Earlier today Hi-Rez Studios put the Norse trickster live on the Closed Beta servers. After teasing the new god and the “megapatch” itself over the course of the week, they’re both playable after a rather hefty 200+ MB patch. The addition of Loki brings the Norse pantheon up to six playable gods and the grand total to 26. Hi-Rez Studios plans on launching at 30 gods, so there’s just four more expected.
Loki is all well and good, but not megapatch could ride upon a single god’s shoulders. The MOBA is receiving yet-another new mode with this patch, adding an Arena option to Joust and the standard MOBA laning mode, now known as ‘Conquest.’ Arena games are anticipated to last a short 15 minutes, making it bit-sized SMITE gameplay when you’re in a time crunch but still need your fix. In other pure content news, a pair of basic skins have been added, one for Loki and a fitting guise for the fire god Agni.
There aren’t many god-based buffs or debuffs in this patch. Hi-Rez Studios instead focused on balancing purchasable abilities. Rounding out the current crop are Reveal and Turn Minions. Reveal does not allow you to look anywhere, instead it grants the user with larger visual range on the minimap. Turn Minions allows the caster to mind control enemy minions. Both abilities offer benefits while on cooldown. Reveal gives a 12% increase to ward vision and Turn Minions buffs all nearby friendlies with +20 magical and physical protection. Over half a dozen abilities were altered in this patch.
Hit the jump for the full patch notes and learn about all the gods at the SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained column.
New Game Mode:
ARENA
- The gladiators have called for help, and the gods have answered. The Arena game mode is a brawling deathmatch where your goal is to defeat enemy players and their minions by reducing their team ticket count to 0. Average game time is around 15 minutes.
New Skins:
- Loki – Ssslither
- Agni – Volcanic
Items
Abilities
- All abilities now have a passive component that is only active when the ability is on cooldown.
- All abilities have been priced at 700 gold.
New Abilities
- Reveal – Using this item gives you vision of a larger area on the minimap for 5 seconds. While on cooldown, wards you have placed see 12% farther. Cooldown – 60s.
- Turn Minions – Using this item allows you to turn enemy minions to fight for you. While on cooldown, nearby minions within 20 feet gain +20 magical and physical protection. Cooldown – 180s.
Changed Abilities
- Purification Beads – Using this item removes stuns, fears, silences, and mesmerizes from you while making you immune to new ones for 2s. While on cooldown, durations to those effects are reduced by 20%. Cooldown – 90s. [Pulls are no longer removed with this item]
- Creeping Curse – Using this item reduces all enemies ground speed by 35% in a 35 foot radius around you for 5 seconds. While on cooldown, nearby enemies are slowed by 10%. Cooldown – 90s.
- Heavenly Agility – Using this item buffs all allies ground speed by 35% in a 35 foot radius around you for 5 seconds. While on cooldown, increases nearby allies ground speed by 10%. Cooldown – 60s.
- Aegis Amulet – Using this item makes you invulnerable to damage and effects for 2s, preventing you from taking action. While on cooldown, you gain an additional +20 physical and magical protection. Cooldown – 90s. [You can no longer be pulled when invulnerable]
- Sprint – Using this item gives the you a +35% movement speed buff for 14 seconds and makes you immune to slows. While on cooldown, you passively gain +10% movement speed. Cooldown – 210s.
- Meditation – Using this item heals the owner’s mana by 75% of their maximum mana. While on cooldown, you gain +15 MP5. Cooldown – 180s.
- Girdle of Might – Using this item gives all allied gods in the area a +20 Physical and +35 Magical Power buff for 10 seconds. While on cooldown, you gain an additional +10 Physical and +15 Magical Power. Cooldown – 120s.
- Hand of the Gods – Using this item damages nearby enemy minions, jungle camps and the Minotaur. While on cooldown, your basic attacks on minions deal +20 damage and heal you for +10 health. Cooldown – 90s.
- Intensify Defenses – Using this item gives a nearby structure attack speed, damage and forces it to target enemy gods for 10s. While on cooldown, nearby structures gain +20 physical protection. Cooldown – 90s.
General Features:
- The “Normal” gamemode (featuring a three-lane map surrounded by a jungle area with bases on each end) has been renamed “Conquest”.
- You now have 10 seconds to sell back the last purchased item at full cost.
- All queues now have an informative panel describing the game mode. The general UI for joining matches is planned to get a major overhaul in future patches.
- The minotaur now breaks down deployables instead of just passing through them.
- Minions now have an upper body hit reaction when they get damaged. Minion hit reactions are being tweaked in general and will likely undergo additional changes in future patches.
Hud
- Loki has a special scrolling combat text graphic for a successful backstab.
Gods:
Freya
Valkyrie’s Discretion
- This ability now properly removes roots from Freya.
Sobek
Charge Prey
- This ability no longer goes through enemy minions.
Ares
Blessed Presence
- Is not affected by active item auras (Store Abilities).
Bug Fixes:
- Bastet jump back cooldown issue on interrupt is fixed.
- Freya – Valkyries’s Discretion – Arachne needs to be knocked off when Freya ascends
- He Bo and Sobek no longer ignore deployables / obstructions during their ultimates
Loki is awesome. I break him. Went 17-1-5 in Conquest, and in the practice round I was able to buff him up to 380 physical power, critting for 1300 frequently, and 980 when I wasn’t.
The new Arena mode is less of a deathmatch and more of a “Protect your minions, 5 man lane”. It definitely is a SUPER aggressive mode, though. At least, that’s how I play it. I’ve played only as Loki, and I always get the highest kills & deaths on my team because of how aggressive I am, versus my team.
Oh I thought Arena was more of an FFA mode from the description.
No, not even close. You start out at level 3, with 2000 gold. You gain 8 gold per second (instead of 2 in Conquest). There’s a round room as the base, with two exits, and 2 phoenixs (killable) guarding the exits. If you go into the enemies’ base, it deals instant massive damage.
500 points for each team. Killing an enemy minion is -1 for the enemy, with killing a phoenix being -5(or 10, can’t remember, it rarely happens), and -5 for enemy gods.
If you get your minions to the enemies’ base, they despawn and do another -1 to the enemy’s counter. First to 0 loses. It’s a small arena, that’s an open colosseum.
There’s buff mobs on both sides (identical, reversed), minus Fire Giant, Gold Fury, and Movement Speed buff.