If you're hunting for some of the best SMITE 2 tips to give you a headstart in the recently launched Alpha, you've come to the right place. SMITE 2 may seem familiar to those who sunk countless hours into the original, but under the hood there are plenty of changes that make it a fresh experience.

So we asked our community of SMITE veterans - many of whom have been playing in SMITE 2 closed-Alpha weekends before the launch of the 24/7 servers - to share their knowledge! We received a plethora of entries with top tips ranging from damage types and tactics to specific god advice and understanding the various modes. Without further ado, here are our top SMITE 2 tips:

Don't try to learn too many gods simultaneously

BN_Bears suggests taking your time to learn the basics. More specifically, they say you should "select a small handful of gods to learn and stick to them for a while, so you don't have to keep learning entirely new abilities. You should also learn the basics, then after a while turn off auto-buy, and learn how items work and interact with the various kits."

bigaus16 agrees with the auto-build suggestion, explaining that "you can build however you want, but to begin with, just utilise the auto-builds and have fun. Unlike SMITE 1, all gods are role agnostic now!"

Play the Practice and Arena modes before Conquest

SMITE 2 encourages you to jump straight into Conquest because that's the flagship mode, but it's also the competitive mode. Instead, blagdorfinguy suggests that you should familiarise yourself with your chosen god's abilities in Practice, then play Arena to learn the ins and outs of the game. Blagdorfinguy explains that even if you've come straight from SMITE 1, "you may find something has changed with your god and jumping into Conquest without some practice is a fast track to burnout."

Voulg shares this sentiment, explaining the "premade builds are pretty good, so once you learn a few gods, you can move to Conquest." Sturmer recommends the same, as you can play against AI opponents in Arena, and you should prepare adequately with research beforehand.

Learn how damage types work

Sadger reckons the most important thing to understand when playing SMITE 2 is damage types:

"Gods do either physical or magical damage, yet can still build any item they want. This is very important to understand, because it can help new players learn how to have flexible item builds and balanced team compositions. While recommended items are helpful, knowing different gods’ damage types can help new players to build defensive items to deal with their lane opponent or whatever enemy god is currently the most dangerous.

"Knowing this may also help new players to create their own offensive item builds, such as building intelligence items on Anubis and slotting in items that give both intelligence and a defensive stat depending on their opponent, or building hybrid items on gods like Neith that have good strength and intelligence scaling."

ViValsteri echoed this by saying you should "check player builds throughout the game to see not only who is getting kills and doing the most damage, but also what type of damage they are looking to bolster.

Gold wins games

Sadger followed that up with another tip: gold wins games. "Knowing how to kill minions and jungle camps safely can help keep you useful in the game, and looking to fight when you do have a gold advantage (and subsequently an item advantage) is the next step. Learning how to use the in-game VGS (voice guided system) is super helpful, and I would recommend learning the attack and enemy missing commands as soon as possible, which can help with communicating ganks and doing objectives."

Use the right controller settings

One for console players or anyone using a controller on PC: make sure you have your controller settings set up correctly! ChrisTDickson has created an entire video going into detail on the best settings, as he says it's "incredibly important".

Expect the unexpected

blagdorfinguy next top tip is to essentially not take anything for granted until you know what build your foe is running. "Expecting a big tanky Ymir in duo lane? Watch out! Crit Ymir’s can now come in swinging from the jungle! Check your enemy’s build in your lane and adjust your positioning accordingly."

Cooldown vs penetration

Blagdorfinguy's next tip is to "build your cooldown percentage early and your penetration late! Even if you're copying a build from elsewhere, the order of necessity can change how fed you are and either leave you - or more ideally - your enemies playing catch up all game."

Junglers should share buffs, use their relic quickly, and (sometimes) play selfishly

Fancy playing as a jungler? Willios has three quickfire tips for you to keep in mind:

• "Always try to share blue and red buffs with your laners as they may need it more to manage their solo or duo lanes.

• Use your jungler relic as soon as possible if you don't plan on invading soon - the earlier the better!

• You don't always want to help a losing lane. Sometimes, you should leave them to handle it themselves because you can put your efforts behind a winning lane, which allows it to snowball and edge closer to the victory."

Hiding in the grass

The ability to hide in the long grass from enemies is new to SMITE 2, but did you know you can also de-aggro minions this way too? This tip comes from Jungleandy, who also revealed…

Enemies can contest the War Horn

…that there is a timer to capture the War Horn in the solo lane, and during this window, the enemy can contest it. So make sure you don't leave it unguarded!

Pay attention to the minimap

Dadnaya explains that "in SMITE 2, it’s very important to keep an eye on the minimap at all times. It can tell you where enemies and allies are, and if you see a lane without an enemy in it - at which point you should call out 'missing!' to your teammates - they may be coming to attack you or your team with a gank."

Make sure you buy Sunder every time

DiscoFerry and Elech are on the same wavelength because they both have the exact same tip: buy Sunder.

DiscoFerry: "Sunder is an absurdly overpowered relic and you should be buying it every game over blink, especially if you're playing support. The 1000 instant true damage on camps and jungle bosses means that any Sunder vs no Sunder matchup is just a full game of free camp invades, naga secures, gold fury/fire giant secures and steals. It's a massive disadvantage not having a sunder on the team."

Elech: "The biggest tip right now, especially for junglers, is to buy Sunder! The item is basically the original Hand of the Gods. It steals an executes farm and it's so easy to get a lead. Farming rather than fighting is always overlooked in lower level SMITE. Farm first, fight later when you have a 2-3 level lead."

Roles, casting type, movement abilities, and wave farming

Alongside Voulg's earlier tip about playing Arena mode before Conquest, they also have three more essential bits of advice:

• "The easiest roles to pick up first are either Solo Lane or ADC (attack damage carry). You should use the auto-builds as they're pretty good in SMITE 2, but you can watch content creators to get advice on builds if you need to.

• Change your casting type to be quick or instant and turn off double tap to confirm an ability, because it will allow you to be faster and more responsive.

• Don't use your movement abilities to enter fights; save them to get out instead, because they're best used as escape tools when you're unsure if you'll survive. Don't chase a kill, playing it safe is almost always the smarter move.

• Finally, wave farm is the most important thing on the map. Don't miss any if you can help it!"

Kills don't win games

A rather holistic tip comes from ProdigalStatius who lives by one SMITE 2 mantra: kills are not the primary objective.

"You don't win by having more kills, you win by destroying the opposing Titan. Kills are always a means to an end, not an end in themselves. So if you force an opponent to go back to base and steal their farm or get an objective, that can be just as valuable as a kill. Remember, don't chase kills without a purpose."

Gain the advantage by avoiding combat

MrMythos explains that as a new player, you should play passively where possible so you can "pick up good habits from those around you." He says that in Conquest, "it can be really easy to succumb to the desire to constantly fight, but if you're new, you might find yourself on the losing side of those battles more and more. I recommend looking for non-confrontational ways to get a leg up on your opponent. For example, you could make a smooth rotation for the Queen Naga. Be on constant watch for when your buffs and jungle camps come up so you can try to fit them in between waves so you don't lose wave experience. There are so many ways to play this game besides fighting, even though fighting may seem like the only way forward."

Use teamwork to be aggressive

While MrMythos explained kills aren't the only way forward, which is absolutely true, sometimes you do need to be aggressive when the situation calls for it. Feddboii sheds light on how this is best done as a team:

"SMITE 2 rewards players who take the fight to the enemy. Whether it's a 1v1 in lane or a team gank, don't be afraid to take chances and put the onus on the enemy team to play against you. If you're down in level or gold, stay aggressive. Always apply pressure. Is someone on their team at an especially high level? Group up and shut them down. Play together. Be active, communicate the plan, and commit with your teammates. The current meta rewards players for playing together and working towards similar goals instead of operating individually to win a game."

Azurawulf also mentioned the importance of teamwork: "Callouts are great. Don't auto-lock; be willing to play gods other than your main. You have to be the bigger person sometimes and help the team out."

Use bushes, go for buffs, and always ward

If you're filling the ADC role, ViewtifulBellTTV has three top tips in their video:

Accept death

Suttonic wants to stress one thing: "You are going to die. A lot." SMITE 2 is a complicated game to get into as a newbie thanks to the "item system, god scaling, and game mechanics", so "it isn't feasible to improve without making mistakes. Focus on what works, what doesn't and keep it fresh."

Read up on your favourite gods

JHenckes submitted a bunch of great tips, a number of which we've covered already which shows just how important they are, but in a non-gameplay piece of advice, they recommend reading up on the god you're maining. Every god in SMITE 2 comes from real-life mythology, so they explain "it adds a cool layer to the game when you know the stories behind the characters."

Clear harpy camps whenever possible

Harpy camps - the AI mobs in the jungle - are great sources of experience points, so you should kill them whenever you can, explains Snowie. "They give so much XP it can really help you catch up or outpace your lane, even if you just take one camp every other time you go back from base. If you notice your jungle isn't doing them, yoink it! It's so much XP just sitting there."

Death's Toll is a must-have

FusedEclipse rates the auto-build system for attackers, but recommends manually building as soon as you're comfortable. This is because you can pick up Death's Toll. "It feels so much better in my opinion and has helped me survive so much more with the upgraded passive and health."

Read item descriptions

AsDeEspadas1's top tip is mostly aimed at returning players from SMITE 1, who may think they know everything there is to know about items:

"Take the time to read each description and try every item to understand and learn how they work, because they've changed from the first game. Many of them must be triggered with a specific key, while others have changed their effect."

Customise your card art

There's nothing better than showing off your accomplishments in multiplayer games, which is what Scylla's top tip is all about. "In the loadout section you can add trackers and badges to card art before the match starts to show off what you like. You can even add any mastery border effect to another god!"

Pick a god that looks cool and watch pro gameplay

If you're unsure which god to play, there's no better choice than the one you think looks the coolest because at the end of the day, if you enjoy playing them, you'll likely stick with the game for longer. Weenyz explains that even though "SMITE games can be overwhelming at first, you shouldn’t put too much pressure on yourself to learn everything straight away. You should pick a god that looks cool and jump right in!

"Once you get comfortable and feel like really diving in, I recommend looking for YouTube guides and gameplay videos. There are loads of great players and creators in the community who make awesome videos, so be on the lookout for those. When I wanted to get better at SMITE, I would watch hours upon hours of pros playing, then jump in-game after and try to emulate their plays."

Alucard agrees with this advice, explaining that their process is to watch videos, read about the various mechanics and builds, then use forums and social media to ask questions to more experienced players. Then they choose the god they think looks the most fun to play, and put all they've learned into practice to try and apply the theory. Simple, right?

Take your time and enjoy yourself

In a heartwarming tip aimed at complete newcomers to the SMITE community, sopita says the best piece of advice is simply "to have fun", because "all of us are learning the game for the first time, and we're all hoping to meet new people and help them feel safe.” They continue:

“I really think that the SMITE community is pretty cool. As a player, you feel free to ask everything you need to know, you don't feel bad if you don't win, and you can focus on learning everything about this new iteration of the game. So go learn about builds, god mechanics, and enjoy your matches. Good luck!"

Play with friends and keep your cool

This tip is a twofer, with the first part coming from NiteDark

"For me, a very important tip is to play to have fun. Find friends in the game, create a team, and have fun together. Regardless of the map (Conquest, Arena, etc.), every game played with friends will always be more fun."

Then Turboteef has some advice that goes hand-in-hand:

"Just keep your chill and play the game. Whenever people lose their chill dumb mistakes happen. Remember, it is just a game, so have fun. The more fun you have the easier you will learn the game."

Report bugs

Finally, we have NotAValveGame, who wants a better experience for everyone:

"Don't take it too seriously, it's still in the Alpha phase after all, so have fun learning how to play and see what you enjoy. If you encounter a bug, report it to the proper channels so the game will improve for everybody."

What are the proper channels, I hear you ask? You can join the official Discord server and report bugs in the appropriate channel there, or you can fill out the official SMITE bug report form. Thanks for doing your part to improve SMITE 2!

Some text has been edited for brevity, clarity, or spelling, punctuation, and grammar. You can find the original wording here.

Image credit: Titan Forge Games