The best SMITE 2 Danzaburou builds are exactly what you need if you fancy yourself as a bit of a prankster. Danzaburou is one of the most adorable gods in the game as he is a tanuki - also known as a Japanese raccoon dog - and he has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. He can summon clones, ride rockets, and he loves a sake or two.

So we asked our community of expert SMITE 2 players, many of whom have been with the series for years and have plenty of experience with Danzaburou, for their tips, tricks, and tactics when playing as the legendary tanuki. The result is this expertise-filled, crowdsourced guide detailing the best Danzaburou builds, all of his abilities, and general advice on how to play him. Let’s dive in.

Danzaburou abilities explained

As explained above, Danzaburou is a trickster. He loves pranks so most of his abilities revolve around deception, alongside getting merry on sake. Here's Dydo with a breakdown of each of them:

• Dishonest Duplication (passive): "Every time you hit an enemy with a basic attack, you have a 5% chance (+0.5% per level, +0.5% per Intelligence) to spawn a clone. This clone attacks the nearest enemy, dealing 40% of your base damage, and has its own 5% (+0.25% per level) chance to spawn another clone. This makes it an interesting mechanic to use with a hybrid strength and intelligence build, though in my opinion, it works best with attack speed. Statistically speaking, while the chance is low, it becomes more likely the more you test it.

• Fool's Gold (first): "This is versatile as it can be used for zoning or dealing loads of area damage. It also inflicts trembling, which disorients enemies and causes ten gold to drop to the ground."

• Alluring Spirits (second): " This is another multi-purpose tool. It heals Danzaburou for 5% of his intelligence then throws a bottle that deals significant damage and slows enemy gods. If they fail to leave the bottle's area of effect, they also receive the taunt effect which forces them to move closer to the bottle. This ends if they take more than 30% of their maximum health in damage."

• Tanuki Trickery (third): "One of the most fitting abilities for Danzaburou, this creates a field that grants movement speed buffs, slow immunity, and doubles the chances of his passive working. If Danzaburou leaves the area, he turns into a leaf, sending clones in different directions. This makes it excellent for escaping or repositioning when used strategically."

• Uproarious Rocket (ultimate): "Finally, Danzaburou's ultimate is a high-damage ability (that scales with 100% strength and 70% intelligence) that can be used in two ways: you can either launch a rocket that automatically targets a nearby enemy god, or re-activate it to become the rocket yourself, enabling rapid direction changes."

To see each of these abilities in action with a deep dive on how they work, check out ChrisTDickson's video below:

When it comes to ability leveling, Dydo and @NiteDark both recommend prioritising Fool's Gold above all else. Then you should either focus on Alluring Spirits if the enemy team is full of tanky gods, or Tanuki Trickery if you're "constantly under threat" as it allows for "better escapes and repositioning".

Best Danzaburou roles and playstyle

NiteDark, Dydo, and JHenckes all agree that Danzaburou's strength is in the ADC (also known as the carry) role. However, he can also play in both mid and jungle with the right build. Whichever you pick, the playstyle should focus on "brawling from a safe distance while disrupting enemy positioning" because his abilities can "surprise enemies and catch them off guard with crowd control", explains NiteDark.

Dydo does recommend starting off playing jungle when you pick Danzaburou, as there's less pressure to perform and the role itself is easier to learn, before moving into mid or ADC when you've mastered the character.

Best Danzaburou builds

Our suggested Danzaburou build comes courtesy of Dydo:

• Relic: Purification Beads

  • "To avoid being constantly caught off-guard, these are a great pick for survival."

• Starter: Hunter's Cowl

  • "Pick this for the strength and attack speed buffs, plus a passive that increases movement speed when alone or adds even more attack speed when you're near an ally. It's especially useful when you consider how squishy you are as an ADC."

• Item 1: Devourer's Gauntlet

  • "This will help you farm and sustain in-lane, which is essential for stacking."

  • "Alternatively, you can choose Jotunn's Revenge, but only if you secure some early kills."

• Item 2: The Executioner

  • "Provides more attack speed, strength, and penetration."

• Item 3: Demon Blade

  • "Provides more attack speed, strength, and critical chance."

• Item 4: Titan's Bane

  • "Offers massive strength and penetration, but lacks a strong passive."

  • "If you feel the game is difficult and you may be caught, go for The Crusher instead, as this item increases the damage of your abilities and allows you to remain useful from a safer distance."

• Item 5: Deathbringer

  • "Offers devastating critical hits and buffs strength."

  • "Alternatively, go for Bragi's Harp to synergise better with your passive and clone mechanics."

• Item 6: Qin's Blade

  • "The best choice for raw damage output."

  • "Or, if you need to assist more in team fights, choose Dagger of Frenzy as it synergises beautifully with Danzaburou's kit."

This is almost identical to NiteDark's recommended build, except he switches Deathbringer and Qin's Blade in order of acquisition. He says this build "allows you to deal so much damage, especially in the late game", and CMDR Henckes backs it too, though he often changes the Devourer's Gauntlet for an item with more penetration, or something with lifesteal.

mypets also suggests a couple of alternative items to consider:

• Transcendence: Offers more mana and ability power for sustain and damage.

• Heartseeker: Situational, best used against tanky enemies to blow them up.

Additionally, check out Cloggedbean's video below for a few other item options and another dive into the intricacies of Danzaburou's abilities:

For more radical departures still, CashMoneyMorty's video outlines a build he names the 'Range Raccoon' for the ADC role and the 'Rocket Raccoon' build if you want to play Danzaburou in mid. While there isn't a dedicated build for it, Morty also explains how Danzaburou can thrive in the jungle.

Empen also has two builds in his Danzaburou video, one geared towards ADC, while the other is a "funny full intelligence" build:

Danzaburou tips

Finally, let’s run you through some top tips for playing Danzaburou that you need to know to maximise your effectiveness with the tanuki.

Dydo makes the very valid point that Danzaburou is essentially a complete roll of the dice thanks to his passive, Dishonest Duplication: 

"Every time you hit an enemy with a basic attack, you have a 5% chance (+0.5% per level +0.5% per Intelligence) to spawn a clone. This clone attacks the nearest opponent, dealing 40% of your base damage, and has its own 5% (+0.25% per level) chance to spawn another clone. This makes it an interesting mechanic to use with a hybrid Strength and Intelligence build, though in my opinion, it works best with attack speed; while the chance is low, it becomes more likely the more you roll it."

They go on to explain that if you want to master Danzaburou, you need to know how to play smart by "combining and alternating basic attacks with abilities, along with taking advantage of his escape tools. Proper positioning will help you avoid sticky situations while maximising your damage."

NiteDark elaborates on the positioning aspect by saying that without proper positioning, Danzaburou is extremely fragile and risks being "burst down by enemies". He's also reliant on cooldowns, because if you get caught in a tricky spot with most of your abilities still counting down, there's very little you can do.

When it comes to using each ability in the right situation, NiteDark suggests the following:

• Fool's Gold: Use this to engage and "start fights by stunning and damaging enemies to gain an early advantage".

• Tanuki Trickery: "Use this to disappear, forcing enemies to guess your location and potentially overcommit."

• Alluring Spirits: "Use this as a zoning tool during team fights, especially in tight spaces where enemies are likely to be drawn in."

• Uproarious Rocket: "Try to aim it at clustered enemies for maximum effects as it's powerful for both crowd control and burst."

Finally, we'd recommend watching NotAValveGame's "Danzaburou explained in under five minutes" video for a few additional tips and tricks:

Do you play Danzaburou and have any additional tips we should know about playing the tricky tanuki? Have you used any of these builds and found success? 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