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Daelinn's Anubis - Towards the New Season (S9, Patch 9.5 Bonus Balance)

134 7 757,072
8.9
by Branmuffin17 updated June 3, 2022

Smite God: Anubis

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Anubis Build

Example Build (Balanced)

Notes This is a build focused on lifesteal, high pen, and max damage potential, utilizing only items with bonus damage, CDR, and penetration.

Vampiric Shroud is your standard starter, providing early sustain and some protection against physical threats (including a physical jungler and minions). At level 20, upgrade it to Sacrificial Shroud.

Spear of the Magus is a strong early pen item providing bonus damage and lifesteal.

Charon's Coin provides high % pen with utility (health, MS) that Anubis appreciates.

Typhon's Fang finishes his lifesteal requirements and adds further % penetration.

Rod of Tahuti is a magical core item for high power and maxes his % pen.

The final item is optional / situational. You can opt for a protection item if needed, or go for utility from a variety of items. Shown here is Chronos' Pendant for high CDR and ability spamming late-game.

Notes

This is a build focused on lifesteal, high pen, and max damage potential, utilizing only items with bonus damage, CDR, and penetration.

Vampiric Shroud is your standard starter, providing early sustain and some protection against physical threats (including a physical jungler and minions). At level 20, upgrade it to Sacrificial Shroud.

Spear of the Magus is a strong early pen item providing bonus damage and lifesteal.

Charon's Coin provides high % pen with utility (health, MS) that Anubis appreciates.

Typhon's Fang finishes his lifesteal requirements and adds further % penetration.

Rod of Tahuti is a magical core item for high power and maxes his % pen.

The final item is optional / situational. You can opt for a protection item if needed, or go for utility from a variety of items. Shown here is Chronos' Pendant for high CDR and ability spamming late-game.

Build Item Sacrificial Shroud Sacrificial Shroud
Build Item Spear of the Magus Spear of the Magus
Build Item Typhon's Fang Typhon's Fang
Build Item Pythagorem's Piece Pythagorem's Piece
Build Item Calamitous Rod of Tahuti Calamitous Rod of Tahuti
Build Item Mantle of Discord Mantle of Discord

Starting Items (Balanced)

Notes This is your standard start when building into the Spear tree.

Notes

This is your standard start when building into the Spear tree.

Build Item Vampiric Shroud Vampiric Shroud
Build Item Magic Focus Magic Focus
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
2
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion

Example Build (Bancroft + CDR)

Notes Start with Sands of Time and upgrade to The Alternate Timeline (or Pendulum of Ages at level 20.

This is build based around Bancroft's Talon, and adding in some CDR (mainly for more ults). Bancroft's provides enhanced lifesteal when taking damage.

Notes

Start with Sands of Time and upgrade to The Alternate Timeline (or Pendulum of Ages at level 20.

This is build based around Bancroft's Talon, and adding in some CDR (mainly for more ults). Bancroft's provides enhanced lifesteal when taking damage.

Build Item The Alternate Timeline The Alternate Timeline
Build Item Bancroft's Talon Bancroft's Talon
Build Item Spear of Desolation Spear of Desolation
Build Item Typhon's Fang Typhon's Fang
Build Item Obsidian Shard Obsidian Shard
Build Item Calamitous Rod of Tahuti Calamitous Rod of Tahuti

Starting Items (Bancroft + CDR)

Build Item Sands of Time Sands of Time
Build Item Tiny Trinket Tiny Trinket
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
3
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion
2

Offense / Utility Items

Notes These items are not essential, but very functional depending on your preferences and needs.
  • Chronos' Pendant (High CDR): Great for ability spamming, especially for his incredibly deadly ult.
  • Gem of Isolation (CC): Provides some health and power, but is purchased for the slow it provides, allowing you to hit targets more easily, or slow them to allow you to escape.
  • Spear of Desolation (All-Around Offense): Provides a balanced set of stats, including power, CDR, and penetration. Suggest only considering if you have no pressing needs late-game.
  • Divine Ruin (Anti-Heal): Decent item, but only get if you're facing multiple healers.
  • Spear of the Magus (Lifesteal / Bonus Team Damage): Anubis can get great use out of this as an early item for the lifesteal as well as the bonus damage the passive provides.
  • Charon's Coin (Anti-Tank / Utility): High % pen combines with some unique utility with regard to HP5 and movement speed. Strong item that is almost core at this point.
  • Calamitous Rod of Tahuti (Huge Damage): The high power boost of this item (combined with your incredible scaling) will tear through all enemies, and can be triggered throughout the duration of your abilities.
  • Pythagorem's Piece (Group Lifesteal / Power): An alternative to Bancroft's Talon, this is functional if you've got good teammate support, as the aura it generates provides a boost in power and lifesteal for nearby teammates.
  • Staff of Myrddin (Ult -> Ability Spam): This is an option for CDR, good power, and the special ability to use an ability twice in a row with no CD limitations due to its passive.
  • Ethereal Staff (Health / Mana Steal): This item provides a base of health, but the more interesting aspect of the item is that it steals health and mana from your targets. This can be quite useful for survivability, and can take a chunk out of tanks in particular.

Notes

These items are not essential, but very functional depending on your preferences and needs.

  • Chronos' Pendant (High CDR): Great for ability spamming, especially for his incredibly deadly ult.
  • Gem of Isolation (CC): Provides some health and power, but is purchased for the slow it provides, allowing you to hit targets more easily, or slow them to allow you to escape.
  • Spear of Desolation (All-Around Offense): Provides a balanced set of stats, including power, CDR, and penetration. Suggest only considering if you have no pressing needs late-game.
  • Divine Ruin (Anti-Heal): Decent item, but only get if you're facing multiple healers.
  • Spear of the Magus (Lifesteal / Bonus Team Damage): Anubis can get great use out of this as an early item for the lifesteal as well as the bonus damage the passive provides.
  • Charon's Coin (Anti-Tank / Utility): High % pen combines with some unique utility with regard to HP5 and movement speed. Strong item that is almost core at this point.
  • Calamitous Rod of Tahuti (Huge Damage): The high power boost of this item (combined with your incredible scaling) will tear through all enemies, and can be triggered throughout the duration of your abilities.
  • Pythagorem's Piece (Group Lifesteal / Power): An alternative to Bancroft's Talon, this is functional if you've got good teammate support, as the aura it generates provides a boost in power and lifesteal for nearby teammates.
  • Staff of Myrddin (Ult -> Ability Spam): This is an option for CDR, good power, and the special ability to use an ability twice in a row with no CD limitations due to its passive.
  • Ethereal Staff (Health / Mana Steal): This item provides a base of health, but the more interesting aspect of the item is that it steals health and mana from your targets. This can be quite useful for survivability, and can take a chunk out of tanks in particular.

Build Item Chronos' Pendant Chronos' Pendant
Build Item Gem of Isolation Gem of Isolation
Build Item Spear of Desolation Spear of Desolation
Build Item Divine Ruin Divine Ruin
Build Item Spear of the Magus Spear of the Magus
Build Item Charon's Coin Charon's Coin
Build Item Calamitous Rod of Tahuti Calamitous Rod of Tahuti
Build Item Pythagorem's Piece Pythagorem's Piece
Build Item Staff of Myrddin Staff of Myrddin
Build Item Ethereal Staff Ethereal Staff
Build Item Doom Orb Doom Orb

Situational Defense

Notes You can consider any of these defensive items if you're behind or are getting focused by specific enemies.
  • Mantle of Discord (High Dual Protections): A higher base of protections makes this a popular choice for gods in many roles. The CDR is also helpful, and if you're getting ganked by diving enemies, the passive silence might give you enough time to unleash your kit and survive the encounter.

  • Magi's Cloak (Anti-Hard CC): A good base of health is helpful in general, but the main reason you get this is for facing heavy CC comps that shut you down. That passive gives you an extra Purification Beads effect, which can be a life-saver, though it's fairly unreliable.

  • Breastplate of Valor (Anti-Physical, CDR): If you're looking to spam abilities but physical threats are high, the protections and high CDR this provides will provide everything you need.

Notes

You can consider any of these defensive items if you're behind or are getting focused by specific enemies.

  • Mantle of Discord (High Dual Protections): A higher base of protections makes this a popular choice for gods in many roles. The CDR is also helpful, and if you're getting ganked by diving enemies, the passive silence might give you enough time to unleash your kit and survive the encounter.

  • Magi's Cloak (Anti-Hard CC): A good base of health is helpful in general, but the main reason you get this is for facing heavy CC comps that shut you down. That passive gives you an extra Purification Beads effect, which can be a life-saver, though it's fairly unreliable.

  • Breastplate of Valor (Anti-Physical, CDR): If you're looking to spam abilities but physical threats are high, the protections and high CDR this provides will provide everything you need.

Build Item Mantle of Discord Mantle of Discord
Build Item Magi's Cloak Magi's Cloak
Build Item Breastplate of Valor Breastplate of Valor

Recommended Relics

Notes Standard pickups are Purification Beads and Aegis Amulet.

Phantom Shell is specifically useful when facing an enemy Odin, as his ring is a death trap, due to the healing reduction rendering your lifesteal useless.

Against more slows than hard CC, Heavenly Wings can be considered.

Blink Rune is for aggressive play.

Notes

Standard pickups are Purification Beads and Aegis Amulet.

Phantom Shell is specifically useful when facing an enemy Odin, as his ring is a death trap, due to the healing reduction rendering your lifesteal useless.

Against more slows than hard CC, Heavenly Wings can be considered.

Blink Rune is for aggressive play.

Build Item Aegis Amulet Aegis Amulet
Build Item Purification Beads Purification Beads
Build Item Phantom Shell Phantom Shell
Build Item Heavenly Wings Heavenly Wings
Build Item Blink Rune Blink Rune

Anubis's Skill Order

Plague of Locusts

1 X Y
Plague of Locusts
2 8 11 12 14

Mummify

2 A B
Mummify
3 15 16 18 19

Grasping Hands

3 B A
Grasping Hands
1 4 6 7 10

Death Gaze

4 Y X
Death Gaze
5 9 13 17 20
Plague of Locusts
2 8 11 12 14

Plague of Locusts

1 X
A plague of locusts bellows forth from Anubis' mouth, smothering all enemies in the area and doing damage every .25s for 3s. Anubis is immune to knockback while channeling and moves at 50% speed.

Ability Type: Cone, Damage
Damage Per Tick: 18 / 26 / 34 / 42 / 50 (+20% of your Magical Power)
Range: 35
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80
Cooldown: 11s
Mummify
3 15 16 18 19

Mummify

2 A
Anubis fires a bandage projectile, mummifying and stunning his target.

Ability Type: Line, Stun
Stun Duration: 1.6 / 1.7 / 1.8 / 1.9 / 2s
Range: 70
Cost: 60
Cooldown: 16 / 15 / 14 / 13 / 12s
Grasping Hands
1 4 6 7 10

Grasping Hands

3 B
Anubis calls for help from the underworld as hands penetrate the ground and claw at his enemies, doing damage and slowing every 0.5s for 2s.

Ability Type: Circle, Slow, Damage
Damage Per Tick: 25 / 40 / 55 / 70 / 85 (+35% of your Magical Power)
Slow: 25%
Range/Radius: 55/20
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80
Cooldown: 14 / 13 / 12 / 11 / 10s
Death Gaze
5 9 13 17 20

Death Gaze

4 Y
Anubis focuses all of his energy into a piercing gaze, doing damage to all enemies in the path, every 0.1s for 3s.

Ability Type: Line, Damage
Damage Per Tick: 23 / 28 / 33 / 38 / 43 (+15% of your Magical Power)
Range: 70
Cost: 90
Cooldown: 90 / 85 / 80 / 75 / 70s

Anubis Threats

Tap each threat level to view Anubis’s threats

Max
4
Major
4
Even
5
Minor
3
Tiny
1

Introduction

*Editor's Note: Daelinn has permanently stepped away from SMITE, but has entrusted me with the maintenance of his guide (the original of which can be found HERE). I am maintaining the guide in the original structure and style he created. However, I will be listening to reader feedback when any is given, and make build adjustments as necessary. As such, feedback is greatly appreciated. Consider this a community-driven guide, founded by a very knowledgeable and helpful individual that will be missed in this community.




*In Daelinn's words* Greetings traveler, I'm glad that you decided to take a look at this guide about Anubis, my favorite character in Smite. When I first played as Anubis, I just couldn't make a good use of this god, and it took a substantial amount of practise before I felt quite effective with him. Since then I have achieved a decent quality of gameplay and am confident enough as to share my experiences. Hopefully some of the information provided about various issues mentioned below will prove useful to you and, who knows, maybe you'll also fall in love with this character.

Daelinn's Stats, S3


"I am not a dog, I am a god! Get it right."



Anubis was designed for ancient times in Smite, back when it wasn't common for every character to have multiple crowd control or escape abilities like nowadays, and his damage was way easier to confirm. The damage though, is the thing Anubis excels at- he is the god of the dead after all, and not without reason: he'll gladly introduce his enemies to their afterlife given the chance.

Yet, as everyone, he has his flaws- he belongs to the mage class, having extremely weak defensive capabilities and low health, furthermore he has very limited movement potential, partially on account of his low base speed, but also because of lack of any escape abilities.

Thus, he'll often be forced to stand his ground, and not to run away from his foes. Thanks to his high damage combined with enhanced lifesteal function, he has the potential of surviving scenarios where other mages would have died.

Base Stats




BASE STATS

HP: 532 (+74 per character lvl) = 2,012 at lvl 20
MANA: 280 (+58 per character lvl) = 1,440 at lvl 20
Movement Speed: 360
Attack/sec: 0.86 (+0.99% per character lvl)


BASIC ATTACKS

Damage: 35 (+1.5 per character lvl) +20% of magical power
Basic Attack Range: 55
Progression: None


PROTECTION

Physical: 14 (+2.7 per character lvl) = 68 at lvl 20
Magical: 38 (+1.2 per character lvl) = 62 at lvl 20


REGENERATION

HP/5s: 7 (+0.45 per character lvl)
Mana/5s: 4.8 (+0.36 per character lvl)

Pros and Cons






P
R
O
S
+ extraordinary combo damage potential
+ splendid objective damage (gold fury, fire giant, titan)
+ has the potential of snowballing out of control
+ has a long range stun which can serve multiple purposes
+ great voice




no escape potential -
absolute lack of mobility -
roots himself for the duration of 2 out of 4 abilities -
very easy to gank and shut down -
has a depressing defeat screen -
C
O
N
S

Abilities





A Note About Ability Leveling


Anubis is a god whose ability leveling will depend on environment, situation, and matchups. Other than his ultimate (which should always be leveled ASAP), his other abilities are in conflict depending on need for safety, role, etc.

Plague of Locusts offers the highest damage potential but with limited range and high exposure, so is the best choice to focus on early for camp clear in the jungle, for example, but is prioritized less in some laning situations, especially if the enemy has long-range poke.

Mummify offers lower CD and an increasing stun duration, which can allow you to escape a gank attempt or lock enemies down for easier confirmation of damage. If anything, recent changes to this ability allow you to put just one early point into it, and then prioritize your damaging abilities as you see fit.

Grasping Hands offers safe but weaker clear from distance, and provides more utility in teamfights, so is usually the preferred ability priority in non-Conquest, teamfight modes, or in Conquest mid-lane when facing long-range poke.

Keep this in mind when leveling your skills, as the leveling examples shown at the top are only examples.



Sorrow


Sorrow is Anubis' passive, and is amongst the best in the game. It serves 3 purposes split into 2 main segments:
  1. True Passive (Anti-CC): Sorrow passively reduces the duration of all Crowd Control effects on Anubis by 30%, which is a useful bonus allowing a better chance of survival against stuns and pesky roots/snares; however, it has no effective impact on displacement abilities such as Ares' or Xing Tian's ultimates.

  2. Stacks (Protection Steal): Every time Anubis deals damage with an ability (every tick counts) or uses Mummify, he gains a stack of Sorrow, stacking up to 3 times for 5 seconds or until refreshed. With every stack, 7 points of magical and physical protection are stolen from the affected target (which equals 21 protections stolen at 3 stacks), meaning that Anubis gains them at the cost of his enemy for the duration.

  3. Stacks (Lifesteal): Last but definitely not least, Sorrow stacks additionally increase Anubis' magical lifesteal from items by 33% per stack, effectively doubling his lifesteal (100%) at 3 stacks; for example with Bancroft's Talon at 3 stacks of Sorrow, Anubis has 30% magical lifesteal instead of the default 15% (this doesn't even count Bancroft's passive lifesteal increase of up to an additional 20%).
For Season 5, the addition of Typhon's Fang and the additional lifesteal enhancement gives him an incredible amount of sustain.

All things considered, his passive is meant to help him with survivability, which he lacks, by raising his protections and improving sustain, thus allowing for better 1v1 fight potential.





Plague of Locusts



Anubis' first ability is interesting, yet risky. It comes in the form of a 120 degree cone attack with extremely limited range, but the ability to rotate to track targets. It lasts for 3 seconds and has a damage tick every 0.5s, but in turn roots Anubis in place for the duration.

Due to its short range and the self-root it forces, Plague of Locusts makes Anubis extremely susceptible to enemy damage, allowing for easy confirmation of most targeted abilities, thus requiring practice with proper positioning and timing.

But here comes the favorable part: it has the potential of being the most damaging non-ultimate ability in the game! With 35/50/65/80/95 (+40% of magical power) damage every tick, and up to 210/300/390/480/570 (+240% of magical power) if all ticks hit, it can deal more damage than some gods' ultimates!

One last thing worth noting is the knockup immunity it provides for the duration, which makes it impossible for some abilities, like Poseidon's Tidal Surge, He Bo's Waterspout or Vulcan's Magma Bomb to interrupt it. Furthermore, when timed correctly, it can deny some of the enemy's kill setups, for example Hercules' Earthbreaker, or Awilix's Moonlight Charge into Gravity Surge combo.

However, it is also susceptible to abilities that interrupt casting (or aren't traditional knockup abilities), such as stuns and silences. Examples include Janus' Portal (which drops you rather than knocks you up), Agni's Rain of Fire + Noxious Fumes combo, and abilities that silence, such as Eset' Dispel Magic, or Nox's Siphon Darkness.





Mummify



Here we are, one of the Anubis' most recognizable moves: Mummify. A long-range bandage projectile, it is among the best single target stuns in the game, and provides much needed utility to Anubis' kit.

At maximum rank, the stun lasts for 2 seconds. This is a considerable amount of time, allowing for an offensive setup, or serving as a means of escape. Even at first rank, the stun is 1.6 seconds, which makes it an ability you can put one level in, then forget about until late-game.

Its major downside is its narrow skillshot, making it tough to connect. On the other hand, it provides much satisfaction upon successfully landing it (especially when predicting the direction of an invisible target). Being able to reliably confirm it is the main requirement for efficiency with Anubis.

It is commonly used as a part of the ability combos; placing Grasping Hands beneath an enemy and then locking him in with Mummify makes him suffer the damage from all of its ticks. This combo can be further improved by the usage of Anubis' ultimate, Death Gaze, to drastically increase total damage done.

Unfortunately, Mummify has a considerable cooldown and is not to be wasted without reason. It is also good to note that Mummify passes through minions but doesn't go through walls.





Grasping Hands



It is the safest of all Anubis' abilities. Not only does it have a long range, it also has a considerable radius, and also applies a 25% slow to every enemy standing or passing through it, allowing for better damage confirmation and easier Mummify aiming. It lasts for 2 seconds with a tick applied every 0.5s.

This is the ability that is often recommended to level up with the highest priority in the mid-lane, for it offers safe wave clear without stress, as opposed to using Plague of Locusts.

Its damage is also not to be underestimated, with 25/40/55/70/85 (+35% of magical power) every tick and up to 100/160/220/280/340 (+140% of magical power) provided that all ticks hit.





Death Gaze



The in-game tooltip for this ability simply does not express its brutality. It is what Anubis is known for - a long range laser lasting for 3 seconds and (surprise) dealing damage based on ticks, with a tick every 0.1s. This equals 30 ticks dealing 23/28/33/38/43 (+15% of magical power) each, and up to 690/840/990/1140/1290 (+450% of magical power) damage, making it the most damaging ability in the game. Used at the right time, it obliterates the health of enemy squishies, and has a huge impact on tanks' and objectives' health as well.

That being said, it has a crucial flaw which prevents it from being the ultimate ability of SMITE; as in case of Plague of Locusts, Anubis roots himself in place for the duration (fortunately also allowing you to rotate), which makes him very susceptible to any counter fire. This time, however, he also becomes completely immune to crowd control while casting. Thanks to that fact it also has defensive potential; it can deny displacement by various enemy abilities, such as Ares' No Escape, Xing Tian's Whirlwind of Rage and Steel, and Fenrir's Ragnarok.

Additionally, Death Gaze passes through EVERYTHING, be it minions, walls or multiple enemy players, so it's impossible to body-block it. The only way to avoid it is to move outside of its range or use Aegis Amulet.

Ability Combos




The name of this chapter is probably self-explanatory; some abilities yield wonderful results when used in conjunction with others - it all comes down to their sensible usage at the right time.



Standard Poke / Damage Combo


AND


Using these two abilities together provides the safest means of confirming damage on an opponent, allowing you to cast from quite a long range. There are 2 ways to use these abilities together, depending mainly on preference but also on other considerations.

Further explanation

All in all: If the opponent doesn't have escape abilities available and/or you don't feel confident in landing Mummify, perform the combo in this order: Grasping Hands + Mummify.

If you can trust your aiming skills and/or the enemy target has the potential of dashing/jumping: use Mummify + Grasping Hands to ensure at least some of the ticks.




Heavy Poke/Damage Combo


+ +


This is a serious improvement over the previous poke combo in terms of pure damage, but is countered by the danger Anubis has to expose himself to in order to perform it.

Plague of Locusts' short range, paired with the self-root it enforces, means that you may want to restrain yourself from using it in big teamfights, especially when being the center of attention. It will do more harm than good, as every enemy will switch his damage to poor, rooted Anubis, almost in melee range.

However, do not hesitate to use it as serious harassment should you catch an enemy alone and off-guard.




Kill Combo


+ +


This is the hard poke combo on steroids (which itself has some kill potential); it is the crowning achievement of Anubis' damage capabilities.

Use it on high priority targets, after confirming they don't have their Aegis Amulet available. Late-game, it has the potential of deleting a god from 100-0, and has a big impact on tanks and non-stationary objectives such as the Gold Fury and Fire Giant.

The combo itself has decent range, as it doesn't include Plague of Locusts, but it still roots Anubis in place for the duration; be aware of your surroundings before attempting it.


Items





Not all items will be discussed in this section, but we'll cover some of the main ones and some interesting situational items.



CORE ITEMS:




Typhon's Fang

Typhon's Fang supports lifesteal from other items by enhancing total lifesteal, and also provides 10% penetration.

It also provides 70 power and 200 mana, and besides enhancing total lifesteal, boosts power by twice the amount of lifesteal you have, making this a solid power item as well.

This should be considered a core lifesteal / penetration item for him, and should be built in almost every mode, typically as a second lifesteal item in the mid to late-game.




Charon's Coin Obsidian Shard

You need to choose at least one of these high % penetration items to help your abilities punch through enemy protections.

Charon's Coin is the utility % penetration item for Anubis. It provides 80 power, 7 HP5, 20 MP5, 20% magical penetration, and a passive that provides increased MP5 or 2% movement speed every time you gain a stack (through god kills or assists). At max stacks of the passive, this means you'll have an additional 35 HP5, 35 MP5 and 8% movement speed. In addition, each time you get another kill or assist, you'll get a 5% MS buff or 150 health for 6 seconds.

Obsidian Shard is much more straightforward, and provides 100 power and 20% magical penetration. Its passive allows for an ability to gain an additional 10% penetration (with a cooldown of 10 seconds), which can be very helpful against tankier targets, and especially if it's activated with ult use.


SITUATIONAL OFFENSE:




Bancroft's Talon

Its stats are synergistic with Anubis' kit; it offers raw 100 Magical Power, 150 mana, and 15% magical lifesteal, plus a situational passive. The passive increases the owner's magical power as he is damaged, maxing at an additional 100 power and 20% bonus lifesteal at or below 25% health.

Sounds good, doesn't it? The only problem is that for the passive to become fully relevant, Anubis has to be extremely hurt, at which point he is an easy prey for the enemy jungler. But there's always a possibility of it being extremely useful, for example when ganked, with most of the HP gone - the only option for Anubis is to stand his ground, which might result in killing the attacker and surviving, due to the increased power and lifesteal.

Bancroft's has a reasonable price and thus can, depending on the situation (like for example when starting with Talon Trinket), provide an early power spike granting the possibility of snowballing. I wouldn't recommend this tactic for beginners though.

On the other hand, Bancroft's Talon has been proven extraordinarily helpful in the Arena mode (a great guide in which info has been provided by Branmuffin17)- due to its layout Anubis has even less chance to escape than normal, which forces him to stand his ground in almost every fight. Because of that, he'll often find himself lacking HP, which increases the Bancroft's passive value regularly.

For significantly enhanced lifesteal function, pair this item with a later Typhon's Fang.




Chronos' Pendant

Gives 90 magical power, restores 20 mana per 5 seconds, and lowers the cooldown on all abilities by 20%. In addition, the passive subtracts 1 second from all abilities currently on cooldown every 10 seconds. Useful on hectic modes based mainly around constant fighting like Arena, Assault or Clash, or if you're focusing on ult spamming, you'll see great use from this item.

It can be considered in the middle of a build if you've already covered the more important stats (lifesteal and penetration). Otherwise, it's a useful pickup in the late-game for more uses of his ult.




Gem of Isolation

This item is best bought on modes like Arena and Assault as a substitute for the Warlock's Staff, as it provides 200 health and 90 magical power, but doesn't require any stacking.

Its main asset is the passive: every time an enemy is damaged by the owner's ability, he suffers a 20% movement speed slow for a second after getting hit. Just imagine how it works combined with the 25% slow from the Grasping Hands...your enemy will move like they are in molasses.

Buy this if you want to cripple the enemy's mobility, granting your team positioning advantage, a stronger means of "escaping," or just like the feeling of watching everyone trudge through your abilities like they're stuck in molasses.

The 20% slow can additionally have a great positive impact on confirming the damage from Death Gaze and Plague of Locusts, making it a lot harder for enemies to escape their areas of influence: it'll be refreshed with every single ability tick.

( Gem of Isolation is also a good item on the jungle build; yes, it is a viable strategy, and a fun one also. It requires a good deal of practice with Mummify, though.)




Spear of Desolation

Spear of Desolation can be considered as a late game offensive item, potentially as an option for the last item if you don't feel the need for protection.

It gives 100 magical power, 15 magical penetration, 10% cooldown reduction, and a passive that subtracts 2 seconds from all abilities currently on cooldown when earning a kill or assist (which he should be doing often).

Consider if you want some protections, and are getting jumped at close range by junglers.




Divine Ruin

This is a situational item that is recommended specifically to counter healers, and only when there's more than one. Anubis doesn't typically want to fight a war of attrition; his best potential comes from high damage and quick kills, and his damage output should be able to outperform most healing.




Spear of the Magus

This is a strong early-game item that provides some lifesteal and bonus damage potential, combined with good power and flat pen. It is one of the most popular items for him in the current meta due to the balanced offensive stats.




Rod of Tahuti

This item is has received a situational nerf for Season 5, but remains a solid item for pure offense. It gives 140 magical power on its own, and can situationally increase total magical power by 25%.

Its biggest downside is its high price, so it's best to wait until late game before buying it (as it will also provide the best effects from its passive at that point).




Staff of Myrddin

This can be considered in the late game as a source of CDR and power. More specifically, however, you'll purchase this in anticipation of a teamfight.

When you ult, you get a huge temporary boost to your CDR so that you can cast your ability again quickly. This can be incredibly helpful, especially for an ability like Grasping Hands, which gives good AOE damage and the slow for control.




Ethereal Staff

This item is considered more of a bruiser/utility item. It provides 90 power, 200 health, 20% crowd control reduction, and a passive that steals mana and health from enemies. The key here is the base health and the health steal, which can be substantial, especially for a god that is typically squishy.

If you've covered all of your core needs, this can be a great late-game pickup to provide survivability.




Doom Orb

Depending on the god, this can be considered as an early-game rush item. The cost is a bit prohibitive, but once it's purchased, it provides not only high power (145), but also a chunk of mana (200) and mana regen (25 MP5), movement speed (4%), and a passive that grants you further movement speed and power when killing minions (or enemy gods).

This is quite helpful when in the laning phase, as you'll be killing minions as your primary function, and the movement speed increase will help you rotate and farm efficiently.


DEFENSIVE OPTIONS:




Mantle of Discord

Mantle of Discord can be considered as a late game defensive item to gain some survivability. It's not typically recommended as it will cut into your damage potential, but you can't deal damage if you're dead.




Magi's Cloak

This is a situational item that is extremely helpful to counter dangerous CC abilities when Purification Beads don't provide enough safety on their own. It provides 300 health, 15 of each protection, and a passive that absorbs hard CC or roots once every 70 seconds (also providing 1 second of CC immunity after being triggered).




Breastplate of Valor

Gives 65 physical protection, 300 mana, 10 mana per 5 seconds, and reduces cooldown on all abilities by 20%. Extremely useful against physical damage-heavy teams, as suddenly Anubis has 125 physical protection (including his base protections at level 20), deflecting a considerable amount of damage. (this is even more true since initial levels of protection give the most percentage damage reduction, as visualized in this graph:

Damage Dealt/Protection

With 125 protection (achieved purely by buying Breastplate of Valor, which also offers some helpful utility stats), enemies with no penetration would deal only about 45% of their damage against Anubis, and a typical hunter with The Executioner providing 36% of protection reduction at max stacks would deal about 55% of his potential damage.

Gameplay




Anubis does not have a really weak phase in the game; actually at levels 1 to 2 he is amongst the best gods, with a lot of damage potential. His main weakness comes from his absolute lack of mobility, and if he falls behind, it'll take a lot of time for him to become relevant again.

The enemy jungler will try his best to take advantage of this fact, and is likely to show up in your lane quite often. That's especially the case when you are given an unfavorable matchup, such as against Eset or Janus - all you can do in these cases is to play a safe, farming game until the teamfight phase begins. In other matchups you'll have an easy lane and will be able to push your lead over the opponent.

Nevertheless, whatever you do, always, ALWAYS keep an eye out on the minimap. It can provide you with information on the enemy locations, especially their jungler.

Furthermore, your gameplay will become better the more you know about your opponents; so don't get discouraged and just keep training!


Early Game


AKA "Laning phase." Basically all you want to do is to farm, preferably more efficiently than your opponent. This can be achieved by outclearing the minions and forcing them under their tower (losing gold along the way), and taking the harpy mid-camps when they're spawned.

If you feel confident, put a point in Plague of Locusts on the very first level instead of the safer Grasping Hands, because Plague of Locusts has higher base damage, allowing for quicker wave clear. This can open up possibilities for poking the opponent.

If you happen to win lane against your opponent; and he is forced to go back to base, you can consider a quick rotation to one of your teammates' lanes to hopefully help them secure a kill. Minion waves and mid-camps should be given the main priority, as when you fail to kill an opponent during your gank all you have done is waste time and possible gold and experience that could be gained when staying in lane.


Mid Game


By this time, you have hopefully bought and progressed a bit on your stacking item, and have a pair of shoes and some lifesteal as well. You should still farm lane when possible, but now it will be a lot easier, even feasible to clear a whole minion wave with a single use of Grasping Hands.

The mid-game is when the teams will start grouping up more, creating greater possibilities for teamfights. In such cases, you'll want to stay behind tankier teammates and wait until the fighting begins. You'll want to look for a chance to catch somebody off-guard and out of position, thus creating a kill opportunity. You should save your ultimate to combo it with your team in order to secure a kill on high priority targets, like an enemy mage or hunter.

If your team happens to win a fight and most of the enemies are waiting for respawn or were forced back to their base, it is a great moment to attempt a Gold Fury or Fire Gianttakedown- it'll provide your team with a considerable amount of gold. If you still have your Death Gaze available, do not hesitate to use it on these objectives; thanks to its damage you'll be able to kill it a lot faster and be on your way back to the lane or base.


Late Game


Now is the time for Anubis to shine; he can provide his team with that much-needed damage to either wipe out the enemy team or smoothly secure a Fire Giant or even Titan kill.

Even though you have the potential of sending everyone to the underworld, you're still extremely susceptible to enemy damage. Never go on your own crusade thinking you can cope alone...you simply can't. Stay with your team and wait for the fight to begin. In a sense, you can serve as a defensive tool for your allies:
Someone hastily engages on you? Too bad for him, he's literally deleted by your abilities.

As long as you're alive, your team is likely to win most of the damage races, and has the potential of rushing the Titan given the chance. In case your team storms into the enemy base hoping to end the game, do not try to secure kills, just treat the Titan with Grasping Hands and Death Gaze; you're able to do damage equaling more than half of his HP with this combo.


Warding


Especially when queuing alone, you can't always rely on your teammates to warn you about their missing lane opponents (though it's a kind and much appreciated gesture if they do). With that in mind, it is YOU who have to be responsible for your own safety regarding potential ganks and surprise rotations. Here are the main examples of decent spots to place wards. More information about warding in general can be found in The Overaching Conquest Guide.


Mid Lane Warding


Jungler / Objective Warding


Late-Game Warding

Common Matchups




These are some examples of popular mid-lane opponents in Conquest game mode with tips, adressed mainly to beginners, what to watch out for when facing them.

Keep in mind though, that the gameplay will be also affected by both teams' junglers, as mid lane is a common stop for them.




Agni

MODERATE

Fuel for the fire



Discordia

EASY

How Erratic



He Bo

MODERATE - DIFFICULT

Let the waters rise



Isis

DIFFICULT

Come into the light



Janus

DIFFICULT

Watch your step



Kukulkan

EASY

The storm strikes



Nox

MODERATE

Consume



Ra

MODERATE

Bathe in the glow



Scylla

EASY - MODERATE

I'm a Monster



Poseidon

MODERATE

Rolling waves, go forth



Raijin

MODERATE - DIFFICULT

Drums in the distance



Sol

MODERATE

Time to Shine



Thoth

DIFFICULT

Try and Keep Up



Vulcan

MODERATE

Fire in the hole



Zeus

MODERATE

Let the heavens rage



Anubis

It all depends...

Let the eternal darkness embrace you

Tips




Still looking for more I see, right? Good... Good...

Here are some examples of Tips & Tricks that you may find useful on your quest to become a respected Anubis main.


-- General Tips --


  • Probably the most important thing to remember, not only as Anubis, but in general: when trying to get a kill (and provided that the enemy has such an ability up their sleeve), unless you directly saw them using their escape ability, always assume it's available for them to use instantly. By assuming as such, it prevents you from wasting an ultimate on an enemy that will simply jump out of its range. When you do see them use it, paired with the fact that their relic like Aegis Amulet is on cooldown as well, then you can attempt trying to score a kill; this time is commonly called the Kill Window.

  • If you find yourself out of position while using Death Gaze or Plague of Locusts, you can right-click to cancel the ability early and move to a more preferable spot.

  • If you're chasing someone with low HP through a narrow path, such as in the jungle, put your Grasping Hands a bit ahead of your prey, that way you'll cut his escape route and he will be forced back by this fact. You can easily finish him with Plague of Locusts then.

  • If you see a Hercules running towards you willing to knock you up to his team using Earthbreaker, you can time your Plague of Locusts to gain knockup immunity for that crucial moment, right click to cancel it right away and retreat.

  • You can use Death Gaze defensively to gain crowd control immunity for to avoid geting pulled by Ares' No Escape or caught by Fenrir's Ragnarok.

  • Anubis definitely should not be the character responsible for engaging enemies; keep your distance and strike when the fight has already begun.

  • Sometimes, you're going to find yourself in a scenario where you don't have any chance of escape, which may happen often because of your limited mobility. In such cases, you have to stand your ground and deal as much damage to the enemies as possible, with Grasping Hands + Plague of Locusts or Death Gaze. In combination with lifesteal, you might be able to win the fight, and even if you fall, you hopefully have dealt enough damage to the enemies that it'll be possible for your team to chase them down and avenge you.

  • You're a walking defense turret for your team. If you see an enemy doing something stupid very brave, like a hunter jumping onto you with his escape ability, you're free to wipe him out instantly with your ability combos.

  • If you see an enemy assassin preparing to strike; like Loki going invisible and heading towards you, or Thor in the air looking at you, you can put Grasping Hands directly beneath yourself. This will either discourage them from attacking, or deal a bit of damage to them and heal you slightly thanks to your lifesteal in case of an attack. Sometimes it might mean the difference between a dead Anubis and a dead assassin.

  • Death Gaze pierces through everything including walls, you might be able to kill a low health enemy in such a way.

-- Conquest-Specific --


  • Grasping Hands has quite a long range, and can be cast through walls. You can put them over the wall to help your jungler in clearing camps in mid-lane. Similarly, you can try to cast them over the wall if you're certain the enemy team is clearing the camp at a given moment, for a chance of stealing some experience and gold or at least poking your enemies without leaving the safety of your lane.

  • There's an option for an advanced, very aggressive start resulting in good first blood potential: purchase Talon Trinket as a starting item, which provides 60 magical power right away. It all comes down to outclearing and getting to level 2 first. You then have a decision to make: put a point in Mummify, so that your own minions deal serious damage to the opponent, or in Grasping Hands which deals considerable damage while also slowing them, allowing your minions to also make a few attacks. It depends on the opponent's position, and intuition about it comes with time.

  • Thanks to Anubis' high damage it is entirely possible to score an extremely early Gold Fury kill with the help of the jungler without enemies even noticing this fact. A good time to attempt it, to make sure no one will interfere, is when the enemy mid-laner is going to help his jungler on their back experience camps. Full ability combo including Death Gaze can provide enough damage that the jungler will be able to finish the kill.

  • If you've chosen Anubis as a jungler, a thing worth considering is to buy an early Blink Rune. It'll greatly improve Anubis' ganking capabilities as he does not own any gap-closing abilities. In such cases, though, ganks are always all-in fights; there's no option to retreat.

Skins




They say not to judge a book by its cover...

Well, the skins won't give you much of tactical advantage but appearance also matters, aspecially in games. That's how I discovered Anubis at least. Take a look whether you'll like any particularly.



Default

Nightwalker

Gravehound

Golden

Legendary

Diamond

Stargazer

Afterlife

Convention 2016

Adjudicator

K-9

Demonic Pact

Jackal Knight

Jackal Tech

Cosmic Power

Heavy Hitter

Death Dragon

Freedom Retriever

Grand Magus

Senko Sage

Primordial Punisher

Changelog

Most recent change:


6.3.2022
- Updated guide and info for Patch 9.5 Bonus Balance. Builds updated.

7.14.2021
- Updated guide and info for Patch 8.7, "Mid-Season." Builds updated.

2.19.2020
- Updated guide and info to Patch 7.1, "Season 7." New season sees new items and adjustments to existing items. Builds updated.

8.31.2019
- Updated guide and info to Patch 6.9, "Queen of the Underworld." We see buffs to Anubis' base stats, a nerf to Gem of Isolation, the addition of the Arthurian items (specifically Staff of Myrrdin for Anubis)

5.6.2019
- Updated guide and info to Patch 6.5, "Sands & Skies."

1.28.2019
- Updated guide and info to Patch 6.1, "Season 6." Skill leveling adjustment and minor updates based on patch changes.

All changes performed since release

Conclusion



As you can see, Anubis is quite an underrated character nowadays as there are more utile and safe options to pick over him, but it doesn't mean he is anywhere close to being useless. Given enough time, as your confidence with Anubis grows you'll learn how to punish your opponents for underestimating you.

"The situation is under control."



If you managed to reach this section it hopefully means that you found some of the information useful, and if you learned even a single new curiosity I'm happy that I spent my time on this overview. In case you already knew most of the information provided, let it serve as a comparison to your gamestyle and knowledge. Providing your own feedback and experience in the comments section is appreciated!

Carrying on Daelinn's legacy...

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1
JuaniT033 | June 28, 2022 7:19am
Thanks for this guide. Just full of piece of advice and strong elaborate.
1
JKPPlayz | June 30, 2020 9:21am
Serquet also counters anubis because her ult cancels his ult
1
xmysterionz (71) | June 30, 2020 9:55am
Her ulti only cancel his healing (lifesteal), but not the damage. Anubis is immune to cc while using his ulti
1
Kriega1 (143) | June 30, 2020 11:07am
Doesen't Serqet get immunity frames while in her ult? When she's injecting the poison on someone before sending them forward.
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1
DV-8 (35) | November 8, 2019 7:13pm
What are your thoughts on Doom Orb for Anubis? The extra movement speed felt nice to me when I tried it.
1
Kriega1 (143) | November 9, 2019 2:02am
Where would you get it though? Anubis can’t afford to get it early game over Bancrofts, leaving it only as a late option which isn’t worth it for him.
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | November 9, 2019 11:06am
I don't see how it can't be at least somewhat worthwhile as a late-game option. It would never be considered as an early-game item of course.

That said, with his scaling, the power contribution is plenty welcome. If he's got all of his core items online, it should suit pretty well as a 6th/7th item, possibly as an alternative to Rod of Tahuti, for example. Less total power potential when the enemy is below 50% health, but quick kills of jungle camps or minion waves late game can help him move more quickly around the map.
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | November 8, 2019 9:09pm
Extra MS is always nice for him. Honestly I didn't do much in this update. I absolutely need to add Doom Orb as an option.

That said, WTF DV-8? WHERE TF HAVE YOU BEEN???
1
DV-8 (35) | November 10, 2019 4:52pm
Branmuffin17 wrote:
WTF DV-8? WHERE TF HAVE YOU BEEN???
Haven't been playing as much, which means even less time dedicated to a fan site. I have been getting back into it a bit though.
1
Kriega1 (143) | August 31, 2019 6:17pm
Stone Of Binding on Anubis jungle? Also there’s no mention of speed Elixir and also it still mentions cdr boots as a “lategame shoes replacement”
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | August 31, 2019 6:40pm
Some junglers get a bit of prots. This gives him some early at a cheap price to help since he has no mobility. Since he's also going to gank lanes, and since he somewhat easily applies CC, it gives his lane mate some added damage potential. Gives him good early flat pen also in combination with Magi.

Forgot I didn't update for Elixir and shoes, will do.
1
Kriega1 (143) | May 6, 2019 2:52pm
Conquest jungle build? I wasn't aware Anubis was a viable jungle pick...

Also how come you don't list the tier 2 bancrofts start for mid lane?
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | May 6, 2019 3:27pm
Check the notes on the "standard start" for your T2 Bancroft's option.

As for being a "viable" jungle pick, no he's not viable in SPL, but people can get him to work in general. Historically he's been a niche pick, and he remains as such here.

Mattypocket is the only listed case of him being used in the Jungle in the past year or whatever per Smite Pro Builds, but he was used with success, going 5/2/9 as a counter pick against a Merc.
1
Kriega1 (143) | May 6, 2019 3:37pm
That was one game of ranked though
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1
Gulfwulf (81) | May 6, 2019 3:00pm
Neither was I. Is his clear and rotation speed fast enough for jungle?
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | May 6, 2019 3:29pm
His clear is very good when prioritizing Plague of Locusts, which is a great ability for minion camps. Note the different skill leveling order for the Jungle role which does just that.
1
Kriega1 (143) | May 6, 2019 3:28pm
Well the clear is good if you get tier 2 bancrofts and use his 1, but thats out of the question for jungle.
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1
Kriega1 (143) | February 15, 2019 1:33pm
how about: Bancrofts, cdr boots, magus, deso, mantle, tahuti build? (sell magus and cdr boots for obsidian and pen boots late? - especially since his passive)
1
boogiebass (46) | February 15, 2019 1:37pm
Why would you want to sell Spear of the Magus late? Especially against a squishy team, I wouldn't advise this. There's no point in selling 2 items.
1
Kriega1 (143) | February 15, 2019 1:41pm
It's match dependent and you don't have to. But the flat pen from deso and boots, and his passive, and possibly a void stone on your team is over enough pen for squishies and sell magus for obsidian late gives better damage to high magical prot tanks. Obviously you lose out applying the magus passive to help magical teammates but as I said match/team dependent (e.g. how many magicals on your team), and whether the bonus damage to tanks from obsidian will be worth it.
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1
DV-8 (35) | October 5, 2018 11:24am
Talon Trinket can be a viable start in my opinion (which I didn't see listed), as it helps you rush Bancroft's Talon if you want early aggression.

Under threats, you list general matchups that you may face, except for Odin, who you consider a unique threat. I think along those same lines, Kuzenbo could deserve mentioning, as Anubis has a very tough matchup against him.
1
DV-8 (35) | October 5, 2018 11:29am
Also, what is your opinion on Shaman's Ring as a possible item option for Anubis?
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | October 5, 2018 11:46am
Regarding Talon Trinket start, ****. I thought I had a mention of that. I'll give a bit of extra wording in the normal start, with a slightly different title, to allow for that start. *edit* made that change. Check it out and let me know what you think. It's a bit subtle, but adding an additional start list would mean shifting everything else down, which would be a pain XD

Question...if Anubis is channeling Plague of Locusts, does he get affected by Kuzenbo's push or ult knockup? If so, I agree. I would say it's a potentially pain-in-the-*** matchup, but he also has his ult where none of Kuzen's CC will affect him, and high lifesteal to counter the majority of Kuzen's spikes reflection, along with Beads if necessary. He can quickly kill NeNe with Locusts also...more quickly than most. Thoughts on this?

As for Shaman's Ring...you keep bringing this up in all my guides. WHY DO YOU LIKE THE ITEM SO MUCH?!?!? XD

Um...it should be nice. I'm thinking more along the lines of the benefits of the MS than the damage boost, though. Anubis has so much damage potential, and will get better damage from Rod of Tahuti. So Shaman's could bring utility, but wouldn't be my first preference. Consider perhaps only if you need that MS boost? Remember also, that 10% damage boost is only after the trigger of the first ability hit, and is still subject to mitigations, so is likely only like a 5-8% boost.
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1
boogiebass (46) | October 3, 2018 10:54pm
Is a 0.2 second Mummify increase really worth putting points into? Even for the higher damage confirm mentioned by Estidian? I mean, it's already so hard to land as it is. But it makes sense that you won't always be in a safe enough spot to use Plague of Locusts.
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | October 4, 2018 12:59am
Also it has 1 second CDR. It's the combination of the two that makes it something to consider for leveling...don't HAVE to, and I explain in the guide, but it's an option.
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | October 3, 2018 4:52pm
Hiya everyone,

Updated the builds...moving away from Warlock's Staff as the main build example, though I still provide multiple build examples.

Changed out some items too (as items like Stone of Fal just honestly suck right now), and adjusted suggested skill leveling, with thanks to Estidien for the reasoning in a different thread.

Spot anything wrong, don't agree on the builds, let me know. Thanks for the continued help, everyone!

(Also, chatted briefly with Daelinn a short while ago, he's doing well for anyone that remembers him)
1
Wolfman5665 (6) | April 16, 2018 2:51pm
Nothing major, but you have Jackal Knight listed as part of the Birthday 2018 event and Jackal Tech as part of the Code of Chivalry event.
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | April 16, 2018 2:56pm
Oops, I screwed that up, thanks Wolf!
1
boogiebass (46) | April 15, 2018 9:05pm
Got daelinns contact info? Invite him over for a game for old times sake?
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League of Legends Build Guide Author Branmuffin17
Daelinn's Anubis - Towards the New Season (S9, Patch 9.5 Bonus Balance)
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