Smite – challenging and fierce MOBA

Advertised as the world’s most popular action MOBA, Smite was first released in 2012 as a closed beta, but the developers officially published it two years later. A few months after being released, the game reached 4 million players, and in 2019 it generated 300 million dollars.

Smite started its expansion in 2013 when Hi-Rez partnered up with a Chinese video games publisher, Tencent. But the growth didn’t stop there. Instead, it reached the Latin America region in 2014, and that same year the Oceanic and Southeast Asian servers opened.

Since its early days, Smite attracted a lot of attention. For instance, a few Hindu leaders made a dispute in mid-2012 because the game included Hinduistic deities (Kali, Agni, and Vamana) that players could control.

The gameplay faced backlash for offending the religion and representing Kali in a pornographic manner, but the developers didn’t back up. Instead, they improved the characters and added more gods regardless of religion.

Nevertheless, these protests didn’t affect Smite in a negative light because the game received favorable reviews. The 3rd person perspective is one of the most prominent highlights. Moreover, Smite was awarded the 78th best and the 90th most discussed PC4 game of 2016.

But is there more to this game beyond its controversies and a good rating? We gave it a try. Here are our insights.

Active, up-to-date, and rich with variety

Smite differs from other MOBA games with its third-person viewpoint and offering plenty of game modes, although the most notable is probably the Conquest. The gameplay consists of placing players in two five-people teams.

The fountain is the starting point, positioning you against the opponent on the opposite side of a map. But before it begins, you’ll receive a particular amount of gold that allows you to purchase items that award your god with unique skills and bonuses.

A Phoenix and protective towers guard the lanes that spread across the map in a continuity. These defenders can cause grave damage to your team, making your goal devastating the opponents’ Phoenixes and the accompanying Titan.

The game grants you additional assistance in the form of small minion troops. However, their attack force isn’t impressive at all. If anything, they are more a distraction spawning at the Phoenix while archers attack everyone present, including the Titan. But both of them are necessary for all-encompassing combat.

The opponents’ minions have a priority when choosing a defense position. Hence, you can go after a tower without being affected, but be careful. If there are minions around you or you attack your enemy, these towers could fire up.

Moreover, if you realize that your team stands no chance against the opponent, you can surrender if ten minutes have passed. Keep in mind that four out of five players have to support that decision for defeat to be official.

The game’s gem is a variety of deities you can choose from and be a god for a day, an hour, or as long as you want. Hence, there are figures from various pantheons, including Egyptian, Slavic, Norse, and Roman. These characters fall into different classes, such as Warrior and Hunter.

Plus, you and your teammates can’t choose the same deity, allowing distinction, diversity, and different skillsets. Smite strays away from typical MOBA games because you get to control your character seeing it from a third-person perspective. Moreover, your god will have four skills and other specific features that make the battle more enjoyable.

These abilities will grow as you level-up, and there are various ways to progress and improve your god. For example, eliminating the enemy deities or destroying Phoenixes will give you points and help advance through the game. Other than that, you can use gold to purchase items that can boost your character and its power.

Mostly, you will grow your skills by participating and winning in a match or buying relics that tweak your abilities. The best part of the gameplay lies in experimentation with the movesets, trying out different tactics and gods. By doing so, you will learn what their strong and weak points are and how to use them.

With time, you will discover which items to purchase by calculating which ones complement the most your deity and playstyle.

If you choose to give Smite a try, it is recommendable to select the Conquest mode as its gameplay has the most depth and allows different strategies. Also, you will learn how to position deities and navigate between the lanes.

However, if you are new to the genre or need more time picking up on the tactics, Smite is not that good at teaching you how to participate in the conquest. It is why you will probably have to watch a few YouTube tutorials first. Once you gain more insights into different roles and how the overall teamwork functions, you will have a more enjoyable experience.

Overall, Smite gets new gods every few moments, and the changes are generally regular, keeping the game up-to-date and engaging. It is, indeed, what most players will find addictive in this thrilling and unique MOBA.

Fast-paced and brutal

Undoubtedly, Smite is thrilling, challenging, and often violent. It requires a depth of strategy, strong teamwork, and some time to learn the basics. Even though it might get a tad repetitive after some time, Smite is a decent MOBA, and it still feels fresh seven years later.