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: Vulcan, God of Fire, is not the most revered god in the Roman pantheon. In fact, Vulcan, who was also said to control the fires of volcanoes, is considered a young god, thus little known. Only being mentioned in the most recent documents of the Roman pantheon.
The later Romans worshipped Vulcan for his control of fire, wielding the dual purpose of destruction and fertilization. In the fear that he may burn foodstuffs, Vulcan was celebrated by Volcanalia in the annual festival of Vulcanalia to placate the God of Fire during the summer heat. The consuming fires wielded by Vulcan were viewed in a beneficial light, as defensive technique against enemies.
His personal origin and origin of his alleged children remain in debate. The latter is the foundation for his reign of fertility (aside from fire being a natural fertilizing act). According to certain lore, Vulcan managed to father his sons, most famously the fire giant Cacus whom was defeated by Hercules, and King Servius Tullius, by impregnating women simply with his spark.
It must have been one hot encounter.
In-Game: Vulcan is a devastating melee magical support tank. Capable of absorbing large amounts of damage, his deployable turrets make the God of Lava and Smoke a very capable laner. In addition to his direct damage fire, the turrets offer additional damage and the ability to slow any god foolish enough to step into their area of effect.
Vulcan is best built as a solid tank. Obtaining tank items with added magical power will allow Vulcan to increase his damage, including his burst, to become even more fearsome when surrounded by his deployables (the first in SMITE). A dash of cooldown reduction gives Vulcan even more to fear by unleashing Volcanic Overload as much as possible.
Further reading:
- Vulcan on Wikipedia
- Roman Mythology on Wikipedia
Head over to SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained for details on all of the playable characters.