28 November 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
According to a recent forum post by HiRezShadowCouncil, the developer is working hard to implement a guild system into SMITE. The exact title of the system has not been solidified – Tribe (lulz), Sect, Order, Cult – yet we’ve early details on what to expect. And they’re exciting.
Whatever it ends up being named, it’s not going to be an empty bulletpoint to add to the website’s feature list. The system will possess your typical clan expectations, like membership management including ranks and tags. Clan members will earn bonuses for being a part of a clan, such as additional Favor. Clans can also flag members as ranked ready, enabling them to represent the clan in an upcoming Clan vs Clan ranking system. Ranked-ready and players without the flag can gain clan benefits.
Hi-Rez Studios continues to push the expectations gamers can have with the MOBA genre. Many other studios have discussed multiple game modes, guild systems and extra maps. Still in closed beta, SMITE already has three game modes, with a fourth well along the way, and now a guild system.
27 November 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
Keep looking for that code!
SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindu, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming MOBA.
Lore: Unlike everyone’s favorite cherub, Bacchus is not the better known of the Greek versus Roman gods. The renaming of Dionysus by the Romans is so little known that Wikipedia, purveyor of topics important and mundane, doesn’t even have a unique page for the Roman incarnation. That’s not a knock on the importance of the God of the Grape Harvest, Wine, Ritual Madness and Ecstasy. After all, aside from military prowess and early democracy, we all know how important parties were to these cultures.
Bacchus was viewed as a liberator of those that followed him. Freeing them from social norms, stigmas and oppressive restraints through his bakkheia frenzy. Wielding his thyrsus, a staff tipped by a honey-dipped pine cone and wound in ivy, Bacchus used the staff for beneficial and combative purposes. Through his imbibed female followers, the maenads, Bacchus was viewed as a divine communicator between the living and the dead planes. Swarmed by his female followers and their male counterparts, the rotund and bald Sileni, Bacchus was a traveling party. Continue Reading
26 November 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
SMITE has been in Closed Beta testing since the summer. Actually, how about we put that in quotes, considering the “Closed Beta” now has over 800,000 registered users. During this time, Hi-Rez Studios has routinely fine-tuned the game, from small balance changes to revamping entire gods, introducing new, uncommon MOBA game modes or messing with Abilities. As revealed by Hi-Rez Studios Community Manager Brandon Dukes, the changes are part corporate innovation, part customer requests.
Just days after that interview took place, the development studio sent out the latest survey. Let’s dive in and see if we can’t divine a glimpse into the future of SMITE.
The questionnaire only posits nine questions, but a handful of them revolve around two defining ideas, character design balance and overall game direction. Hi-Rez is picking at the playerbase to see which roles we like best, those clearly defined in the holy trinity or hybrid characters capable of being built to fit the situation. Hybrids offer far more strategic options, and are thus more interesting to me, but they can lead to hairy situations and high learning curves at the lower-to-mid tier level.
God design is no minor feature, but Hi-Rez asked a few pointed questions on the direction of SMITE as a whole; preference of it’s core gamemodes. Domination goes unmentioned, but the survey puts Arena against Conquest and action versus strategy (again, Arena versus Conquest) directly against each other. Should the responses go in overwhelming favor or Arena and action, players could see a reduction in Conquest focus. Unlikely, but possible.
What do you favor?
20 November 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
I don't know about Mordil, but I plan on using this lush.
Hi-Rez Studios is at it again, unveiling another game mode for SMITE. The company hasn’t divulged much information on Domination, but that’s going to change in mere moments. Hi-Rez Studios has invited the press to participate in the mode’s unveiling – Lore Hound included – during today’s SMITE stream.
We’ve donned bells.
Tune in to the Hi-Rez Studios Twitch TV channel at 3:00 PM EST to watch as iTZKooPA and Mordil try their hand at a completely unknown game mode.
Perhaps we’ll get a crash course before the stream begins. At the moment, all we have to go on is this:
The Arena mode which we released about two weeks ago has been a huge hit with the community, and next Tuesday November 20th we are inviting press to play a special sneak peek of our upcoming Domination mode.
You guess is as good as mine. We’re not prepared. The stream is now after the cut! Continue Reading
15 November 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
Teased yesterday before HiRezBart’s SMITE streaming session, Hi-Rez Studios has now fully unveiled the Roman god Bacchus. Only the second god to enter the battlefield from the Roman pantheon, Bacchus was worshipped as the God of Wine. Doing battle with his trusty thyrsus staff *cough* a leg of meat and jug of wine, the plump Bacchus is a melee magical tank.
His abilities rely on his state of intoxication. Each normal ability gains additional effects, including debuffs, disables or buffing himself. Given the art style, character design and combat effectiveness, I couldn’t have been more incorrect in my three lore-based design guesses.
Expect Bacchus to be playable soon, possibly as early as tomorrow, November 15, 2012. Hit the jump for the official God Reveal and ability details of Bacchus.
We’ll have a lore treatment for you next week. Odd that his namesake pine-cone-topped staff wasn’t used…
Continue Reading
14 November 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
Just moments ago, HiRezBart, the eSports Manager for Hi-Rez Studios, teased the latest god heading to the fields of combat in SMITE, Bacchus. The adopted name by Romans for Dionysus, the Greek god of ritual madness and ecstasy, Bacchus could be developed multiple ways. It’ll be interesting to see which way Hi-Rez goes with the god of winemaking, wine and the grape harvest.
Based on his lore, Bacchus could easily be given three uniquely different roles. A generic support role featuring a multitude of disables, given his penchant for distracting others with his parties. A mind-control mage role that hasn’t been seen in SMITE yet. Or even more uncommon to the MOBA universe at large, a minion summoner, thanks to Bacchus commonly being followed by a procession (he brings his own party).
What’s your guess?
Regardless of who turns out to be correct, we won’t have to wait long. HiRezBart will be unveiling Bacchus as part of today’s 3:00 PM EST SMITE stream.
Stay tuned!
14 November 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
“OP!” It’s a call every MOBA player is familiar with. Often levied on new champions, gods, avatars, what have you, the fist-shaking declaration is nothing new to gaming. Certain weapons in FPS games, rush strategies in RTS titles or pixel-perfect combo links in fighters, the cries of “overpowered” have been with gaming since Lawrence Taylor crushed quarterbacks in Super Tecmo Bowl. Likely before. The derisive comment is simultaneously a cry of agony and complaint against imbalance. Yet, in the case of today’s popular massive online battle arena titles, it’s often misplaced, misdirected and inaccurate.
Be it League of Legends, SMITE, DotA 2 or Heroes of Newerth, champions aren’t natively OP at release. Once the rage subsides, think on the points after the jump. A combination of them is likely the cause of your avatar’s recent demise, not a game designers inability to get things right. They may feel OP, but they aren’t. Continue Reading
6 November 2012 | |
iTZKooPA
SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindu, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming MOBA.
Lore: Loki is arguably the best known antagonist of any pantheon. Rarely encroaching upon the gray area of good and evil, The Trickster is the recurring antagonist of the Norse pantheon. Originally a more neutral god, Loki sealed his fate as an evildoer when he arranged the death of Baldr. Capable of shapeshifting, the easier to deceive his prey, Loki has swam as a salmon, flown as a fly and walked the earth as an elderly women.
Loki was not highborn like some others of his repute. However, his seed was sown into history through the two-sided Hel, giant wolf Fenrir and the world serpent Jörmungandr. His laundry list of dastardly acts made his own entry into legend assured.
Continue Reading
