Smite Shiva Build Guide: Shiva Nightmare Tank

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by updated

Smite God: Shiva

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Build Summary

Starting

Warrior's Axe

Round Shield

Healing Potion

Mana Potion

Cloak of Meditation

Sturdy Shard

Extended Build

Mostly Magic Def

Sundering Axe

Gladiator's Shield

Prophetic Cloak

Genji's Guard

Runebreaking Hammer

Shogun's Kusari

Cloak of Ascetic

Entangling Wings

Mostly Physical Def

Sundering Axe

Gladiator's Shield

Amulet of the Stronghold

Breastplate of Determination

Runebreaking Hammer

Berserker's Shield

Cloak of Ascetic

Entangling Wings

Additional Damage Options

Frostbound Hammer

Titan's Bane

Additional Def Options

Mystical Mail

Mantle of Discord

Oni Hunter's Garb

Contagion

Additional Relic Options

Emblem of Increasing Peril

Temporal Beads

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(400) |

Hey Jonny,

Some comments:

Don't know that I would generally recommend Cloak of Meditation, and don't think Wing Shard is an optimal shard for him. Not sure what mode(s) these builds are intended for, but if he's a main tank in a non-Conquest mode, I would probably go for Sturdy Shard. As a Solo in Conquest, I'd probably still consider Sturdy but also consider Horn Shard. And for relics, I would just consider a variety of others before Med. It's not an awful choice, so if that's what you think works best for you, ok.

As additional relic options, as a tank...why are you opting for Beads? You can tank enough damage if needed, and your ult makes you CC immune. You should be focusing more on team-based relics. While you have Wings covered, should probably also have Shell listed.
If you're mostly dealing with magical defense in that one build, I'm not sure if Amulet of the Stronghold is a good choice. It's not an awful one, but since its glyph works off of how much physical protection you have, you're not getting much out of it with only a total of 70 from Gladiator's Shield and Axe. That's only an additional 10 prots. If you're stuck on wanting Heartward, you might honestly consider Amulet of Silence. Otherwise, as it seems you like basic attack speed, you might consider picking up Shogun's Kusari earlier, and grab Oni Hunter's Garb late, or another utility item in that 6th spot.
If you're mostly needing magical defense, just curious also why you're not leading with a magical defense item, or at least a dual protection item. In a non-Conquest situation, you could consider going with Prophetic Cloak, or maybe Archmage's Fury or something...or start with Shogun's or Genji's.
Is there a specific reason you seem to emphasize basic attacks? You're getting Shogun's in the magical D build, and Berserker's in the phys D build. In both cases, those are the only AS items you're getting...which IMO doesn't make Axe of Animosity worthwhile to pick up. Note also that Animosity's attacks are magical damage, so unless you have magical pen (as a physical god), you're getting very little function out of it. I would probably just pick up the standard Sundering Axe in this case. You could also consider going with the Sigil line.

Thanks for the feedback! I changed a few items per your suggestion and through testing them in game. I kept a few based off of pure preference myself. on the topic of order, I find that I almost never build in the same order for tanks, I buy what is needed in the moment.

The one item i did largely prefer was the Axe of Animosity. I think if I built further in AS I could see sundering axe working better. Maybe I need to add more HP for Animosity? not sure what I would want to get rid of for it though. I will workshop it!

I also made this as a game mode agnostic build. I'm still open to suggestions though!

(400) |

Understood on this being a general tank build for whichever mode.

The only time is really good IMO is when you're building into enough AS for it to be functional...and perhaps for select gods. You keep in mind that it deals bonus magical damage, and that the damage is tied to how many basic attacks you can get in, so higher AS is helpful. It doesn't provide any AS itself.

Other gods make more sense in picking up Animosity, when you'd also fortify their inherent basic attack function...gods like or will often pick up both Shogun's and Berserker's, and if they want to build into more AS, even grab . Other examples of typical tanks that would consider Animosity and AS include , , , , and . These gods have more direct basic attack function in their kits, whether through direct buffs or quick attack chains.

While he does have one ability with situational AS boost (), Shiva's mainly an ability-based god, which is why you're naturally drawn to building CDR (and you have 30% in both of your example builds). In your builds, you only have 1 AS item...either or . It's just not enough to make Animosity worthwhile. I would still stick with myself, or consider the Sigils if I want to be more tanky.

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I went ahead and tested it out and i think you're right on the axe. I changed it to sundering axe for a few games and it did feel a bit better with the build. thanks for the rec!

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Shiva Nightmare Tank

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Shiva Nightmare Tank

Smite God: Shiva