Couple of noob questions

Just started playing this game on Friday after seeing it mentioned on the HoN forums. Have to say I am really enjoying it, so much so I haven't had a game of HoN since. I only play conquest, have won 7 out of 11 with all but 1 having positive KD so far so think I'm a little more advanced than someone who is new to moba games but I do have some questions:

Does the free hero pool change?

I started playing purely Ao Kuang for 7 games to get used to the game and noticed i'm levelling mastery, what does it do?

What do I do with my favour? I have nearly 12k now.

Does casual mode do any form of matchmaking or is it just all levels lumped together.

When I reach level 30 I see I can do competitive games, what is different?

Am I ok just using the recommended items? The shop layout makes it hard to figure out what to buy with so much scrolling.

Is there anything else I should know?

1
Yes, normally with every major patch

2
It just shows that you "know" how to play the god (they said that is unposed to be the lvling when beta is over, so lvl1-30 is "beta lvl". But that might have been changed).

3
You can buy gods, but I would strongly recommend just buying the god pack (all current gods + future gods for 30$, best deal ever. If you think you are going to keep playing the game). In that case just save for skins (gold skins can be bought when you get to mastery lvl 1 with a god, gives you new frame in loading screen with that good. Pretty sweet actually).

4
It has a hidden "elo" system, you can't check it basically.

5
You have bans, draft pick (only one of each god in the same match etc) and the newest god is always banned. And you get elo for wins, and lose elo for losing. And you can see basically how good you are compared to others.

6
I would recommend going for popular items instead, or checking out http://tiermonster.com/god. To see what the pros use etc.

7
A lot, but you'll probably figure out most of it by just playing. Watching streams are a great way to learn, ether the Smitefire stream or Smitepro ;)

Good luck, have fun and don't be afraid to ask if you got any more questions (the theorycrafting forum got a lot of good info if you just want to read up on stuff). :)

Cheers Marki

1. The pool of free gods will change except the permanent ones. For you, I beliece Neith, Poseidon, Ra, Ymir, Kali are PERMANENTLY free while the others will change once a week/2 weeks/3 weeks

2. Mastery will show how much you play with a god. Not much use now. Only you need to have 1 mastery to buy gold skin and 10 to obtain legendary skin. Other than that, if I'm not mistaken, people are matchmade with that.

3. You could buy gods or recolor skins. But I suggest buying gods only, recolor skin is not so good

4. I believe it is either your beta level or how many mastery you have.

5. Competitive have elo (points, something like that). In competitive, it has ban god. I don't really know much more cause I don't play it

6. DON'T BUY from recommended items. It is better to buy from popular items. Reading some guides here will also help you decide what items to buy yourself.

7. I have no idea what to say anymore. I will say it later

That's just a myth, Bart busted it on stream once 99% certain that he said so at least :p

Thanks for the replies. The $30 deal certainly seems like a good idea as I will definitely be playing this a lot. Have just bought it! Will try out all the gods in casual until I get to level 30. Popular items it is then, I think I'll start checking item builds out when I'm a bit more comfortable with the game.

So tried a new god last night, don't think i'm quite ready for jungle yet haha. Will stick to range magic and tanks for now.

Hehe, jungling takes some practice and understanding of the game. Not a good role to play for learning the game, just because you spend like 75% of your time by yourself in the jungle :p

But when you get a decent understanding of all the gods and what they can do, jungle is the role that lets you do almost whatever you want to do. Try out new gods like Lassiz wit Athena jungle etc.

I did try the Bakasura Belly-Filled Jungle Build from this site but died at level one haha. From that point on I really lost a lot of ground level wise and our team was getting quite badly beaten too. I think I must have spent half my time running the long way round to each spawn. I'm going to make sure I keep track of how to get to each one quickly while playing on the lanes so that when I do try again I don't fail as badly.

I'm level 30and have played for a good amount of time now and I can't jungle for my life, I always get behind and never tank, to many things happening at once for me I guess. Anyways, jungle takes some skill but is very rewarding when you can get it down.

Ya the god pack is worth it.

One lesson I learned is TO SAVE YOUR FAVOR.

It may be tempting to spend your favor when you see a god... that you THINK you like...

Then you get bored and wonder "Why the hell did I just waste my favor on that NOOOO!!!"

I do it all the time, I get favor then buy something then regret it lol.

Try to make sure you want what you are buying.