Into the Moonlight: Advanced Tsukuyomi Guide (7.8)

---

I'm a 4-year SMITE veteran. I've played since mid-S3, and I'm currently Masters with a 70% win rate over 2000 hours. Filthy Siege aficionado, invader of buffs, and solo lane lunch money thief. In this guide, I'll share with you some pragmatic strengths, weaknesses, builds, play styles, combos, matchups, and more.

Before we go over anything, however, you should note that this is not a guide on how to play the game on a broader scale. I won't be covering when or where to move as Tsukuyomi at every phase of the game — this is considered "macro" play and the strategies under this category can apply to a number of junglers/assassins. Instead, I'll be covering things like Tsukuyomi's kit, how to reconcile build paths based on matchups and play styles, easy combos, and miscellaneous tips. If you want to learn how to rotate through jungle, how to farm properly, or how to ward, feel free to check out a number of guides detailing those macro game play tips!

.

Tsukuyomi is Smite's latest assassin, and he's brought with him a loaded kit with the frightening damage numbers to match. Even after his recent set of nerfs, his high damage potential remains a core part of his identity — and for a good reason, too. He excels in chunking the enemy and providing oppressive ranged soft CC, but without proper play, he can easily find himself dying before any of that damage makes an impact. Despite his shortcomings, Tsukuyomi remains a highly contested pick in casuals. In this guide, I'll explain his kit in a practical sense and give you some options for how to utilize his kit depending on your level of experience, comfort, and the scenarios you might frequently face. NOTE: Tsukuyomi will be receiving further nerfs to his kit – some of which will drastically alter certain build viability/play style options. View the upcoming changes here.

Pros: High chase potential with Dark Moon Shuriken and Silver Moon Caltrops CC Immune + 30% damage reduction during Piercing Moonlight High poke potential with ranged autos High boxing potential with his Kusarigama

Cons: Reliant on hitting ranged autos after abilities for maximum damage Zoned easily by gods with high range/ ranged CC ( Thoth, Ullr) Immobile, easy to dive when your Kusarigama is down No hard engage before level 5

PASSIVE ABILITY

Shingetsu & Mangetsu : Your weapons become "empowered" by damaging enemies. When your weapons are "empowered" your auto attacks heal you, cleave, and restore mana. Scales with power. This passive is primarily used in solo lane scenarios or to aid in camp clear. It provides an okay amount of health/mana restore and a decent cleave. Don't rely on this passive to keep you in battle, however.

1

Dark Moon Shuriken : Line attack, pierces minions, stops on and sticks to any enemy god hit. Walk up to the affected enemy god to retrieve the shuriken and receive reduced cooldown on this ability. After casting this Shuriken, your next auto attack will be wide, purple, and ranged. Does not pierce minions. Hitting an enemy god/minion with this auto attack will slow them and grant you movement speed simultaneously.

2

Kusarigama: Semi-cone attack. You swing your weapons in a small cone to the left, then the right, then straight into a line attack. Your first two swings disarm, and your final swing stuns if you land it. Can be used as a small movement speed boost to escape, juke abilities, or interrupt channels like Bellona's Bludgeon You'll be saving this ability if you aren't in melee range.

3

Silver Moon Caltrops: You place a large, crescent-shaped field of spikes on the ground. Enemies who move in these are slowed and damaged. After casting Silver Moon Caltrops, your next auto attack will be narrow, white, and ranged. Does not pierce minions. Does physical damage that scales off power. Much like the ranged auto granted from Dark Moon Shuriken, you can hit towers from outside of their aggro range after casting this ability.

4

Piercing Moonlight: You fire four narrow beams of moonlight directly in front of you, each doing damage. You dash at every enemy hit by these beams and slice them. Your dashes end after slicing the last enemy hit by your beams. Provides 30% damage reduction and crowd control immunity while casting. This is a powerful ultimate. Expect enemy gods to use relics and peel cooldowns to save themselves/teammates. Plan accordingly.

Because Tsukuyomi has a unique blend of high scaling and ranged autos, he can be built a number of ways with great efficacy. Disclaimer: This is just a detailed explanation of when to buy these items – often, it's a matter of preferred play style, but I will detail the best times to purchase these items with respect to certain scenarios. In no particular purchase order/order of importance:

Your team isn't heal-heavy + the enemy team is poke heavy and you want some sustain to counter it.

You are confident in your ranged autos + you don't need the utility/poke of Brawler's Beat Stick/ The Crusher early.

You are facing strong early game gods ( Hercules, Thanatos, Fenrir) and need the HP+prots to survive engagements.

You need to spam your poke more often/you need to have your ultimate up more often to create pressure on kill targets who rely on ultimates for peel ( Aphrodite, Poseidon, Zeus).

You are playing around your ultimate a lot and want to delete a squishy before they get their kit off.

Your enemy is tanky and hits hard ( Hercules, Achilles) and you want to be able to take trades.

Only useful if the enemy relies solely on hard engage from one or two gods. Keep in mind that many gods can proc this from range ( Nox, Thor, Ne Zha, Thoth), so make sure that there's little chance anyone beyond their initiator can proc it.

Your enemy relies on slowing you before/after engagements and you need to stick to your targets better. Also works to escape after ulting if your enemy relies on heavy slow for peel ( Poseidon, Ra).

Only good if you are slightly ahead AND able to reliably stay in melee range to make use of the passive. Not an ideal pick up, but if you are constantly being dove and in melee range, you can reliably fight back thanks to the high pen and lifesteal this item provides.

You anticipate a longer game, your teammates aren't also stacking, and your enemy team can't capitalize on the slower power curve. If you get first blood, this item is a solid pickup; otherwise, consider items like The Crusher or Hydra's Lament, as they provide a power spike with no ramping required.

What Options Do I Have for Play Styles?

Tsukuyomi's kit allows him to pursue a few different playstyles with a great deal of efficacy. Don't let his dazzling Kusarigama fool you; if built for it, he can play almost exclusively around his Dark Moon Shuriken, Silver Moon Caltrops, and their subsequent ranged auto components. Likewise, you can take advantage of his Dark Moon Shuriken retrieval in melee range to box your opponents in melee range. Above all, however, he is not an AA-based god. Your kit scales with power/pen, so avoid AA builds.

Okay, But What's the BEST Play Style?

Like 99% of subjective questions in life, the answer is a resounding it depends. Some people thrive in melee range using their 2 and 1 to outplay their enemies, while others would rather sit back, build full CDR, and spam their 1, 3, and ranged autos to chunk the enemy before using Tsukuyomi's Piercing Moonlight to finish the kill.

What I can say, however, is that your build should logically dictate how you play Tsukuyomi. If you have Hydra's Lament built, you should be taking advantage of your ranged autos at every opportunity. Likewise, if you have The Sledge built, don't be afraid to engage with your ultimate and take advantage of the protections and HP. If you have The Crusher / Brawler's Beat Stick built, you had best be poking frequently to make use of the passives.

I'm New to Tsukuyomi and His Kit is Confusing. What Are Some Quick Tips for Playing Him Well?

TIP 1: If you're new to the god, the best thing to keep in mind is that Tsukuyomi has no escape. Gods with slow immunity and good dive ( Cabrakan, Mercury) can catch you off guard if you play recklessly.

TIP 2: You rely on your movement speed steal and Silver Moon Caltrops to create distance between you and gods who can shrug off your poke. This means that you should place great emphasis on hitting your ranged autos granted by your 1 and 3.

TIP 3: Don't put yourself in an awkward spot to land your Silver Moon Caltrops; people can generally read that you want to place these on the ground, and can punish you when you walk forward to place them.

TIP 4: Your Piercing Moonlight does incredible damage, but you will also find yourself deep in enemy lines after casting it. Keep in mind that because his ultimate is so strong, you will often force relics and heavy peel from the enemy team. Be sure that when you use your ultimate, you keep these questions in mind:

Do I have a relic such as Purification Beads or Aegis Amulet to escape after I ult in?

Should I save this ultimate to save myself from a CC ultimate like Ares' No Escape or Da Ji's Paolao?

Will this ultimate force relics Purification Beads, Aegis Amulet to win a teamfight?

Will my team be able to confirm the kill if I can't?

Tsukuyomi's abilities have incredibly synergy; many of his combos are centered around punishing immobile or aggressive enemies with slows, hard crowd control, and high damage. Below, I'll list some combos that you will find yourself using at least once per game. You can use any of these combos immediately before casting Piercing Moonlight, or immediately after. As a personal preference, I like to only cast Piercing Moonlight when I am guaranteed a kill / enemy relics. Easy Gank Combo This combo is an easy-to-execute sequence for punishing immobile or out-of-position enemies. You engage with your Dark Moon Shuriken and use the following ranged auto to slow the enemy, allowing you to get more value out of the following cast of Silver Moon Caltrops, which also slows for each movement enemies make inside the field. You can follow up with Kusarigama if the enemy has no escape, or Piercing Moonlight if the enemy team is peeling for your kill target and you can secure the kill. Anti-dive Combo This combo relies on you using your Kusarigama to facilitate peeling enemies diving you ( Hercules, Chaac, Susano). You begin by using your Kusarigama to disarm and stun the enemy god diving you, then use Dark Moon Shuriken and the following ranged auto to slow them before placing your Silver Moon Caltrops directly beneath you to create space to escape while also leaving the enemy damaged. Ranged Poke Combo This combo is what you'll be doing early game if you're facing gods with strong early games or threatening zoning presences ( Thanatos, Fenrir, Sobek). Make sure you aren't using Dark Moon Shuriken on enemy gods if their wave is still healthy; not only will this put you behind, but your ranged auto will also be blocked by minions. Nonetheless, this combo provides solid ranged poke by virtue of his kit's ranged autos. Works well versus gods with predictable engage ( King Arthur) or low range ( Cu Chulainn).