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’ new MOBA.
Lore: Rama, like Vamana, is an avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu. Considered by those that worship Hinduism to be the personification of a perfect man, Rama is one of the most famous of the ten avatars rivaled only by Krishna. Sita, Rama’s wife and an avatar of Lakshmi, is equally revered as the embodiment of perfect womanhood.
Born to Kausalya and Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya, Rama was set to take the throne after his father. Following the teachings of Dharma, Rama understood that he must fight through life, its trials, tribulations, pains and losses like those he’d eventually lead. To that end, he abandoned the claim to the throne and went into exile to serve a fourteen year sentence. Rama was not without company joined by his wife and brother, Lakshmana. And their time wasn’t without tragedy.
Ravana, a monarch of Lanka, kidnapped Sita from under the care of the brothers. Distraught, Rama searched high and low for his perfect wife. After an arduous search Rama locates Ravana, but he’s surrounded himself with a powerful army. Without fear, Rama entered the fray, a monstrous battle featuring weapons of mass destruction with powerful and magical beings fighting for both sides. Ravana proved no match for Rama dieing at his vengeful hands in singles combat, which liberated Sita. His fourteen-year exile now complete, Rama returns to take the throne, become emperor and lead a prosperous period known as Rama Rajya.
The seventh avatar of Vishnu is featured in countless stories, strifes and tales of war. See below for additional reading, including the famous Hindu epic revolving around Rama.
In-Game: Rama is designed as the first hunter for the Hindu pantheon. A range physical character, the seventh avatar plays quite differently from Artemis or Neith by utilizing high attack speed and aggressive mobility. Astral arrows are a consumable generated by the Perfect Man’s passive on basic attacks or dropped by those that have been assaulted by his bow. Consumed to slow enemies and award bonus damage, the character uses no mana for this strike. Rationing these arrows and timing them with rolls and his attack speed bonus will make your Rama a formidable opponent.
Most of Rama’s abilities work with his Astral arrows, either consuming or creating them. Yet no ability receives bonus damage from physical items. Despite this, his high attack speed makes up for the static damage on abilities. Increasing power and speed will cause Rama to be the bane of anyone caught off guard. Power items like Deathbringer and The Executioner are a must, but you’d be remiss to skip over Hastened Fatalis, which enables its owner to keep firing as he chases without succumbing to the movement penalty. Sneaking in lifesteal is a viable alternative if you don’t mind losing some power.
Further reading:
- Rama on Wikipedia
- Hindu Mythology on Wikipedia
- Hindu epic poem Ramayana
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Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for details on all of the playable characters.