Solo Lane / Warrior Items

Hey guys,

I recently hit level 30, and since I will now be grinding ranked non-stop despite the fact I am not planning on playing ranked any time soon, there's still a few things I'd like to "fix" in terms of my game knowledge and playstyle. While a lot of those things will develop by themselves over time (e.g. becoming more comfortable playing a whole bunch of different Gods), one issue I figured I'd make a thread for is itemization, or, more specifically, solo lane (Warrior) itemization.

Even though Warrior is both my most played role as well as the role I have the highest win rate on, I'm not entirely sure that what I'm doing in terms of builds is optimal. To illustrate what I'm talking about, allow me to share a rough outline of my current build for the Warrior I've played the most, Bellona (I'll add the skill sequence as well for good measure).


To clarify, if I'm doing really well early on I might get a damage item like Jotunn's Wrath first, otherwise I focus on a mixture of Physical Protection, Health and Physical Power with a Magical Protection item somewhere along the way (this is all assuming I'm playing against a "normal" team comp with a physical damage dealing Warrior, Assassin & Hunter as well as a magical damage dealing Mage & Guardian). My goal with this setup is generally to focus the enemy team's ADC and make his/her life miserable through my Attack Speed slows as well as the Disarm from Scourge.

Ok, you might think, so what's the issue? The thing is, I've reduced this overview to a bare minimum of items which I've built in (recent) games on Bellona and there are still many, many items outside of this overview which I think could be good. To name a few examples, I've played a few games with an early Ichaival and/or Gladiator's Shield which went well because they're both low cost items which give Bellona an even stronger power spike in the early/mid game, I could see Mystical Mail & Midgardian Mail being viable alternatives for Physical Protection (with the damage of Mystical Mail falling off later on), Pestilence being a great Magical Protection item against teams with a lot of healing, Hide of the Urchin being a good early buy for stacking mixed Protections, etc. etc...

While I understand that part of my issue most likely lies in the fact that builds are meant to be situational, I just feel like there are so many options to choose from that I'm wondering whether maybe I've just missed the memo which explains that half of them are not viable, basically :P

I suppose I can best summarize this post by asking four specific questions which I have regarding this whole itemization issue:

1. Which items are your go-to picks for Warriors, and why do you feel like they are better than the alternatives (if you have any God-specific suggestions, feel free to elaborate on that)?
2. In a similar vein, are there any items which are generally considered (by the SMITE community) either clearly superior or inferior to others in the list of items which are potentially suitable for Warriors?
3. Regarding low cost early/mid game items like Ichaival & Gladiator's Shield, would your choice of buying these be based on how strong your God's early/mid game is (i.e. if your God has a strong early/mid you buy the item(s) to increase their power even more, and if not you leave it), how well the game you're in is going or simply on how well the kit of the God you're playing abuses the item's passives (e.g. Sun Wukong + Gladiator's Shield = "Yes please!")?
4. Which Relics do you think are best suited for Warriors, and would you consider not using Teleport Glyph on a Warrior who has a good mobility spell (e.g. Sun Wukong 72 Transformations, Eagle form) which allows him/her to get back to lane fast?

Thanks in advance for any responses :)

Huh for all this time I thought you played SMITE a lot. I am wrong I guess. Anyways if you need help or advice with Bellona just ask me.

My most recent game with her. The enemy had no clue what they were doing. And realized they're going all physical was bonkers. Yeah the game was a breeze. but I haven't played the game seriously for a while so this was good for first time back.

Nope, I started out as a League of Legends player and eventually became a CM on MOBAFire as a result of my activity there. The choice to help out on SmiteFire as well was entirely my own and was made because I enjoy playing SMITE, but it's never really been my "main" game unfortunately (possibly until now, trying to play it more)

Man you've been missing out some good stuff especially the crazy unnecessary changes that Hi-Rez does with this game. I'm glad you finally starting to pick up SMITE.

I think that Solo lane is definitely one of the most situational roles in terms of building.

To answer your questions directly:

1. As far as go-to options, it isn't bad to go in with a general build in mind. However, different situations in a match could influence you to modify your build. That being said though, there are items that make a lot of sense on certain gods, your Sun Wukong and Gladiator's Shield point is a great example of this. For gods like Guan Yu, Breastplate of Valor makes a lot of sense, if you are up against another physical solo laner, as he needs the mana regen, physical protection, and cooldown.
   
   
2. I personally don't believe any one thing stands out as far superior or inferior. As I stated earlier, different situations, team compositions, match trends, etc. could render different items viable or not. As a Solo though, it is important to know your options.
   
   For example, if you want to build an offensive item while still adding to your defensive capabilities, you could consider something like Shifter's Shield that you see in your build. But maybe you want to have that power available to you even when your health is low. Or maybe you find yourself near multiple enemies often (for example, lots of team fights occurring). Perhaps you even want some more mobility as well. In this example, Masamune may be a more preferable option for you. It is important to know how you want to play, and what items can help you enhance that to the fullest.
   
   As another example, team composition could influence the way you build. For example, if your team is more of a late game team, you can build to prepare for the late game where you will push objectives aggressively. Something like Hide of the Urchin can move into the later stages of the game very well and give you tons of protection.
   
   
3. Yes, I think all of these are important to consider. I think another factor might be your in-hand gold when you are forced to back. If I am forced to back with around 1700 gold, I'm most likely going to be picking up Gladiator's Shield, unless I really want to build in to another item at that moment. Or, if you are forced to back very quickly, say around the 800 gold mark, you may even feel the need to pick up something like a Swift Wing (if you didn't build Teleport Glyph), or a Mark of the Vanguard if the enemy team has lots of ticking damage (ie: Anubis).
   
   
4. Teleport Glyph has sort of fallen out of the current meta, but can still be viable. Other relics such as Magic Shell, Horrific Emblem, and Heavenly Wings lend themselves to be better team-oriented relics. If you are building tanky, something like Shield of Thorns or a Bracer of Undoing could be an interesting option.
   
   I also want to mention your consumables. In Solo lane especially, where you are constantly getting poked, Chalice of Healing could be a worthwhile investment.

For Bellona (as well as several other Warriors), I thought I would list a few other items that I think could be viable in certain situations:

• Ancile: Power, Magical Protection, Cooldown, Inex*****ve.
  
• Pestilence: Magical Protection, Health, Anti-Heal, Aura
  
• Genji's Guard: Magical Protection, Health, Cooldown, MP5
  
• Shogun's Kusari: Attack Speed, Magical Protection, CC Reduction, Cooldown, MP5, Aura
  
• Midgardian Mail: Physical Protection, Health
  
• The Executioner: Power, Attack Speed, Protection Reduction
  
• Hide of the Urchin: Physical Protection, Magical Protection, Health, Mana
  
• Masamune: Power, Health, Physical Protection, Magical Protection, Movement
  
• Spirit Robe: Physical Protection, Magical Protection, CC Reduction, Cooldown
  
• Mystical Mail: Physical Protection, Health, Aura

DV beat me to the punch =)

I'll add my own thoughts on your questions, but first, want to target your skill sequence for Bellona...most times, I'm conservative and would choose Shield Bash as my level 2 ability, over Scourge. The small amount of healing is nice, but the disarm isn't all that effective to me at that stage, because most gods won't have a lot of attack speed, so you're maybe blocking 1-2 basic attacks at most, if they're basic attacking and not using an ability. You can use Shield Bash to block 1 basic, and it doubles as a slight mobility option if you're pressuring them hard or need to create some distance. In any case, that's just my preference, and I'm sure either option is okay.

At level 3, I would put another into Bludgeon, rather than getting your 3rd ability online. It's your main wave clear and does a **** ton of damage...you increase the damage by 100 between the two hits, which is very significant.

So the questions...

1. I think for most warriors, usually 4 out of 6 items should be mostly focused on defense and counter-building. You obviously will get your boots as well, and the 6th item can also be defensive, or you can choose one offensive or hybrid item (like Shifter's Shield, Masamune, and either Titan's Bane or in the case of a basic attacker like Osiris or Erlang Shen, The Executioner is another option). Thing is, if you look at a good Solo Warrior, they're often going to tank the most damage (even over the Support), and deal an incredible amount, even when they build tanky. You could even consider replacing boots late, if you get 2 items with 10% move speed (e.g. a late Masamune, then replace Boots with Witchblade or Winged Blade).
   
   So, go-to items, at this point I'd probably just say check any of DV-8's new "item options" guides for a general list of ALL potentially functional items. I would suggest going light on items like Mystical Mail, which I feel is often overrated (very expensive, only moderate physical protection, and the passive's damage is less functional late-game, while also being subject to mitigations, decreasing its damage without significant penetration on your behalf).
   
   If you want to keep your builds simple, but add a couple of key situationals, I'd definitely add Gladiator's Shield, Genji's Guard, Midgardian Mail, and Spirit Robe to that list (definitely Spirit over Mantle) defensively, just Titan's Bane or The Executioner offensively, and Masamune and Shield of Regrowth as hybrid / utility options. Hope that's not too much, lol.
   
   I'd also say that Jotunn's Wrath is really more of a Jungler's / Assassin's item these days...most Solo Warriors are going very tanky, and you've got a great variety of CDR options.
   
   
2. So, items that are inferior? Really depends on situation, but other than Soul Eater, most items can be pretty functional, though again I would tend away from getting too many pure offensive items. Tanky / Bruiser items I'd say are less-used include Ancile (which got a sort of offensive buff), Sovereignty, Heartward Amulet (sometimes), Mail of Renewal, Oni Hunter's Garb, Relic Dagger, Runeforged Hammer, Runic Shield, Toxic Blade. (Not saying these couldn't work, mind.) I also probably wouldn't get Spectral Armor for a Solo Warrior...more for a squishier god, usually.
   
   
3. If facing a physical Solo (and even better if the Jungler is also physical), then in almost all cases, Gladiator's Shield is a go-to 2nd item immediately after boots, and it doesn't matter about early-game or whatever...it's just very functional overall, especially at that stage of the game. This can function well even for more basic attack-oriented gods like Osiris, and is especially great for all ability-based gods like Cu Chulainn and Bellona. I generally wouldn't get Ichaival, so as a cheap bridge, the only one I'd consider is Gladiator. If you're facing a magical enemy, I'd probably get Genji's Guard right after boots, possibly followed by Hide of the Urchin or Spirit Robe.
   
   
4. DV-8 covered relics well.

I'm pretty sure that Bran is one of those guys that loves to write papers and essay while he was in school. Because every time he comments it usually take half or longer of the entire comment section. Is nice that he explains what he talking about. Oh wait, is this deja vu that I commented on this before in the past.

Actually, I hated writing papers in HS. Subject matter is key. I didn't have that much personal interest in the subjects, whereas I just absolutely love SMITE and games in general.

I do apologize for the length of my comments though. I just feel that it's good to explain WHY...you know, a guide rather than a build...not just, here use this BECAUSE. I'm sure the length of my comments and guides scares some readers away, but those that are willing to read, I hope it helps their understanding overall. I still think people in general don't understand the core mechanics enough.

As someone who once created this absolute monstrosity of a post (which was entirely about myself, btw), I hardly feel like anyone should ever feel the need to apologize to me as far as comment length is concerned :P

Thanks for the responses, guys.