SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive backstory 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: Squirrels, squirrels all types of squirrels. They’re beasts that cover the world finding their niche in the canopies from the deciduous to coniferous. In Norse mythology there was one tree to rule them all, the World Tree known as Yggdrasil. Even the epitome of regrowth couldn’t escape the clingy critters. Ratatoskr traversed the ash day and night spreading the word of those in the massive ecological environment supported by the tree that reached to the heavens.
Specific mentions in the Norse poetics focus on his conversations with a nameless eagle atop Yggdrasil, which are then relayed to Níðhöggr, a wyrm that makes its living within the three roots of the World Tree. Ratatoskr represents our penchant for embellishment and talking behind someone’s back. An assumed trait of the local red squirrel that screams in alarm upon spotting danger.
Oddly enough, the designers of SMITE have selected another deity with little backstory. Typically reserved for the poorly documented Maya pantheon, this is the first from the large throng of Norse mythology. I’m fairly convinced this was adopted for the ridiculous cuteness factor. Well, at least its not the shortest lore entry for this column.
In-Game: Ratatoskr was dubbed the Sly Messenger by SMITE designers and given a kit similar to that of the best known trickster god Loki. The melee assassin is the first character that begins the match by spawning an acorn of Yggrasil in his inventory. This upgradeable acorn acts as the character’s passive ability, which includes being upgradeable from anywhere on the map. Acorns play a role in most of his abilities extending his reach beyond your typical melee assassin kit.
Great Ratatoskr players will deliver damage to numerous characters along with those messages. To perform adequately players need to maximize physical damage to gain full power of the percentage buffs from abilities. White damage progression matters as well making hybrid damage and attack power, like Deathbringer, Witchblade or Jotunn’s Wrath items easy targets. Feel free to play with alternative to fit your playstyle by swapping in Transcendence, Rage or boost those protections with a Bulwark of Hope.
Further reading:
- Ratatoskr on Wikipedia
- Norse Mythology on Wikipedia
- Poetic Edda by Snorri Sturluson
- Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson
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Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for details on all of the playable characters.