The latest SMITE 2 update is here, introducing another three gods to the battleground: Aphrodite, Medusa, and Pele. They join the fray alongside three new items, some quality of life changes, and a plethora of balance changes to gods including but not limited to Baron Samedi, Danzaburou, Loki, and Anubis.
For this reward, tell us your thoughts on the Closed Alpha 8 update! Are the buffs and nerfs healthy for the meta? How do the three new gods feel to play? Have you tried the new items? Share your thoughts on these and more in at least 100 words to win.
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Aphro Medusa and Pele came in very hot! All three gods are very strong but in my opinion aphro is definelty the strongest. I would hope and expect to see an aphro nerf in the next update becuase of how strong she is as a support. Medusa definetly climbed to the top of the hunter list so small nerf wouldn't be out of the question but might not be required. I think pele thrives in the solo lane right now and she is strong but I need more time before I could confidently say shes needs a nerf or buff or is good the way she is.
Anubis and Baron got hit with another nerf which was definelty needed. Herc got buffed and although im happy about it, i dont think it was needed. loki has been a top preforming jungle so seeing him getting nerfed was no surprise. Nuwa Clay soldiers now being less tanky was very much needed they other buffs/nerfs were all around pretty good nothing to crazy to mention on them Rod of Asclepius entering the game and being a counter to anit heal is a cool item but i think anti heal really needs to be buffed. make items like brawlers and ank stack with each other like they do in SMITE 1
overall another good updated and look forward to the next one
The SMITE 2 Closed Alpha 8 update delivers a blend of excitement and refinement, despite a few rough edges. While Reddit debates about the lack of three heads and tongue animations for her snake-hair, the overall reception has been strong. Steam’s "Recent Reviews" highlight this, boasting a "Very Positive" score (483 reviews) and reflecting the community’s responsiveness.
Some bugs, like Aphrodite’s "silence" glitch that locks the skill bar even after relogging, have slightly marred the experience. I totally agree with JHenckes that AFKers were a huge issue and fixing this bug is a welcome change to the overall experience.
Still, the introduction of new gods and improved features demonstrates the power of SMITE 2’s updated engine. Balancing fresh content with ongoing fixes, this update paves the way for the game’s promising evolution - cant wait the Jan's huge milestone!
As this is a game that must be played as a team, the more penalties and solutions there are for these types of problems, the better for the success of the game! Thanks for the mention 🙏🏻 Sturmer
The Closed Alpha 8 update for SMITE 2 introduced significant changes with the aim, in my opinion, of refining the balance of the gameplay. Three new gods were added - Aphrodite, Medusa and Pele - in my opinion the biggest highlight of the update as they all proved to be very strong in their gameplays. Aphrodite's improved kit offers better skill expression and utility, although some players feel that she missed the chance to become a true support enchanter. Medusa didn't look so good in the tests, but now has a smooth and powerful gameplay, while Pele proved to be quite versatile, but seems to be the worst of the 3.
New items, such as Eros Bow, Rod of Asclepius and Shield Splitter, increase the diversity of builds, especially against shields and healing. Balance adjustments, including recharge time increases and nerfs to gods such as Zeus and Anubis, will help reduce the power disparity (this balancing is always very important, there's nothing worse than matches defined by something unbalanced). The corrections to problems such as AFK behavior are commendable, they will make matches less stressful.
The update has shown me Hi-Rez's commitment to improving the game, the team's concern is visible, although there are still challenges, such as refining the interactions of certain gods, like Khepri. But overall, Closed Alpha 8 balances innovation and correctness while building anticipation for the next Open Beta.
Honestly been enjoying the direction of the game. only things i question is VVVW if i'm not mistaken was Place a ward for teleport if hirez is considering really taking away solo TP take away the input! Also i like that chat box is finally here and voice chat i know there isn't any sights of removal yet but from history it happen in casuals i think it should overall stay and just let people toggle it. It feels nice to have chat in all modes!. as you can see i don't really have much issues with current live update. But highly looking forward to when the newest pts release that was a ball!
The new changes at the first glance always look bad, specially if there is debuffs with your meta god, but they are always necessary specially in this Alpha Stage. The first thing that I noticed the there was a small tweak in Anubis, my favourite God, but just small ones, playing with him the changes are unnoticeable, just give a small change of the enemy god to survive and escape for a fraction of seconds!
For other changes there is debuffs for Zeus, that is a good point since I always see Zeus as overpowered and some buffs for Danzaburou that is a god that has so much potential but need a little more balancing .
But now the par that is the most talked about, the new gods, right now I started to practice with Medusa that is showing to me as hard to play since her skills need a good planing and strategy before using it, but I think she will need some rebalancing soon.
The update feels well-rounded and ambitious, showcasing Hi-Rez’s dedication to making SMITE 2 feel fresh while addressing community feedback. However, as with any alpha changes, it’ll be important to monitor how these updates play out in terms of balance and player satisfaction. Personally, I’m intrigued by the creative direction and eager to see how players adapt to the new gods and items.
it’s critical for Hi-Rez to monitor their performance in matches. Gods like Medusa with crowd-control ultimates can dominate if the effects are too easy to land or too punishing. Pele might be overbearing in early-game skirmishes if her damage numbers are too high.
I think the Alpha 8 update for SMITE2 has brought some good gameplay and balance changes, some of which are quite significant and show the team's commitment to improving the game. The buffs and nerfs to various gods that it brings are necessary and show that the developers are committed to making the game more balanced, especially in terms of group control. Also, the AFK player fix was an excellent decision!
The introduction of the new gods Aphrodite, Medusa and Pele. Aphrodite had some initial bugs, but her versatility has increased, allowing for greater expression of skills. Medusa is also well balanced with the PTS adjustments. Pele hasn't undergone any major changes, but she integrates very well. The new items also show an attempt to adjust and balance the different playing styles. However, the weakening of Hastened Fatalis wasn't very good.
In general, I always like updates and this one was very welcome!
Honestly, the CA8 update launched really poorly. Medusa, Pele, and Aphrodite all felt relatively unfinished, Medusa the least so, but Aphrodite and Pele were almost non functional at times. You could really tell that the wear and tear of this incredibly fast paced patching cycle has done to them. That being said, in typical (new) HiRez fashion, the issues were patched out quickly and efficiently and the game returned to a relatively good feeling state. CA8 is in a weird spot, overall. It's the patch that "nobody wants", slotted in just before the amazing upcoming January Open Beta 1 patch, it's more or less just an excuse to add those three new gods to the game.
Medusa on PTS felt very clunky, but when she came to live her oddities were fixed and she played perfectly, and is overally pretty reasonably balanced.
Aphrodite came over and while hilariously bugged, felt rather modest and the +1s to her kit (kissing through enemies, stunning them and still connecting to an ally) (dash on her ult) (reset 3 on her ult) both gave her more opportunities for skill expression, which was sorely needed, on top of just more versatility in general.
Pele had a lot of clunk in the kit, but after patching it out, she overall didn't really get a relevant +1. Her 2 dash is more of a nothing burger than a +1, but she didn't really need a significant +1 anyways, and she fits right in with the rest of the roster.
Eyes are honestly ahead for the Open Beta 1 patch, and while the new additions to the roster are welcomed, I think I can speak for everyone that we all can't wait for Aladdin and co, Joust/Duel, and so on. So while CA8 does its job, I think it was always going to be a less interesting and lower impact patch.
I always enjoy commenting on smite 2 patch updates, mainly because I see that my complaints and others don't remain the same, showing how the game is being balanced and the voice, when meaningful, of the community is heard. Let's get to the updates:
New gods:
Aphrodite: I really liked how she added the kiss mechanic, stun while maintaining the bond with allies, as well as undying love, which is a unique movement mechanic (I thought it was op, ok? haha).
Medusa: I found the petrify mechanic very unique, guaranteeing something that is VERY important in MOBA games, which is that each character is unique, I liked it a lot.
Skin: The ideal god for those who want to assassinate and get out of the fight, I see enormous potential here, but I haven't managed to apply it as I would have liked.
New items:
Eros Bow: Comes to strengthen hybrid builds, interacting with damage. I'm very afraid of items with these interactions, I believe that at a certain point they can be “unbalanced”.
Rod of Asclepius: A healing option for a meta that forces anti-healing more and more, I don't know if it's the ideal answer.
Shield Splitter: The most important addition, since the meta was suffering from enemies with too much defense.
Balancing the gods:
Hercules appears to be one of the most impacted, in my opinion, since you have a reduction in his healing and an increase in the cost of skills, making his attitudes more punitive. Another god who has been significantly impacted is Athenas, since she was now an almost obligatory choice, let's see the impact of her gameplay change, since her positioning can no longer be so aggressive.
Aphrodite: I am disappointed. They had a chance to make her smites first true enchanter support and they didn't. They kept her the same except she is easier and she can fly now. I'm disappointed. Soulmate and Jealousy are very interesting mechanics that could have been played off of more to make her into a true ally enhancer. Instead they just kept her mostly the same healer. Which I think is a really big missed opportunity.
Medusa: OW, This goddess hurts, I like the hybrid scaling they gave her, it adds a little bit more to her gameplay loop. I think her numbers are a bit to high but otherwise she has interesting new aspects.
Pele: I haven't played her yet but she still does what Pele does, they barely changed her but its alright I guess. No soul eater hurts her a lot but items like devours might just be core on her now.
Certain characters are still problems. I do like the anti-anti-heal from rod of Asclepius. I think its cool, as well as a way to counter shields which I think the game needed especially with certain gods coming out soon.
Cooldown rate nerfs were needed and I'm glad they happened, I'm excited to see how cc buffering works out next patch.
The newest update is very interesting, adding 3 new (technically old) gods to SMITE 2, Pele, Medusa, and Aphrodite. Each god got very interesting changes but to me the most interesting is Aphrodite. The change to her ultimate which COMPLETELY resets her 3, the extra INT scaling that got added to her heal, along with the new leap she has when she reactivates her 4 makes her much more complex than she previously was in SMITE. The changes made to Medusa were very interesting too with her new intricate statue passive which allows her to scale like no other character we've seen in SMITE 2. (other than release ama of course) The balance changes were pretty hit or miss in my opinion, with some much needed nerfs like the nerf made to Yemoja's shield scaling, but also some out of left field nerfs like the nerf to The Morrigan. Overall though I've been enjoying the patch and I'm excited to see what's next!
The SMITE 2 Closed Alpha 8 update feels like a strong step forward in balancing the meta while introducing exciting new gameplay elements. The three new gods—Aphrodite, Medusa, and Pele—bring unique abilities that add variety to team compositions. Aphrodite’s utility as a support feels impactful, Medusa’s mobility and burst damage suit aggressive playstyles, and Pele’s flexibility as an assassin makes her a versatile pick.
The buffs to Baron Samedi and Loki seem to address their prior weaknesses, making them more viable without being overwhelming. On the other hand, nerfs to gods like Anubis feel appropriate, particularly in reducing his high burst potential.
As for the new items, they feel innovative and offer fresh strategic options, though their exact place in the meta will depend on further playtesting. Quality-of-life changes, like streamlined matchmaking, make the experience smoother overall. This update delivers a solid blend of balance and novelty, giving the game a fresh feel while keeping things fair.
I think the addition of Pele, Medusa, and Aphro was great for the player base and community. Pele does feel a tiny bit clunky. There has been some occasions where I ult, and when I dash into a person and make contact the damage does not go through and instead I get almost pulled back as Pele.
As for Medusa, she feels great! Smoother than Smite 1 and looks amazing! Strong as always, but don’t think a nerf is necessary.
However, the one thing I do want to ask is to fix the Aphro bug where her kiss string is going all across the map. But other than that I’d give this update an 8.8/10 ! Overall pretty great and can’t wait for the next updates!
This update brings us 3 new gods. Aphrodite, a very strong solid support in Smite. A goddess with a lot of healing and very strong mechanics. Medusa, one of my favorite adc in Smite. With a good escape ability and a very strong ultimate, I think he will be a very interesting addition to Smite 2. Lastly, Pele. I'm not a big fan of her in Smite but I know she's an extremely strong goddess. A goddess played mainly in the jungle and who has an extremely strong AOE. We also had the addition of 3 new items. Eros Bow, Rod of Asclepius and Shield Splitter. It's always positive to have new items, increasing the variety of builds. Lastly, we had changes to the gods and items. From what I saw, most of the changes were positive but there were some that I found a little unnecessary. But overall I liked the update.
Good morning colleagues, I think all the new effects that they are putting on all the gods in some abilities they have are excellent, in this patch it is Aphrodite's turn, Medusa and Pele, I loved how they added the kiss stun to Aphrodite, which now passes by passing through the enemy... many times I had to try to throw it at the ally and it would just pass through the enemy having to wait 8-9 seconds to throw it again and by then the ally would no longer He survived haha and now that he can teleport with his ulti it seems incredible to me! It helps a lot in battle, now with Medusa with the new enhancement in her basic attacks that every time you hit the arrow the skill count is lowered and the new thing about destroying towers while sliding seems good to me but I stand out more of the last one with its statues of gods when you destroy them that empower you and there is a reduction in time. With the new Pele I see that they carry it more with defenses and it is almost indestructible, of course additionally if you know how to use the god very well, but all the changes that they make are for the better, I am excited to see all the additional abilities that I read will put on the future gods that they are putting! Very good smite team 😊
PS: sorry if some words are not understood well, I am using a translator
CA 8 came with a lot of significant changes to Conquest.
Warhorn minions only buffed after 15 minutes. Gives a huge window for gods who have weaker early games to compete with minion clear. After 5 games or so, didn't really feel or notice the difference.
Aphro, Pele, Medusa!
Overall lots of god nerfs to abilities mainly focused on increasing cooldowns (less abilities being cast), reducing durations or reducing scaling. In short these combined this patch shows the devs are looking to find a equilibrium point between the CC abilities, the new CC buffering addition, and the changes to items they've also made this patch so CC isn't an unbearably long chain that's impossible to break but also not as frequent as the CA3-CA5 period where there were so many items with Cooldown Reduction and the CDR values per item were also high.
The new items: Eros Bow, Rod of Asclepius, and Shield Splitter show the focus this patch is to see how a healing, cc immune heavy game along with a variety of shield items and abilities in game mesh with the current god pool. Luckily so far I haven't experience a game where healing was out of hand [more gods with anti-heal built in + items] but it might be worth experimenting with a heal/lifesteal comp and test the ability to sustain fights.
Hastened Fatalis nerfed again, I don't think it's buildable anymore. Probably time to find a power item. It wasn't a win-condition and it's sad to see this item nerfed into the ground but I guess enough players complained. It does still work great on AA melee characters. Hunters might just be better off with more power.
Lots of items had their cost decreased which means we can expect quicker power spikes.
I still think Khepri needs work on his kit. Hit registration on his pluck is still a 50/50 shot at best and not every character is pulled in the animation. These are cases where the enemy does not have beads or other cc immunities and the character models are still not interacting correctly.
"Fixed an issue where AFK players were not being kicked after idling past the time limit" THANK GOODNESS. AFKing matches or just idling has been such a problem and there needs to be more focus on bad player behavior.
The SMITE 2 Closed Alpha 8 Update introduces three new gods: Aphrodite, Pele, and Medusa. It also includes new items, quality-of-life improvements, and balance adjustments for gods like Baron Samedi, Danzaburou, Loki, and Anubis. The update is live on PC and PlayStation, with Xbox updates pending certification resolution.
The healthiness of buffs in the SMITE 2 Closed Alpha 8 update for the meta depends on various factors:
Balance: Some buffs might encourage a more diverse meta by making previously underused gods viable, but they could also lead to an imbalance if not counteracted by nerfs to other gods or items.
Gameplay: If the buffs enhance strategic depth or introduce new playstyles, they're generally positive. However, if they lead to one-dimensional gameplay where one god or strategy dominates, it could be seen as less healthy.
Community Feedback: Players' perceptions and feedback are crucial. Buffs might be welcomed if they address community concerns about certain gods' lack of viability, but if they're perceived as making the game less fun or too focused on a few gods, the community might view them negatively.
Balance Changes: The update introduced changes to many gods, items, and mechanics. If these changes collectively work towards a balanced meta where multiple gods are competitively viable, the buffs could be considered healthy. However, without specific details on each buff's impact, it's speculative.
Long-term Impact: The true healthiness of these buffs will become clearer over time as players adapt and as further patches adjust based on gameplay data.
Given the introduction of new gods and items alongside buffs, the meta will likely shift, potentially offering new strategies but also requiring adjustment periods for balance.
Aphrodite might favor items boosting her healing and protection for allies.
Pele could look for items enhancing her burst damage or mobility.
Medusa might prioritize items that augment her petrify or her ability to scale damage.
The experience would vary based on each item's unique effects, requiring players to adapt their gameplay and understand how these items synergize with god abilities and existing items.
