This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page
Vote received! Would you like to let the author know their guide helped you and leave them a message?
Hi there!
I'm not a smite veteran, been playing since 5 months but Ymir have been the first god I mastered and that I could offer a good team play. So I have a little emotional attachement to this god haha!
This build I'm presenting to you is the one that has offered me the most win and the most reliability even in defeat. I know it's not perfect, I already hear peoples criticize it but as for me, it's the most pleasant I played. The build is mostly oriented on building HP so you can sustain longer in support. I gotta say up to now, it's been more useful in joust but made it's way in other modes, mostly assault and clash.
Plus, I gotta say that Ymir, up to now for me, works better with hunters, so if the team with 2 hunters needs a guardian, go for Ymir and stick to one.
So here is how I play Ymir:
Ymir has high CC and strong early game damage you have to not neglect. Mid and early game with armor and HP, it becomes harder to get kills with him or deals significant damage.
So I'll be more agressive in beggining to get a edge on the game(mostly joust). And when I say agressive, I don't mean greedy or risky, but less passive. Hunters, mage and assasins will be great targets to begin with since they are squishy.
This is how, IMO Ymir works: a 1-2-3 combo, maybe a fourth if it's safe or doable.
Like I said, this is my build. What I like to play, what gave me lots of success but you may see it other way. But keep in mind this word for your build: COOLDOWNS. If you choose another build, or simply other items in this build, mind the COOLDOWNS!
Sprint
I usually take sprint as my first relic with the big blue man. It may look unusual but since Ymir lack with mobility and escape manoeuvers, sprint is a good way to get out of fights gone wrong or if you're getting chased and you know it won't turn to your favor.
Shoes of focus
Does this needs explanation? Speed for the Ymir snail, cooldown reduction mostly reserched there.
Warlord's sash
Not so useful with other guardian in my opinion but with Ymir and his glacial strike, it's easy to tear appart waves of minions. With the stacks, it'll be useful with the build in general to give more HP but mostly with ethereal staff.
Ethereal Staff
Again, for the HP boost, this staff will convert all of the HP in magical power. Usually with this build, I would get to 3500 HP with Ymir or so. At level 20, with this item, it gives Ymir 87.5 magical power in addition.
Mail of renewal
HP once more. That's the name of the game with my build. Plus this mail will give you 10% cooldown. His passive will raise your HP by 15% when you kill or assist, or when doing an objective. So another boost of magical power plus the tankiness.
Spirit robe
I take this defense for the 40 magical and physical protection mostly but again, for the 10% cooldown reduction. With the boots, the mail and the robe, you'll almost be caping cooldown reduction. It's passive is not to be forgotten too.
Gem of desolation
This is the swaping item in my opinion. I use it often, for the HP and power. The passive is less useful since Ymir already slows enemies. Depending on the situation, this item can be swap for either polynomicon for lifesteal and power or any armor, robe, for protection. Depending on the composition of the other team, you'll be taking physical or magical protection.
Purification or sanctuary
Again, depending on the other team composition, I'll either take those relics, but I prefer taking sanctuary. Mainly because I like tower diving while playing Ymir. If you have opportunity to ran a tower down while a deicide, no minions in range, TOWER DIVE! When mid health, I click the sanctuary and let the tower attack me, protect my teamates while they scrape down the tower, even a Titan! If playing against a Nu Wa, Xing Tian, Neith, Baccus, Anubis and more, I'll be taking purification to get out of lethal stuns.
Potions
I don't use much the potions with Ymir. I usually get around with the startup mana plus the boots, and come back to the fountain after my mates went. I might buy 1 or 2 mana potion after my first return to fountain in clash though.
First of all, Ymir is not the auto attack type of guy at all... Considering this, you have to put much of your gold in lowering your cooldowns, since Ymir depends greatly on his abilities. Otherwise, I'd say he's a pretty unuseful wall of HP... When using the items I mentionned, mid game should bring you cooldown of 5-6 seconds on glacial strike and 8 seconds on frostbreath!
Glacial Strike
This is the main attack for Ymir. The one dealing the most damage(excepting Ultimate) and the one you need to wave clear. In games you start level 3, I usually pick 2 Glacial strike at the beggining. This will allows you to wave clear, but mainly for the 1-2-3 combo early in game. This is a straight line skill.
Frost Breath
This skill is in my opinion, one of the most useful cc in the game. It is the base of Ymir. You should consider this skill first when attacking. Like, before using glacial strike, use this to immobilize your enemy and ease your aiming. If your glacial strike is on cooldown, it doesn't matter, as long as you can use frost breath, you are being a threat. Glacial strike ready, no frost breath? Consider not attacking or supporting right now. Cone type skill.
Ice wall
Ice wall is pretty useful, really! But I don't count on it that much for the win, that's why I pick this skill late game. It can be useful but I think some players give it to much consideration. Plus, you gotta be really really careful where you put the wall!! A misplaced wall can means an enemy escaping from a certain death by your hunter or killing (inderectly) your fellow warrior running from foes!! For those reasons, I will use the wall only if I'm pretty sure nothing will go wrong. The main use I give to Ice wall is blocking enemy retreat. You see an Artemis running from pain, wall her. By the time she runs across the wall, your assassin or hunter will finish her. Someone going for a jungle buff? Wall the creeps, it'll give you time maybe. Other possibility may get tricky a bit: while escaping, if there is space between you and the enemy, you can cast wall at your feet. Takes speed, practice sometimes but when mastered, it can save your life.
Shards of ice
Ymir ultimate. Ring type. Very strong but your foes need to stay at max time in the range to make the most damage... That's why, again, you should use Frost breath before to stun and get very close to the poor frozen turkey, then cast the ultimate. It should leaves you enough time, with the stun plus the speed debuff before enemy gets out of circle.
Remember this: you can push the ultimate button once more, at anytime to do the Shards of ice attack, before the casting time runs out. You'll be dealing less damage but it can be difference between less damage and no damage at all...Plus, the frostbite effect!
PROS
-High HP
-Easy guardian to play for people who can't play those
-High damage early game
-High CC
CONS
-Slow moving
-No escape manoeuver
-An almost useless phone post if Ymir is on cooldowns
-Never, never let an enemy laping you round.
Here's my view of Ymir! Hope you liked! Seems funny to say that but I don't think I'm that kingpin player of Smite but when playing Ymir, my win ratio is incredebile.
Feel free to post comments and votes! DIscussions can be great!
SMITEFire is the place to find the perfect build guide to take your game to the next level. Learn how to play a new god, or fine tune your favorite SMITE gods’s build and strategy.
Copyright © 2019 SMITEFire | All Rights Reserved
But has for the health, I maintain the idea that having high health boost your magical power with ethereal staff. Having the more MagPow as possible is the key to my build, cause with the frostbite adding 100% of your power to damage, it hurts!
Usually when a player receive the 1-2-3 combo, they ran away! Once they get hit by that, it becomes a sort of psychological war when you're around!
Regarding your claim of the build for Assault, just want to point out that stacking items like Warlock's Sash aren't allowed in that mode. If you do claim Assault, you may want to make a separate build that does apply.
Not going to comment too much on the rest of the build, other than to say that building Warlock's Sash and then Ethereal Staff immediately after seems like a bit of overkill on health at that stage of the game, not to mention lacking some protections. Health is great, but without some protections to balance, it's less effective.
Anyway, will let others comment more specifically on build choices.
Pros and Cons
Skills
Items
How I play Ymir
The introduction and conclusion can stay where they are. It is better to rearrange it like this so that readers know about the god before they know about playing him.