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Not Updated For Current Season

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 Vote

The Early Game illusion

7 3 13,155

7.3

by updated

Smite God:

Tap Mouse over an item or ability icon for detailed info

Introduction

I am writing this guide in order to clarify some statements I hear a lot in game chats.

This guide is for people that quits or surrender after 10 minutes because of erroneous interpretations of the game mechanics.

This guide is also for people who are looking for arguments when facing those statements.

Let's consider this guide as an "open" guide; I'm starting with a few statements and I'll update it based on your comments. I need your help to make this guide more relevant, more complete!
Please provide new quotes, we'll try to find the best answer! ;)

The 10 minutes mark statements

Those are the statements I hear a lot at the 10 minutes mark :

Statement #1

"We should surrender now, no way we can make it!"

Statement #2

" Thanatos is just too OP, let's quit!"

Statement #3

" Cupid, Ymir, the best duo lane ever!!!"

Statement #4

"Pff, Freya and Chronos just sucks. Why people even pick them?"

I won't let you down my friends, it's time for you to understand why you are mistaken.

Why is it an illusion?

It is an illusion as it does not take into consideration every aspect of the game. Otherwise, you would always see the same gods and combos in all competitive games.

It does not happen in high ranks because players KNOW how to deal with those situations.
It only works well when people lack some knowledge of the game. Either god abilities and passives, positioning or simply lack of using actives.

I am not saying that snowballing is not a real thing, I am saying that it can be mitigated and that there are some comeback mechanics in the game.

Why are those statements wrong?

A part of each statement is actually perfectly true. But the reasoning behind it is wrong.

Let's analyze those one by one.

Statement #1

"We should surrender now, no way we can make it!"

That's the statement I hear the most. People even rage quit because they really believe there is nothing they can do about it.

If you're behind after 10 minutes, it does not mean that the game is over.
Yes, you might have fed the wrong guy, but it's does not mean you can't turn around the game at some point.

There are "come back" mechanisms in the game.
There are builds and strategies that will allow you to stay competitive when behind.
There are gods that are strong early game and that can drop off late game while some only shine late game.

You HAVE to learn how to fight when you're behind, because you won't always be ahead.
Even if you're loosing it does not matter, learning from people that might be stronger than you is a smart call.

Also, the game does not care if you're behind in Gold and XP, the only thing it cares is which Titan dies first.

And trust me. It's way more rewarding to turn around a game and win it while you were behind.

Statement #2

" Thanatos is just too OP, let's quit!"

As said earlier, some gods have stronger early games than other and is the perfect example for this statement. What does it mean to be strong early game?
It means that the damage those gods can provide at between level 1 and 5 are way above other gods. This is simply the result of the gods stats and abilities.

Let's take an example with and .

Health

465

546

Build

potion of physical might

Ability

Base Ability Damage

100 (+100% of your physical power) + 10% of max target HP

80 (+50% of your physical power)

Total Damage

100 +20 +55 = 175

80 +10 = 90

As a result, at level 1, deals twice as much damage as , plus he heals from 75% of damage dealt (so 131 HP back) which compensate a lot from his lack of HP.

However, is really squishy and has no protection contrary to that has and . Plus, ' passive () works amazingly when players have full builds, but early game, it does not help as players have almost no power in their build.
as a strong damage output early that can help him snowball until mid game. But is not really strong in team fights while brings a lot in that area.
That's it for this example.

To conclude:

There is no god with amazing early game AND amazing mid game AND amazing late game. The game is designed in order to provide a balance; if you have a strong early game, you will most likely fall late game.

If you pick a god with strong early game, YOU MUST use that to your advantage and try to end the game early. Making people surrender is a really valid option.

If you are on the other side, you MUST know this. They WANT you to surrender as they will fall is the game keeps going.
Brace yourself, make sure the game lasts long enough for you to level up and finish your build.

Statement #3

" Cupid, Ymir, the best duo lane ever!!!"

Some gods have good synergy, some don't. Knowing them and knowing how to counter them is key.

For that matter, and have a really good combo.

As soon as they hit level 5, they'll proceed as follow :

Ymir blinks in, use Frost Breath to stun the enemies.
Cupid uses his Fields Of Love to slow after the stun is over and Ymir uses his Shards of Ice for an additional slow. YOU CANNOT GET OUT.
If you still are alive, you'll be mesmerized from Cupid's Fields Of Love to make sure that Shards of Ice will finish you.

So, basically, if you don't know how to counter this, you're dead.

But it's quite easy to counter. You should buy . That's it. Use it, get out of the area of effect and you're fine. 2 ultimates down on their side vs. 2 beads down on your side. Counter engage and they are now in a bad position.
By the way, it could work also with + even tho it does not apply a double slow.

Also, this combo is good during the laning phase, but during team-fights it's almost impossible for to stun more than 3 enemies at once and when using his ultimate he takes a lot of damages. As a consequence, this combo won't work that well in late game.

That was just an example, but here are some additional combos that are really powerful in the laning phase:
NB: There are MANY combos, this list is not exhaustive at all.

Hercules or Sobek or Geb or Sylvanus or Bacchus + Awilix
The support will knock you up in the air and Awilix will use the Gravity Surge on you before she can finish you with Feather Step.

Solution: Use Greater Purification to stop the knock-up and prevent the Gravity Surge to work. It's gonna be about reaction time between you and Awilix but you should have an advantage as you can use it BEFORE being pulled in the air due to the CC immunity Greater Purification provides.
Athena or Khepri or Xing Tian + Medusa
The support will taunt/pull or throw you (in case of Xing Tian) so that Medusa's Petrify will hit you while you are looking at Medusa, thus dealing extra damage and stunning you.

Solution: Again, use Greater Purification during the taunt/pull/knock-up to avoid the second damage wave coming from Medusa.
Ares or Fenrir + Poseidon or Zeus or Kukulkan
Ares will blink in, use his ultimate to pull you all at the same place, then the mage will throw is ultimate to make sure you take a lot of damage. Same for Fenrir except that he'll probably jump instead of blink and that he can only target one god.

Solution: Again, use Greater Purification during the pull.
/!\ Beware of the CC immunity time vs the channeling time of Ares' ultimate; don't use it too early!
Ares + Artemis
Ares will blink in, use his ultimate to pull you all at the same place, then Artemis will use her ultimate to stun you one and kill you one by one.

Solution: Again, use Greater Purification during the taunt/pull/knock-up to avoid the second damage wave coming from Artemis.
Odin + Poseidon or Zeus
Odin will lock you inside the Ring of Spears and will possibly hit with Gungnir's Might to slow you down while the mage will throw his big AoE ultimate.

Solution: For this one, beads are almost useless. Two options: Aegis Pendant/ Greater Aegis to cancel the damage or Combat Blink to get out of the cage if you don't have a leap.

Statement #4

"Pff, Freya and Chronos just sucks. Why people even pick them?"

It's almost the same idea that saying that is OP (early game). If you only refer to the first 10 minutes of the game, some gods won't be "online" yet because they need their core items built in order to really have an impact.
Those gods are mostly what people call "Hyper Carry". They will need time and gold to shine but they will deal more damage than regular carries in the late game.
and are good example of those, but they are not the only ones. is somehow an hyper carry. Some assassins can be as well, for instance , , , or , especially if played in the solo lane.

As a result, if you pick those gods, you should know that you'll only be relevant after 20 minutes.

Also, those gods are generally hard to play, but don't give up, it is worth spending some time!

Comeback Mechanics

There is no magic recipe, but if there was one, it might look like that:

Ward a lot
Tank up
Group up
Steal objectives

That's the main idea. Always try to find something from your fights. If you can't get a kill, try to get some actives (beads), a tower or a Gold Fury.

Gold Fury

Some people think you can only go Gold Fury if the enemy ADC and mid-laner are dead. Actually, you could get it with everybody alive. Sentry ward the Gold Fury to get vision, wait for the enemy jungler to rotate to the solo-lane, then group up (ADC with lifesteal, mid & jungler) and take it while their focused on the solo lane (their mid will probably rotate as well). Leave the support in the lane so they won't suspect your attempt too fast.

Fire Giant

There are only 2 ways to take the Fire Giant. Do it after a successful engagement where most of the opposite team is dead and cannot contest it (that would probably mean you're ahead)... or steal it.
Not all gods can steal it, but it is worth giving it a try. With a ///'s ultimate (for instance), if you manage to sneak out and use it as the proper time, you might be able to steal it from them. As they probably took a lot of damage doing it, you might have here a real turn around opportunity.

Tier List for Early Game

The following tier list is based on the base stats/abilities of the gods and the standard starter item in the current meta.

I consider in this list the first 5 to 10 minutes. As a result, it mostly comes to your laning phase and/or ganks potential.

I won't go into much detail here, but basically I consider you'll go either Bluestone Pendant or Transcendence tier-2 or Devourer's Glove tier-2 as a starter for hunters, Soul Stone or Vampiric Shroud for mages (or magical solo-laners), Bluestone Pendant or Death's Toll for warriors (solo-lane), Bumba's Mask for junglers, Watcher's Gift or Mark of the Vanguard for guardians.
As a result, it gives a good advantage to gods that takes advantage of Bluestone Pendant compared to gods with Death's Toll in the current meta.

Picking a god with a "bad" early game is not a problem. Play it safe at the beginning of the game and farm to be ready for the late game.

Also, in the duo lane, if you pick two gods with early bad lane clear (like Geb and Xbalanque), ask the jungler for some help to release the pressure from the opposite team. The risk is that the other team could finish the game before the 20 minutes mark.

Tier List for Mid Game

This second tier list is based on the base stats/abilities of the gods with standard builds in the current meta between 10 and 20 minutes. It is mostly based on the gods potential to rotations and/or ganks.
For instance, if you have low mobility and bad escapes, you'll be an easy target, thus most likely B/B+ tier.

It does not consider any snowball effect.

Tier List for Late Game

This last tier list is about the late game potential of your god. How powerful you are with full build (or at least 5 items - approx. 20 minutes or more) and how you can impact team fights and/or split push (or both).
Having a lot of CC in your kit will help.

Itemization

That's a weird word I know. Basically, it's the science that comes down to using the good items at the good time.

If you stick with your usual build when you're behind, you will probably end-up being snowballed, as you'll have 2 tiers or even 1 item less than you enemy
As a result, if you're behind, you might need to reach the gold efficiency instead of the pure power efficiency. Some items are great when you have a lot of gold and you're ahead.

Stacking Items

Stacking items are absolutely great. For late game.
If you go or you should know that you'll have less boxing potential than a god going with or until you finish stacking.
Same goes for Warlock's Sash and to a lesser extent .
As I still see that from time to time, I will stress that out again : DO NOT START STACKING AFTER 10 MINUTES. That's too late.

Physical Protection

For instance, let's say you're the solo laner and you gave away first blood. Forget , you're opponent will have it while you're still on tier 2 (). But you can have (2250) at the same time (of even before) he does get (2850), which will help you a lot.

Same goes for . It is a great item, but kinda expensive (2415). If you want physical protection, is pretty awesome compared to its price (2050)

If you're a magical damage dealer, is really good as well for its price (1950).

Magical Protection

When it goes for magical protection, is really good and not too expensive (2250). If you don't have enough, you might consider as it is also really good for its price (1225). You can have it early and transform it later to the tier-3 of your choice.

Attack Speed

and are probably the best attack speed items in the game. Tho is not too expensive (2200), really is (2850).
is a really good option for a low price (1700), same goes for (1750).

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Collapse All Comments

(400) |

Good content, lots of effort, and trying to promote a positive mindset, rather than just giving up. Easy upvote.

(8) |

I guess it's different on Xbox as aiming "skill shots" might be trickier. That's probably why is not very popular compared to or .
I removed the tier list and I'll rework it later, hopefully I'll be able to take all your feedbacks into consideration! :D

Anyway, to answer Devampi, I'd say that early is until the 10 minutes mark and late game starts at 20 (mid in between). I think that's also what Estidien said, but I can agree with your definition as well.

EDIT: Oh, I see why you're asking. In my example with Thanatos I mention early as "between lvl 1 and 5"... which is totally wrong. I'll fix that.

(50) |

Sub you would be surprised how far criticism can go if stated in a way that does not get people immediately pissed off. Not insulting or a suggestion, just a thought.

(105) |

I'm going to add one question. vithaliy what do you consider earlyu game. because reading this looks like until lvl 5 is early game. however this is just plain wrong. yes getting your ult is a power spike but normally you are still in early game by this time. the type of game your in depends mostly on your items (and having lot's of kills or farm accelerates you into this phase)

normally at 10 mins most people will just enter mid game (that's one of the reasons Smite should also get a sur at 20 like LoL as mid game can swing the game a lot more).

normally at time marks (this can vary because farming skill or kills etc):
early game= 0:00 till 10:00 (for really bad players you can easily hit 15 mins)
mid game= 10:00 till 20:00-30:00 (this is really character specific as burster normally hit late a lot earlier imo)
late game= 20:00+ or 30:00+

however as time marks are really inaccurate because skill lvl and amount of kills etc plays a big role here you can better look into someone build. taking a hunter build

--ichiaval---

early game lasts till you finish ichiaval (so mid games starts after your first 3 items)
mid game lasts till around you finishes or sometimes even till you finish (I myself consider mid-late game but not fully late game. And normally the thing that marks late game for me is an almost full build (so best to say is late game starts somewhere between T2 rage or full DB with ultra late game starting at full build and pots)

so normally you aren't out of early game when people hit lvl 5

(however state of game is also a bit opinion based)

(30) |

Fair enough. I still cant say that I agree with all of the choices. Meta is one thing, actual potential is another but I will admit that at least from what I've seen, the counterplay potential is much harder on the Xbox than on the PC.

(56) |

wrote:

So m8 You're talking to the one of the best Awilix players in the world and I can safely say you obviously don't know how she works and how high her outplay potential is. And BTW Level 5 is early game. Thor's kill potential in the early 4 levels is actually quite low unless you're up against some true nitwits.

does have nice waveclear but so do half of the other hunters and the other hunters have early boxing prowess to go with it.

also has very low early game gank potential unless you're playing against people with 0 map awareness

has the easiest and safest kill secure at level 5

And like what about serqet and the ability to better setup kills for your team as the jungler.

The tier list just seems rushed and unpolished without a lot of thought behind it. Just in my opinion, sure it may cover 2 raw points but it completely leaves out counterplay potential and team support capabilities.

Ppl, lets remember Vithaliy is a Xbox Smite player. This guide IS more tilted to the Xbox meta

(30) |

So m8 You're talking to the one of the best Awilix players in the world and I can safely say you obviously don't know how she works and how high her outplay potential is. And by the way, for most players, Level 5 is early game. Smite's early/mid/late are more based on itemization rather than levels so early game usually lasts till 10 minutes in while mid is around 20 late being whatever happens after that.

's actual kill potential in the early 4 levels is actually quite low compared to other assassins unless you're up against some true nitwits.

does have nice waveclear but so do half of the other hunters and the other hunters have early boxing prowess to go with it.

also has very low early game gank potential unless you're playing against people with 0 map awareness

has the easiest and safest kill secure at level 5

And like what about serqet and the ability to better setup kills for your team as the jungler.

The tier list just seems rushed and unpolished without a lot of thought behind it. Just in my opinion, sure it may cover 2 raw points but it completely leaves out counterplay potential and team support capabilities.

(8) |

I removed the tier list has the idea behind it was not in phase with was people expected from it. My idea was about early lane clear and gank potential. Only those 2 aspects (for the early game tier list).
has an amazing lane clear early game. and early game, except with red pot, are far behind the damage output of a , or at least until they reach level 5, that's why I put them this way. Anyway, I removed it and I'll stick to Zilby's idea, which is really simpler and more efficient.

(30) |

So since most of the other issues have been covered. I would simply like to point out that your tier list is pretty... bad? should easily be an S - S+ Tier early gamer, shoulda also be an S - S+ tier early gamer. Sol is easily an A - A+ tier early gamer. is an incredibly powerful early gamer. And to say that is the top hunter for early game. I'm gonna be blunt here... what exactly is this tier list?

These are literally like 10% of the grievances I have with your tier lists so please consider re-evaluating

(8) |

Thanks for this list. I'll try to address those points.

(112) |

Anyway, because you need a list:

Generic statements are bad. Don't do them. Be specific.
Specify levels of behind-ness rather than generic "don't surrender!" There is no one-size-fits-all.
Thanatos is not what people talk about when they say a god is OP. Bad example.
Use a snowballing meta god instead, like Serqet.
Seriously, who thinks early game gods are OP?
Obvious statements are obvious. Delete them. We don't need you to tell us seven times that early game gods fall off late game.
You fail to address the issue of counterplay correctly.
You don't display the knowledge of what counterplay means.
You think beads is counterplay.
You type up several paragraphs' worth of unnecessary jabbering. Such as the examples of wombo combos and the tier lists.
"This god (Chronos and Freya since you need Blue's Clues) sucks!" doesn't refer to hyper carries in most cases, but off-meta gods who typically fail at things.
You list comeback mechanics that are either fundamentally flawed, require skills you fail to explain, or just don't exist.
Such as itemization. Try building defensive items on an ADC and then talk.
"Comeback mechanics" are useless, because you are literally telling us to do stuff that we've already been doing. So either 1: Both teams have been doing that and thus this guide is useless, or 2: The enemy hasn't been doing this and so we gain an advantage by doing it. In the second situation you're not even playing a serious game, and in the first, which is likely in any serious game, this section is a waste of space.
Generic statements don't help anyone.
I also gave an example of a comeback in defiance of every rule written on this guide. You need to address the factor that made me comeback, because that's what you need to do if you want more than pity/bandwagon votes.

(112) |

wrote:

Please provide me with this list of missing stuff, I'd gladly try to complete my guide.

Well, someone hasn't been reading my review in its entirety.

wrote:

It just simple courtesy to only quote something that one DID write instead of paraphrasing.
It's like it I quoted you saying "This guide is totally garbage and you're just too dumb to write one." but it would be paraphrasing, not quoting. Too bad the BBCode for paraphrasing does not exist.

Now that's just untrue, because paraphrasing needs to carry the meaning of the original statement. They're really one part paraphrasing and one part lazy marker because quoting is hard.

ALSO, consider that some people may not like having to look through enormous text walls. Yeah, some people might like the context of the quote, but I prefer reading things with less visual clutter.

wrote:

I'm saying that what's obvious for you it's not obvious for the average Joe.

And my rebuttal to this is that the stuff written here is, in fact, obvious for the average Joe.

wrote:

Is that an excuse for not being constructive?
Please stop commenting on my guide if you don't intend to help improving it.

I think you are starting to metaphorically tilt here. You should calm down before replying.

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