Let's Get Physical

So. You glanced at Freya's kit. You saw Brisingamen's Blessing, you heard something about "magical damage" and "low hp." She must be a mage. She's even tagged as a mage, right? Well, it's all true: Freya is set up to be a Magical Goddess. But what if I told you there was another way? What if Freya was just as powerful with physical damage?

Gather 'round the fire, child, and I shall tell you the tale of When Freya Went Physical. If you would like me to add anything, just ask.

---

Last Update: 11/23/12

As far as I've seen, Freya is a glass cannon no matter how you build her. She just doesn't have the HP or defenses to be in melee for long. That said, Freya still has a lot going on. She has very nice damage as either Magic heavy or Phys heavy, and amazing CC with Banish and Pulse. She can solo FG, and she can storm through jungle camps with ease. The main differences between Magic heavy and Phys heavy are:

- Physical has higher attack speed, basic attack damage, better lifesteal and better crit chance. It might also have a little longer build-up time.

- Magical has better burst from her abilities, more MP and MP5, and the opportunity to use items like Gem of Isolation and Divine Ruin.

In the end, it really just boils down to preference. There are many ways to build Gods in Smite. Take the time to find out what works for you!

Because Freya is so fragile, you need to realize when to press your foe with Irradiate and Valkyrie's Discretion, and when to fall back with Pulse and Banish. I think Freya works best with a partner. She can be a serious threat on the battlefield, but she is NOT designed to take on 3v1. Play safe, play smart, and you will be a valuable asset to your team.

Note: I'm not going to copy paste her ability details. Just mouse over the icons :)

BRISINGAMEN'S BLESSING

This doesn't really do anything for us, since we're building for straight up physical damage. Even so, we still get a slice of magic damage, thanks to the magical nature of Freyas spells.


IRRADIATE

This is a nice buff with a short cooldown. Once you get Qin's Blades and other such items, you can melt through squishy opponents extremely quickly in melee. The main drawback of this buff is just that: you need to be in melee to use it. Freya is quite squishy herself. Don't expect to run up to someone with full health and Irradiate them dead. Instead, try to whittle them down with Pulse, or otherwise trap them between a hard place (minions/wall/banish), before you run up for the kill.

Note: You CAN use this ability in conjunction with Pulse, but I would NOT suggest it. The damage is halved.


PULSE

This amazing buff is Freyas go-to spell. It lets you farm with ease, it helps keep enemies at bay, and it helps you chase enemies down. The slow on this spell is great for your teammates as well. Pulse is also nice for clearing jungle camps. Always try to open with this ability, at range. Being at range gives you a number of advantages, as mentioned above. This spell is a pretty potent poke, and very nice with physical attack speed and lifesteal.

Note: you CAN use this ability in conjuncton with Irradiate, but I would NOT suggest it. The damage is halved, and the aoe splash damage & slow are NOT applied.


BANISH

This is an extremely powerful form of CC with many uses. The drawback is that it has a small aoe, and it can be hard to aim. The obvious use is to disrupt enemy gods. You effectively remove someone from the game for a short time. This is great when you're trying to gank one person out of a group, or stop one of your allies from being chased. You can also use this to interrupt enemy abilities.

Banish doubles as Freya's "escape" spell. She has no dash or leap otherwise. The only problem with this is that most people level it last. That means: until you have a few ranks under your belt, it will not last very long for you to run away properly. Still, it's better than nothing!

Lastly, you can use Banish to set up your kills. After an enemy is cc'd, you can ready yourself with Pulse when they fall, or finish them off however you see fit with Irradiate and/or Valkyrie's Discretion.

Note: You can use this ability on minions to great effect! If the enemy is hanging back behind their archers and your minions are close at hand, toss a Banish at the archers. Your creeps will start attacking the enemy god. This tactic is especially useful against Bastet. If she ever comes at you OR an ally with her ultimate... you can banish her cats. I have not tested this with Artemis and her boar, but I imagine that it could do the same thing.


VALKYRIE'S DISCRETION

Even though we are building for physical damage, Freya's ultimate is still quite useful for us. The damage is surprisingly good (albeit better for pure magic builds), and it still offers us complete immunity to damage and cc for the duraton. Not to mention, you can move while casting this. Don't be afraid to use your ultimate to escape someone elses. The drawback of this ability is that you can only fire off 4 shots, and you have a limited amount of time in which to do so. It can also be hard to aim vs moving targets.

Valkyrie's Discretion is an awesome finisher. If someone is at low health, or even just below half... you can usually finish them off with a well-placed ultimate. Freya's ulti also works wonders in conjunction with teamwork! Anyone that can slow , stun, or otherwise gather enemies together is your friend. Hades, Ares, and Ymir are great partners, to name a few.

Note: Much like Guan Yu, enemies may be able to avoid some (if not all) of your ulti by standing directly under you. So if you see someone advance toward you when you cast this, try your best to get a shot.

Warrior Tabi
I find these to be best for Phys Freya because of the extra damage, attack speed and crit. As mentioned above, Freya is pretty squishy... I suppose you could get reinforced boots instead, but I didn't really notice a difference.


Qin's Blades
This is a must for Phys Freya. It gives power, attack speed AND health (which is always good). The extra attack speed is really nice early game. The passive is amazing, too! If you are tempted to get Fatalis, I emplore you to reconsider WHY. Freya doesn't really need any cooldown items. Her cooldowns are already low enough. If you want more move speed, I would sooner pick up Heartseeker. As for attack speed, there are better items out there.


Ankh of the Golem
Now that we've kicked the Fatalis habit to the curb, I like to pick up Ankh. This item is pretty good for any Physical god. It gives you attack speed, health AND physical power (dependent on health). All of those things are golden on Freya. The passive of this item will be put to good use, as three of our items have extra health on them.


The Executioner
Once you get this far, you can really notice the attack speed kicking in. You should be able to cream enemy creep waves and jungle camps with Pulse alone. This item, in conjunction with Qin's Blades, should really help you slash down enemy gods with ease.


Soul Eater and Deathbringer
I like to finish Phys Freya off with these two items, in no particular order. What with how fast you attack and all that you have going for you, the crit is very potent. The extra lifesteal and health (which translates into more Ankh power) is also nice.


If Soul Eater or Ankh of the Golem are not to your taste, try substituting for Titan's Bane or Voidblade for the extra phys penetration. You might also enjoy witch stone for the attack speed and debuff aura... or Heartseeker for the movement and attack speed.

The cool thing about Store Abilities is that they have active and passive effects. The passive effects are always on, and the active effects can be used once every every 90-180 seconds. You may buy up to TWO Store Abilities. You cannot sell them after purchase, so choose wisely. What you buy will depend on who you face, but here are a few tips to consider:


sprint SPRINT
This ia a good overall ability. The passives are great: 10% move speed for running away and chasing, and a -30% duration to slows against you. The active is especially useful for running and chasing (+35% speed for 6 secs). I always try to fit this in my Freya builds.

Note: You may be thinking about Creeping Curse. It can be a good item, if you like playing defensive. It gives you a slow aura and an aoe slow on use. The passive can be useful when hunting gods down, and also from preventing enemy minion waves from advancing. However, I find Sprint to be much better overall, as mentioned above. Besides, you already have a slow built into Pulse.

AEGIS AMULET
For my second item, it tends to be a toss up between Aegis and Girdle. Aegis is nice agaist bursty gods and ultimates. The passive gives you +20 magi/phys defense, and the active makes you immune to damage for 2 seconds. Aegis will let you ignore some ultis altogether, and mitigate a good portion of others. Most people like to take Aegis vs Ares and Hades. The passive defense is nice for any occasion.

Note: Freya's ultimate, Valkyrie's Discretion, makes you immune to damage and cc... so you can also pop that if you want to get out of a jam :) You might like Purification Beads from time to time. It will make you immune to Crowd Cotnrol on use. However, Beads has a very long cooldown, and I find Aegis to be a much better defensive option.


GIRDLE OF MIGHT
This is nice for a bit of burst. The passive increases your magic dmg by 5 and phys dmg by 10. The active increase all nearby allies magi/phys dmg by 40 for 10 seconds. Freya does both types of damage, so Girdle is always a good item to consider. Not to mention, it can really help you (and your team) smash something down when you need to.

Note: For the mana-starved, you might like Meditation. The passive is kinda lackluster (mana regen doubled at 40% health), but the active can be nice (almost full mana potion). This item will definitely help with your sustain. However, I feel that's only a concern for early game (the laning phase). As you level up, you will not need the insta-mana so much. Certainly, this is not a bad item to take... but consider what you would be giving up beforehand.