Hirez Roundup #5

This Roundup is only about SMITE because we have a lot to discuss! This has been a wild week of SMITE content, and it’s only really just started! Yesterday was Day One of Super Regionals, and holy damnit was that incredible! Between the match sets, we got to see Patch Notes for 4.21, which introduced Discordia, and the New Adventure, Shadows over Hercopolis! So I guess it’s time to get this thing started! Also as an aside, congrats to LeTigress for winning The Caster! And also to the others who got hired on for casting: You all deserved it. Your hard work did not go unnoticed.

Super Regionals Day One:

Okay, so I was right about who would win the day, but my numbers didn’t add up and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I had no doubt that eUnited would move forward, as they’re basically the new Team Enemy. But the change-up from  PaindeViance to PolarBearMike turned out to be a solid move. He was all over the map, making incredible plays, keeping his team cool under pressure, and despite a series of setbacks and pauses, the matches were incredible, if a bit one-sided. I think that Trifecta were counting too much on the late-game, with their weird Solo Ymir, Mid Aphrodite picks. Sure they’re solid in the hands of Hurriwind and KikisoCheeky, but this was the start of a trend that I did not understand. Why was Hercules not banned more? Come on. Seriously. Herc stomps so many people, based solely on his sustain, and then you have his damage, and his wombo, which could have been hax, on anyone else. I don’t hate Trifecta’s picks, especially since I’m not a pro, but ultimately? They picked late game against a team that was ready to win at 20. The Morrigan, paired with Artio, Ratatoskr, AMC and Hercules? Then the other teams picks too? Man, it was rough.

Trifecta vs. EUnited – 0-3 (EU):

Lessons were not learned in this game, or the following one.

There were lots of smart moves with Venenu turning in to Ratatoskr. The double half-global ult was not something to underestimate. Venenu’s The Morrigan is very smart on who to become. Aggro pointed out that Venenu has a very wide champ pool, benefitting him for that ult. Being able to utilize a vast list of characters means the other team might never know what’s going to come next. Whatever he picks, it’s going to be used well.  HOWEVER. Trifecta tries Fire Giant at 16 minutes, after wiping EU (except Panda), despite EU getting Portal Demon. Trifecta gets Fire Giant but Kiki still dies for it! I sincerely thought that Trifecta could take game one . . . then Kiki got picked off. That was the end of this match. Once EU took control of this game, that was it. PandaCat went unkilled, but Trifecta did not take advantage of their Fire Giant. This was definitely the beginning of the end of match one of the day.

“WHY DID THEY NOT BAN AMC? WHY.” This is what I practically yelled in my office while watching Game 2.  Now it’s AMC + Raijin. Sure, they banned The Morrigan, but Raijin. Technical difficulties delayed this game, but that gave me time to get lunch. Screammmmm’s getting first blood on Aphro was fantastic, and the last thing you want is for Ravana to do is get ahead. Not a lot to say after the reset. At 16 minutes, it’s 11-1, EU. It’s a pubstomp. 24-3 at the end, but wow. That was a quick, unpleasant stomp. The Ymir against Hercules is such a bad idea. Hercules is already someone you cannot pressure. I love Kiki and his incredible god pool, but this was not a plan that was working and it was clear from the first minute. Perhaps EU had a bone to pick, because they almost threw away that first game. They were certain there was no hope for Trifecta in this second game.

Maybe they should've picked Nemesis instead?

This one started more in the favor of Trifecta. Kind of surprised me, to be honest. Especially with wacky stuff like Solo lane Athena and jungle Chaac. There’s stuff I want to keep my eye on to see if I can learn something new at least. Trifecta is desperate to push EU out of a 3-0 squash. More pauses, the gap widens, and EU 3-0. I genuinely thought that the Trifecta comp was not a bad one. But Aphrodite has no early damage, while The Morrigan has whatever damage she needs (and it’s a lot). Hercules vs. Ymir is another no-brainer to me. But I was delighted to see Hachiman, and he made some big moves! I doubt it’s the last we’ll see of the latest Hunter in Super Regionals, and I’m betting he’ll be a big player at Worlds this year. His kit is so powerful, not just for him, but for everyone. I’m looking forward to seeing Fafnir+Hachiman teams. That’s a lot of steroids. What I think is sort of interesting is that the teams really didn’t change too much for these two teams, whether it was going well or not.

Luminosity Gaming vs. SpaceStation Gaming – 3-2 (LG):

This was the game I expected to be a 3-0 stomp but it was anything but. Going all the way to game 5, LG proved they still have it. I missed so much of this exchange (more work called, dinner, all manner of things. Internet spottiness, you’re killin me!), but the first game slowly but surely got more and more out of control, Luminosity proving they still belong on the big stage. Game 2 definitely went towards SSG in the start BUT THAT FIRE GIANT STEAL FROM BARRACUDDA! But Andinster and squad came back, and crushed Game 2! This set is way more back and forth, compared to the first set of the day.

If Kali were really Spiral, they could go back in time and turn this into a victory. Sorry, SSG.

Game three started off insanely rough, Homiefe getting a first blood/double kill. Homie is the star of this team, no matter how many amazing players are on it. His Thor is not to be trifled with, or his Baka. 20-7 in SSG’s favor at 22 minutes, and that’s when the first Gold Fury died. Man. They spend the entire game just shutting Barra down. Despite that, they were still only down a minor amount of gold, team fights started being won around the 25-29 minute mark, they took Fire Giant, and Baskin really started cranking out real soviet damage. A real comeback story here! LG comes back, 2-1! Could they make it 3-1? Alas, no! Spacestation pushes this into a Game 5! Not the way I expected it, but ScaryD really slowed down LG as a whole. Why aren’t people banning Hercules by now? In game five.. SOLO THANATOS!? DOUBLE KILL? WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?! The final kill count was 12-4, and it was all Ravana and Thanatos. What the hell happened in this game? I’m not even sure. All I know is that Solo-Lane Thanatos saved the day, obliterating everything in his path. So, LG moves on, punching their ticket to Worlds. So far we have two teams, and we’ll get two more today.

Discordia:

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of the SMITE Patch Notes, let’s talk Discordia! Personally, I stand by “Eris would have been cooler”, but I guess we needed another Roman Mage and not yet another Greek Mage. Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Chronos, Scylla! Yes, it was time for a Mage that was not Greek. Discordia is the Goddess of Strife because calling her the Goddess of Discord would just be redundant. So exactly who is she? What, did you never watch “The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy”? I think their representation of her was pretty spot-on, to be honest. Always willing to cause a little chaos, here are some thoughts on exactly who Discordia is:

“Discordia is the Roman Goddess of Discord or Strife, in opposition to Concordia, the Goddess of Harmony. Her name means “disagreement” or “dissention”, and can also refer to sedition or mutiny in a military context. She is most probably a Roman version of the Greek Eris, the Goddess of Strife who was responsible for beginning the Trojan War by tossing a pretty golden apple inscribed with the words “To the Most Beautiful” into the company of the Gods; unsurprisingly, several Goddesses immediately said, “Well, that must mean me, of course!” and the ensuing problems led to the abduction of Helen of Sparta by one Paris. Discordia is also identified with the Greek Ate, the Goddess of Mischief (said to be the daughter of Eris), whose favorite pastime is tripping up both mortals and immortals, making them do stupid things that they later regret.”

Had to use it again. I love Discordia and I'm not ashamed.

I think Discordia is going to be incredibly powerful, and she has quite the unique kit. As soon as I can get my hands on her in PTS, I’ll have some footage to go up on MMOHuts’ Youtube. Her kit is the definition of “chaos”, being able to turn brother against brother, and if you aren’t putting 100% of your attention on her and her assault, you’re going to be sent back to base in a bodybag. Which is definitely going to be an issue with a jungler lurking nearby. With a jungler that has a nice leap/dash/et cetera will be a positive for her, so let’s get into her kit real fast. I’ll be doing a more in-depth look at her next week:

Passive: Contest of Gods (Buff): Discordia is constantly comparing herself and her teammates to see who is the best. Whichever god on her team has the top damage dealt to enemy players will receive a Power buff that scales off Discordia’s level.
1: Unruly Magic (Damage, Line, Unique): Discordia sends an orb of unruly magic to a location that damages any enemies it hits along the way. At that location it will break down into 6 minor projectiles that fire out in all directions, damaging any enemies hit and bouncing off of walls. Ready for a Bullet Hell?
2: Strife (Damage, Square, CC): Discordia creates an area of Strife that damages all enemies hit. If 2 or more enemy gods are hit at the same time they will be afflicted by Madness for 1s, forcing them to attack each other for additional damage. The same is true for minions. If only a single target of one type is hit then it becomes Rooted for a short duration instead.
3: Erratic Behavior (Stealth, Skill CDR, Unique): Discordia leaps a short distance and then creates an area of confusion where she lands. While inside the area she becomes stealthed, gains bonus movement speed, and Unruly Magic’s and Strife’s cooldowns are reduced by an additional amount of time every .5s she remains in the area. Attacking from the area will briefly reveal her.
4: Golden Apple of Discord (Damage, Line, CC): Discordia throws her Golden Apple of Discord that damages and passes through minions and bounces off of walls. If the Apple hits an enemy god it will damage them and force them to hold the Apple. Gods holding the apple will become intolerable, causing them to be Crippled, Intoxicated while they constantly boast. At the end of the duration, the Apple will detonate, dealing damage and spreading the effects to nearby gods.

I might give up being a Guardian Main and just be a Discordia main. You heard it here first.

SMITE Patch 4.21: Shadows over Hercopolis:

There is a lot going on in Patch 4.21, from a huge pile of new skins (most being in Chests), a new Adventure (RETURN TO HERCOPOLIS, YES), some item/God changes. Discordia’s arriving too, but I just covered her. Let’s start with the new skins though. Kali got her Mastery Update, which looks amazing. Each and every skin in this update is amazing, from the dapper Cursed King Cernunnos, to the nightmare-fuel of Ma Cherie Arachne. So where do they drop?

Cursed King Cernunnos (Limited): Adventures Vault: A dapper version of Cernunnos, whose jacket changes color, the boars have top hats, and the thorns have roses in them. So. great.
Agent of Darkness Loki (Limited): Trickster Bundle:  A very Elder Scrolls/fantasy assassin. Cool skulls and locks on his gear, and a pretty great voiceover.
Primal Shaman Ganesha (Exclusive): Odyssey: This is the skin I’ve been waiting for. Everything has skulls on it, and despite the war-like appearance, still very peaceful and thematic.
Exterminator Kali (Exclusive): Odyssey: Not gonna lie, when I saw this, I immediately thought of Spiral from the X-Men comics of the 90s. All she needs are the fuzzy-topped boots/arm sleeves.
Vanquisher Nemesis (Exclusive): Chest: Very “Scarlet Crusade” Nemesis, which I adore. And she has a unique emote that calls a column of light from the Heavens.
Ma Cherie Arachne (Exclusive): Chest: The spiders have creepy doll heads, she has a lovely french accent, and everything about this is nightmare-fuel. I love it.
Wasteland Cu Chulainn (Exclusive): Chest: He reminds me of Borderlands, in the absolute best way. This Cu Chulainn’s been afflicted with radation, and he’s slightly, slightly mad.
Mastery Skins: Kali (Mastery): These are amazing, ’nuff said.

Then we have the new adventure: Shadows over Hercopolis! Loki, the trickster God (RE: That asshole) has kidnapped King Hercules! He’s also stolen all of your items/currency, and the whole giant Hercules statue and spread its parts along the frozen wastes! The bundle for this one comes with a heap of stuff (like the final golden key we’ve been waiting on):

• Limited Agent of Darkness Loki
• Limited Thief Avatar
• Limited Music Theme
• Limited Thief Loading Skin
• Gold Key
• Plus, earn an extra Gold Key after purchasing all Adventure Bundles
• Adventure Gold Vault Skin: Cursed King Cernunnos

He's a Beast, but maybe he used to be a Beauty?

This promises to be bigger (a third bigger? A half? They weren’t clear, but it’s gigantic), with bigger raid challenges, more difficult encounters, and way more stuff to see and do. This patch contains Easy/Medium difficulties, and 4.22 will include the aptly named “Nightmare” difficulty. I hope you’re ready to get used like a sock puppet because that’s what Nightmare’s gonna do! I absolutely cannot wait to get knee-deep into it. The teaser they showed on Patch Notes was a frozen area, with a bridge you have to traverse. Lots of ice to slip on, and places you can fall to your doom. We don’t know much yet, but we will soon! And once we do, so will you!

There were a few item updates in this patch, nothing major as far as I’m concerned. Relic Dagger gains a health bonus (250-300) but this one actually caught my eye. I do play an awful lot of support, and I think it could be slid into a few of my builds. More health makes it a better option for me. Stone of Fal, a counter-item, basically, was a bit on the costly side. 2700 gold is too much for an item that is designed to counter someone. It’s down to 2500 (from 2700), and perhaps that 200 gold cut is what will bring it to more players builds. Blackthorn Hammer is the last item changed, and it’s an item that doesn’t honestly see a lot of use. It’s good, but it’s not great. The increased HP threshold for its passive went up to 40% (from 30%) and the cost went down 100 gold to 2200 (from 2300).  Hopefully, Warriors/Assassins will have the time to build it and do incredible things with this fun hammer.

I’ll try to be brief with the God changes, because there’s a ton of numbers going up and down. If you’d care to see the actual figures, the patch notes link is below. Agni received an Attack Speed Buff (a very minor one, up to 1.2), and his Ultimate will be popping more often to boot/hit a bit harder. He’s a solid pick, but there are so many other mages that just do his job a bit better, making him a less viable pick. I don’t think it’s going to push him into the upper echelon, but he’ll get used more.  Da Ji is seeing a lot of love this update! Health/Health per level went up, her Basic Attack chain animations were changed, and now the hit chain is 1/1/1/, and each hit has a unique animation.  Horrible Burns now benefits from Haste (and she doesn’t have Basic Attack movement penalty while it’s active). Paolao’s going to be useful now! Now the chain travel time is .3 seconds, so you don’t have to be able to see the future, or be a Newtype in order to land perfect shots (or have people stunned/rooted already).

Delightful Nightmare-fuel.

Hou Yi‘s clear got smashed into the floor, some might say. His Ricochet bonus damage now only applies to Gods. I’m not so sure if it really nerfs him into uselessness, as Twitch Chat cried, but I imagine it will slow him down in lane a little bit. I’ve said for a while that I felt Isis‘s Circle of Protection was kind of underwhelming. The base damage went up, and the numbers are not giant, but I don’t think it really needed a huge boost. Just a little fine tuning. Oh my God, though. Janus and Ullr are receiving a ton of changes! Janus Unstable Vortex has better base damage, better magic power scaling, decreased double hit, making the damage on it a bit more reliable. The numbers aren’t really all that different. His ultimate, Through Space and Time has better base damage/scaling, but the scaling damage per distance traveled caps at 100% now, instead of 200%, which is kind of nice. That damage was pretty insane on a fed Janus. Ullr‘s passive now has a meter that tracks cooldowns, Bladed Arrow (Thrown Axe)was buffed, Expose Weakness (Invigorate) is now 50 at all ranks for a cost (instead of going from 60-80), Hail of Arrows (Glory Bound)’s FX is a bit more clear. They also fixed a few bugs with it. Wield Axes (Wield Bow) also saw a tiny bit of cooldown reduction (down to .2), which I feel like he needed to make his combos a lot less precise, and a bit more beginner friendly.

Perhaps I’ll write something later this week/weekend about the rest of Super Regionals. We have some more surprises in store, so do stay tuned! This has been your Least Favorite Streamers’ Least Favorite Streamer, signing off!