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: The ancient Norse word for Ullr translates to “glory” giving the man behind the legend his current term. Unlike many of the other gods of the pantheon Ullr doesn’t have a very defined history. In fact, some scholars do not even consider him a god in the All-Father Odin of the Æsir sense. Nonetheless, he has been depicted in contemporary art and Viking Age art such as the famous Böksta Runestone.
Even the famous epic Norse poems from Sturlson rarely mention the figure. He may not be immensely popular or revered today, but the tales of old do gives us some indication as to his importance. He was in fact a part of the Æsir and not the warring faction of Vanir. His role was primarily that of a bow-god, a favored weapon of the Norse people, and a ski god. Ullr is also closely associated with shields and sleds, a connection likely resulting from shields being early sleds.
Son of Sif and stepson to Thor, Ullr’s deeds and tales have been lost to history.
In-Game: Alright, so he’s clearly a bow god handcuffing his game design a bit. And yet, the SMITE designers created The Glorious One as an aggressive hunter utilizing his depicted prowess as a warrior to create a combined range and melee stalker. Ullr is capable of being far more aggressive than the likes of Neith – who tends to run from battle with her backflip – or Artemis – who dies at a cross eyed look from an enemy. Ullr features high sustainability and is capable of switching between ranged and melee attacks and quickly engaging in hand-to-hand combat.
Despite his differences, Ullr can be built the same as your fundamental ranged Hunter. Grab heavy-hitting items like Deathbringer and The Executioner to lay waste to opponents with the bonus physical damage from a variety of attacks. Your passive reduces cooldowns for the opposing stance as abilities are used making cooldown reduction like Jotunn’s Wrath an enticing selection. If you plan on playing him aggressively pop a Hastened Fatalis and/or Sprint in the mix.
Further reading:
- Ullr 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.