Many gamers appreciate mechanics that add a dash of chaos and randomness to their games. In Smite 2, this is mostly seen in builds that rely on critical hits or players who main Baba Yaga. But randomness and chance have been a key tenet of gaming for a long time, and have an enduring appeal.
If you’ve been gaming for long, it’s pretty likely that you’ve experienced your fair share of mechanics in games that are based on chance or randomness. While most modern competitive multiplayer games like Smite 2 have a greater emphasis on skill, rather than chance, chance is still an important element of gameplay design and is still present in some forms in these games. There are other whole areas of gaming that are built entirely around randomness and chance, with gaming loops that are designed to stay fresh by virtue of their random nature.
There are only a few ways that you are likely to encounter chance in Smite 2. Either you or your opponent is playing Baba Yaga, someone is running a crit-focused build, or your opponents simply take unexpected actions that, while not exactly random, are certainly going to add an unpredictable element to your game. For the most part, Smite 2 is focused on player skill, but not every area of gaming is the same, and there is an enduring appeal, for many players, related to mechanics that are based on chance. From random loot being dropped by enemies to the growing appeal of state-licensed casino sites, gaming that involves elements of chance continues to be very popular among some players.
Let’s take a closer look at why randomness matters in gaming, how it appears in Smite 2 and why some players are more drawn to mechanics that focus on chance and the unpredictable.
Some aspects of gaming can get a little predictable, especially with the data-driven and efficiency mindset that comes with much of modern competitive multiplayer gaming. You know your enemy is likely to act a certain way because it is the most efficient way to play, and you are going to play in a similarly predictable way. While this can be a great way to determine the skill gap between players and can turn into a fun contest, it can also get stale.
Mechanics that add randomness or incorporate chance into them help to keep things fresh. Randomness can:
For most gamers, a little dash of the unpredictable can go a long way. In competitive multiplayer, too much chance is often not looked on favorably, as it detracts from the effect of player skill. But in other gaming areas, such as the casino industry or in gacha games, chance is a core part of the gameplay loop.
Of all the Smite 2 gods, by far the one that relies the most on chance is Baba Yaga. This god has a toolkit that is unpredictable and keeps gameplay fresh, exciting, and sometimes frustrating. Players who favor Baba Yaga understand that playing her effectively means being able to adapt and think quickly on your feet, and not relying too much on static damage numbers.
Every match with Baba Yaga is going to have a much greater sense of the chaotic, as allies and enemies both will be less able to predict exactly how fights will go. The unpredictable nature of Baba Yaga is exactly the sort of thing that attracts many gamers to chance-based mechanics in gaming, and will help some gamers to stay much more engaged as they play.
The most obvious example of gaming where the mechanics are focused on chance has to be in casino gaming. All casino games, even those that involve strategy and skill, are predominantly based on chance and probability. But they are also all about uncertainty and the building of anticipation and excitement as the moment of revelation draws near.
In casino gaming, and in any chance-based gaming environments, players will experience:
While casino gaming is all about chance, it is undeniable that chance is visible in many different places in gaming, and it always provides similar effects, even if sometimes they might occur in a much smaller or faster way.
There is a psychological reason that some players enjoy mechanics that are based on chance. Not fully knowing what the outcome of an action will be, and then receiving a favorabe outcome, is often more rewarding for people than receiving something favorable that is more certain.
By building anticipation of an outcome, one that is unknown and will be somewhat of a surprise, chance-based mechanics let players hit emotional highs and lows. As we discussed earlier, chance-based mechanics are also very powerful tools for increasing the replayability of a game, as the outcomes become less certain and could be significantly different based on the whims of chance.
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