SMITE – My Assassins
Ah, my adorable little killing machines… How I love you so. Assassin was the first role I played in SMITE and it remains my most played according to the stats. I’ve always been a fan of the glass cannon play style in any game. There’s something about the stakes of having low health but huge damage and mobility that just ticks all the right boxes for me. Perfecting the art of seizing opportunity and judging when to execute your plan on the fly is as much fun as the elimination and getaway itself. So I decided to inform you all about my three personal favourite hug-givers, whether you like it or not, before I move onto my fourth assassin! I wouldn’t argue if I were you, they don’t take criticism very well…
“If you come any closer, I’ll rip you to shreds!”
Fenrir – Fenrir’s my baby… He’s the reason I started playing SMITE, he’s the first god I got to diamond*, he’s the first god I got a godlike with (x13 kills without a death) and the first god I got a penta kill with, as seen above. He’s like a coiled spring, ready to leap into the fray in an instant with a growl like a hellhound and claws like daggers. The distance and damage of his pounce are great, his howl buffs his lifesteal and power which can give him the edge to win a duel, his brutalise ability locks him to a god and matches their ground speed, even when dashing, which allows for constant pressure and his ultimate, Ragnarök, allows him to shift to a fraction of his fabled size and clench an enemy god between his jaws, dragging them kicking and screaming wherever he pleases. For me, nothing is funnier than dragging a tank into spawn and watching them disintegrate via the spawn protection.
(*AKA Mastery X. Obtained by reaching 1000 worshipers. You typically get +8 worshipers for a victory. This unlocks the option to purchase the shiny diamond skin, which I’ve done with all three of these fine fellows!)
Ratatoskr – What a strange path Ratatoskr has been on. On release, he was broken. He was then nerf hammered into oblivion. It was at that time I started playing him and yet I still enjoyed his unique play style and the challenge of playing an underpowered god. Then he was reworked again to simplify his weird design. Then he was broken again. Then he got nerf hammered into just being “good”. So, it took a while, but he’s finally in a decent place. I really like Ratatoskr’s twitchy play style, he’s hard to pin down between his dash (which slows on impact), his acorn blast (which stuns if all three connect) and his ultimate which allows him to pursue or escape across HUGE distances. Flurry is basically just a nice finisher move. It spins in a circle reducing physical protections, but otherwise is unremarkable. Also, he’s cute and fwuffy like Fenrir… Hey, don’t judge, it’s an invaluable trait!
“Ah, weak gods! My favourite type of food!”
Bakasura – While he doesn’t have the cute credentials of his compadres, he shares their unrelenting bloodthirst. What I love about Bakasura (affectionately known as “Baka-chan”) is he’s an all-or-nothing type character. He’s one of the weakest assassins in the game due to his lack of crowd control. The only CC he has is a cripple and slow on his ultimate. But if you begin to snowball as him, you become an avalanche. Dicing the enemy into ribbons in a frenzy of lightning-fast attacks, leaving nothing but a smoky, purple haze. His jump removes 20 physical protection on hit, he can swallow minions whole to heal himself and butcher blades gives him true damage on his basic attacks, which is the major source of his power. His ultimate projectile vomits out a circle and up to six previously eaten minions while your basic attacks become a cone. Sure, you could play Kali or Arachne, but they’re boring and Bakasura’s too much damn fun.
So, that was a brief look into the life of my rabid animal collection professional, cold-blooded assassins. After so much bloodshed, it’s time for them to retire. Except for special occasions, of course. Although I’ll miss their service, I finally decided on who will be the special individual to fill the void. Glad I did too, after all that time it was driving me batty.