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: This is certainly an oddity. The Maya culture is rich in lore, well studied and documented, yet the details for Hun-Batz remain, if not scarce, then incredibly divergent. Long revered by the Mayans, howler monkeys were venerated as the Spanish began their invasion of South America. It’s during this time that the lore, be it multiple paths, gods or a single story, declined. Darn Spanish.
What is known is that a Howler Monkey God was a staple deity in Mayan culture. One thread that remains – see Further Reading – includes the Maya Hero Twins. It’s told that Hun-Chowen and Hun-Batz clashed with Xbalanque and Hunahpu. The conflict hasn’t stood the test of time but the end is the Maya Hero Twins transforming Hun-Chowen and Hun-Batz, their half brothers, into the Howler Monkey Gods that were the patrons of artists and scribes.
In-Game: Like Sun Wukong before him, Hun Batz takes advantage of a core group of items available to players in SMITE. A physical melee fighter with solid sustained damage and fully capable of chasing down targets, Batz excels at cleaning up or initiating skirmishes thanks to his leap and the modified AoE disable that damages as well. Capable of chasing down most heroes natively, adding damage and attack speed to the Howler Monkey god will make him a deadly foe in singles or group combat. Beware his relatively low HP.
Be sure to grab Warrior Tabi to start, select your path based on your playstyle. You’ve little reason to need to increase your speed. Instead, focus on increasing the amount of damage Hun Batz can do natively with the likes of Deathbringer and augment attack speed to gain the maximum benefit of his passive. Executioner fits that bill.
Further reading:
- Hun Batz on Wikipedia
- Maya Mythology on Wikipedia
- Popol Vuh (PDF)
Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for details on all of the playable characters.