Quick Rundown of How to Play CQ in Season 8?

Hey y'all,

As someone who no longer plays this game all the time, anyone want to give a quick run down of how one should play Conquest in season 8 (as opposed to 7)?

I'd take the time to figure out all the stuff (very generalized new build strats, where everyone should start, jungling routes, etc) myself, but I'd rather not embarrass myself and my team with my lack of knowledge like 2 weeks in to the patch 😅

Also hi yes, I still exist sometimes 👋

Zilb, gotcha covered right here:

https://www.smitefire.com/smite/guide/the-overarching-conquest-guide-s8-patch-8-1-quot-season-8-quot-wip-12069

Full builds, well those are a bit all over the place right now, and it seems there are a good variety of viable options. All the normal stuff you already know (earlier is better for flat pen, % pen is better later), mobility/MS is always strong, etc.

I suggest you just play Ra wherever and do your epic snipes. Chang'e too. FYI the map is WAAAAY bigger so being able to stay in lane and just send the bun-bun back can be pretty helpful.

It's difficult to make all of conquest a "quick rundown" so I'll try to give each role a quick rundown... which in total will be a big one.
Edit: I've also provided some points at the end on new map changes that don't fit into a single role.

Mid: The strongest items right now are Archmage's Gem, which upgrades from the starter item Conduit Gem but works best on gods with super high burst to deal max damage with a full stack proc; Rod of Tahuti because it now provides 10% pen on top of the 160 power and passive; Spear of Desolation because it takes 8 seconds off an ult CD on top of the 110 power and flat pen; Doom Orb is still pretty good on gods without direct mobility for a lot of power and also you're most likely going to need either Charon's Coin or Obsidian Shard for your big % pen boost.

To start in the mid lane you wait for red to spawn with ADC, clear together and go to lane by yourself.

ADC: Death's Toll provides okay early sustain, I don't think it's really worth it after the 5 minute mark and its upgrades aren't great so personally I go for Leather Cowl or Gilded Arrow as the ADC starter. Gilded provides you with gold all game and helps if you just wanna sit back and get a crit build online to win game; Cowl provides you with power, ATK speed and 10% lifesteal, plus a passive attack speed if nearby a team mate however its upgrades are great for teamfighting late game. ADC's (and other physicals that can use the passive) now have a new item, Dominance. Dom is a simple power and %pen option which can feel pretty good. The Executioner has been buffed back into the meta as the tank shred item again. Other than that Qin's Sais builds still feel best although crit isn't just bad anymore, especially if you're going Gilded Arrow > Ornate Arrow. Other notable items are Silverbranch Bow, Berserker's Shield, Rage, wind demon and Fail-Not.

In ADC you will help the mid clear their buff and rotate over to your purple with the support where they have started clearing it, take purple and go to lane together.

Support: Probably the role with the most busted starters and upgrades.
Standard - Sentinel's Gift > Sentinel's Embrace
Aggressive - War Flag > spartan banner
Utility - Benevolence > animosity / Compassion

Sentinel's embrace provides a huge aura of 120 protections spread amongst your team, so if only 1 god is near you they gain 60. This also stacks with Gauntlet of Thebes, Sovereignty, Heartward Amulet and lotus crown. Incon did a video where he gave to his team mate over 110 protections with Sylvanus.

War Flag is a mini Talisman of Energy and so is its upgrade War Banner, however spartan banner provides a 10% power increase in a HUGE radius, super easy for the team to take advantage of in a team fight.

Personally I think this to be the most powerful, Benevolence gives 10% of your farm away but passively increases your farm throughout the game. I've used it several times and if their team doesn't have Benevolence you can see the difference between their carries and yours but you hardly see a difference between you and their supp so you aren't that far behind. Compassion is a real sleeper, provides 15% mitigations to all nearby allies but the damage is returned to you. The main talk is animosity which deals 4% of your max HP as bonus magical damage, this is doubled to structures. I've seen some cheese builds with full HP and Emperor's Armor where tanks just shred towers.

Other than that the building is pretty similar for supports, Winged Blade and Witchblade got a buff to be usable in support with some protections and no more attack speed. Relic Dagger still great has increased HP. Dual prot items Pridwen, Spirit Robe and Mantle of Discord haven't changed. Stone of Binding early is good. Single damage options for support are either going to be Ethereal Staff, Rod of Asclepius or staff or myrddin; Myrddin can give you 0 cooldown on a CC ability after ult.

Start clearing purple (take the 2 minis if you can to get level 2 off wave) and leave the big monster for ADC and go to lane.

Jungle: Not a lot has changed other than some jungle pathing and ward placements. Manikin Scepter is pretty busted in every role right now and especially jungle if you can survive the lack of sustain it gives you. Either have self healing or buy ****loads of pots. Safest starter is Bumba's Dagger, gives you sustain and its late game upgrade Bumba's Hammer is pretty nutty. If you are going for Bumba's Hammer later what I suggest is going Warrior Tabi > Jotunn's Wrath and then once you hit level 20 sell Jotunn's to purchase it and start getting your next item, because it will fill that 20% CDR and give you space for something more useful. If you can work with the ****ty wards being placed with Eye Of The Jungle the upgrade Protector Of The Jungle is super strong for AA or hybrid junglers. Notable items are still The Crusher, Hydra's Lament, Arondight, Heartseeker, Void Shield, The Sledge, Bloodforge and Serrated Edge.

You start at yellow and with the solo clear it, then the minis, then the blue, then you go back and clear the back harpies on your own.

Solo: I would probably say because more options are open to solo than other roles, the ability to get pressure in different ways has shifted the lane a lot, and because of some of these damage options you can make much more of an impact. Bluestone Pendant on King Arthur, Cu Chulainn, Sun Wukong, Guan Yu Chaac is pretty broken, they're probably the only gods I would get the upgrade Bluestone Brooch on.

Warrior's Axe is pretty meh but the upgrades are meant to be really good, especially if you don't use or need bluestone as much. I personally prefer the shield to allies from hero's axe but fineokay seems to like Sundering Axe a lot more for the 10% HP steal proc every 7 seconds.

Tainted Steel and its upgrades have quite nice base stats and provide early antiheal which is a nice option to have.

Warding Sigil is just bad and so are its upgrades. The only niche use is against King Arthur with bluestone because the passive reduces the damage so significantly but it provides magical prot so you're probably better off with manikins.

Manikin Scepter has basically made itself a Solo item now too, great in lane stacked with a Berserker's Shield for auto attack gods. Super tanky super high damage.

Death's Toll works similarly to prerework Berserker's Shield passive so it can see some use for lane sustain but you have to be careful with the lack of tankiness.

animosity on Zhong Kui is OP and probably nerfed next patch but if you want to try it rush Shoes of the Magi and purchase it at level 17 in a high HP build. Both of Zhong Kuis autos apply the bonus damage bringing the 4% to 8%, but then it is double against structures meaning you're dealing 16% of your max HP as bonus damage to towers.

You follow the jungle through the camps until you get your blue and go right to lane.

The only thing outside of the roles you need to know are the scorpions. In Solo and Duo there are 'lesser' scorpions, that you kill then they provide a healing aura before you get the last hit on them; 'greater' scorpions are found in the jungle, killing one on your side of the midlane gives buffs to the buff camps. For example killing one on the Solo half will give the blue buff 20% CDR instead of 10.

Antiheal has been nerfed across the board and they have made it so if you haven't been in combat with a god for 8 seconds your healing is reduced by 30%. Antiheal is still good but it's slightly less potent and doesn't last as long.

Between the phoenixes there are now 'gates' that go straight into the jungle. If it is a gate from your side it will immediately open when you walk over the circle, however if you go into the enemy base and try to open one you have to stand on the circle for around 3-5 seconds. This can lead to some interesting team fight tactics late game.

Hope this all helps you!

Damn Bran, you updated that stuff quick, I should've known haha.

And thanks Big Damage, that summary is great! Will definitely be using it as some quick reference, hope some others can get some use out of it too :)