage Type: Physical

Cost: 5,500 favor/200 gems

She is my favorite jungler in the game. She has good damage and a great first ability, called “Pounce” that will allow her to easily jump into the fight. Press the button again and she will jump back to her initial position.

All you need to do is, jump in, use all of your abilities on the target, including your ultimate ability, and then simply press the button again and jump back.

She is a very good assassin, with a lot of damage and great escape.

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