Mulan: A Closer Look

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WHO IS MULAN?

Many have heard the story of a humble warrior who heroically took her father’s place in the army of China. Hua Mulan worked relentlessly to rise from the status of foot soldier to become one of the most decorated and skilled generals of her time.

She had to go to great lengths with her disguise, as she would not have been given the chance to prove herself if anyone had known her true identity. Her countrymen were surprised to see how skilled she was at fighting as a new recruit, and after 12 years of service she was ready to retire as a hero, and accepted little to no reward. By then they had discovered her secret, but her skill and leadership was unquestionable.

She would not have to hide her face anymore. In fact, even if she wanted to, she could not remain hidden, as her story spread to inspire and motivate her fellow humans across the world.

OUR VISION

Humans are interesting creatures. They have unlocked secrets of progress and enlightenment that no other species can fathom. Humans build civilizations, wage wars, entertain each other to no end, and achieve nearly any task if they set their mind to it.

In a world of ancient warriors and powerful gods, a human’s greatest strength is their legacy. When their skills become so honed and their achievements become so impressive, their story will be told in regions far from ones they ever visited, and will continue to be told long after they have retired from battle. They will have a permanent effect on humanity, and leave a positive impact on others for all time.

Hua Mulan is exceptional in this way.

So exceptional, that she will achieve something that has not happened in centuries.

There are tales of old warriors of China, ones that so inspired their fellow humans that their legacy made them immortal.

In many stories it is the gods that create humans, but in others, it is the humans who create gods.

MULAN

Theme – Skill, Persistence, Training, Faith, and Humanity. Mulan is a symbol of the infinite potential of humanity. She is proof that with unbroken determination anything can be done.
Visuals – A heroic woman of the ancient Chinese army. She now proudly shows her identity, wearing heavy armor but nothing to cover her face. She represents the colors and symbols of her country.
Personality – Mulan is focused, driven, and humble. She is reluctant to taunt others and focuses on leading by example, not by intimidation.
Perspective – Mulan is a type of newcomer the gods of SMITE have never seen before. Many gods will disrespect her newfound power, and her love for humans. Other gods will see her as a powerful ally, as a god who has a new perspective on the divine, and an unshakable will.

The SMITE story takes a unique turn with this god, focusing more on humanity. Persephone’s actions have caused Yggdrasil to start deteriorating. Now there are chaotic events happening all across the world. The magic that each pantheon relies on is failing them. The people of China are plagued by corrupt jade. What was a divine, healing stone is now poisonous and bringing monsters to life. Some people pray for the gods, but others pray for a hero.

That hero is Mulan. She has conquered many opponents from her world, but never the supernatural. When she proves to her people she can do even that, their faith in her surges to new levels.

As we look to constantly expand the possibilities of the SMITE universe we are doing something never seen before: Taking an exceptional human and making them into a god.

We will follow Mulan as she realizes her newfound status, meets her first god face to face, and does everything in her power to help those who cannot protect themselves.

MULAN'S VISUALS

This goddess had a clear visual direction from the start. She is a human, dating from the Northern Wei period of China, 386 to 345 AD. We focused on her human aspect and her history to develop this visual direction.

To fit with these goals, we placed some strict limitations on Mulan’s appearance. She would not have any magic or floating elements that SMITE gods often have. She should have reasonable human proportions, which made her shorter than most other Warriors.

Lots of research was done on the weapons and armor of the Northern Wei. This was used as a foundation for her kit and appearance. We took this as a foundation and added strong fantasy visual elements to create armor fitting for a new goddess.

Mulan’s defining feature is her skill. She is trained in many methods of combat and multiple different weapons. Her kit and visuals are designed to reflect this. She holds multiple weapons or switches quickly between them. She wields a sword for her basic attacks, while each of her abilities uses a different weapon. All three of these weapons can be seen in the various art forms we use for SMITE gods.

The Jian, a straight sword, is her primary weapon. In Chinese folklore it is known as “The King of Weapons”

The Qiang, a spear commonly used in the battles of her era, known for its red ribbon or tassels attacked just below the blade.

Finally, Mulan was specifically mentioned to be a skilled archer, so she also wields a bow.

All of these elements combine to form SMITE’s Mulan. She is a symbol of strength and skill, impressive but still believable. She is a leader as well as a front line fighter, and a warrior any god would be happy to have fighting by their side.

Throughout Mulan’s story, development, and other communications we have used the term warrior. This might seem like a simple lore driven descriptive noun, but it is also her official god class in SMITE.

Mulan is an agile and aggressive warrior. Her abilities tend to hit multiple times in quick succession, allowing her to unleash a flurry of attacks on enemies while still being reasonably tanky. She should be able to match up well with many other Solo Laners, but she could also flex into the Jungle role.

Mulan’s unique gameplay features are:

Mulan’s three core abilities have a new concept to power them up: Skill
These abilities can be ranked up per level, but they also gain new components based on their Skill level.
Each ability is symbolized by its own unique weapon, and has its own individual Skill level
Skill increases as Mulan successfully damages enemies with each ability
Her three weapons are her sword, spear, and bow
Her Ultimate features the use of all three of her weapons in a cinematic combo attack, and can raise Skill for all of them
This aspect symbolizes her rising to god status in every match of SMITE, and gives a common theme to focus her entire kit around
She also has a unique movement ability that allows her to shoot enemies and pull them toward her, OR shoot walls and pull herself to them if she has the skill to do so.

Mulan brings strong elements to late game team fights. Her Ultimate can disrupt and crowd control a large group of enemies, or she could use her bow to pull in and pick off a single enemy. She should be valued as a pick for these reasons, and possibly be more valued than other Warriors in non-Conquest game modes.

A new Season of SMITE is beginning, and so we sought to do something never done before. Previous years brought new pantheons, then multiple pantheons at once, then the legendary heroes of Arthurian fantasy, and now finally: Mulan. The first playable character in SMITE to have been a human in history then deified to an immortal within the SMITE story. We hope you will join the gods in welcoming their new ally.