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.
Closely associated with the Roman god Liber, meaning “the free one,” they’re stories and those of Dionysus became closely intertwined and are nearly indistinguishable.
In-Game: Sticking with what will likely be the Roman pantheon’s modus operandi, Hi-Rez Studios has exaggerated Bacchus’ lore for some jocular gameplay. Players are given an Animal Party incarnation of the god, beer muscles, belching, in your face attitude and graceless movement included. A magical melee tank (albeit unexpected), Bacchus needs to keep Chug going at all times to maximize his passive, making him mana and cooldown dependant early.
Not capable of being a worthy hybrid character, Bacchus is most easily, and likely best, played as a pure tank. Grab your Reinforced Boots for CC reduction and then focus on Magical Power and defense items. Speed debuffs or personal speed buffs are excellent secondary attributes to focus on. This will enable Bacchus to leverage his many CC skills to disrupt and kill opponents while he absorbs the brunt of their pathetic efforts.
Further reading:
- Bacchus on Wikipedia
- Roman Mythology on Wikipedia
There is an Artemis Convention 2012 skin code hidden in this article. First come, first served.
Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for details on all of the playable characters.
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