Ra - Tanky but Deadly - Video guide

Ra is very versatile and there are many routes you can go in terms of building your Ra. This guide is meant to optimize Ra's effectiveness in the middle lane, and can be used in ranked, public, or even arena play. Ra is possibly the strongest all around god in Smite, however he is more difficult to play than others, so he doesn't get the attention he deserves. Most players prefer selecting He Bo, Hel, or Agni, who's spells cast instantly, cover large rectangles, circles or cones, and move swiftly; and many players prefer a physical god, so they can tape their left mouse button down and walk around racking up kills. Let's face it: Ra's two primary damage dealers, Celestial Beam and Searing Pain take skill and practice to land consistently, Celestial Beams moves in a slow moving, narrow path, and Searing Pain requires him to stand still for two seconds while he charges it up. Where other gods may land 90% of their abilities the best Ra's may land 75%, so he better be tanky enough to take some shots while he's waiting for his abilities to cool down. Ra's ability to hit enemies relies on using his spells in conjunction with each other. He slows, and blinds gods, making them easier targets, and even then he swings and misses at times. I've taken all of this into account when creating this build, and I believe it fits Ra better than any other build would.

Reinforced Boots: Provides decent magic and physical protections, Health regeneration,and most importantly, Speed. Start with level 2 level boots, and you can either leave them at level 2 all game, or if you prefer shell out the 915 gold for the 30% cc reduction that comes with level 3 Reinforced Boots. I don't recommend getting rank 3 Reinforced Boots unless you are facing a strong cc team.


The next two items should be purchased based on who your rival midlaner is. If you are facing a physical damage god, obviously buy the Wall of absolution first. Against a magical damage god, Void Stone it up, Simple right? I thought so.

Void Stone: I try to make sure I have at least 1410 gold so that on my first recall, against a magical damage mid, I can buy level 2 Void Stone. If I get an early kill or I am forced to staying the lane long enough to attain 2280 gold I get Level 3 Void Stone. Quite simply, when dueling against mages, this is the best weapon in your arsenal.

Wall of Absolution: FINALLY!!! An item that provides physical protection that is truly part of a mage build. Before the buff to Wall of Absolution, Breastplate of Valor was the only thing close to an item that protects from physical damage but also provided some offensive properties for a mage (additional mana and 20% Cooldown Reduction). The Wall of Absolution boosts mana regeneration by 15 mana every 5 seconds, 45 magic power, and 10 magic penetration to foes who hit you with basic attacks, up to 3 stacks.


I usually have by the 12 minute mark: Reinforced boots level 2, Void stone level 3, and Wall of Absolution level 3 - that's +75 magical and +75 physical protection, +95 magic power, +15 mp5 and +10 hp5, with the potential to remove 60 magic protection from an enemy god given that they hit you 3 times and are with 30 feet. Not yet midgame and you're already a very tanky, yet powerful Ra with good health and mana regens.

The following two items should be purchased in the order of priority. If your enemy has magic protection (which a smart player would vs Ra) start with the Spear of Magus. If your opponent didn't opt for protection, start on your Rod of Tuhiti.

Rod of Tuhiti: Nothing boosts magic power in Smite like the Rod of Tuhiti. Sure it's expensive but you get what you pay for. You are a great farmer in Ra and you are laning the middle so why not treat yourself to the best magic power boost in the game? You've earned it

Spear of Magus: A great item for Ra, and this build. Your protections are the point where you enemies have dig and claw for each hit point they take from you, so let's add 300 more to your health pool. And more importantly, let's add on 30 penetration for those who were sick of being toasted by the power of the sun, and invested in some magic protection.

Polynomicon: The only stat your lacking at this point, is magical lifesteal, right? Well let's get a Polynomicon to give you some of that (10% Magical lifesteal), plus 300 mana and top it off with 75 magic power for good measure. With this item your build now gives you 406.25 magic power (unnbuffed). The Polynomicon's added feature is going to add 406.25 damage to the first basic attack that you land after using a skill. Combine that with the 60 physical damage Ra does with his basic attack, and we're talking about a strike that hits for almost 500 damage. SWEET! Adding a delay in between spell combos to allow for multiple polyshots is a great way to add 800-1200 damage to your assault, as your polyshots only can proc once every 2 seconds. There are many ways to boost this number much higher as well. Attack buff will boost your Magic power 20%, Fire Giant buff will buff both your physical and magical power (making this polyshot lethal), Standing in the AOE of Ra's Solar Blessing will add 60 damage, if you can spare the gold towards the end I often buy both magical and physical potions, and if your a fan of The Girdle of Might (I'm not on Ra), well that helps too.


You can go many ways with the last item. The Polynomicon happens to be my favorite (by a wide margin) however I've bought other items based on the situation. You shouldbe checking the scoreboard periodically, especially when buying your items to see what your opponents are buying. Matches where an enemy team have especially high penetrations, may warrant buying extra protection. If the enemy team is especially tanky, grab an Obsidian Shard. For the most part the build is extremely versatile in general and anything that isn't covered in the build, can be attained in abilities.

Here's some middle gameplay vs He Bo
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Continued below
Play Video
Here's a link to my previous guide before the 11/19/2012 patch below
Ra's follow up to the melting guide - owning the middle

Speed of Light: Ra's passive - Each time Ra casts a spell his speed is buffed 10% and stacks up to 3 times. Ra has no leaps or dashes, however his passive provides Ra with a great escape tool. While in the heat of battle, when spells are flying, Ra's passive improves his ability to dodge, line up shots, retreat and chase. It will be necessary as Ra to cast a spell, just to take advantage of the speed buff provided by Speed of Light.

Solar Blessing: My favorite of Ra's spells. This skill does EVERYTHING. It creates and area of effect that last 6 seconds. While in the AOE, Solar Blessing:

Creeping Curse: A great ability for any god, especially Ra. Combined with Divine Light, Creeping Curse stops gods dead in their tracks, making them even easier targets. Can also replace Divine Light, should you be out of mana or if it's on cooldown. Since Gem of Isolation has beam nerfed, there are much better items to invest in, and at 600 gold, creeeping curse gives a more desired effect.

Sprint: Stack Sprint on an already speedy Ra, and you have a super speedy Ra. When activated, Sprint< also makes you immune to slows, which helps Ra to escape (which he may need again because no dashes/leaps). Sprint also passively reduces the duration of slows by 30%, which stacks with Reinforced Boots 30% reduction of all crowd control abilities. This is a must vs A fed Loki, as he tends to cut through your protections, slow you and burst you to nothing.

Throughout any match, you want to constantly be buying pots. Ra has a great heal however, early in the match you should invest in some health pots to keep your health pool full, so you can remain on the offensive. As Ra's Solar Blessing gains ranks you can reduce the number of health pots you have on hand. Even when Solar Blessing is at level 5 I try to keep at least 1 Health pot on me at all times.

Ra uses a fair amount of mana, and to keep him from recalling you want to stock up on mana pots. After you build your Wall of Absolution you can reduce the number you buy per recall to around 3-4 and when Rod of Tuhiti is finished your MP5 should be enough that you only buy 1-2 per recall.

At 50 gold a piece pots are OP and very necessary early game and can help during emergencies in the later stages of a match. Though they are important, they do not take priority over your items. If you have 1410 gold and have just recalled and your Void Stone level 2 is exactly 1410, buy it, and return to your lane pot-less. Do not sacrifice your build to ensure you have pots.