Hou Yi, Defender of the Geb!

Hey there, I'm MutedMakara, TheKHPerson on SMITE; this is my first build on SMITEFire, so please, feel free to give me tips and criticism to help improve this build for the better of mankind!

The items in this build are loosely based on a build I use for Xbalanque, seeing as how they have very similar stats and pros. I am aware there are better items and item combinations to use than the one I have set up, so if you can come up with better item ideas, please let me know.

19/01/2015 - Added Rage to late game.
25/01/2015 - Rearranged items; added Shifter's Shield

Pros Fun god to play Decent lane clears An almost instant ulti His Mark of the Golden Crow having various useful perks

Cons Roughly 1-2 second Cast time on Ricochet Mana starves very easily His Ricochet can bounce off Ymir's ice wall That voice acting...

A useful passive, Hou Yi can't be critically hit after 3s of a critical hit on him. However, he can still be hit, just not as much as the other gods, so be careful.

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This is your main lane clear, and damage dealer. While it does decent damage head on against enemy gods, if you want to risk your accuracy, you can bounce it off a wall for bonus damage. This shot bounces a maximum of two times. Seeing as levelling only increases damage, I max it out second. Be careful, too; this can bounce off of artificial walls!
Tip: The aimline seems to increase when aiming at a wall. While this may not be true, that's how I've experienced it, so be sure to use that when aiming.

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Your 2 marks targets, increasing damage based on the missing health of the target. This also causes your 1 to stun your target, your 3 to knock them up, and your 4 to slow them. Also, at rank 3, the marks acts like Thanatos' instakill threshold, marking them on the minimap, and at rank 5, it gives you bonus penetration against your target. Because of all these perks, it's wise to prioritize this move.

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With your 3, you leap in the air and glide along, then crash down, damaging any enemies. This move can act as an initiator, or an escape if you have enough distance away, or you have sprint. When in the air, you can still be blocked by walls. The damage isn't too bad, but ricochet still beats it out; for these reasons, I rank it last as it's more of an emergency move, unless you use it against a marked target, in which you'll knock them up, which is useful for other gods like Awilix.

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This is your ultimate, and it isn't too shabby. When cast, you can't move, but it deals damage almost instantly. After the first sun falls, you'' be able to move again. Being AoE, it's really only effective if the enemy can stay in the area; but with stuns and slows from your other abilities, it shouldn't be too much trouble. If you are desperate, have enough cooldown reduction, and feeling a little cheeky, you can even use this to clear waves, because minions just walk right in it!

When playing Hou Yi, you need to keep an eye on his mana at all times, as he goes through it very quickly. Thankfully, by mid to late game, his mana pool will have expanded, and his basic attacks will be good enough to hold enemies back when you're out of mana. While a lot of people might solo lane Hou Yi, I prefer duo lane, as you can build more power and less defense, as you'll have a tank or healer to support you as you smash down towers.

Hou Yi is a very strong, if not squishly, easily starved god. He's definitely one of the more unique gods, so when I learned about his kit, I had to try him out, which had varying results. I made this build not only because I was confident in it as a starting build, but also to get constructive criticism on it, so that I and other Hou Yi players could improve eachother. So thank you for taking the time to read my guide, and please leave a comment with your experiences, and how you would improve the build, and/or my guide.