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Smite 2 Tips and TricksSmite 2 may be a sequel, but it manages to maintain most of what made the original Smite such a beloved MOBA, opting for iteration over fully overhauling the gameplay experience. The move to Unreal Engine 5 has certainly provided developer Titan Forge with a wealth of opportunities to improve what already works so well about the franchise, though, ensuring that both new and veteran players have plenty to appreciate. If you fall into the former camp--or even if you're returning after a hiatus from the original game and want to brush up on tactics--here are some Smite 2 tips that will help you out. Roles are more flexible this time aroundYou could play any god in any role in the original Smite, but the game had clearly defined classes that often limited your success ceiling in doing so. Smite 2 does away with classes in favor of a flexible role system, which gives you a basic idea of which gods work especially well at playing in a certain lane or situation.This means many gods are listed as excelling at multiple roles, giving you a lot of opportunities to try unique builds and playstyles with them. Of course, there are some gods who won't perform all that well in specific roles, but by and large, you'll find there's just a lot more freedom to experiment. Builds are just as flexibleLike with roles, builds are a lot less rigid in Smite 2, too. Unlike the first game, which provided different classes with different item choices, Smite 2 allows any god to build any item. This is because many gods have abilities that scale off both main stats, Strength and Intelligence, allowing you to decide which abilities your build should cater most to.Maybe you want to bump up your Intelligence to aid with a healing ability, or perhaps you want a Strength-scaling damage ability to hit even harder--build your character any way you want. That being said, there are still certain items that won't be particularly helpful on certain gods, so it's always a good idea to learn what will work best with your god's kit. There's nothing wrong with autobuild for casual playSpeaking of building, the game offers a handy autobuild screen at the beginning of the match. Here, you'll find a handful of build types that you can select to have the game build your items for you. For instance, a frontliner like Chaac--who excels at sustainability and applying pressure--may be presented with Bruiser and Full Tank autobuilds.The former will automatically build you equally for both dealing and taking damage, while the latter will bolster your defenses. Autobuilding is pretty viable at casual levels of play, so if perfecting a build isn't something you're ready to learn, there's nothing wrong with making use of this feature. Aspects can totally change your playstyleAspects is a new feature exclusive to Smite 2. Think of these as modifications you apply on the God Select screen after you've chosen the god you want to play. At the moment, gods only have one Aspect to choose from (and some don't have one at all yet), but they can drastically change how the character plays. As an example, Athena's default ultimate ability allows her to teleport across the map to a teammate.By equipping her Aspect of War, her ultimate ability will instead allow her to teleport to someone on the enemy team and deal damage to them upon landing. Aspects are completely optional, but it's worth checking to see if your god has one that might make more sense for your playstyle. You should at least familiarize yourself with every godVariety is the spice of life--or so they say. While it's pretty normal for most folks to settle on a "main" (a primary god you play and master), it's a good idea to at least play a few rounds with all of the gods, especially as the game's lack of killcams mean you can't learn through the osmosis of getting bested. This can help you familiarize yourself with how their abilities work, how long their cooldowns tend to be, and what type of plays they're able to make. Knowing what they're capable of will grant you knowledge about how best to counter them. Practice makes perfect, and bot games make for good practiceYou may be tempted to jump into matches with real players, and that's totally fine--but it's also fine to play against bots. Each mode has a sub-mode that allows you to play it against AI, giving you an opportunity to learn the maps, practice with a new character, or just kick back and take it easy in a less stressful showdown.However, while the AI bots in Smite 2 can be dumb sometimes, they can also spontaneously become far smarter than you're anticipating. Don't be shocked if they team up on you when you least expect it. Customizing your settings can drastically improve your playThis may sound like a no-brainer, but customizing your controls and settings can help you feel more comfortable in Smite 2. Feel free to dive into the menus and check out everything that can be changed, paying special attention to the Gameplay segment.Here, make sure you decide whether you instant-cast abilities or double-tap the button to use them, and adjust your sensitivity until it feels just right. There are plenty of other important settings to look over, too, so take your time and get it right. Minion waves come first... at firstIt can be tempting to dive after an enemy in your lane just because they're low on health, but Smite 2 is a game where clearing your minion wave is almost always a priority--at least in the first few minutes of the game. Unless you (or someone supporting you) can be absolutely certain you can survive the damage from the minions and clean up a kill, it's best to be happy that you've forced an opponent to back off.It's better you both live to fight another day than it is for you to potentially get too far out of position and die. Later in the match when minions become an afterthought, though, it's probably best to pounce on those pesky low-HP foes. It's not all about killsOn the subject of kills, keep in mind they're not everything. Yes, getting more kills helps you level faster and opens opportunities for taking towers or rotating elsewhere--but the same can be said for the enemy if they win the fight. MOBAs are a game of strategy, so it's important to know when it's safe and worthwhile to chase down a possible kill and when it's best not to put yourself in risky situations where you might die instead.If you spend all your time running down your opponents and dying unnecessarily, your team is forced to compensate by supporting your lane while you wait to respawn. This stretches everyone too thin, and winning the match becomes less and less likely. You can hoard buffs (but you usually shouldn't)The original Smite only allowed you have one buff at a time, but Smite 2 allows you to carry multiple buffs at any given time. This means you could realistically stack up various buffs to give yourself an edge in your lane--but it's probably best that you don't. Each buff tends to be for a god in a specific lane or role--especially early in the match--so don't stack buffs unless you're positive no one else needs them. The grass is for playing peek-a-booSmite 2 has introduced grass around the maps, which allows you to hide from enemy players. You can be seen if an enemy gets too close to you in the grass, or if you cast an ability while hiding, but it's otherwise a great way to wait for players to get out of position before suddenly appearing to strike them down. It's not a great idea to just sit around in the grass all game, of course, but when used strategically, you can make some killer plays from these hiding spots. Wards save livesWhile we're on the subject of hiding and surprising your enemies, keep in mind they'll be doing the same thing. This is why wards are so important. These can be purchased in the store as single-use items to be placed somewhere on the map. These provide recon within a set area and will alert you any time an enemy passes through.This makes them immensely helpful when placed in the jungle of the Conquest map, giving you a heads up when enemy junglers may be rotating over your way. It may be a little frustrating to spend your gold on a consumable item like this, but you'll be thankful when it saves your life.
