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SMITE: Discordia God Review: The Fairest of Them All

SMITE Discordia God Review Header

Part of me still feels like Eris would’ve been the better choice in SMITE, over Discordia – but there are far too many Greek Mages. Ultimately, this means the Roman version of the Goddess of Strife and Chaos joins Bellona and the rest of the cast. Discordia isn’t simply a goddess who wants war and chaos. She’s the Goddess of Strife and is happy to have a few people fist fighting over something pointless or absurd. The story goes, that Discordia was snubbed for invite to a wedding. Her revenge came in the form of crashing the party and lobbing a Golden Apple into the Gods and Goddesses, much like one would a grenade. “To the fairest of them all” was engraved on it and of course, every single God and Goddess in attendance wanted it. However, a young man named Paris acquired it. He wanted the most beautiful woman in the land. The end result? The Trojan War. Way to go, buddy. Your greed for arm candy doomed your entire people. Discordia no doubt cackled with delight as the fires raged across the city of Troy. Wherever there’s a fight to be had over something foolish, you can bet your bottom dollar that Discordia had something to do with it.

It’s been a little while since we’ve had a new God or Goddess, what with all the updates and changes to SMITE, not to mention preparing for Super Regionals/SWC, and what we needed was something to shake the game up a little. Something with lots of annoying effects, abilities, and the potential to turn matches into absolute insanity. Enter Discordia! Though only two of her abilities have Crowd Control effects, I feel like she has a pretty decent skill cap. There are things to be aware of when playing her, and I feel like she belongs on so, so, so many team comps. Lots of wombos to trap people in her 2 (Strife), forcing people to land in it when they’re launched in the air and the second God that I’m aware of that uses the “Intoxication” effect. I love it. Her 1 (Unruly Magic) turns the game into a mini Bullet Hell, and though they aren’t a serious issue, those little bouncing stars, it becomes a mind game. You’ll spend so much time trying not to be in their path, that you’ll get hit with the follow up when she leaps into her 3 (Erratic Behavior). Erratic Behavior is one of the most important parts of her kit, too. It’s not really an escape, but you can use it to dodge. I’ve used it to chase, but that’s about it.


Trick Shot!

Abilities:

Passive: Contest of Gods (Buff, Passive): Discordia is in a constant state of competition. Whoever is the best will receive her blessing, even if it’s her. Whichever god on her team has the top damage dealt to enemy players will receive a Power Buff that scales off of Discordia’s level (5+2 per level for Physical, 10+3 per level for Magical)

1: Unruly Magic (Orb, Line, Bounces): Discordia lobs a ball of energy in a straight line. Depending on how you aim it on the line, it will detonate wherever you specify. You can’t make it detonate early after casting. At the specified location, it explodes, breaking down into six minor projectiles that shoot away in all directions, bouncing off walls and damaging enemies (Orb Damage: 70/115/160/205/250 (+75% of your magical power), Minor Damage: 20/30/40/50/60 (10% of your magical power))

2: Strife: (AOE/Square, CC, Unique): An area of Strife appears on the ground in a rectangle shape. If two or more gods happen to be in it when it procs, they will be afflicted by Madness for 1 second and force them to fight each other, dealing damage to each other (Damage: 60/100/140/180/220 (+70% of your magical power) Madness Damage Per Hit: 10/20/30/40/50 (+10% of your magical power). The same is true for minions. If only a single god is there, they will be Rooted for 1 second instead.

3: Erratic Behavior (CDR, Leap, Deployable): Discordia leaps a short distance and creates an area of confusion that she cannot be seen in for 5 seconds. Inside this area, she gains stealth/increased movement speed (20/25/30/35/40%), and her 1st and 2nd ability cooldowns are reduced by an additional amount for every .5 seconds she remains in there (0.5/0.75/1/1.25/1.5s). Attacking her will temporarily reveal her.

Ultimate: The Golden Apple of Discord (Projectile, CC): The Golden Apple of Discord is a powerful weapon. Discordia throws it in a line, and it becomes a gigantic boulder-apple. It passes through minions and bounces off walls. If it hits an enemy God, it will damage them and force them to hold the Apple (100/125/150/175/200 (+40% of your magical power)). They will become intolerable, giving them Cripple/Intoxicated effects while they constantly brag and boast. At the end, the Apple explodes, dealing damage and spreading the chaotic effect to other nearby gods (200/250/300/350/400 (+60% of your magical power)). The first target duration is 2 seconds and AOE, and the spread targets duration is 3 seconds and single target, making it a bit harder to afflict someone with after the fact.


Wait for it…

Pros:

She’s a Tricksy Hobbitses: Her kit is so frustrating! You have to constantly be juking, dodging, and trying to figure out where the next shot is being fired from. She can prepare her ult to hit you on the bounce, so if it looks weird, that’s probably what’s going to happen. From forcing other people to fight their friends, it creates amazing waveclear, and really annoying situations to deal with. I accidentally killed my He Bo in Joust earlier today thanks to the enemy Discordia. She might be my new favorite goddess.

Flighty and Flexible: I can’t think of too many gods I’d like to pair her with to create insane, vexing combos, almost entirely with Strife. Drop it underneath Ares! Lay it down and create a Whirlpool over the top of it and combo with the Kraken! Use it to set up ganks with Ne Zha! Root someone into place/cause Mischief with Thanatos! Her kit can be used not only as a carry in the midlane, I can see her being picked in the duo lane to set up kills for a hyper carry like Hachiman, Hou Yi or (insert your favorite Hunter here).

Persistence is Key: One of the great things about her kit to me is that her mana cost does not seem to be terribly upsetting. Especially with her Erratic Behavior lowering your cooldowns, you can create a lane that cannot be pressured. Pop your 2+1 combo and float to the side with 3, and pop the 2+1 again! You won’t even be out of mana! Not to mention you can apply pressure/farm with the 2! You don’t always have to use it just to trap gods. With careful use of the 3, you can do both in quick succession!

Cons:

Slow Start: Though she does have excellent wave-clear with her kit, her damage is not impressive for the early part of the game. This is why I like her in the duo lane to be frank. She does just enough damage and has enough disruption to be a nuisance. But her mid to late game is frightening. She’s very ability-based, so you want items that compliment that. Without solid items, she’s not going to be a threat. Slow her down at all costs.

Erratic Behavior is NOT an Escape: I repeat, Erratic Behavior is not an escape. You fly a short distance with it, but it does not pass through walls, it doesn’t pass through objects. It’s a very short flight. It’s an incredibly useful, powerful ability. Arguably the key element of her kit, but please do not try to use it to get away. Unless you have incredible movement speed and juke to the side after you hit it, you aren’t escaping anywhere with it.

Her Passive: It’s an interesting thing, and I’m not 100% sure that it’s a con, but her passive only benefits her if she’s got top damage on the team. Sure, it’s a nice idea and can help your allies in a pinch, but you’re a mage! It’s all about you, not some weirdo lurking in the bushes! While not particularly a con, it can feel frustrating to have a Passive that won’t even benefit you until the mid-game at the very earliest, unless you get fed. Your friends are going to be trying to make it stack for them, and not you. It can make a Discordia player become very aggressive and greedy, trying to steal that Passive Buff for themselves. Don’t do it.

Gotta go ham!

Gameplay:

The key to success with Discordia, in my estimation, isn’t about making the huge plays with her ultimate. Sure, in a team fight it can completely swing the situation back into your favor, but the secret is the successful use of her 3. The 3 is the key. I’ve also learned that you should not stress about where the bounce-shots of her 1 will drop. They’re great, but they’re more of a distraction than anything. But you can use them to keep people away. The big damage is off the initial collision, so focus on those. If you think they might dive, aim it short, and let them collide with it. Otherwise, they can fuss and worry about dodging the ricocheting shots. It’s even more efficient in the short corridors because the bounces happen faster. But being able to manipulate your cooldown by firing off the 2+1 combo, then the 3 can really apply more pressure. I know I’ve said it before, but I cannot stress how important I think the Erratic Behavior usage is. Being able to fire off the 2+1, then the 2+1 again before they can respond is incredible. 2+1 is a fantastic combo, and even if you don’t get a hit confirm with the Strife, it can count as wave-clear, or simply lane pressure. It’s not always about dealing tons of damage immediately.

Sometimes it might be simply better to prevent them from going in, or using a leap/initiate to go over it, where the jungler/solo laner might be lurking closer. Your opponent has now lept in, and your jungler won’t have to worry as much about getting close. You can also use Strife to hit-confirm your ultimate. Personally, I like to go 2, 4, 1, and then 3+Auto Attack. You can forgo the 3, but I just like having my 2 and 1 ready to go again ASAP. This utilizes all your buttons and deals heaps of damage. The downside to that her kit requires a lot of precision and accuracy. If you whiff the 2, a lot of that other damage is probably going right down the drain. That’s why I’d definitely pair her with anyone that has a root, CC, or anything that can slow/stop. At the end of the day, you’re a team. Her kit, when used together applies a lot of pressure and burst, and can make a team fight go from “unwinnable” to “Their entire team is dead now, what just happened?” in a few seconds. Stay back, stay calm, and wait for the enemy to clump and engage. I try to treat her as an answer to an initiating enemy team. They come sweeping in, and they either run right into the Strife or your team pincers them from behind. But you have to get to the point where your damage is that terrifying. You absolutely cannot be greedy as Discordia, even when you have your ultimate, Sure, it’s great, as is her entire kit. But once you’ve gone in, there is no way out. I think there are other mages that have far more guaranteed damage, or easier-to-land damage. But none of those feel quite as satisfying as obliterating someone with the Goddess of Strife.

Don’t Stand Still.

Itemization:

As an ability-based character, Discordia needs Magical Power, Magical Penetration, and CDR. These are key, so build around them! There are but a few real mage builds, and personally, I’m not a big fan of “stack” items on mages. It’s not a role I play as much in Conquest, and so I feel they are even riskier on me than normal. Sure, Doom Orb is an amazing, phenomenal item. If you can build those stacks, that’s the end of someone… until you die. Then you have to build the stacks again. However, Book of Thoth is safer and can be considered a “must-buy” in the early game. If you’re behind on gold and can’t afford it, I wouldn’t go for it in the mid-game, but if you can grab it early, do so. Or . . . you can go with the item that’s recently gotten some love, and is way more fun, in Shaman’s Ring! +80 Magical Power and 10% Movement Speed, plus a stack that doesn’t fall off? The Evolved version is glorious. All you have to do is deal damage reliably. In the start of Conquest, I’d probably go with Sands of Time or Soul Stone + Bumba’s, then your pots, etc. In Arena (the better mode, if you ask me), I start to rush absurd things like Spear of Desolation. There are so many options here! One of the items I’ve really been looking at for Discordia is Gem of Isolation too. Sure it just has damage and health (but health is always amazing), the slow can make some of your further damaging abilities that much easier to use.

Conquest: Shoes of the Magi, Chronos’ Pendant, Spear of Desolation, Obsidian Shard, Rod of Tahuti, Shaman’s Ring.

It really all boils down to personal preference, but in my estimation, these are the strongest items in the Mages kit. I mean, sure you can add in a defensive item, like Void Stone. It offers two of the stats you want, plus some health, which is never a bad thing. But I’d start Soul Stone over Sands of Time. It’s about that early waveclear to get to ult faster, and Soul Stone will get you there. That paired with Bumba’s will give Discordia that extra oomph she needs to float on her own two wings! You also want a nice high amount of Penetration+Damage so you can keep your buff for yourself. After all, Artemis doesn’t deserve it, nor does Ares, Hercules or Bellona! It’s all about you. So get that early damage, abuse the other mid, and keep that extra Magical Power. In Arena, I tend to use a very similar build, but I rush weird stuff. With the ability to just run back to base and recover whenever I want, I pick up the early Spear of Desolation and Boots, and get as many assists as I can (because every single person I play with SMITE with is a greedy bastard and you know who you are). For me, relics vary wildly, but I tend to use more Defensive Relics. Aegis, Beads if necessary, Swiftness Boots, whatever put me into position or gets me to safety.

Loki is not the Fairest.

Final Thoughts:

I think it’s time for me to really learn the mid-lane/mage role. I have not had this much fun on a caster, or a non-tank before. Or at least, not since The Morrigan. I said it on stream and I stand by it: I think it’s time to become a Discordia Main. Sure, her early-game damage hasn’t been that great, at least in my estimation. But her kit is incredibly fun, and she’s disruptive, annoying, and fun! I can see her being a force to be reckoned with in the duo lane (with a Hunter mid possibly), possibly even a jungler. I haven’t tried it yet, but with her kit’s ability to reduce two of her cooldowns before items? I can see people at least trying it. Hell, I might try it. No matter what mode, or what lane, Discordia’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. You don’t “spam” her abilities, but you can definitely make sure they’re up almost anytime you have a need for them. I think it’s important for a God to be useful, and nothing is more vexing than feeling like your “favorite god” is outstripped, or is less reliable than others. But so far, no other god can do what Discordia can do. And with the amount of mages in the game right now, that’s an impressive feat. She is the perfect piece for almost any puzzle.

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  • Bravadu

    Her 3 DOES pass through walls, however the range is short and some walls are thicker than her maximum jump range.

  • Bravadu

    Her 3 DOES pass through walls, however the range is short and some walls are thicker than her maximum jump range.