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In SMITE, Athena is a Guardian, a protective beast on the battlefield. Her purpose is to walk up, apply CC, and protect her teammates. Her team composition flexibility really helps her be the glue to any team. Also, all it takes for
Athena is the perfect chance. A misstep, an accidental basic attack, and she can turn a team fight around.
Pros:
~Natural tankiness~
~Great initiation~ ~One SUPER HARD CC~ ~Potent damage and clear~ ~Great map presence~ |
Cons:
~Uses dash as engage~ ~Hit or Miss Hard CC~ ~Long Charge Up for Ult~ ~Noticeable dash~ |
After every ability, your spear will glow and become an actual spear, as the next basic attack you fire will be ranged and do your auto attack damage, along with 15% of your magical power.
This is a good clear assist, for those pesky archers in the back that always kill you when you're in the red and your enemy is under tower VEL spamming (nah, not mad). It also helps get in some extra little damage for when you start to fight, and can actually kill someone if lucky enough. | |
Ability Overview
This is a dash. She passes through all minions, and stops at the first enemy god hit. The hit also slows for a maximum of 25% for 2.25 seconds. Leveling This is a great engage and disengage. It can start a teamfight, slow a pursuing assassin on your ADC, or get you with an Not-Even-Close amount of health. Early game, it can get you out of nasty situations, or get that little damage and CC you need. Also, the cooldown does reduce as you level it, so it is a great choice in terms of leveling, but falls off late game, so it will be finished before your ult. Important to Know This ability also stacks blocks every time you use it, nullifying up to three basic attacks. Your shield glows up as a cool visual effect of this. Additionally, you can use this as a clear tool. If you hit the wave, you can stack the block and get ahead in farm. | |
Ability Overview
This ability is everything. It is a wide coned taunt, and makes all affected basic attack you for a maximum of 2 seconds. Leveling Again, literally everything. Because this doesn't do any damage, but can lead to a lot of damage done, this will be your second priority. Depending on how aggressive you are, you can trade leveling this either at level 2 or 3, but you will want to finish it before your 1. Important to Know Two seconds on paper, is nothing. But in game, that is two whole seconds where the enemy can do nothing but just chase and auto attack you. Auto attacks have an innate movement penalty, so it is also technically a slow on them. Two whole seconds where all they can do is take damage, from every imaginable source your teammates have. | |
Ability Overview
This is a small circle of summoned soldiers that deal damage when they pop in, and then once more when they leave. Leveling This is your main clear. Therefore, it will be first, and can provide some much needed farm. Important to Know When using it to clear, popping it on the archers will reduce the damage of the minions, but putting it on the brutes will reduce the push of the wave. It gives you a choice of how to deal with the minions. It is a note that the brutes have more health, but the archers do more damage. This is also effective in the jungle, as you will have the creeps around you, you can tag them twice easily, and clear by yourself early on. Also, you can combine this with your taunt so that while your enemies are attracted by your big assets you can deal some damage to them, twice if your positioning is great. | |
Ability Overview
This is one of the about six (?) global ultimates. You choose any of your teammates, and you charge up a giant leap for 4.2 seconds, and then teleport to them. During that charging time, your selected teammate gets a 20% damage taken mitigation. Leveling This is an ultimate. Just level it how you see fit. It is important to note that the cooldown does reduce as you level it more. Important to Know No really, this is what I meant by map presence. At any moment, you can go to any of your teammates and start a team fight. You can hop from fight to fight. The smartest strat is to save a teammate with it in the middle of a fight by ulting onto them, so they take less damage, and taunt as soon as you land. This serves as protection and repositioning. Note, do remember that in a fast paced game like SMITE, 4.2 seconds is a long time to charge up. If the designated person does die while you are winding up, the ability will go on Cookson and you will jump up and down like an idiot. Also, assess situations deeply before deciding, because you could potentially put yourself in danger instead. |
As stated before, Athena is a very versatile guardian, being able to make use of a lot of items. This chapter will focus on each individual item, and how you can utilize it.
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Physical Protection Items
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Magical Protection Items
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Hybrid Defense Items
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Magical Damage Items
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Utility Items
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One last time, Athena is a Support. What does a Support do? To start, you will help the team to victory. More specifically, you will stay in the front, taking damage a lot and possibly
feeding dying towards a bigger cause. Down below will be lists of what you will be doing.
We have covered Athena extensively and how to use her. You are ready to fight. But then, who will you be fighting? Which gods in this game can conquer the mighty strategist at her own game? This section will answer such questions by highlighting who will stop you in your tracks, and how to push past those obstacles, as well gods who are weak compared to your intelligence.
As a note, the gods will be sorted in alphabetical order. Also, easy means that you counter them, medium is evenly matched, and hard is a counter towards you.
And as always, you are own worst enemy.
![]() ![]() Your clear is stronger than his, despite the recent buffs to ![]() ![]() Your taunt can get him out of his ![]() His ![]() ![]() Lastly, his ultimate counters your ultimate. He can wait until your ![]() Both of you are great initiators, and stay for the thick of the fight. In the end, it comes down to the rest of the teams' compositions, and how well they work with their given protector. By yourself though, you will be found kneeling in his presence. |
This goddess has been un-BEAR-able since her release. This means that even the strongest intellect can not beat nature and it's most protective animal.![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Her dash in bear form, ![]() ![]() Her hardest counter to you are both ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Silly drunkards are the literal opposites of scholars, and thus will be conquered mentally. Gotta hand it him though, ![]() ![]() ![]() The easy part of countering him though, is that his initiation is his escape. After he jumps, taunt him to delay his ultimate activation. ![]() Stupid decisions are usually made when under the influence, and this matchup is no exception. |
Oh mang has this one always been cancer. And against ![]() His first ability is a one person stun. ![]() His two, ![]() which, paired up with his passive, lets him take less damage naturally - but stuns in a small cone. This comes out almost instantly, so you are feared to touch him and get close to him. His third CC, ![]() Lastly, the piece de resistance, ![]() |
The newest god in the game, protector of the Underworld. He won't be sending you there anytime soon. His hardest CC, a stun on ![]() Of course, ![]() ![]() ![]() Like ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Greedy little dragon, you cannot steal intellect. An even macthup, due to the differences in strength.![]() ![]() You have great initiation and a easy to land hard CC, he has a skillshot stun and in dragon form, a jumping stun/disarm. One major difference is that he has a buff that he can give to his team, which can sway some fights. An attack speed isn't scary by itself, it's about who he gives it to. If they are under your tower and he pops the dragon version, that tower is gone. Therefore, while he can't start a teamfight effectively, he can definetely gain more from one than you. |
Let's discuss the virtuous elephant in the room who challenges you in all aspects.![]() He also has a potent silence, on par with ![]() His dash, ![]() Now, usually in a team fight, the groups are bunched up together, waiting for someone to make the first move. ![]() |
While on paper it seems tilted towards you, it's not that set in stone.![]() The reason ![]() The ultimate, ![]() The medium part of the matchup comes from the better clear than him, and the better initation, as you don't have to be in the middle to apply CC. |
The newest guardian added, but the goddess of intellect already has contingency plans to deal with him. His clear is just ridiculous. ![]() ![]() ![]() On the terms of CC, he also has two minor knockups in ![]() ![]() ![]() In a teamfight however, one good ![]() |
Another life saver guardian, this bi bug can still be squashed under your stilettos. His hardest CC, a silencing pull ![]() just spam ![]() His two, ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() As you can see, he's more of a bullet taking nuisance than a Guardian. He's meant for one person pickoffs and saves, not full on team fights, which makes him an easy opponent. |
The heaviest of sleepers, will no doubt keep you on your toes as you face off against him. His clear is crazy. Like, his ![]() ![]() His root, ![]() Oh boy this mesmerize. ![]() ![]() Lastly, Mighty Uppercut is a CC immune dash, that damages and knocks up the first enemy hit, deals damage when they land back down, and knocks up everyone in the landing radius. This can put you out of the fight for a full two seconds, sort of like a banish, but able too look below yourself in horror as your team is useless without you. Don't sleep on this big fella. |
Usually one is smarter than to dive in head first against this watery god. His 1, if you can call it a clear, can slow you, and has innate health and protections. If ![]() He has a reflect, ![]() And the displacement begins. This grab can take you a long way away from your team, and while your first instinct would be to ![]() Spin to win baby. ![]() |
Cya later alligator, this matchup is easy. First off, ![]() His dash is also a stun/grab/knockback. Because he knocks you backwards to his team, this is an automatic setup for your ![]() His minor displacement, ![]() Lastly, ![]() |
Studying the beauty of nature is always eye-opening, but this tree huger needs to learn a few lessons. One unique thing about ![]() He helps his team immensely through all stages of a fight. His ![]() One of the earliest guardians with a heal, ![]() His grab is one of the longest in the game, going a whole hunter basic, and then some. It is very skinny, however, so don't expect this as a hard counter, and is only mastered by the most proficient of ![]() His ultimate, ![]() His main weakness is that he's not the risky up close and personal initiator like you are, so he can't start a fight, he just prolongs it. But all things in nature come to an end. |
The mother of all Gods, trying to teach her grandkids a lesson.![]() Her heal, ![]() Her ultimate, ![]() |
A chinese mirror to ![]() His main damaging tool is his ![]() His initiation, ![]() ![]() Let's not take too much time talking about his ultimate, ![]() ![]() |
Finally on the list, is the first Guardian ever released, and he hasn't changed a bit. His ![]() ![]() ![]() His clear is one of the strongest. We're talking one of the highest base damage, along with high scaling, and he's clearing full waves at level 3. ![]() ![]() ![]() He is your hard counter in everywhere. He may not have an escape, but he honestly doesn't need one, as he can just stroll in and break the ice. |
I had tons of fun making this guide. It was refreshing to come back into the SmiteFire community through a guide contest. Not only did I have to rebrush on my BBCoding skills, but I also learned some new stuff, like borders. It was also fun testing builds and items out during the guide making, which may be why it took my so long to finish.
Hopefully this guide will bring you plenty of successful conquests and have you relishing on the spoils of victory.
I leave you with this food for thought: If Athena is the Goddess of Wisdom, then why does she look and sound like a dumb blonde? Maybe the title makes a bit more sense now ;)
This has been IceColdPappsi, on the rocks.
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I had originally made this guide with the ability to build whatever you want and still be viable, as it was meant for newer people.
How naive I was.
But I love Emilzy, him, Aror, and iRaffer are the ones I pay attention to during the SPL
And you don't need 2 protection items first...I'd say another common purchase order for a pure tank (no aggression via
Also...for most cases...don't get
I also watched a video by EmilZy talking about how to build Thebes, and he cites that it depends on game to game. If the game is slow, it is great because of the extra survivability it gives your allies. However, in faster more kill-centric games, its passive would be useless because people are dying left and right that 10 protections is nothing.
He also brings up that it can be built later than before or right after boots, just like you said. However, this situation would be if you are not the tanking objectives, or the pace has slowed down and you find yourself with a lot of gold along with your team already having some auras, this item can just top them off.
Edit: Also, this guide is outdated to me because I actually have a new start and personal build for her.
Basically my point was don't built it until you're comfortable with not having extra protections because you can be shut down easily while you're trying to get those stacks up; hence the reason I said two defensive items, though Sov is fine if the enemy is a 3/2 physical. It can even work for 3/2 magical, but you'll need to be a little more careful.
Also, this hasn't been updated for a couple of months...are we even commenting on something you feel is reasonably updated? Not too much has changed for
...but I have major beef with your personal build example building freaking
Also, with you having good health contribution from Sov, Gaunt, and Void...I feel
Guess you got the hint as to why I was hmmmm'ing
(Also I thought you would congratulate me for being so mature and finally growing a conscious but I guess it's too much to ask)
And no...keep trying, Pris. Maybe one day.
One day
Also, you say "This serves as protection, misdirection, and redirection." What exactly do you mean by the term misdirection? It's a clear indication of help arriving soon, and it's not like you can cancel out of it, so not sure how it's misdirection.
No really tho, you just went in on me. Where do you even find the time to write these?
EDITED NOTE!!! Will publish changes when done with counters part and conclusion.
No really tho, you just went in on me. Where do you even find the time to write these?
Lol, I type quickly, didn't take me all that long honestly.
Well...you also missed
As for erasing the item? Up to you...somewhere it might be useful. But for me, my build core would likely be Thebes, Shoes (if not Focus early, then Focus late game so you get some CDR there), Sov maybe, Void or Genji, then Spirit or 2 situationals...I'll always have at least 20% CDR in an end-build, and I don't think maxing is needed (though it's a luxury for sure).
As for
As for a counters chapter, yes. In case of a support, this is probably one of the most important things to know, as you'll have to outsmart the enemy a lot (you're the frontline).
Will do counter section. Should it be like, who counters
They're the front and backline and are usually the ones to apply the most amounts of CC, and knowing how to counter those can be vital. If there are any other gods from other classes that severely counter
I don't see how Mystical works at all on him...it's something that messes with his mez if his OWN TEAMMATES hit enemies he's mesmerized.
Reading that made me suspicious about other matchups...the next one I read,
Otherwise, though, I think you've got some good general info on the matchups.
First, most people would say the
I actually forgot how
On the flipside, don't expect updates past the deadline to be judged in the revised form...in fact, I've already completed all of mine, so I won't be re-looking at it if you do (and have already judged others that have since been updated too).
Season 5 just started, havent had time to play alot of athena supp, but I like the guardians blessing into t1 thebes start, with some potions. Will change accordingly.
And yeah, my leveling is very aggressive. Its so that after the second or third wave, you can start to apply pressure on your teammates. A taunt or two, while you may not get off a lot of damage from it, can make them back off from the minions that just started attacking them, letting the adc attack the other wave without much challenge.
On top of that, the dash and taunt are a mixup for me. Depending on how the game goes, you can change out one for the other.