This bounty is still open for entries, but if you want to learn how diminishing returns works in SMITE 2, check out the article we've published using some of the winning entries!
SMITE 2 is full of complex mechanics that new players may struggle to understand and one of these is diminishing returns. So if you're a SMITE veteran and you can break it down for us, please do! Knowing how diminishing returns works is essential to crafting homebrew builds and maximising your effectiveness with a god, so if you want to make it to the top, you need to understand it. Shout out to @Inters3ct for the idea in our suggest-a-reward!
In SMITE 2 the concept of diminishing returns refers to the reduced effectiveness of certain effects (like crowd control or stat bonuses) when they are stacked or applied repeatedly. This mechanic ensures balance by preventing players from becoming too overpowered or completely locked down by continuous effects. Here's how it works:
1.Crowd Control (CC) Diminishing Returns:
Crowd control abilities (stuns, slows, roots, silences) are subject to diminishing returns. If a player is hit by multiple CC effects in a short period the duration and effectiveness of subsequent CC are reduced. This prevents chain-CC scenarios where a player could be permanently disabled.
- First CC Application:Full duration and effect.
- Second CC Application:Reduced duration (20% less than the original duration)
- Third CC Application and Beyond: Further reduced duration (40% less than the original duration).
After a short cooldown period (6 seconds), the diminishing returns reset, and the next CC will apply at full effectiveness.
2. Stat Diminishing Returns:
Certain stats in SMITE 2 (cooldown reduction, movement speed, ) have diminishing returns to prevent players from stacking them to extreme levels. For example:
- Cooldown Reduction Rate (CDR): There’s a formula to prevent players from achieving 100% cdr on abilities.
- Movement Speed: Bonuses from items or abilities may have diminishing returns after a certain threshold, so stacking too much speed won’t make you infinitely faster.
Why Diminishing Returns Exist
- Balance: Prevents one strategy or stat from becoming overwhelmingly dominant.
-Counterplay: Ensures players can still react and fight back, even when hit by multiple effects.
- Fairness: Reduces frustration from being chain-CC’d or facing opponents with extreme stat advantages.
In summary, diminishing returns in SMITE 2 are a balancing mechanic that ensures gameplay remains fair and engaging by limiting the effectiveness of repeated or excessive effects.
Dimishing returns or also called DR is a mechanic which prevents a god from being permanently or for a long time trapped under the effects of CC by gradually reducing the effect that CC has on this same god throughout the game.
In other words, when a god is hit by CC he will have the full stun but the next time, this stun or CC will last less and so on, this helps a lot to the fact that there are many gods that can create CC for a long period of time, so without this mechanic it would be very frustrating or annoying not being able to move for a long time thanks to that
DR works like some objects in the game by being based on stacks, each time it happens to you a stack is added and each time the CC will be smaller, but it should be noted that soft CC like Slowdowns will not be affected by this mechanic
This mechanic also serves to ensure that if you don't have the Purification beads it is not as harmful, however it is still the best option against CC.
The Diminishing Returns (DR) system is what allows us not to have to go and make a coffee when we've taken a ton of Crowd Control (CC) skills haha. Every time you're hit by a skill, whether it's a stun or silence, you'll receive a stack of DR, which lasts for 6 seconds. Each of these stacks will reduce the next CC by 20%, stacking up to 2x (So, 40%), remembering that after 6 seconds these stacks are reset and you can be stunned for the full time again. I like the fact that this system doesn't make the gaming experience frustrating at times, I remember when I used to play dota and I would get what we call a cc lock, where I simply couldn't play, making it extremely frustrating (Yes, dota has come up with methods to get around this situation, but I'm still traumatized haha). Understanding the DR is important even when you want to defeat another player, knowing that the fight can be long, you can even hold a skill, waiting for the end of those 6 seconds to ensure a greater impact. I hope you understood the way I explained it!
The effect of DR (Dimishing returns) creates the limit of the effectiveness of certain applied effects, mainly CC stuns (Crowd control), this what it does is prevent it from being permanently stun.
For example, imagine that 3 gods create stun effects in an enemy god, the first stun will be totally effective, the second will be reduced by 20% and the third will be reduced by 40%, in short, the prolonged effect of CC will be reduced percentage based on the times CC has been created in that enemy.
Other effects: DR also affects the speed of movement, protections and reduction of cooldown. We can calculate them with the following mathematical formulas:
For Protections: (100*Unmitigated damage)/(100+protections).
DR is a relatively new mechanic added still in SMITE 1 that prevents Gods to be completely stunned by hard CC. Obviously its a very frustating feeling when u cant even play the game.
It will work like this: Imagine you are stunning someone with a Thor wall, that person gets cc'd for the full duration, gets 1 DR stack and after the CC is done he can move again. Now, if you add a second CC, lets say an Agni bomb + 1, the enemy would get cc'd aswell, get another DR stack HOWEVER he would not be cc'd for the full duration. and etc.
In SMITE 2 you can also call DR to stats. If you buy a 30 CD item, you won't be getting exactly 30 CD, its a percentage of the total that you have that scales less with how much you have. This means buy 10 CD when you have 0 will give you close to 9 CD but 10 CD when you already have 90 will give you close to 2 CD.
Its important to keep these 2 DR applicances into mind.
In short, it is a mechanic that prevents gods from being completely stunned by hard CC for a long period of time by reducing the effectiveness of an ability applied on someone who has already been affected by crowd control recently.
This works as follows, when a god is hit by a crowd control ability he gains a stack of diminishing returns, for each stack of diminishing returns the effectiveness of the following abilities that would apply crowd control to that same god would be reduced.
It is also important to note that soft crowd control such as slows are not affected by this mechanic, making it possible to chain several skills with the same effect.
This mechanic helps with the fact that in Smite 2, unlike the original, you can only obtain one active item in the entire game, so people who do not have the purification beads would be at a clear disadvantage when facing the enemies
Diminishing returns is a system put in place to allow players to build the stat that they want as much as they want with some caveats... In Smite 1 we had stat caps which made it so you could not buy as much of a stat as you wanted as you'd lose value from doing so. In Smite 2 this system is thrown away in favor of unlimited potential! (again with caveats).
Diminishing returns only applies to the following stats/systems: Hard crowd control (not soft), Cooldown rate, Movement speed (applies to slows as well), Protections.
Hard Crowd Control
Hard crowd control follows a slightly different formula then the rest of the systems in Smite 2. Basically this means that if you are hit with hard CC, the first time you are hit you will receive 100% of that abilities crowd control and you will also gain a stack of DR which lasts for 6 seconds and reduces the effectiveness of the next hard CC by 20%, if you are then hit with another hard CC you will of course be CC'd for 20% less time but also receive another stack of DR for 40% hard CC reduction (This is the max amount of DR you can have at a time).
Everything else
Simply put this means that while you are still technically allowed to build these stats as much as you want/can you are still bound by the rules of diminishing returns. These stats follow more of a curve rather then a straight line up. The more you invest into these stats the less value you get from them.
Diminishing returns or DR is a measure in the game to prevent you from being cc'd for the years your child goes to college. Jokes aside if you are hit by a cc like a stun the next hard cc that hits you aside from knock ups will be slightly less effective than they normally are. There some exceptions to this which is usually in the ability description, such as Khepri 1 or Mulan 3. I don't know the exact numbers for everything but I'm sure someone else who enters the bounty does.
Diminishing returns also work on other things like cooldown reductions with the equation.
I'll explain as easily as I can, so diminishing returns is a mathematical method to balance the game, with this diminishing returns you won't get stunned forever as an example, the more you get hit by a cc conecutivly the less effect that cc will have on you or the more protection you buy the less effect they will offer to you if you compare ymir with 150 prot and ymir with 200 prot the damage that you will hit the 150 prot ymir is just a bit higher that the damage you hit the 200 prot ymir beacause that last 50 prot is less efectiv on him than the first 50 prot let s say. It s easier to understand with the colldown rate as u get more colldown rate the less your abilities will be reduced in colldown. A real example will be going to the gym, the most progress you will get in the first year then as you go to the gym you will see less and less progress and that is diminishing returns in real life.
The definition of diminishing returns is a lot of words to say that putting more effort into something does not always mean you get more rewards. At some point, you get diminished returns. This concept exists inside Smite, normally abbreviated as DR, which is mistaken for damage reduction by players from other games. Crowd Control, Protections, and Cooldown rates all have diminishing returns.
Crowd Control diminishing returns can be experienced during gameplay. Where it acts as a stacking buff with a max of two. When a player gets hit by certain types of Crowd Control they get a stack of DR. Gaining another stack of DR refreshes the timer. Each stack reduces the time the player is affected by Crowd Control by 20% allowing for a 40% reduction at max stacks.
Diminishing returns for Protections and Cooldown are a lot simpler to explain. So simple that they can be represented as math formulas.
For Protections: (100*Unmitigated damage)/(100+protections).
For cooldown: 1-(100/(100+ cooldown rate)).
You can forget that diminishing returns exist for protections and cooldowns as the game’s items are balanced in a way to avoid getting hurt by Diminishing Returns. Unless you are trying to min-max a build. Crow Control’s diminishing returns, however, are experienced in every match. Ever missed a Crowd control target? Might be because Diminishing Returns made the stun last for 60% of the time it was supposed to.
Diminishing Returns in SMITE 2 is a system designed to reduce the effectiveness of stacked Crowd Control (or CC) abilities, ensuring that players cannot be perpetually locked down in fights. This mechanic primarily applies to Hard CC and operates to preserve gameplay balance in SMITE 2 CC heavy environment.
When a god is hit by Hard CC, they gain one stack of Diminishing Returns for 6 seconds. Each Diminishing Returns stack reduces the duration of subsequent Hard CC by 20%, with a maximum of two stacks, capping the reduction at 40%. After 6 seconds of not being hit by Hard CC, these Diminishing Returns stacks expire.
In Smite 2, Diminishing Returns exist to preserves the utility of CC, prevents infinite CC chains or encourages strategic use of CC abilities.
Simply put, Diminishing Returns is a reduction on crowd control that is applied to a character in quick succession. It's a simple mechanic, but since it's hidden, it's hard to know exactly when it's being applied.
If you have a Ymir freeze you with his 3, you'll suffer the full duration of the CC. However, if said Ymir used Staff of Myrddin to use his 3 twice in a row, the second crowd control would be a certain percentage reduced- in this case, imagine the CC goes from 2.0 seconds to 1.4 seconds. If you're then hit by an additional CC, said duration could be reduced to say, 0.8 seconds instead.
I'm playing with loose numbers here, but you get the idea! After a few seconds of not being crowd controlled, you lose your DR stacks, allowing people to hit you with fresh CC again.
This system is in Smite 2 specifically to prevent people from infinitely ccing a target- Smite has a lot of crowd control, and has a lot of items and systems to lower the impact of it while not removing crowd control in its entirety. CC Buffering was added recently, which helps meter the impact of CC-Heavy teams. DR (diminishing returns) is simply just another system that allows the Smite devs to help you keep control of your character in the thick of it, especially if you're a tank and can survive through multiple crowd controls.
Diminishing Returns (DR, for short) is present in several mechanics within SMITE 2, but the most common one people think of when talking about DR is related to Crowd Control (CC).
Essentially, when you are hit by a Hard Crowd Control, you gain one stack of DR that lasts 6s and reduces future Hard CC durations on you by 20%. In SMITE 2 this stacks twice for a maximum reduction of 40% after you've been hit by 2 Hard CCs.
This only applies to Hard CC, not Soft CC which is a bit of a tangent but essentially anything except Slows, Cripples, Blinds, Deafens and Intoxication is a Hard CC. Stacks of diminishing returns are not applied by Soft CCs, nor are Soft CCs affected by the duration reduction from it.
There are other applications of 'Diminishing Returns' as a wider concept such as with Movement Speed which essentially follows a curve that means that buying more movement speed is less effective the more you have already bought. Protections work in a similar way and even Slows go through a formula to make it so they have diminishing effectiveness the larger the slow percentage is.
But most people when they say 'DR' are referring to the Crowd Control DR.
To understand Diminishing Returns (DR), the first think to understand is that Smite 2 like its predecessor is a Crowd Control (CC) heavy game.
To combat the stacking of CC effects on gods essentially timing a god out of every fight, the developers have a DR system in the game to reduce the effectiveness of stacking CC's by lowering the duration by a % amount.
AFAIK, Closed Alpha 3 was the last patch to address it but was very clear at least of Smite2's direction. Stacks have been lowered from 4 --> 2. Decreased Duration of DR Stacks from 15s to 6s duration. What this means is for 6 seconds after getting hit by 2 CC abilities you will hit max DR on your god reducing all future CC abilities on yourself. In this way should you survive (mainly Warriors and Guardians will withstand it) further Hard CC effects on your God will not be for the full duration. For example, a 1 second stun on a God will be reduced to 0.6.
In short, understanding diminishing returns will help you as a player know what CC abilities to use displacement immune abilities, CC immune abilities, beads or actives to counter act the enemy's choice in CC and knowing then how to position in the case of chain cc being applied to themselves or a teammate.
Hard CC: Stuns, silences, fears, taunts, mesmerizes, disarms. These are subject to DR.("Diminishing Returns")
True Hard CC: Banish, grab, knockback, knockup, polymorph. These give 2 DR stacks but aren't reduced by DR themselves.
Soft CC: Slows, roots, cripples, blinds. Generally, these don't trigger DR, except slows which have their own DR.
Diminishing Returns Mechanics:
First CC: No reduction; full duration is applied.
Second CC: Duration is reduced to 66% if within 15 seconds of the first.
Third and Beyond: Further CC effects are reduced to 33% of their original duration, with a minimum of 0.5 seconds.
DR Stacks:
Each hard CC adds one DR stack, lasting for 15 seconds. If no new hard CC hits within this time, the next one will be at full duration.
True Hard CC adds 2 stacks, influencing the duration reduction of subsequent hard CC.
Slows' Unique DR:
Slows have a separate DR where each new slow is less effective than the last if applied in quick succession.
Crowd Control Reduction (CCR):
CCR from items or abilities shortens CC duration, including those already reduced by DR. If a CC is at 66% due to DR, CCR will reduce this further.
DR prevents continuous CC chaining, ensuring gameplay remains dynamic. Players must use a mix of CC types or coordinate with teammates to avoid diminishing returns, promoting tactical depth in battles.
This system is vital for both dealing with and countering CC in Smite 2, affecting how abilities are timed and combined in combat.
Laymen’s terms…
Crowd control (CC) effects get weaker if used repeatedly on the same player within a short time:
First CC: Full effect.
Second CC: 66% of normal duration.
Third and More: 33% of normal duration, with a minimum of 0.5 seconds.
This applies to hard CC like stuns but not to slows, which have their own reduction system. True hard CC like knockbacks give more stacks but aren't reduced by existing stacks. This ensures players aren't locked down forever, adding strategy to CC use.
Diminishing returns are essential to understand because they apply to various effects such as movement speed, damage reduction, and various other bonuses that the deity uses in battle. When you repeatedly stack an effect and exceed the maximum achievable, the effect tends to decrease. This is because if it were to increase repeatedly and consistently it would not be well balanced against the opponents.
This makes us understand that we should never overload a stat to maximize the benefits that we could instead obtain from other items and combined abilities. For example, if we have many items that increase speed, we can balance everything with the construction by including the items that instead give us resistance or damage.
Diminishing returns (DR) is a balancing system that reduces the effectiveness of certain effects when they are applied repeatedly. This mechanic is most visible with crowd control (CC) abilities, such as stuns, silences and rooting. When your character is hit by a CC effect, they receive the full impact of that skill. Now, if another strong CC is applied in a short period, the effect will be less potent, meaning the duration of the stun will be shorter; each additional hit adds a stack of DR that lasts 6 seconds and reduces the duration of other strong CC by 20%, up to a maximum reduction of 40%. What does that mean? In practice, a 4s CC when accompanied by other CCs in that timeframe can have a maximum reduction and last only 2.4s (it's a very nice mechanic that allows for better equality in battle). After 6 seconds without additional CC, these stacks are reset, allowing the next CC to reach full strength again (I can't play with this in mind, but if you know how to control your skills in the midst of chaos to make the most of the stun time, congratulations hahaha). On the other hand, the effects of soft CC, such as deceleration, are not affected by this stacking mechanism.
The diminishing returns also apply to recharge time reduction, movement speed and protections. In these cases, the more you stack a certain attribute, the smaller the additional benefit you receive with each new increment. For example, investing in recharge reduction will bring significant benefits at first, but as you continue to accumulate CDR, the incremental gains will become smaller (for example: your first CDR buff will be 30%, but the second would only be 15% and so on, so that the game doesn't become unbalanced). This prevents any player from becoming too powerful simply by accumulating an attribute to absurd levels.
I believe that the DR system in the game ensures that players don't abuse systems that are essential to gameplay. We know how unbearable it can be not to be able to move with so many CC skills, and also to have an opponent who dispels skills every 0.1 seconds because there is no control over reducing the recharge time. It promotes strategic gameplay, forcing players to carefully consider the timing and composition of the build, ensuring that no single strategy becomes dominant.
