Hunter Guardian Meta Is Horribly Unenjoyable

Okay, um, I didn't expect this to explode. This forum is usually way slower than this.

The problem isn't hunters vs hunters or people just not like unlimited mana. The problem is hunters vs other classes. The problem is Bluestone pendant making hunters better than most other gods, choking diversity.

No one brought active items into this mess. This is about Bluestone pendant.

It's a problem specifically because it doesn't use an active slot, it's cheap, and you don't sacrifice anything for it. So basically, it might as well be free.

If Ymir had 2000 health from level one but got no health per level, he would be broken. Likewise for Bluestone Pendant, it doesn't matter if you sell it late and buy it early - what matters is the impact it has on the whole game, not just one stage of it.

Also, FemFatalis, ICEN's just trolling you at this point since he ignored the last 70% of what you typed in your last reply to him.

Yeah, I'm disengaging. Thanks for simplifying the issue, maybe it will become more clear due to your explanation.

Just... what. Okay, I'm not sure if it's worth trying to talk some sense into you at this point but I'm going to make a last attempt.

_____Reasons Bluestone Pendant is allowing Hunters to wreak havoc on the current meta:

• Hunters with bluestone essentially eliminate their early mana problems. Hunters as a class are supposed to be late game carries, having weaker early games and stronger late games. Bluestone Pendant ruins this balance by giving Hunters a decent early game while retaining their immensely strong late game status.
  
• Mages are thus inefficient while laning against hunters in mid or solo, since they have easy mana replenishment, Hunters either match mages' capabilities in lane or perform better (although this can vary by matchup as with any lane pairing). By late game however, the hunter will be outdamaging the mage with ease.
  
• Meditation cannot be used to compensate this since it takes up an active slot. Actives are mages and hunters greatest resources for survivability, and by late game most mages and hunters will need Greater Purification as well as an active like Greater Sprint, Aegis Pendant or Combat Blink in order to survive certain encounters. The only gods that go without two actives for this are gods with CC and damage immunity as well as high movement speed (ie: only Chang'e).

In S1 hunters were indeed just as strong, they just weren't strong during their early and mid game. ATM they're just as strong as any other class, which is unfortunately very overpowered. This is not JUST because of the introduction of Bluestone Pendant ( Ichaival and cheaper Asi played no small role), but the current meta for hunters is incredibly broken.

And yes, meta issues and unbalancing is a problem that happens from time to time. However, this is a problem that has been there since the start of S2 and still hasn't been fixed. If anything, it's only been worsened with the advent of Heartseeker's buff. While Smite has had problems before (eg: the warrior meta) this one is very ingrained and will require major changes to fix fully. It's really the first time I've analyzed the meta and sought ways to improve it, primarily because of just how ****ed up it currently is.

@Sub, I was typing this as you posted your last response so I didn't see it prior, I probably wouldn't have even bothered after you explained this again.

Doesn't Anhur have more clear than almost all the hunters..... I thought his base damage on impale and scaling was much higher than alot of the hunters.

Also: What would you guys think of blue stone, if it could only be used on warriors? (even though that wouldn't happen because physical gods can use all physical items)

The god with the most base damage and scaling on clear is Neith with Spirit Arrow, hence her play in solo and mid.

If Bluestone Pendant was only usable on warriors, I would be more interested. Solo gods have more choices for starters, and their early game is already decent. Supports can (and are, currently) use the item for a more aggressive start. It would be much more balanced because it doesn't patch a class's inherent weakness. I personally love Bluestone Pendant on assassin supports like Ne Zha and Fenrir, I just think the cons of the overall item outweigh the pros.

Wait... okay then obviously Neith got buffed because on Xbox she does not have 90% scaling so I assume one of the patches buffed her. <---- thats what I mean when I say there may be things in the patch I don't have yet that could change my mind. I should have probably read those patches anyways.

Guan Yu with Blue stone support OP :D

I counter with Mark of the Vanguard Ymir XD

But yeah, the last few patches have made hunters insane. I was tolerating it until Heartseeker got buffed beyond belief.

Y did neith need a buff???

She saw little to no SPL play so they decided to make her, in the words of Allied-senpai, "one-shot the wave even more now". Trouble is, that gave her viability in other roles.

annnnnd what exactly was stopping me from running Anhur mid before if I wanted to?

Pretty sure I can still win mid lane with Anhur mid even before blue stone pendant