SMITE 2's Assault mode may be a far more appealing option if you're new to the third-person god MOBA compared to something like Conquest, because even though it isn't the flagship mode, it's a little simpler to understand. That doesn't mean it's easy, but with just one lane to worry about as opposed to multiple lanes like in the other modes, you can focus more on other aspects of your game.

Assault was introduced alongside Joust and Duel when SMITE 2 went free-to-play, and while you won't find ranked gameplay here, you will find a new way of experiencing the game. This guide exists to explain everything you need to know about Assault, from the rules and map layout to the best gods, tips, and meta, all of which have been submitted by our dedicated community of SMITE 2 veterans. So without further ado, here's our complete guide to Assault in SMITE 2.

Assault mode explained

What is Assault? We'll let AngelG take it away:

"Assault is a 5v5 mode on a map which has just one single lane, with two towers, a phoenix, and a titan per team. As you might expect from this layout, the rules are similar to Conquest in that you must defeat the opposing team's titan to win, but there are a couple of differences too:

• You're assigned a god at random, you can't pick who you play, although you can reroll your god once.

• You can't return to base, the fountain at spawn doesn't heal you, and you cannot buy items unless you die."

• Soulk also points out that all players start with 3,000 gold, which allows for one complete item purchase from the beginning.

"This results in a curious but fun mode that allows you to try new things, but is equally demanding and intense." Inters3ct identifies that there is no jungle area at all in Assault, which means it's a "wildly different experience" and one of his favourite modes for that reason. 

kamiel chips in by explaining that the single-lane map is currently based on a modified version of Conquest's mid lane, but there are plans to replace this with a unique Assault map in future. He goes on to explain that there are a few key changes to Assault compared to the first SMITE too:

• "Stealth Zones: There are two stealth zones located between the tier one towers in the mid lane and next to the random buff pickup area, which are taken from Conquest.

• Lane Teleporter: This teleporter transports players to the farthest undestroyed structure. Once both towers are destroyed, the teleporter becomes inactive.

• Meditation Relic: Each player starts with an activatable relic called Meditation, placed in one of the consumable slots instead of the default relic slot.

• Random Buff Pickups: A buff spawner near the middle lane randomly spawns a jungle buff or a consumable from Conquest, such as Inspiration, Pathfinder, Caustic, Primal, Runic Bomb, Crystalline Egg, or Obsidian Dagger."

Soulk has shared the following Aladdin clip from an Assault game, showing off their skills with the Sultan:

Assault strategy and tips

Since Assault offers a much different way of playing SMITE 2, it stands that the general strategy and tips to succeed are different. AngelG has a few to keep in mind:

• "Prioritise items that heal, escape, and/or boost during fights." Kamiel explains fights are often longer in Assault, so sustained healing or mobility is a huge help.

• "If you can luck into a god on your team who either heals or deals ranged damage, it can be a huge advantage. Use rerolls to ensure your team composition is as complete as possible.

• Steal healing buffs away from the enemy team, even if you don't plan to use them yourself, just so they can't."

Meanwhile, here are a few tips from Kamiel:

• "Play defensively until your team secures more items, which means you should focus on clearing minion waves to gain gold and XP advantages.

• Use the bushes for cheeky ambushes and to keep control of the random buff pickups.

• Use voicechat or VGS to make sure you're on the same page as your team. This is especially important with ability cooldowns, so you don't start a fight as soon as your damage dealer has just cleared a wave. You should all co-ordinate your targets together this way too."

Inters3ct has gone into detail on some of the best items and roles:

• "Don't reroll your healer! In Assault, if one team gets a 'healer god' then the other team also gets one. Don't reroll your healer unless you want to almost certainly lose the match. You might not enjoy playing that god, but at the very least try to trade it to an ally and don't just reroll it. You're not guaranteed to get another healer if you reroll, so you risk giving the opposing team a huge advantage.

• Amanita Charm is one of the best healing items that most, if not all, tank builds should have, often as your first item. It heals your whole team on a relatively short cooldown and can often heal as much as a healer god throughout the match. It's very strong. Other heal items are also good, like Yogi's Necklace and Phoenix Feather.

• Because healing is strong, anti-healing is also strong! Buying items like Divine Ruin, Brawler's Ruin, and Ruinous Ankh will greatly increase your chances of winning, especially against teams with a healer. You might do slightly less damage or be slightly less tanky than a build without it, but the anti-heal is invaluable in Assault.

• Tanks are also incredibly strong in Assault. The mode is all about fighting and longevity, having no tanks makes the match very rough for your team as you don't have anyone to control space and crowd control enemies. Without tanks, you'll get permanently pushed under your tower and won't have a good time. Just like healers, try to avoid rerolling tanks unless you absolutely have to, try trading them away first.

• Poking is also very important. Having gods on your team that have easy-to-hit, long range poke abilities is one of the strongest features you can have in Assault. Since everyone is always staring at each other in a single lane, the team that pokes better will win the long game since you can't reliably heal. So any gods with reliable, long-range pokes will be excellent in this mode."

Meanwhile, Awwadeuwu has detailed how each phase of the game should play out:

• Early game: poke

  • "Try to make combos with different skills that synergise across the team. Take advantage of the Meditation relic, since it provides health and mana regeneration for you and your team. Use the bushes to ambush too."

• Mid game: buffs

  • "Use the central buffs, which respawn every few minutes, to gain the edge in fights, and grab heals as often as possible to keep holding off the enemy team."

• Late game: objectives

  • "Fight for the objectives and take every opportunity to destroy their towers. If you're a tank, lead the line and brute force your way to the objectives."

Awwadeuwu recommends Assault because it's "a calmer game mode without so much stress, so you can have a lot of fun trying new gods, which also makes it good for beginners." Inters3ct reiterates that mindset by explaining that "the randomness and wild ruleset in Assault means the mode isn't taken too seriously, so you can goof around and have some fun."

What's been your experience with Assault so far in SMITE 2? Do you have any additional tips? 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