The new SMITE patch has just been deployed to the public test server, and the patch notes are exceptionally long this time, which the developers justify by stating that they have worked on this patch for three weeks instead of the usual two.
Arachne – More Assassin, Less Trap Setter
The first spider, Arachne, has been completely reworked. Previously, she played less like a viable assassin, instead, she was forced to lure opponents into her traps and then overwhelm them with her broodlings or towers.
Her new abilities primarily grant her enhancements to her basic attack, such as increased attack speed, higher damage, and a short stun. Additionally, she is now able to place two net barriers that act as traps: enemies that walk into them are slowed, attacked by broodlings, and are also revealed on the map. Her new ultimate allows her to run on the ceiling of the map and jump down onto her enemies – while she is crawling over the battlefield, she is untargetable and can activate her self-buffs.
Odin – The Allfather Becomes More Warrior-Like
Odin’s abilities have been adjusted to suit his role as a warrior. His passive ability grants him a stackable strength buff when enemies die within his ultimate. His group buff has been replaced with a shield that protects Odin from damage for a few seconds – the shield can be detonated early to deal area damage. With these changes, he should be able to handle the minion waves significantly easier than before. His ultimate has also been slightly changed; allies can now leave and re-enter the spear circle, whereas enemies cannot be healed within the area.
Kukulkan Replaces Ao Kuang
The previously teased new hero “Kukulkan” is unfortunately just the new version of Ao Kuang. The latter is being removed from the game for the time being. Kukulkan will receive all the abilities that Ao Kuang previously had, and his ultimate will get a graphical update and look even more impressive, fitting much better with his new form. Owners of Ao Kuang’s premium skin/voice pack have nothing to fear, as they will receive corresponding compensation in the form of the same content for Kukulkan.
Ao Kuang will be reintroduced into the game in the “near future” with a completely new skill set.
New Premium Skins, Voice Packs, and Emotes
For the hero Bacchus, which you can see in this video, there are new premium skins and voices.
That the developers had more time this time is mainly evident from the many little features that have made their way into the game. In addition to the new premium skins and voices for Bacchus (in the Elvis style) and Freya (a 2D hero), new voice packs for Neith (Ms. Diagnosis) and Kukulkan have also been added to the game. Additionally, a large number of heroes have received emotes, such as dancing, waving, or a special pose – however, not every hero has every emote, which will take some time to complete.
The patch will be available on the test server until Monday morning, and if no new bugs appear, it will be available to all players the day after, on Tuesday.
A detailed list of all changes can be found in the sources.
