The best Baron Samedi builds in SMITE 2 look a little different to his optimal setup in the first game, and that’s because he’s received one of the bigger of the many overhauls that Titan Forge Games took the chance to make with the sequel. The god of life and death has languished outside the meta for a long time in SMITE, but in SMITE 2, he performs much better. His abilities are the same at their core, but they've had plenty of minor tweaks that make Baron Samedi more consistent and fun to play.

So if you're taking the spooky voodoo god for a spin, make sure you pay attention to these best Baron Samedi builds, all devised by our community of SMITE experts, who will also explain exactly how each of his abilities work, as well as laying out some handy gameplay tips - best used alongside our top SMITE 2 tips - for when you’re in the thick of the action. Here’s how to build and play Baron Samedi in SMITE 2.

Baron Samedi abilities explained

Before we explain exactly what the best builds are, it’s important to know how each of the Baron’s abilities works. Here's mypets with the lowdown on his kit:

• Hysteria (passive): Dealing damage applies hysteria to enemies. When hysteria reaches the maximum value, it reduces the damage you receive. It also provides healing and mana to allies with the Baron's Brew potion ability, which can be thrown at enemies and deal damage.

• Vivid Gaze (first): Summons two skeleton heads that emit X-shaped rays, dealing damage and reducing strength, intelligence, and attack speed on targets with more than 30 hysteria.

• Consign Spirits (second): Creates a circular area that deals damage to enemies and heals allies. When opponents have more than 30 hysteria, the skill also grants buffs to allies.

• Wrap It Up (third): Throws a snake at an enemy and slows them down. If the target has more than 30 hysteria, they become rooted.

• Life of the Party (ultimate): Baron Samedi opens his coffin and pulls enemies towards him over a cone-shaped area-of-effect, dealing damage and stunning. If the target has over 30 hysteria, the pull strength is increased.

Mypets goes on to explain that when it comes to ability levelling, you should (generally) focus on the ultimate first because of how strong it is, followed by abilities two, one, three, and four in that order. If you want a breakdown of each of Baron's abilities in video form, check out @Empen's video below:

 Additionally, ChrisTDickson has gone into a lot of detail showing each ability in action:

Best Baron Samedi roles

According to JHenckes, Baron Samedi is best suited to the mid lane, but he can also play a support role too as "he has good attributes for both choices: very high damage, along with healing and control abilities". Which lane you choose ultimately depends on how you build Baron Samedi though; if you focus on damage you should pick mid, whereas if you look to optimise his healing and control, you'll be better suited to playing support.

Check out NotAValveGame's video below for a little more on roles, along with an explainer on how Baron Samedi can also perform in the solo lane if needed, proving just how versatile a character he is:

Best Baron Samedi mid build

The best Baron Samedi mid-lane build comes courtesy of NiteDark

• Relic: Blink Rune

• Starter: Pendulum of the Ages

• Item 1: Ruinous Ankh

• Item 2: Breastplate of Valor

• Item 3: Talisman of Purification

• Item 4: Chronos' Pendant

• Item 5: Yogi's Necklace

• Item 6: Spirit Robe

"This is, in my opinion, the best build for Baron Samedi," NiteDark explains. "With high cooldown reduction, you’ll have frequent ability uptime to maximise your impact. Adding Blink and Talisman significantly improves your survivability, letting you engage or reposition as needed. Ruinous Ankh is also an excellent choice, as nearly every god has some form of healing right now; it offers a strong mix of protections and health, giving you more durability early on to avoid being easily burst down.

"In the late game, your health and tankiness become less significant, so you’ll want to play on the edges of fights, casting abilities and crowd control into the skirmish from a safe distance. You’ll have a major advantage in team fights if you can maintain your healing and ability rotation."

Best Baron Samedi support build

Meanwhile, if you fancy playing Baron Samedi in the duo lane as a support, look no further than CashMoneyMorty's splendidly self-dubbed "Morty supporty" build:

• Relic: Blink Rune

• Starter: Selflessness

• Item 1: Breastplate of Valor

• Item 2: Chronos' Pendant

• Item 3: Talisman of Purification

• Item 4: Gladiator's Shield

• Item 5: Glorious Pridwen

• Item 6: Genji's Guard

The two builds share some similarities in their first three items, but then they diverge, with this support build being much more geared towards tankiness and survivability. You can check out more details in Morty’s video below, which also has details for a glass cannon build:

Baron Samedi tips

Alongside the best builds, we also have some top tips from our community of SMITE 2 players to keep in mind while playing as Baron Samedi. First up is NiteDark, explaining exactly what you should prioritise during the different phases of the game:

• Early game: "Focus on stacking Hysteria in lane with Vivid Gaze and Consign Spirits. Farm carefully and avoid overextending without your ultimate available."

• Mid game: "Start roaming to help other lanes or contest jungle objectives. Wrap It Up and healing provide excellent support for your teammates. Look for team fights in tighter areas, where your Life of the Party ultimate can pull in and damage multiple enemies."

• Late game: "Stick with your team and look for opportunities to disrupt the enemy formation with Life of the Party. Keep an eye on enemy carries; your ability to stack Hysteria and crowd-control them can neutralise their impact."

NiteDark also recommends using Wrap It Up to slow enemies before using Vivid Gaze, then follow it up with Consign Spirits for the Hysteria stack, then Life of the Party. This is a "powerful finishing combo" you can use when you absolutely must get the kill and you have all of your abilities available.

When it comes to autobuilds, if you just want to get used to Baron Samedi's abilities, JHenckes recommends Concentrated Damage. This is the one that will maximise the Baron's damage output and is optimal for the mid lane. However, if you're filling the support role, choose Total Tank.

It's important to know exactly who you'll be strong against when picking fights against other gods. NiteDark’s advice is that Baron Samedi is especially well suited to face quick-moving assassins and gods without anti-heal. However, as you’d expect, the opposite is true: he'll struggle against gods with anti-heal, such as Ares, and those with crowd-control chains.

For more videos detailing Baron Samedi tips and tricks, check out the following videos from Feddboii, Cloggedbean, and Dydo respectively:

Have you played as Baron Samedi in SMITE 2 yet? Do you have any suggestions for alternative builds or tips for the god of life and death? Let us know in the comments below.

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