Hello again, friends and constant readers. If you have tuned into our podcast, CATV: On Air, you might have heard me ramble about smite for far too long. Sometimes I don't know what I'm talking about as well as I'd like, but I'm learning just like everyone else. I do have a solid grasp of the basics and I'm more than willing to share those for you here. I'll make more specialized guides based on each game mode later, but here are the absolute basics that you'll want to know coming into SMITE as a complete noob.
1) MINIONS ARE DANGEROUS!
The easiest mistake to make in SMITE is to underestimate the lane minions. Those little creeps might be small, but they pack a mean punch. Obviously, some minion damage is expected. In the right scenarios it is even acceptable or encouraged to rush a stack of minions. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid taking minion damage unless it is absolutely necessary to set up a play. Probably the most important tip I can give you here is that if you hit an enemy god within targeting distance of a minion, they will attack you instantly. This is a hard thing to overcome early game as anyone, or at any point for squishy characters like mages and assassins. So, clear those waves to give yourself an edge in lane. Just be careful not to clip gods with your wave clear too early.
2) KEEP AN EYE ON THE MINI-MAP!
This exceptionally useful little tool is probably your best saving grace in the entire HUD. With proper warding, you can keep an eye on both teams and maintain a tactical advantage that is sure to give your team an edge overall. You might want to turn on the automatic detection ping in your settings to give you a cue when an enemy trips your ward parameter. Objectives are indicated on the map, including camps that contain useful buffs and XP for you to keep the momentum in your favor. Remember that visibility is probably one of the most important advantages you can have on the battlefield. Warding and keeping your eyes on the map are crucial to success in high intensity matches.
3) BUY POTIONS/WARDS!
It is tempting to save your gold and buy only gear with your gold, but the value of consumables cannot be overstated. Even late into a game, a tough character with a pair of healing items (a healing potion and a chalice, for example) is going to be harder to keep down than one without a steady source of HP. An argument could be made that an item that gives you lifesteal or HP5 could be used to achieve a similar effect. Why not both? Sustainability in lane is key to maintaining your constant pressure on the enemy team. If you can force them to go back before you, you'll have a few seconds to get some good hits in on the objectives, or maybe even single out the unfortunate soul left in lane outnumbered. Be sure to buy potions early and often, as well as wards. The chalices are well worth their costs for these effects, as they refill every time you cross the fountain line and can really save you money by late game. Always stay chugging, folks.
4) DON'T FEED!
It seems obvious, right? Well, the problem is that you often don't realize you're feeding til it's too late. A single player might see an opening the rest of the team does not, and they capitalize on it, only to bury themselves behind enemy lines with no backup. It happens all the time, and it's not a sign of a bad player. It's a sign that you need better communication. However, that doesn't mean you should keep trying this method. If you see an opening, point it out. Use the ping function and the in-game chat function to enlighten your teammates. This can be the difference between a clean sweep and a TPK. So, learn to commit when you have the advantage and back off when you don't. Even if you have to give the enemy a free shot at a key objective, you staying in the fight and not in the grave can be critical to recovering from a loss in momentum. Give them the tower, not your life. It's a mantra I repeat for anyone I'm teaching to play the game.
5) IF IT KILLS YOU, PLAY IT!
This one might be a bit odd, or even hard to deal with. You will certainly cross paths with a god or item that is difficult to overcome. You should study these situations. If you can't overcome someone playing a particular god or build, take screen shot of their god/build combo at the end of the game and replicate it later. If nothing else, you'll learn what was working so well together against you previously. You might even turn a source of frustration into your favorite character. I know more than a few Ratatoskr and Loki players who started their journey hating that character and ended up loving the way they play. It's the best way to learn how to counter those characters as well. You'll see each of their weakest moments and be able to fall back on that knowledge when forced to deal with them later. So don't rage quit when somebody destroys you with a god. Play that god instead. It might turn out better than you expect.
Alright, so there it is. A few simple tips to get you started with the right mindset. There are so many things that I could recommend and go on about for SMITE; Unfortunately, I this isn't the time or the place for that yet. A few tips that don't need a bunch of explaining include:
Remember to buy a relic
Towers take less damage from physical characters that magical.
Towers are immune to most or all ability damage.
Don't back mid lane.
Always be flexible with character choice.
That pretty much wraps up what I can teach you without going into the specifics of game modes and character choices. I'll try to get to those later, as I do have a couple thousand hours of experience to share. I hope this helps those of you who are interested in getting into SMITE but don't know where to start. Stay on the look out for more survival guides in the future, and as always, I take suggestions and recommendations for guides in the future.
See you on the battleground, folks! -Ben
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