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: A product of Cronus and Rhea, Poseidon, along with his four siblings – Zeus, Hades, Demeter, Hestia and Hera – is one of the twelve major deities of the Greek pantheon. While Poseidon came from a relatively modest sized family, he did not subscribe to the same notion. The God of the Oceans spread his love from sea to shining sea, from his sister Demeter to a host of unknown consorts and a handful of male partners. The acts of the seafaring god left dozens of children in his wake, those born of normal, or in the case of Chrysaor, more supernatural ways.
Most of his lore involves chasing tail. Outside these tales, which can turn to the devious, he’s largely perceived as a “good” god. Yet, he has his faults, including being a part of Hera’s scheme to overthrow Zeus. The failed plot caused his brother to temporarily strip Poseidon of his power. During this time Poseidon toiled away constructing a giant wall for King Laomedon of Troy. Laomedon refused to pay the deity for his work winning the City of Troy a visit by a sea monster.
Charisma aside, Poseidon, like the rest of his siblings, nearly perished upon birth. Cronus, the incredibly insecure early leader of the Greek pantheon, swallowed him and his siblings at birth, save Zeus. The God of Thunder and the Skies saved his siblings and eventually overthrew his father. The most powerful realms were split between the brothers; Zeus controlling the sky, Hades the ever important underworld and Poseidon the seas. In this role, Poseidon controls all that the oceans touch, including its creatures and the power to unleash earthquakes.
In-Game: Poseidon is a magical ranged character with great laning and support capabilities. Built as a mage version of Bacchus, he gains additional damage and movement speed by increasing his Tide meter. The meter is fed by landed basic attacks, including the spread shots created by his Trident ability. Riding swiftly on his own tide, Poseidon uses his power of the seas to knockback, pull together or stun his foes all the while doing damage as part of the debuff.
Keeping the Tide meter maxed is paramount to an offensive Poseidon. Currently, SMITE isn’t itemized with attack speed items possessing Magical Power, giving Poseidon a potentially less optimized build. For now, Poseidon should be built as a pure mage. His innate high survivability means the focus should be on increasing Magical Power and Penetration with a splash of Cooldown Reduction to unleash the pain. Grab items like Rod of Tahuti, Warlock’s Sash and Boots of the Magic. A Polynomicon may be an interesting item to make use of as well.
Further reading:
- Poseidon on Wikipedia
- Poseidon on Theoi
- Greek Mythology on Wikipedia
Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for details on all of the playable characters.