Xbalanque - The Sun Hiding the Jaguar - Newbie guide

DISCLAIMER: I am a new player, so this guide is aimed more towards new players until i have reached a higher level.

Hey guys!

My name is Sycthrex, i have only just started playing Smite but i have multiple MOBA accounts across different games such as LoL, HoN, Dota 2 and the likes of Bloodline Champions so i easily understood the basics of the game.

This guide is going to be as detailed and ongoing as i can possibly make it along with it being aimed more at Conquest, I might look at adding Arena and Joust builds in the future but Conquest is where i will start, but please remember that this is a Guide, and it is here to guide you towards decisions and should not be followed exactly as i, myself don't always follow it.

If you feel i need to change anything with my Guide then please feel free to leave me some feedback, i am a nice guy and i am always open to opinions.

Thanks

Xbalanque was born with vengeance in his heart.

As one of the Hero Twins, Xbalanque, and his brother Hunahpu, knew their lives would eventually force them to face the Lords of Death, chiefs of the Underworld who murdered their father, but first they would need to master the arts of hunting with blowguns and the violent ball game Pitz.

As a test of their strength, they decided to defeat the vain and evil bird-lord, Seven Macaw, who declared himself the Sun and the Moon and replaced his teeth with glistening jewels.

The Hero Twins fired their blowguns at the perching bird-lord, knocking out several of Seven Macaws glittering teeth. Ferociously he came at them, but only snatched Hunahpu and tore off the boys arm. Cleverly, the twins enlisted the aid of an elderly couple and advised them to pose as dentists. Seven Macaw sought to ease the pain in his mouth, so, as they were instructed, the dentists pulled the rest of Seven Macaws teeth and replaced them with white corn. So humiliated was the great bird that he died of despair.

It would be many years and several trials later that, at last, the Hero Twins were able to challenge the Lords of Death and avenge their father, but their final victory allowed them to ascend to the heavens, where Xbalanque was immortalized as the moon, lighting the night for clever hunters everywhere.

Pros:
- Strong Early Game
- Strong Late Game if allowed to gain Stacks from Dead of Night
- Global Ultimate
- Strong Escape/Chase
- Strong AoE with Branching Bola + Rising Jaguar

Cons:
- Very Squishy
- Gets countered by CC Gods
- Rising Jaguar is affected by invisible walls, so cutting corners is a no no! I am also unable to jump over small bushes :( (this requires more testing, most corners i find myself getting stuck on)

Dead of Night (Passive)

'Any enemy gods that Xbalanque kills increases his physical power by 5 permanently, maxing out at 30 additional physical power.'

This is pretty self explanatory, if you manage to kill a God you will gain a permanent Physical Buff, this is what helps make Xbalanque very strong End Game, granted you play well.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Branching Bola

'When Xbalanque toggles on this ability, his basic attacks deal an additional 10/20/30/40/50 physical damage. When the bola hits, it splits into 2 that hit enemies up to 30 feet behind the target for 30% damage (On-hit effects do not apply). Right clicking cancels the toggle.

Cost: 11/13/15/17/19 mana per shot.'

This skill has a cool animation which makes his Bola glow Purple and this will allow you to see if the enemy Xbalanque has activated his which will help to indicate if he is about to go in for the kill or indicate a possible Gank, so keep an eye out.

The only problem if find with this is if you go into battle without it activated, there is a slight delay in activating it and sometimes you can find yourself attacking without it on, so i advise to activate it just before combat but be weary of the mana consumption.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Poison Darts

'Xbalanque shoots 10 darts in a cone in front of him, dealing 30/50/70/90/110 (+40% of your physical power) physical damage. An enemy can be hit by 3 darts, with the other 2 doing 30% damage. Enemies hit are poisoned for 3s, taking an additional 10/15/20/25/30 (+20% of your physical power) physical damage every .5s and are slowed by 3/6/9/12/15%, increasing with Focus up to 40%.

Cost: 70/75/80/85/90 mana.

Cooldown: 18/17/16/14/14s.'

This is your combat starter in most scenarios as it applies a small DoT (Damage over Time) and a slow for 3s, combine this with Rising Jaguar and you have just dealt some nice damage.

As it states in the description, an Enemy God can be affected by 3 Darts so make sure you use this up close and personal to add maximum damage to the fight.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Rising Jaguar (outdated on SmiteFire, deals 30% not 50% more)

'Xbalanque rushes forward and then jumps into the air. While in the air, he fires darts at all nearby enemies, dealing 80/130/180/230/280 (+20% of your physical power) physical damage. Any enemies that were poisoned by Xbalanque take 30% more damage.

Cost: 60/70/80/90/100 mana.

Cooldown: 16s.'

This skill makes Xbalanque dash forward and jump into the air and fire darts to all nearby enemies, as stated before using Poison Darts before hand will make sure that this deals 30% more damage, you can also move while in the air to ensure you are positioned correctly. (WARNING: This skill is affected by larger character models, inc jungle creeps)

This is your BREAD AND BUTTER aka BURST!!

This skill also gives Xbalanque some awesome Utility in the sense that you can Escape/Chase quite easily, but knowing when to use it is key, using the Poison Darts + Rising Jaguar will leave you without an escape mechanism during a fight so be careful.

Fighting against Gods with a lot of CC or lets say Ymir + Ares they can use a powerful combo of No Escape + Shards of Ice but having this skill available will help to ensure your safety, it all comes down to knowing when to use it.

This can not be taught, it just comes with experience.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Darkest of Nights

'Xbalanque shrouds enemies in darkness for 3s. During this time, Xbalanque's basic attack range is increased by 40 ft and his movement speed is increased by 20/30/40/50/60%, increasing with Focus up to 100%. At the end of the darkness, any enemy gods moving at the time are stunned for 1.5s, increasing with Focus up to 3s.

Cost: 100 mana.

Cooldown: 90s.'


And say hello to your Global Ultimate!

I find myself using this skill to benefit my team rather than myself more often than not, or to help Gank.

Let me explain, this Ultimate surrounds the enemy in darkness for 3s, making it very difficult to for them to see more than a few meters/yards/feet in front of them, along with stunning them for 1.5s if the enemy is still moving at the end of the animation, so this can help initiate Ganks by disorientating the enemy and providing a stun for team mates to act on.

It can also be used to stun enemies who are chasing low HP team mates or yourself, although i would rather use Rising Jaguar when it comes to myself.

This Ultimate can be used in many different ways, keep your eyes out for any pings or potential Gank opportunities which would benefit from your Ultimate, remember you don't have to be anywhere near the enemy for it to affect them.

Pro Tip: If you so happen to have this skill done to you, just watch the top of the screen and look for the segments creating a circle, stop moving before it completes and you will not be stunned

Early Game

Heartseeker is a strong item to start with, especially with those who have played Xbalanque quite a bit, some other players may go for devourer's gloves which is good for some lane sustain but in the long run Heartseeker is superior as long as you can keep those stacks. But with this being said, in higher ranked games, you will be focused so it can be a bad choice, pick it wisely. (Killing jungle creeps also count towards stacks)

Just be careful, because if the enemy see you with this, you could be getting focused and dropping those stacks is pointless, if you are not having a good game by the time you back to buy, then i would suggest buying something else, i sometimes buy The Executioner or another Penetration item, but it all depends on the team composition.

'+(5/15/25) Physical Power
+(4/7/10)% Movement Speed
PASSIVE - You gain +1 Physical Power per stack and 1 stack per minion kill. All stacks are lost on death (max. 50 stacks).'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

devourer's gloves after much consideration i now find this item the best one to choose, not only does it allow you to sustain in lane longer, you can also solo Gold Fury and Fire Giant at higher levels. An overall excellent item that doesn't drop stacks if you die.

'+(10/20/30) Physical Power
+(4/7/10)% Physical Lifesteal
PASSIVE - You permanently gain +.5 Physical Power and +.25% Physical Lifesteal per stack, and receive 1 stack per minion kill (max. 40 stacks).'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Warrior Tabi is pretty much the 'go to' movement item for most DD (Damage Dealers) as it gives Power, Att Speed and Crit Chance, some Xbalanque may go for Boots of Celerity and max out Poison Darts + Rising Jaguar first but even though i have not tested this build, i cannot see this dealing more overall damage than my build, nor would i rely on my CDs. (Cooldowns)

'+(10/20/30) Physical Power
+(2/4/6)% Attack Speed
+(2/4/6)% Critical Strike Chance
UNIQUE - Passive- +21% speed while in combat/+33% speed out of combat.'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Mid Game

Deathbringer is a very strong item in terms of Power and Crit Chance, it is a little expensive but if you have had a good Early Game and gained quite a bit of stacks from the Heartseeker then you will easily gain enough Gold for this, it may take you some time but it is well worth it, and this item combines well with the next item Rage due to it's passive '+50% Critical Strike Damage'

You need to judge on how well the game is going before deciding to buy this or not due to the expense.

'+(15/32/50) Physical Power
+(/ /10/20)% Critical Strike Chance

Passive- +50% Critical Strike Damage'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Rage is an awesome sauce item, in terms that it gives some nice Power, excellent Crit Chance and some lovely Att Speed, which you should already know goes well with this God.
The passive is what we really want, as the more you DON'T crit the higher chance you get on your next attack to crit, now tie this in with Deathbringer's passive and you have some destructive power.

'+(5/15/20) Physical Power
+(10/20/30)% Critical Strike Chance
+(5/10/15)% Attack Speed

Passive- If you basic attacks do not crit , your critical strike chance increases by 5% (max 10 stacks). Resets on successful crit.'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

End Game vs Tanky Gods

Titan's Bane will increase your damage output along with increasing your Physical Penetration which is needed when fighting Tanky Gods who have bought items to counter you. (Physical Defense)

I usually always buy this item in my games as it is handy against all Gods.

'+(10/20/30) Physical Power
+(11/22/33)% Physical Penetration'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

The Executioner will increase your Att Speed and Power, along with applying a nice stacking debuff on the enemy God which will decrease their Physical Protection, as you can tell this is extremely helpful when against high defense Gods.

'+(10/20/30) Physical Power
+(5/10/20)% Attack Speed
PASSIVE - Basic attacks against an enemy reduce your target's Physical Protection by 7% and an additional 5 points for 3 seconds (max 3 stacks).'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Qin's Blades is another popular item when fighting against Gods with a LOT of HP, this item will not only increase your Power, HP and Att Speed, it will also deal damage equal to 2.5% of the enemy God's MAXIMUM health and this is per basic attack, couple this with a high Att Speed and you are a destructive force!

'+(10/20/30) Physical Power
+(50/100/150) Health
+( /10/25)% Attack Speed
PASSIVE - On basic attack hits, deal damage equal to 2.5% of the target's maximum health. This only affects gods.'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

End Game vs DD w/ Lifesteal/Healing

Brawler's Beat Stick is a great addition to your arsenal when fighting 1 on 1 against a DD who has built a lot of Lifesteal or has quite a bit of Healing as it reduces Healing and Regeneration for 3s on every basic attack, it is a MUST HAVE in this case, unless you can completely dominate on raw damage output.

'(5/10/15)% Physical Lifesteal
+(5/10/15)% Critical Strike Chance
+(50/100/150) Health
PASSIVE - Enemies hit by your basic attacks have 25% reduced healing and regeneration for 3 seconds (max 2 stacks). (Doesn't stack with Divine Ruin.)'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Hide of the Nemean Lion - I chose this item because fighting Gods who have gone for Lifesteal tend to rely on basic attacks for their damage, therefore choosing this item will reflect 30% of all basic attacks damage back to the enemy God, a strong passive along with some HP and Physical Protection is a no brainer.

'+(30/55/80) Physical Protection
+(50/100/200) Health
PASSIVE - Reflects 30% of all basic attacks damage back to the attacker as physical damage.'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

End Game when focused by mainly Physical

Hide of the Nemean Lion - Read above, it applies to any basic attack God.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Titan's Bane - As mentioned before, this will increase damage against Gods who have a lot of Physical Protection, you wonder why i chose this, well to be frank if you come against a God who has the same Power and same Defense as you, but you have Titan's Bane then you have a better chance of winning in a straight up fight due to the Penetration.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

End Game when focused by mainly Magical

magi's blessing - I rarely have to use Defense Items that give me Magical Protection due to the lack of Mage Players but when i do, this is my first choice, as it gives nice Magical Protection, HP and Mana, along with a nice Passive which can absorb a single ability from an enemy God, now imagine if that was an Ultimate? Nice right?

'+(10/30/50) Magical Protection
+(50/200/350) Health
+(50/200/350) Mana
PASSIVE - Absorbs a single enemy ability hit once every 45 seconds.'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Hide of Leviathan - I chose this item because it's good Magical Protection along with HP and Mana, while also providing a 30% reduction to all CC durations, which is nice considering if we are being focused, we need this kind of thing. I have never had to resort to this item and magi's blessing together before.

'+(15/30/45) Physical Protection
+(15/30/45) Magical Protection
+(50/125/250) Health
+(50/125/250) Mana

Passive- Resolve - 30% reduction to all crowd control durations.'

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Active Items/Skills

meditation
'Using this item heals the owner's mana by 75% of their maximum mana. Cooldown - 120s.'

I use this Item from the start, mainly because it gives you an awesome amount of Mana for the small cost of 250g. Now using this while in lane will allow you to stay in lane longer when using your skills a lot, along with replenishing your depleted mana during combat allowing you to continue to use skills, but this can slow down your snowball into mid-game so be careful!

Aegis Amulet

'Using this item makes you invulnerable to damage for 2s, preventing you from taking action. Cooldown - 120'

Aegis Amulet is a very sexy Item because it makes you invulnerable to ANY damage for 2s, but it also keeps you from making any action or moving, this can be very useful to prevent that burst and depending on how the match is going then this is a priority buy!

Purification Beads

'Using this item removes stun, fear, silence, intoxication, pull and mesmerize and makes you immune to others for 2s. Cooldown - 120s.'

This is another very useful item, especially if the enemy team has a lot of CC on their team, which most teams should do, popping this will free you from any CC and make you immune to CC for the next 2s, extremely useful for those disengages, another top priority buy depending on the match.


Girdle of Might
'Using this item gives all allied gods in a 35 ft radius a +20 Physical and +40 Magical Power buff for 10 seconds. Cooldown - 90s.'

I personally use this Item because it benefits not only yourself but also your team mates within 35ft, it is an excellent way to give a nice damage increase just before a teamfight or during one if you decide to use it then.

Heavenly Agility
'Using this item buffs all allies ground speed by 40% in a 35 foot radius around you for 3 seconds. You are immune to slows for the duration. Cooldown - 150s.
Note: Multiple instances of this item do not stack.'

I have mentioned this Item because i can sometimes find a need for it, depending on how co-ordinated my team are, this item allows to give my team a nice speed boost for chasing, ganking or escaping if needed, just think about what your team needs, Speed ( Heavenly Agility) or Damage ( Girdle of Might)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Misc

Mana Potion - Try to use this whenever you have some spare Gold, just in case you need them while on the battlefield.

Healing Potion - These too :)

potion of physical might - Got some spare Gold? How about a nice Power boost! (NOTE: Item will disappear if killed)

Elixir of Power - Got a spare 3k Gold? Increase your Power by 25% for 5mins!!!! (NOTE: this also goes after death)

So, you have just chosen Xbalanque and loaded in, you can see the lovely Jaguar man stood there waiting to be used to fight against the Gods!

Start off by buying 2nd stage Warrior Tabi along with some Healing Potions and Mana Potions, stay in a lane until you can at least buy the 3rd stage of Warrior Tabi. Depending on how well you are doing depends on what item you should go for next.

PRO TIP: The border around the item in the top right-hand corner of the HUD will begin to flash, indicating you have enough Gold to upgrade it.

I also try to buy some Healing Potions and Mana Potions just to help me stay in lane for early-mid game but this can take away a lot of gold so if you find yourself struggling to keep up on gold i would advise to restrain from buying everytime you back.

Try not to use too many Skills during the Early Game, mainly due to the fact that the minions hurt like hell and you are squishy and will find yourself dying quickly doing so.
I try not to engage in a fight until around level 3 or 4, just so i can get my poison dart + Rising Jaguar combo, as you can also see i chose these skills before my Branching Bola simply because i find the Early Game damage from this combo is much greater and easier to land than the Branching Bola way of fighting.

I personally try and get Blue Buff if i am in left lane just to help me sustain my burst damage, having a Tanky God help you out for this would be great. If you manage to get Blue Buff then i tend to choose Branching Bola first as you can afford to spam it.

You should aim to hit the ranged minions with Branching Bola as the AoE splash can hit enemy Gods and backing off will allow for less damage taken from the minions as they will revert back to hitting your minions instead of you.

PRO TIP: Blue spawns 10 seconds into the game.

The match will continue on as always, remember to try and last hit minions to increase those Heartseeker stacks, killing jungle creeps will also increase stacks if you find your lane is pushed too far.

Watch out for Ganks and counter any Junglers if possible, letting a Jungler free-farm and Gank is not going to help out the team and can easily be your undoing.

From here on, you need to use your head and adjust to the way the match is being played out in terms of Item Selection.

[26/02/13]


Well i hope you found my Guide to be useful, i will be going over it with a fine toothcomb over the next few days to clear up any misunderstandings or unclear information for you guys.

I feel the Gameplay section is a little rushed, but we shall see.


Sycthrex signing out!

None as of this guide.