Competitive Rama in a Nutshell (Zapman Build)

About the God

Rama is a top-pick hunter in competitive Smite. Strong in all phases of the game, he works well with any support, can hold his own in one-versus-one duels and two-on-one situations, and has the capability to kill-confirm with his Ultimate almost globally. In order to truly master Rama you have to hit your auto-attacks (as with any hunter), learn how to twitch-shoot his two skill shots Rolling Assault (III) and Astral Barrage (Ult), and manage his fairly restricted mana pool especially in the early stages of the game.

About the Build

This build is piloted for Rama as introduced here by both Zapman and Barraccudda in Leagues and tournaments.

About the Guide

The focus in this guide lies on the quality of its content rather than a fanciful presentation.

References

This guide is based in portions on Zapman's insightful Ullr guide (concerning sections Actives, Game Progression, Team Fight).

Zapas, Steven (Zapman). Ullr Guide. Accessed at http://team-dignitas.net/ullr.

Leveling Priorities

Zapman's leveling priorities lie on Rama's attack-speed steroid, Pick Me Up (II), and the crippling escape, Rolling Assault (III), the latter of which should be used aggressively due to its low cooldown. His AOE-damage steroid Astral Strike (I) is leveled last by Zapman because of its already great clear at rank one. Rama's Utimate is leveled as required after god level 5 (diminishing returns after ability rank 2) and can be used in various ways, such as to kill-confirm even while staying in lane, to get out of combat, or to receive crowd-control immunity, when being ganked until his escape (III) is up again.

Rule of Thumb

Pick Me Up (II) > Rolling Assault (III) > Astral Barrage (Ult) > Astral Strike (I)

Note: Skills should not be leveled prematurely but upon impending use. Deviate from the set leveling path outlined above whenever a situation calls for it. For example, if you just gained a level and you know you are about to use your Ult, put a rank into the Ult then for the additional damage.

The First Five

How to rank up the abilities for the first levels depends mostly on which side of the map you start on. The alternate leveling order given in parenthesis outlines the skill order when starting on the right, at mid harpies so to speak.

1. I (III)
2. III (I)
3. II (III)
4. II
5. IV

Which Actives to Get

Ninety percent of the time in a match you are going to build Greater Sprint plus either Greater Purification or Greater Aegis. Only in very rare instances is it required to build both Beads and Aegis without Sprint.

Rule of Thumb for Situational Actives

Which situational active to buy all really depends on whether or not the enemy team is heavy on high-damaging nukes ( Release The Kraken!, Death Gaze, I'm a Monster, etc).

Whenever there are two nukes or more, build Greater Aegis. Whenever there are less than two nukes, build Purification Beads.

When to Buy Actives

In competitive Smite it is best to hold off on building actives for as long as possible, because buying actives is costly, and it delays the build and thereby also a hunter's next power spike. For example, in this build finishing Warrior Tabi introduces a first power spike, and it is here with each new power spike item, that you should consider investing into an active if one is indeed needed.

Starting Positions

The duo lane switches sides depending on which team you are on. Remember that the duo lane is always the side lane where the tier two towers are farther apart. For that reason the duo lane is also often called the long lane.

Starting on the right side will have you do right mid harpies first, then blue buff, which automatically gives your character level 2. In this case start with Rama's III to get to blue and into lane quicker, then level his I for the clear. If you start on the left side, you will normally only be doing blue buff, which is why you will still be level 1 when you arrive in lane, therefore start with your I.

Early Game

The early game is essentialy all about outpushing the opponent. After you establish push, you can look to poke -- and maybe get a kill. Lane clear, poke, and confirming the kill are things Rama excels at with his kit. Target the enemy support early rather than the ADC if the support is underleveled.

There is a little trick to get the advantage early in lane, and possibly get first blood: push the (first) creep wave super fast, with your Astral Strike (I), before the enemy can. This way you get to level 2 if you start on the left side, while their support is still level 1, and you can then look to engage hard on the level 1 enemy, and usually get a kill. When starting on the left, the support can sometimes get away with HOGing the minion wave for a quick level 2 which allows for pushing the advantage.

Enemy Jungler

Knowing where the jungler is in the early game will save your life many times. Usually junglers start on the solo-lane side, and farm the solo lane for a bit. The average time you should keep in your head is around the 2:10-3:00 min mark, at which point the jungler will be heading over to your side to do his red or speed buff (depending on the side), before going to either gank you or going to mid harpies.

Mid Game

Mid game is determined by items and rotations. Any hunter using this build is in mid-game form once The Executioner is finished. You should be farming as much as possible until you reach mid-game form. While in mid game you should look for opportunities to rotate more so than you would do in the early game. Your main focus during this phase of the game should lie on trying to take down Gold Furies and towers off the backfoot of said rotation opportunities.

Late Game

Late game is reached once Rage is finished, and work on Deathbringer has begun. Once you are in late-game form, you should be a beast in team fights. This is the point in the game where you do a lot of damage, and the enemy team is probably gunning for you. Being conscious of your positioning is especially crucial in this phase of the game, and Rama's III, Rolling Assault, helps out a lot here for repositioning yourself in fights, and chasing down targets.

Potential

With his great damage output, great mobility, and great reach, Rama can be played aggressively in the early game, looking for kills off mid-harpy rotations or enemy hunters staying for that one more wave.

Target Priority and Positioning

In full-blown team fights, you should look to hit whoever is in front of you. Most of the time it will be tanks, but you will be doing a lot of damage nonetheless with this penetration build. While barraging the tankier gods, look for opportunities to take down the squishies that are out of position, without putting yourself out of position. Even if the tank stays on you, with your life steal, and if you are hitting your auto-attacks, they shouldn't be able to bring you down.