Ares: The Chains That Bind You(7.8 Arena)

Hello everyone! silentshell here for my 3rd Smitefire Arena guide. Ares kit allows for, in my opinion, the most aggressive play style for any guardian in SMITE. The way he is set up, when properly built up, Ares can constantly harass the other team in solo and/or teamfights, secure his own kills, set up teammates for kills, and optimally he can pull the entire enemy team where you want them so that you and your team can maximize damage to them.


Ares also fills the traditional tanky role for his teams quite well. Again, with proper build he can take damage and attention from enemy team members to free up teammates to wreck havoc on them. He can also use his kit to slow/harass enemies trying to chase down teammates. He is just, overall, a very good choice in Arena if you can get his play style down.

Note: In my blink ult builds i have Void Stone Spirit Robe Bulwark of Hope and Shogun's Kusari as options in the 3rd item slot and in the 5th-6th item slot. In my experience these are items that can work well situationally early or late depending on what you are trying to do with your build and what your focus will be. Obviously, if you have picked one of those items in the 3rd slot then it would not be available in the 5th or 6th spot of your build.

hover over ability icons for ability descriptions

Shoes of Focus are the core 1st item in most builds I run on Ares. This doesn't mean that you can't try out Reinforced Shoes because you can still get along fine with 30% cdr through the rest of your build. Just don't wait too long to start building it if you opt to go with the latter option. Pridwen is a core item in my balanced builds and my blink ult builds. The 20% cdr and the dual protections coupled with the ult shield make it a priority for me. In the blink ult builds, even with the nerf to Blink Rune, Relic Dagger and blink ult builds are still viable in arena. i haven't really noticed much difference to them since the nerf, honestly.


As for relics, in my blink ult builds, personally I normally will go Blink Rune and then either Purification Beads or Aegis Amulet depending on whether damage or cc is the higher threat in a match. In the balance builds you will usually be fine sticking with aegis and Purification Beads but from time to time for either build style i will use Heavenly Wings

When I play Ares in Arena I almost have what I feel is an assassin's mentality. Obviously, you need to be aware of the positions of members of the opposing team, but you have to be ready to strike pretty quickly. Some things to consider are to be ready to latch on to enemies that are low on health, separated from their team or dependent on your build just plain susceptible to your attacks. When taking stock of situations throughout the match when picking isolated targets consider your angles because a lot of times enemies can be taken completely unawares by your attack and that will make it that much easier to take them out.


It is very important to hit your individual targets with all 3 of the Shackles and even if you don't kill them after following up with Searing Flesh you may still be able to kill them with a few basics or have gift wrapped them for one of your teammates. Even when the enemy team is together if you correctly identify a target you can melt them down pretty well and possibly kill them yourself and get out of danger before the enemy team can take you out.


The flip side of Ares being so versatile is that you have to pick the right spots to engage and to defend. Recognize when to advance and lock down enemies to secure kills for yourself or your team and when to lock them down to allow yourself or other team members to escape bad situations. Not being able to recognize when to strike and when to run and when to assist with securing kills vs assist with escaping can make all the difference in closely contested matches. As with any god in SMITE, unchecked aggression will lead to some very bad matches for yourself and/or your team.

These builds will be your primary type of build in Arena. If you can get the play style for Ares down, these builds are typically the best way to go. These builds have 30-40% cdr built into these concepts allowing Ares to really shine in that mode.

Boots
Shoes of Focus or Reinforced Shoes

Core
relic daggger will always be your 2nd item and Pridwen should lock up your 4th item slot. There are a lot of different options, as listed in this guide, for the 3rd spot. I usually run with Stone of Binding, Gauntlet of Thebes, or Contagion there but there are plenty of viable options depending on what you are trying to do.

Like with the 3rd slot the 5th and 6th item choices can allow you to balance offense/defense, go all out with your aggression or layer on those protections even more.

These are builds that allow for more offensive capability in your Arena matches without feeling pigeon holed into using a blink ult build. Sometimes i do get kind of bored with just blink ulting all the time. The fact that you can be successful with a blink ult build shows that there are a lot of times in Arena when you don't necessarily have to build heavy defenses. Making a more balanced build, without being centered around blink ulting, can not only be viable but successful as well. An exception to this for me a lot of times is when facing healing threats. I still tend to build more defensively in those situations.

Ares can be very fun to play if you can get his kit down. Here is some basic information to hopefully help you on your way to having lots of fun with him.


1. Get your aim with your Shackles down as soon as possible. If you can hit multiple targets you can help your team out a lot and if you can hit one target with all 3 chains and hit them with Searing Flesh you can do a lot of damage, if not kill them during the fight.


2. keep your team buffed up with Bolster Defenses as much as possible and also use it right before using No Escape whenever you can.


3. When escaping use Shackles on any pursuers so you can get away. There may also be the possibility to secure a kill by hitting them with Searing Flesh if they are low as well.


4. Try to make sure and use Bolster Defenses prior to No Escape whenever possible. Always try to get as many of the enemy in your ult as possible. Sometimes when going in to try the ult you will take significant damage, just retreat, reset and try again if you need to. Enemies can cut you down pretty quickly if you are missing a lot of health already.

Combos

1. Shackles to Searing Flesh
you can slow them significantly and add to the damage from Shackles with Searing Flesh often times getting an easy kill or securing a kill for another teammate.


2. Searing Flesh to Shackles running into a team fight you can use Searing Flesh and then pick out a single or multiple targets to hit with Shackles and then depending on if they stay grouped together/amount of health left you can hit them all with Searing Flesh or focus on the most damaged enemy at that point.


3. Shackles to Searing Flesh to No Escape
same concept as combo 1 but a lot of times the enemy you focused will run towards team members and you can hit all of them together.


4. Searing Flesh to Shackles to No Escape
same basic principle as combo number 3.


5. No Escape(remember to Bolster Defenses prior to no escape whenever possible) to Shackles to Searing Flesh
this combo will draw enemies in then you keep them closer with the slow from Shackles and then melt them all the way with
Searing Flesh if you or your teammate(s) have not already killed them at that point.


6. No Escape Searing Flesh Shackles
same basic principle as combo 5.


7. [[blink rune}] and then combo number 5 or 6.


8. On running targets if you feel the situation warrants you can use your Blink Rune to close on a running target and shackle Searing Flesh. This would be more a strategy to use at the end of a match when either you are about to win or you just need every kill you can get to try and make up a gap in points. Anytime you use this combo don't blink into the middle of the party to get that single kill unless you have team strong team support. Just do it if your target has no health and you are sure you can finish them before they get to base or their team.


I prefer combos 1, 3 and 5 but dependent on cool downs you may have to go with combos 2, 4 and 6(or you just might prefer those).

Remember, Ares can really light up the enemy team if built and played properly in Arena. Even if he is a more aggressive guardian the same basic concepts apply to playing him that apply for pretty much any other SMITE character. He will really shine if you can recognize when to advance and when to retreat, and when to use your abilities in the proper sequence dependent on the situation to unlock your kit to its fullest potential. So what are you waiting for? Go get in an arena match, pick Ares and sally forth!!