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: Ares is one of the most fearsome gods in the Greek pantheon. One of two legitimate sons of Zeus and Hera, Ares represented the worst parts of war, the physicality and sheer violence. His sister Athena represented the more humane acts of strategy, military intelligence and leadership. Gods large and small tended to stay away from Ares fearing his insatiable appetite for battle. Despite his fearsome reputation, Ares found himself on the losing end of many myths, most notably the Trojan War where military tactics won over violence.
Ares is well-known for his title as the Greek God of War, but has few mythical legends of his own. Instead many of his deeds, often humiliating defeats, are alluded to as part of other myths. One constant is his insatiable lust for being a part of the beast with two backs. He fathered dozens of children, many war gods in their own respect, with Aphrodite and numerous other consorts. The adulterous union with Aphrodite lead to Phobos and Deimos, the personifications of Fear and Terror that road to battle with their father.
Revered by only the war-loving Spartans, Ares represents physical strength, resilience and tactics to those people. Wanting to keep the attributes in their lands, ares is seen chained to the ground in their most famous sculpture.
In-Game: Ares is a magical support tank capable of changing a battle at a moment’s notice. Following his lore, Ares is nearly incapable of escaping most confrontations. This forces players to enrage friendlies with his battle cry or utilizes his numerous debuffs and damaging abilities to force his opponents to succumb to death. And if they do escape the dangers of being in the God of War’s immediate vicinity, No Escape can pull multiple heroes to Ares, stunning and damaging the imbeciles.
Ares gains 40 magical power for each Level 3 aura item equipped, which alludes to his optimal build of support auras. Powerful from start to finish with high native defense, continuing to stack magical power and defensive items will make him a force to be reckoned with late game. A relatively slow character, additional movement speed will enable aggressive players to get perfect position for an ult or clean-up chase downs.
Note: The way his ultimate interacts with other movement-based ultimates, such as Thor, Hades or even Arachne’s facehug, is odd. You’ll need to get used to the drawbacks/benefits until they’re sorted out.
Further reading:
- Ares on Wikipedia
- Greek Mythology on Wikipedia
Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for details on all of the playable characters.
Surprise: Single-use Ultimate God Pack code redeemable in game: GM24ED75167134484