Sobek Support/Joust Guide

Sobek is one of my favorite guardians. This is for several reasons: (1) he is faster than most guardians are, leading to him being able to catch most gods who run away; (2) he is an absolute tank, meaning that you will almost never die; (3) he can save teammates from death over and over again; (4) he does enough damage to change the tone of a battle for your team; (5) he has a very high sustain. With all of that said, let's talk about the role of Sobek.

One can probably tell by the title that this build deals with a support position. However, Sobek is flexible enough to take the role of a solo (I would not recommend using this build for solo). This build will also work well in a joust game, assuming that your teammates have a good damage output. For specifics on positioning yourself in your role, read the chapters entitled "Positioning."

Please leave comments with any recommendations or corrections I should make. This is my first guide for a Smite god, so I am sure I have erred somewhere.

Charge Prey
The Charge Prey, or X ability, is your main initiator. You will primarily use it to throw enemy gods back into your tower/phoenix, throw enemy gods into the fray, throw enemy gods off of your teammates, and as an escape for you. It is an extremely useful move despite the lack of real damage it does. Use it wisely and try not to miss, as it very well could get you killed.

Tail Whip
Your Tail Whip, or your A ability, should be coordinated with your Charge Prey ability. It will keep an enemy god where you want them for an extended period of time and prevent them from attacking. You can use it to throw a god away from you in an escape as well. If you do not have your Charge Prey ability cooled down, or you missed, you can also use this ability to throw enemy gods off of your teammates. This will be one of your main damaging attacks and should be used to clear the lane of minions.

Sickening Strike
Sickening Strike, or your B ability, will be your main killer. It is the final move in your combo for a reason. This ability will cover a broad area in front of Sobek, has a decent range, and will heal you for quite a lot. Use it to get kills and save yourself.

Lurking in The Waters
Despite it being your ultimate, Lurking Waters, or your Y ability, is perhaps the most useless move. You can use it to clear minions from a tower, damage the enemy gods in a team battle, finish off a retreating enemy god, make a last ditch escape, or even restore mana. Whatever you decide to use it for, just know that the enemy gods can still hit you while you are in it. Feel free to reference the chapter entitled "Positioning (Support)" for more information.

Positioning Sobek is rather simple. After leaving the store, head to the jungle on the long lane. You will help the carry and mid grab the damage camp (unless one desires to grab the XP camp first). After the damage camp is taken, you and the carry should go and grab the attack speed camp. More than likely you will take all the damage from the camps, so one of your health potions should be used. If you used abilities in the camp, then you may need to use a mana potion also. It is at this point that I will mention the following fact: Sobek is mana hungry in the early game.

Once you are actually in the lane with your carry, play conservatively. There is no need to push your lane at this point (unless the opposing support and carry are extraordinarily bad, in which case, push). You and your carry should stay in the tower for most of the time, never really advancing past the mid-lane point. Your goal as Sobek is to use your X ability to pull one of the opponents into the tower. Once you do that, you will use your A ability to temporarily hold them in. At this point, you can use your B if your carry was putting in work. Should your carry have missed the opportunity, save the mana.

Make it a habit to never leave your lane by itself. If your carry is gone, you stay. If your carry is there, then you can leave. Never, ever, leave until you use all six of your potions. Otherwise, you are wasting time. Sobek, if played conservatively enough, can stay in the lane for a long time before going back. This enables you to get an edge on XP and gold. If a teammate is holding your lane (carry or jungler), then you may go back. Restock the potions first, then buy your item(s). Never compromise on the potions unless you are in mid-late game.

Once you have the first two defensive items, you are finally ready to make some pushes. Your defensive items not only make you more tanky, but they also will lend a hand to your carry in regard to protection. Using Sobek's combo is crucial. I briefly covered it above, but I will break it down here:

COMBO
1) Use your X ability to throw an enemy back toward your hunter.
2) Immediately after executing your X ability, throw yourself in reverse and execute your A ability. This will not only temporarily hold the opponent in the battle, but it will also toss them further in.
3) If it looks like your carry is going for a kill (they are committed), execute your B.

Ideally, either your hunter will finish them off, or your B handled the job. If neither of those outcomes are the case, begin the chase of the weakened enemy god (only if your health and mana permit it, be sure to regularly use potions). Chase them long enough until your X ability is cooled down. Once that is cooled down, execute it to throw them back toward your carry (assuming they also chased with you). If your carry decides to not follow you in the chase, then determine if you have the "umph" to finish the god yourself. As Sobek, you will take the kills that you can get, but do not take any unnecessary risks.

Now, I am sure you, the reader, are wondering where Sobek's ultimate plays into this. The reality of the situation is that it has a very limited use. Sobek's ultimate, if used improperly, will almost certainly get you killed. Only use his ultimate in the following scenarios: (1) if there is a team fight and all of the enemy gods are stacked together in a group; (2) if an enemy god(s) is(are) running away and they would die from it, the benefit of using your ultimate in that situation is that it covers a broad area and restores your mana; (3) you are running away and this is your last ditch attempt after using your X ability; (4) escaping an enemy's ultimate, for example, you can use it to escape from Hades' ultimate if your X ability is cooling down; (5) or in the instance of Odin's ultimate.

The mid-late game with Sobek is his real time to shine. Team battles are what he lives for. His ultimate will finally prove to be useful and practical. You will be able to repeatedly throw escaping enemy gods back into the fray and pull enemies off of your escaping teammates.

SUMMARY
-Play conservatively in the early game.
-Push after you get first two defensive items.
-Use your X to give your carry kills.
-Dominate in the team battles of mid-late game.

Playing Sobek in Joust is not terribly different than playing him in the support position on Conquest. I suggest that you read the chapter entitled "Positioning (Support)" to gain additional information on Sobek that I may not cover in this chapter.

After you leave the store, proceed to the right lane with your teammates to take the mana camp. If there is no mage, you should grab it. If there is a mage, let them have it. Then proceed with them to take out the damage camp. Let the other teammate have it. When crossing over into the middle lane, be careful not to take damage or use an ability, conserve your resources. If you took damage at the camps, use a health potion. If you used your abilities at the camps (which I do not recommend), then you may need to use a mana potion. When you cross back into the middle lane, immediately head back to the tower, do not engage. If there are no enemy gods in the middle, then feel free to take out the enemy minions.

You will need to play very conservatively in the early game. Do not push, even if that means letting your teammates die. They will eventually catch on after the complementary "you rock" repetitions. You should not push unless the enemy gods are all weak. You will be able to push as a standard once you get your first two defense items. While playing from the tower, be sure to use your X ability to throw enemies into your tower. Once that is done, you will want to use your A ability to hold them there temporarily. Use your B If it looks like you can finish them.

Once you are ready to push, examine the combo for Sobek in the chapter entitled "Positioning (Support)" for further guidance.