Nasty arachne arena build

No problem!

In case you didn't know (and it's hard unless you know where to look), when I talk about Arachne's quick attack progression, you can see it on her god page: https://www.smitefire.com/smite/god/arachne-2

".5/1/1x damage & swing time"

The 0.5 first hit means it takes 1/2 the time and does 1/2 the damage. Crits deal 175% of basic attack damage, so when the value is less than 1, it's a reduced multiplied effect. Will compare side by side w/ Arachne vs. a standard hunter. Let's assume standard basic attack damage is 100 and not consider mitigations. We're only considering a single crit.

• Hunter: no progression, or damage and swing time is always 1. Damage would be (100 * 1.75) = 175 damage every time you crit.
• Arachne: 0.5/1/1. Damage on the first hit would be (100 * 0.5 * 1.75) = 87.5 damage on that first hit...the next 2 hits, if they crit, would be the standard 175.

But that first hit shows you when gods have some attack progression below 1 that crits deal significantly less damage than a standard hit.

This is where Qin's Sais comes in. Qin's provides some bonus damage with each hit, and that bonus damage isn't affected by the damage multiplier. With consecutive hits, that 0.5 hits quicker (has a lower cooldown between hits) and so you get more procs of Qin's compared to another god.

This doesn't mean crits can't still deal a ton of damage, but you still want to build the right way, and that still involves getting a good amount of pen.

So a standard Arena build for Arachne, I'd probably consider something like Manikin Scepter/ Manikin Mace (optional, otherwise consider just skipping a starter) -> The Executioner (whichever glyph needed) -> Qin's Sais -> Asi or Serrated Edge -> Silverbranch Bow -> Odysseus' Bow or Dominance. That type of build gives you a bit of lifesteal in Serrated (you could also opt for Bloodforge or Crimson Claws if you wanted), Qin's fairly early, and a ton of pen (up to 28% protection reduction from Exe, up to 50% on basic attacks via Serrated Silver and Dom's passive overcap if you get Dom). You're going to chew through all enemies with very high AS, and Silver will give you a bit of quick bonus power when you trigger the 2's AS steroid.

If you go with crits, I would probably consider: Manikin Scepter/ Manikin Mace (again option to skip) -> The Executioner (+ glyph late) -> Qin's Sais -> Demon Blade -> Malicious Deathbringer -> Serrated Edge or Asi or Bloodforge or Crimson Claws, with a bent toward either Serrated for the pen or Asi for the lifesteal boost in a fight.