For the First Time in Forever...

I played Smite. One Arena, One Conquest, One Conquest Ranked. And for the record, conquest ranked ended up as a win with me as a 10-1-3 Thor. MVP.

And it's the same damn game as before. Maybe it looks better, maybe it's shinier, maybe it has a few more gizmos than before. But at its core, it's still flawed for exactly the same reasons I left the game to begin with.

"Teamfights" are nothing but chaotic orgies of everyone trying to wombo combo the other team before the other. Nobody wants to play support. This game is still ridiculously snowbally. There's no counterplay. The amount of strategic depth in this game is ridiculously tiny. Seriously, that ranked game was just us getting a lucky kill, and then wombocombosnowballing them every single time, from skirmishes to full on teamfights.

There is something seriously wrong with the game if I can leave for more than two months and get back and play with just the same amount of skill as before. I ended up pitying the enemy team, and thinking, "if this were League, they could do something but die." Beads was, of course, a Morton's Fork - either die to CC, or die from lack of stats. In proper game design, for a comeback option, you do not give Morton's Forks to the losing team.

So yeah. I feel dirty for playing this game. -_-

Also, can someone PLEASE explain why Bastet and Xbal moved from tier trash to tier 1 with zero relevant changes in map, itemization, and kits?

Oh, and I'm in a Pokemon mood today, for some reason. Here's some awesome music.

Play Video

Charizard - Mixed (Physical/Magical) Caster Bruiser

Passive: Solar Power: You heal 1.5% of your maximum health every second when you have not been in combat for 3 seconds.

1: Flare Blitz: Charizard dashes forward, dealing 90/130/170/210/250 damage (+30% of your magical power) (+100% of your physical power) to the first target hit. Charizard takes 30% of the damage dealt as physical damage. Cooldown: 10 seconds.

2: Fire Blast: Charizard belches an enormous fireball that detonates upon impact with minions, gods, and walls, dealing 60/90/120/150/180 damage (+30% of your physical power) (+70% of your magical power). This ability is a slow skillshot, about the same speed as Chronos' balls. Cooldown: 4 seconds.

3: Fly: Charizard takes to the skies, channeling for 5 seconds, before becoming untargetable. Charizard can then pick a landing location within 3 seconds, before crashing down on the area, dealing 90/140/190/240/290 damage (+50% of your physical power) (+25% of your magical power), slowing enemies by 40/45/50/55/60%, decaying over three seconds. This is literally a mini-Thor ult that grants enormous mobility, but the massive cooldown and lack of a stun is what holds it back. Cooldown: 50/45/40/35/30 seconds.

4: Mega Evolution: Charizard transforms into a different form depending on how much of which power he has. If half of his magical power is more than his physical power, you turn into Megazard Y. If it's less, then you turn into Megazard X.

Mega Charizard Y: You gain an aura of fire that deals 40/60/80/100/120 damage (+20% of your magical power) every second in a 55-foot radius for 10 seconds. Your abilities gain 20% MP scalings - Fire Blast becomes 90%, Fly becomes 45%, etc for the duration. You gain 25% damage reduction against magical attacks.

Mega Charizard X: You gain 30/35/40/45/50% move speed for ten seconds, lose the speed penalty for being in combat, 75% CC reduction, and your basic attacks deal 30% more damage and deal 50% damage in a 15-foot radius around you. You gain 25% damage reduction against physical attacks.

What makes this guy a bruiser is how 2/3 of his abilities need him to be in close range, and his single ranged ability is a slow skillshot that's possible to snipe with, but still fairly unreliable to where you need to get close. Also, getting some protections would help with the recoil damage of Flare Blitz, as well as passive heals.