Big changes are coming to SMITE. The Joust map has been completely redesigned and active items have been fully replaced by “Relics”. We have the details.
The 3rd season turns everything upside down
On February 2, 2016, version 3.1 of SMITE was deployed to the live servers, which brought some significant changes to the gameplay experience. We have summarized the details for you about the “Relics”, the new Joust map, and the fresh skins that herald the beginning of the third season of the god MOBA.
Removal of active items in SMITE
The active items, as known until now, are a thing of the past. But don’t worry, you don’t have to completely give up their effects – they simply cost no gold anymore. All old active items have been transformed into “Relics”, which characters receive completely for free. You may choose the first at level 1, right at the start of the game; the second follows at level 12. The basic effects remain, so there are still cleansing beads and the shield of the underworld – however, these relics often have a longer cooldown than before, to give them and their effects even more importance.
These changes promise to provide a better gameplay experience for newcomers, as they were often hard to convince by the active items – after all, they provide no stats and often have only very limited utility. The developers hope that all players will now experiment more with the relics, which should ultimately lead to more exciting games.
The Asian Joust map
The popular 3vs3 Joust map has been completely redone graphically. It now shines in an Asian look; all creatures have been visually adapted, and even a completely new type of camp has been introduced. Killing the small miniboss ensures that enemy towers cannot attack for a certain duration. This aims to finally restrict “Tower-Hugging”, that is, permanently staying under your own tower.
The soulless Sol – new skins
A new patch also includes some new skins. While Amaterasu and Athena each receive a Tier 2 skin with minor changes, the highlights are for Kukulkan and Sol. As part of the “Rising Sun” event, there is the “Soulless Machine Sol”, who has exchanged her fiery form for a cyborg body.
Kukulkan wants to be a little nobler and puts on a dapper top hat to bring death and destruction as “Sir Pentsworth IV, Esq. Kukulkan” – with style.
Daily missions – an additional type of bonus
There have also been some changes in the area of login rewards. These are now (after a mini-patch) available in the game again. Additionally, weekly missions are active, which require players to meet certain objectives. Sometimes you have to complete 3 games with a specific pantheon, or play with at least one friend. Completing multiple missions even rewards you with gems – the premium currency of SMITE.
Further adjustments – lifesteal and the mage Hades
In addition to the mentioned innovations, there are nearly 15 pages of patch notes. These include small changes, such as to the value of lifesteal. It is no longer possible to steal more health than an enemy has. An example: the opponent has 200 HP left, and you kill him with a critical hit for 1000 damage. The healed value is now based on the 200 health points the enemy had left – not on the amount of your damage. It is no longer possible to be healed significantly through “overkill”, which hunters could often do with enemy minions.
The god Hades is no longer considered a tank, but is now classified as a mage, as this “better fits his playstyle.”
You can find all the details (and a lot to read) on the official SMITE website.
For more information about the game, such as the latest goddess Amaterasu, you can visit our SMITE theme page.
