Atomic Kitten (Guide for S5 Conquest)

** This is my second ever shared build so please go easy on me; I'm still learning how to put these together as well as other people do **



Hi Bastet fans. I'm here to share what I find a very useful build for our favourite kitty. I currently have Bastet at X and I play on Xbox.
You can add me if you like - OP7wist3rL0lly - and check my Smiteguru if you'd like to see how I build others (remember, i didn't say I'm the greatest lol)

Below, I'll show you what I build in an ideal situation and offer a couple of alternatives for different situations. The main setup is designed for power, pen and the mana to keep you away from the fountain.
I'll also give a brief rundown of how to use Bastet in case you're new to using her.

If you see any flaws in my setup or want to suggest a change, please let me know; I always appreciate constructive feedback :-)

Good Luck
Have Fun
You Rock
OK
Retreat
Cancel that
Do not retreat; Bastet is not a pus...oh wait :-/

Kitty hits hard!
Horrific single target damage
Very mobile
Scary to any squishies (and with plenty of pen, to tanks too)

Vulnerable if you get caught out or approach a fight the wrong way
Organised and skilled enemies can target and counter you

Most commonly used item loadout:

Warrior Tabi - These over the Ninja Tabi purely for the added power (40 instead of 20) The mana will come soon enough with our next item and the attack speed isn't required just yet nor is it worth it over the power boost.

Transcendence - Bastet isn't just a lethal killer, she's also a mana glutton. Transcendence is a debatable item for assassins, but IMO Bastet needs to build mana as much as possible and as early as possible.
Oh and 3% of your mana is converted into damage, so let's say you're carrying 2500 mana (easy with this build) You'll have an extra 75 physical power. That's like having a free item!
I don't always build Transcendence and will sometimes use Jotunn's Wrath as a first item and get some mana and CDR there (as well as early penetration)

Jotunn's Wrath - Aside the 20% CDR and another 150 mana to benefit from it, Jotunn's Wrath gives a power boost of +40 and we're starting to build the penetration too, which is going to come in handy as those squishies you've been harassing may have chosen a protective item and you can guarantee their warrior and tank buddies will be armoured up by now.

The Executioner
Come and get yourself 30 power and 25% attack speed.
Whereas some assassins will go with The Crusher, Bastet's abilities apply a bleed that give the damage-over-time effect similar to that given by the Crusher. Of course, the extra DoT damage is definitely helpful and you can still pick it up, but instead, we'll go with Exe' and get this passive - Basic Attacks against an enemy reduce your target's Physical Protection by 12% for 3 seconds (max. 3 Stacks)
Just before we throw the cats out, hit a quick basic (use aa cancel if you can) so that your kitties have less protection to claw through. You can follow up with melees as they attack to make their job easier still. It may not seem the right idea for anyone other than a hunter but on Bastet, with the right attack technique, it works.

Hydra's Lament - For 8s after using an ability, your next Basic Attack will deal an additional 50% damage. This is a beaut if you want to unleash your kit and follow up with your claws; that first melee will sting hard.

Titan's Bane - +30 physical power and 33% penetration will keep you in the game and doing some nice hurts on peeps. This item is aimed mostly at enemies building protection, so your enemy support and solo-laner. If the enemy team aren't building a lot of protection, you can choose something else.

Another worthy mention before getting to the defence items is
Brawler's Beat Stick - More damage pls!
40 Physical Power and 15 Physical Penetration will just add pain on top of pain.
Then we have the awesome passive - great for the later stages of the game:
Enemies hit by your abilities have 40% reduced healing and regeneration for 8 seconds.
If you've fully built the Beat Stick, you'll be applying damage and preventing healers from getting their HP back; your cats will love this (they hate when prey regens health just as they were about to get their next meal)


That's a solid damage, pen and mana build for Bastet and one I hope you try and have success with.
If you want to change the pen items for critical damage ones, go with Deathbringer and Poisoned Star but please have at least one pen item somewhere, even if it's your 6th pick.

I'm adding Bloodforge here too. Put this anywhere in your build. It does lots of damage and if you find you can use some sustain and/or a sparkly red shield after getting a god kill, Bloodforge is a good pick.


And now, we all know there are games where your assassin simply can't get into the action or an enemy team is targeting you, knowing that most assassins are built squishy.
For such instances, you might want to add some protection. I've started doing it and I find that the power I'm trading out don't matter too much because the defence items allow me to stay in the fight longer (and away from the fountain's grey screen)

I'd recommend keeping these in your custom item screen, just in case:

(Updated with help - see comments)

Magi's Cloak -
When you get hit with a hard CC ability, you can die pretty quickly if your Purification Beads are offline or if they're up and Pounce is on cooldown.
This item will (every 70 seconds) absorb a hard CC and allow you a second of immunity to get out of the danger zone - very welcome in season 5 with all the grabs and stuns being hurled around the place.
*Works well when you buy alongside Winged Blade

Mantle of Discord -
60 of each protection and some CDR are always OK but when you add a mini Geb Stone Shield to help in sticky spots, this should be on your list for later build items.
If you get it wrong with Bastet, and end up in more of a fight than you wanted - or if you get ambushed while your kit is down, you can easily go under 30% HP. The mantle will unleash an AoE stun when you go under 30% and allow you a small window to get out. In Smite, just one measly second can make a huge difference.


Relics:

I usually go with Purification Beads. Ares, Xing Tian, Ymir, Kuzenbo, Kumbhakarna. These guys will appear in the game and a proper support will be present everywhere towards the mid game. Some enemy junglers have CC too, namely Susano and erm... Bastet
You're going nowhere if your damage abilities are down and you get rooted or slowed. Always assume your enemy jungler knows how to 100-0 a squishy target (you) and buy beads if the threat of CC is present.
If you decide to initiate with Pounce, make sure your target doesn't have a stun or root available. If they may have one up, and you want to take the risk, make sure your beads are up; other players know that your return pounce only gives you a few seconds and they'll try to punish you. Which is where our next item comes in...

Blink Rune
For the purposes of this bit, let's think of Bastet's Pounce as an escape.
Blinking in to start a (one-sided) fight not only keeps your pounce for a getaway if things go downhill, the target doesn't hear your 'REEAAOOOW' as you jump in.
Your beads will hopefully be up in case you need to escape, plus your return pounce can be held for a few seconds so you can judge if you could quickly pop back into the fight for a risky last hit (they won't see it coming)

Aegis Amulet is another useful one for Bastet. If you're running back for the fountain on low health and a Thanatos, Thor or []Nu Wa]] see an easy kill, look (or listen) for the sign of their attack and hit your amulet. They'll land and do no damage if you've timed it right. It can be the difference between dying or coming straight back out with a bit of health to attack them as they retreat with no abilities.
It'll also come in useful if you got your bearings wrong and see a team rushing you. Better to waste an amulet use in panic as they get close than give them an easy kill.

Heavenly Wings If you're finding the match easy enough and want more chasing ability or speed to get out of trouble, grab these. You shouldn't need them too often though as you'll be quick enough and Pounce can be used as an escape as well as an initiator.

So you've seen what I usually build. Here's how I play our murderous little feline:

Early game Bastet -
Grab your starter item and a few potions and head to your speed buff. Hopefully your mid-laner will know that your buff spawns earlier than theirs and will help you out. Go and drop the blue for your solo, the red for your mid and the purple for your Support. You go for the purple last because the duo lane will often take it themselves.
Now the buffs are down, grab a couple of XP camps (your source of growth in early game)
Your duo and solo lanes can usually look after themselves for a while so you'll likely start with a mid lane gank, whether you get a kill or just show a presence, it's all useful.
Feel free to share a few minions with your laner - their thanks for your backup.
You might have a couple of wards on you. Ward just higher than the halfway point in the map for your mid-laner. If they warded on their own (I love that) then you can drop one each side for the other lanes.
If a team mate asks for a gank and you can get there, go and help. If you can't get there in time, as long as you were doing something else of use, don't worry; you have plenty to do.
Do keep an eye on the lanes at all times though, don't wait to be asked for the gank. And call out what you're doing and what you see. You have a couple of squishies on your side who'll need to know what's happening.

Mid Game Bastet -
You'll hopefully have at least 3 items online now so you're hitting hard and you're hopefully a scary sight to the enemy.
Keep getting those buffs down and showing a presence in the lanes. Rotate and join in team fights, picking off stragglers, those on low health or anyone over-committing in their lane. Remember to keep an eye on your ability cooldowns and your relics. Don't jump in if your beads are down unless you know you're getting out safely. If you have no abilities or relics up, you can still scare the enemy by showing your face; they won't want to face their lane opposition AND you and will likely retreat.
Your team should be grouping up more by this stage of the game and you'll be with them, but remember - you're not a front-liner and you aren't 100-0ing 3 or 4 gods on your own. Stick with your team and know your kit (and just as importantly, the enemy's)
Oh and feel free to call out a Gold Fury assault if your team hasn't already and it's safe to go for it (put a ward there to keep vision of it)

Late Game Bastet -
Your team is now hopefully grouped up and are pushing any remaining towers together or going for the Fire Giant (put a ward there for vision)
Keep getting the buffs as you pass them (including enemy camps if it's safe to do so) and keep an eye on your allies and where the enemy are.
You'll know which enemy gods are squishy or are having a poor game (you can often tell by their level) and take advantage of them. You should be building plenty of penetration so feel free to have a pop at the solo-laner or support (but be careful, they hit back and likely have CC)

One last thing worth remembering when playing Bastet - If you Pounce and see an enemy rush to your starting point, don't pounce back!


Well thanks for reading and I hope you find some use in my setup and tactics(?)

Do let me know if there's anything I can improve on - like I say, I'm not an expert on these guides just yet :-)

Thanks
Thanks
You Rock
Save yourself!
Bye
Bye
GG
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Woohoo!