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?