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Goddess of Wisdom and War

1 0 8,162
by Schylerwalker updated December 20, 2014

Smite God: Athena

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Athena Build

Build Item Shoes of Focus Shoes of Focus
Build Item Mystical Mail Mystical Mail
Build Item Stone of Gaia Stone of Gaia
Build Item Hide of the Urchin Hide of the Urchin
Build Item Ethereal Staff Ethereal Staff
Build Item Bancroft's Talon Bancroft's Talon
Build Item Fist of the Gods Fist of the Gods
Build Item Greater Purification Greater Purification

Introduction

Athena is my main god in Smite. Whether I'm doing Support in Conquest or Tank in Joust, Athena is my highest mastery and go to god in general. She wades in to combat, getting in the enemies' face, chasing down those that think they can escape and keeping the assassins off your squishies. Athena is tough, hits hard, and has an amazingly versatile, elegant kit. Getting off a good Athena combo (And the synergy is plain as day) is utterly satisfying. Your foes will dread seeing a high mastery Athena in the loading screen, but if you play her with equal parts valor and sense (As is only suitable for the goddess of war and wisdom), your opponents will regret messing with you.

Skills


Whenever Athena uses one of her abilities, her spear begins to glow (And a symbol appears on her HUD, of a little spearhead). Her NEXT basic attack (Regardless of whether you want it to be or not) is a ranged attack, which passes through multiple targets and does ADDITIONAL damage equal to 20% of her total magical power. This is crucial in taking out Jungle camps, clearing minion waves, and sniping a low health god running away, thinking he's safe because he knows you're out of mana and on cooldowns.


This ability is Athen's bread and butter, her bolter and chainsword. When enemies hear or see this charging up, they get plenty wary. Be warned, it DOES take about 1 second to charge up, and if you're trying an ambush, fuggetaboutit; sucker's LOUD. It's a medium-length dash that slams in to the target with punishing force, slowing them and stopping them for a second...it's almost like a mini stun! You pass through minions and whatnot, but you stop at the first god you hit. The passive side of this ability is the amazing part though; you make Assassins and Hunters weep, especially critical focused gods like Artemis. As a side note, you'll slide along walls along the way, continuing to go forward (Often at an angle). This includes lane walls, Ymir, Thor, anything like that. I max this ability out first or second.


"FACE ME!!"
Athena's most powerful and well known ability, the ubiquitous Taunt. It's a hard crowd control (Countered by Purification Beads and Magi's Blessing) that pulls the enemy toward you. They're forced to attack and follow you for 1-2 seconds. I max this ability out last, simply because it doesn't do any damage, and the duration doesn't really skyrocket. If the enemy gets hit by it, you've done your job, regardless of how long it messes them up. Important notes; the Taunt drags them TO YOU. Unlike a Stun, which freezes them in place, they will obediently walk toward you. It's also a Silence, so they'll only basic attack you. This is interesting, because you Taunt them from behind and then side step a little. They'll TURN AROUND and step over to follow you, so you can lead them in to Towers/Phoenixes, around corners, into an AoE, etc. Her most feared ability. It's amazing for catching fleeing foes, or for forcing that Magi bubble so your Fenrir or Ares can use their CC ultimate.


This ability is a bit of a conundrum for me. It's technically Athena's best minion clearer and her most damaging ability over all, but it's also kind of her worst ability. I'll say the bad stuff about it first. The AoE on it is very small, so if you're too trigger happy with it, you'll hit a minion or two. It explodes for double damage after a full TWO SECONDS, which may not sound like a lot, but that's plenty of time for any half-idiot to waltz away. The trick is to combo Shield Wall. The classic built in combo is to slam it down and Taunt the enemy in to it when they try to walk away. Easy peasy lemon squeezy...except your Taunt may be on cooldown, or they may have a Magi's, or maybe you waited a beat too long to Taunt, and they just walk up to the edge of your Shield Wall. This ability is all about timing and intuition...or just using it in a teamfight when everybody's already messed up. This is an ability that loves Gem of Isolation, but you you won't be building that item most of the time anyways. Regardless, I max this ability out first or second.


Athena's ultimate. Dramatic and powerful, it probably does the most damage out of any guardian ultimate in the game, and it's up there in the top 10 of most damaging abilities period. There's quite a few cons to it. The AoE is VERY small. If the person you pick isn't melee, they're almost certainly not in melee and unlikely to go in to it. If you're using it to save a squishy, they'll probably die before you arrive, or the enemy will back off, forgoing any damage you might do (Though you've technically accomplished your role anyways). My LEAST favorite aspect of this ability is that if the person you pick dies before it completes, you just plop right back down where you started. This is INFURIATING.

To be a real Defender of Olympus, you need SO MUCH TEAMWORK. AAAAND you have to pray to have a ballsy Assassin or Warrior on your team, unlikely to happen in Joust, taken for granted in Arena, and a tossup in Siege or Conquest. The AoE is very, very small. I've killed maybe a dozen people with the ultimate, and half the time, my teammate might have killed them without my damage anyways (I was just doing it to them for the damage mitigation and to get back in the fight). Half the time, Athena's ultimate is a free lovechild of Shell and Teleport to God. Your allies will love you, your enemies will back or redouble their efforts to kill your friend before the hammer of Olympus comes smashing down.

Items

Before I go in to the actual item-by-item description (And why I take them) I'm going to discuss starter items. As an assassin (Which is my second most played role), I usually take Death's Toll...but even, sometimes I feel like I should have just started building Asi. It's the same with Athena. I look at Mark of the Vanguard, I look at Watcher's Gift, sometimes I even contemplate Vampiric Shroud...and then pass it up. No starter item seems good for a guardian when you could be starting to actually build your first item, saving time and money.

Additionally, remember that ALL builds should be situational. I almost always build the first three items in my all-comers list, but not every single time. If we're going against more than the usual assortment of physical characters, I'll probably drop Stone of Gaia and Hide of the Urchin for Witchblade and Hide of the Nemean Lion. Use your instincts and keep an eye on your opponent's builds as well.


This is a "base" recommended item for Athena, and I can see why. There really isn't much to say here. The cooldown reduction and mana buff allow you to spam your abilities more, which means you're disrupting your enemies and keeping them off your allies. Good stuff. I always build rank two boots going for these guys, Hand of the Gods, and four healing potions (Or two healing potions and two multi-potions).


Ho. Ly. Cow. This is one of the best items in the game. Whenever I build another armor aside from Mystical Mail (Like Sovereignty or Breastplate of Valor), I always regret it, sell the other armor, buy Mystical Mail, and content myself with the screams of despair. Now, most people will say "Shame on you, bad guardian! Buy Sovereignty and protect your team! You just said mana and CDR is important for spamming abilities, get BoV!" ...No. Guardians are NOT a reactive class, like hunters and mages, they're a proactive class. They get in the enemies' face, controlling the ebb and flow of the fight. Mystical Mail does that in spades. You are ALWAYS doing damage, especially to melee opponents. You can let the Mail do the majority of the work on minion waves while you stand there and looking menacingly at the other gods. And aside from the sweet, sweet damage aura, it gives you some pretty unparalleled protection too. This is an item I consider taking as an assassin, especially when I'm losing jungler-v-jungler boxing matches. My vote for probably the best item in the game.


If Mystical Mail didn't get my vote for best item in the game, it would be this little trinket right here. Hoo boy. This gem keeps you in the fight forever. For. Ever. Look at that healing! And that's in ADDITION to the HP5 that the Stone provides. Not much health and "subpar" magical protection compared to the other two choices, but think of the long game. Smite matches take a while. The more time you spend in the lane and more time your enemies take scuttling back to the fountain for health, the better we are. SOMETIMES I'll combine this guy with Bulwark of Hope, if I'm going against a lot of AoE or burst and just need the health and prots. NEVER. EVER. Take Pestilence. Not even against dedicated healers. (Not even as Ares) The item is baaaad. I could (And have) go in to a length description of why Pestilence is so awful, but I'll just give you the most important reason; when people are using healing abilities, they are quite likely out of reach of your Pestilence, so it has no effect on them. They are just close enough for you to hear their laughter though.


Now, I don't always get this item. butwhenido.jpeg I like taking Magi's Blessing if I'm going up against Ymir, Fenrir, and similar blokes with really dangerous CC. Don't take Magi's against people who'll slam silences or fears on you, like Hades, Hun Batz, and Thanatos. Hide of the Urchin gives MASSIVE amounts of Physical and Magical Protection and a decent chunk of health and mana...but will you always need it? I mean, yeah, probably, but not every single time. But it is a good item if you're already ahead and you feel confident in yourself or your allies.


This item was made for guardians. Mages may think that's for them, but screw mages, they're stupid and no one likes them. Get back in your library! Nerd. Anyways. Ethereal Staff gives a metric butt-ton of health, a huge amount of mana, and a decent chunk of magical power...on the surface. It also converts a tiny percentage of your health in to magical power, and as a guardian, you should be having a lot of health. Ethereal Staff is also a superior choice to certain kinds of protection when going up against Bakasura and Serqet, as they have abilities which deal TRUE damage (Which ignores any and all protections). Also good if your enemies are spamming penetration. That's a race you'll lose, so just get more health and HP5.


Again, Mages look at this item and say "Oh boy, +100 Magical Power! That's for me, right?" "NO" says Athena, smashing them over the head with her Ethereal Staff. Get a clue; look at this item. Bancroft was a bro. So, yeah, it gives A LOT of magical power, which is great for mages and damage guardians. But it also gives a decent amount of lifesteal, and look at the passive...the more damage you take, the more damage you deal. This SCREAMS tank. I mean, as a mage, if you take damage you're doing it right. Mages are sadists, guardians are masochists. Or something like that.

OTHER ITEMS I LIKE TO GET


This item does a little bit of everything. Movement speed, attack speed, cooldown reduction, and a decent amount of health. But the passive is (situationally) awesome. Somebody hits you with a slow, you soak it up, become immune to slows, AND become even faster for a short period of time. Then it goes on cooldown for a decent period of time. This sword is meant for Athena. Chase down that obnoxious Janus, shrug off Sun Wukong and Odin's flailing, laugh as you yank Osiris' sickle out of your boob and throw it right back at him. Good stuff. 10/10, would Winged Blade again.


Added to the game relatively recently, CLH is a really interesting item, and infinitely better than the other helm (At leat for guardians). It soaks up a crit and makes you immune to critical hits for a few seconds, and gives you an additional bonus to magical power for a short period of time. I'm sensing a theme here...CLH is an excellent item against opponents who are reliant on critical hits (Like Artemis and most other hunters), or just against dangerous assassins such as Loki and Bastet.

ACTIVES


In Conquest, MOST OF THE TIME you'll want the other one. You know. That other fist. I like to leave it to the jungler though, and I prefer this one for a variety of reasons. Okay, really just one reason. The Stun, obviously. Now, it may only be one second. It may not do any damage (To gods). But a more-or-less free Stun on a god that doesn't have one? Preemptive Strike in to them, Stun them, Taunt them as they try to get away...that's 4 seconds of their life you just total wasted, all while hammering on them and letting your team hammer on them. You might have even Stunned or Taunted multiple guys! Also, this active is crucial when going up against Artemis (Remember that the boar has to perform its first charge before it can be damaged), Nu Wa, and Bastet. Not nearly as bad with Arachne, but also worth remembering. Oh, and good for popping Magi's bubble so your allies can hit them with more important crowd control.


Purity Beads, as they're referred to, are pretty hard to use. But boy are they handy. Don't use these guys against short duration Stuns and the like unless you really feel the need. When Chaac is powering up his ultimate, you spam that F key, cuz even your actives are gonna be Silenced. Really good against the ultimates of bros like Fenrir and Ares, or if you're behind some friends and you see a Chang'e ult racing towards you. Everyone loves them (Except Ares), everyone uses them. Just needs practice. Or Geb.

Pros / Cons

Pros
Incredibly good lane/camp clearing abilities
Teamfight potential is brutal
Good at saving teammates from dire circumstances with Taunt and ultimate
Very obvious built in synergy
Good at catching fleeing opponents

Cons
Aside from passive, no real ranged abilities. Your Taunt is not a poke/harass against Tower huggers, as it does no damage and does not have the duration to really pull them out of the Tower unless they're being reckless
Her ultimate is easy to counter, and often just whiffs if you don't have intuitive teammates or you don't communicate. I'm very serious here; unless your teammates are smart or lucky, or you TELL THEM HOW YOUR ULTIMATE WORKS, you will never do damage with Defender of Olympus. And look at that damage. Every time you use this thing and your opponent took no damage, be sad, even if you saved an ally. So much wasted potential.
Her crowd control is VERY situational. It can separate allies, and it's technically a Silence, but they're not Slowed and they're taking no damage. Like Thor's Stun, don't Taunt as a poke; you literally accomplished nothing in that situation. Use it to set up teamkills.

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