Learning Smite (coming from LoL)

So I recently saw some gameplay of smite and thought it looked good, so I decided to pick it up. I love the feel compared to LoL in terms of the wasd controls. I am, however, having a tricky time adjusting to some of the differences. I have been playing Loki and Ullr so far, and plan to start branching out more once I am comfortable with my ability and knowledge of other god's/builds. (I purchased all gods and all gods to be for 30$ so availability is np)

I have tried Loki for both solo and jungle and sometimes I do fine but a lot of the time I have trouble. I am capable of landing kills and using the abilities but am consistently dealing with 2v1 situations. Often I end up having to deal with either 2 people in solo, or a constant escort with their jungle from mid. The last few times I went to pair up with solo(as jungle) I was told to get out(in words far less kind), but most of the guides I have been reading say that solo is the place to start. I also cannot quite grasp the jungle route, as I was so used to in LoL. From what I read I am supposed to start in solo and then kill elementals, help with another wave in solo, then move on and grab buffs etc. I learned LoL jungle quite easily and grasped it well but here I feel uncertain as to where I should go. Also, how should I deal with ranged vs melee? I feel like I should be more aggressive but ranged enemies constantly whittle me down if I get close to the wave. I also constantly feel too squishy, which was never a problem when I played LoL due to my choice of either a character with healing ability/lifesteal or one with good mobility. Is this a symptom of playing Loki or should I just be more aggressive?

I feel I may need to branch out and start practicing other gods, maybe against bots, in order to find ones that suit me better, but am not sure where to get started. I used to play Hecarim and annihilate on a regular basis as jungler, but I cannot seem to find anything with abilities or a juggernaut playstyle that feels quite like that. I used to do fine with Zed and Nocturne, as well as Tristana adc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially in terms of god recommendations.

Hi Akkiraus,

You have a ton of questions. Will try to give a bit of direction. As a base of knowledge, you're welcome to reference my guide, though I will be updating some things at least slightly.

https://www.smitefire.com/smite/guide/the-overarching-conquest-guide-s4-patch-4-12-12069

Also, this guide is a bit outdated, but you might still find some useful info. It has a small section specifically for LoL players.

https://www.smitefire.com/smite/guide/bugs-beginners-universal-guide-to-smite-9303#chapter7

Anyway, we'll start with your basics. You're only choosing 2 players right now... Loki and Ullr. Personally, I'd suggest moving away from these for now, but if you don't, that's okay. Here are reasons:

• Loki is not really strongly in the meta right now. This doesn't mean he can't be viable, but he's sort of a unique god and is considered more of a pubstomper than anything. You'd think he'd be best-suited for the Jungle, and in many ways he is, but he's outclassed by other Junglers. He is also sometimes played in the Solo lane, but is again pretty easily outpressured in the early game by gods more commonly used right now (mostly Warriors and some Guardians).
  
  
• Ullr is a fairly complex god. (I played him in Arena last night and was horrible...I don't even have him at mastery 1, haha). You have to stance switch with him, and although he's definitely viable, if you're still learning the game, you might again consider a different god. He can be used in the jungle, as he has some unique things in his kit, but he's also seen as ADC (but not as strong there).

Anyway, you're talking about new players...you're consistently dealing with 2 v 1s, you say. Well, a lot of new players don't have a strong MOBA understanding as it sounds like you do, so they go all over the place. You can't really rely on teammates and enemies to do the normal thing, so it can be difficult to learn and develop good habits.

Jungle

One thing to keep in mind, if you're Jungler, is that you shouldn't be hanging out too much with the Solo, hence why they're called Solo. Yes, you can START in their lane (though right now I think the more common is to start with the Mid-Laner), but you shouldn't hang out there. They need to farm, so if you overstay your welcome, you're soaking up too much of their XP. You need to be roaming the Jungle more, or splitting a bit more here and there with the Mid-Laner as well. Now, it sounds like you were just starting there, but just making this clear. If they told you to get out at the very beginning, then just ignore them if that's where you choose to start.

So...more common Jungle start...I'd say again that it's now Mid-lane. Take the first wave, then depending how well you're able to do with your Mid, if you can push them back, you can go for either one of their buffs (either Red Damage or Yellow Speed), or just do the mid-harpy camps. If you're the one pressured, and they try to steal one of YOUR camps, you probably want to pressure them and try to prevent them from taking it.

From there, you might go back and split one more wave, then head off into the Jungle, picking up your Yellow Speed buff if you didn't already, and continuing your rounds from there. But it all depends on how much pressure you're giving or taking. Just uunderstand, it's not really all set in stone here as it might be in LoL. Hi-Rez keeps experimenting with different things, and it changes the meta. So don't stress too much.

Ranged vs. Melee

Loki is weak early. Until he gets enough clear (usually via the huge power boost from Transcendence), he can't do much pressuring. Until he gets to level 5, he can't really jump in and easily damage a ranged enemy. Really, he needs to bide his time, as he needs items to be effective, unlike some other Junglers or Solo-laners that have a strong level 1-5. This is partly why he hasn't been in the meta...recently, it's all been about early game snowballing.

He's also very squishy, and you usually won't build any protections on him, so he'll be squishy throughout the match. His saving grace is his Vanish, which you should save more for escape purposes, or only to sneak/chase if you know you're just securing a kill and will not be pressured afterward.

I have a guide for him, but it's meant specifically for Arena. It does have a lot of the general info on how to use his abilities, though, so you might get something out of it.

https://www.smitefire.com/smite/guide/loki-the-tricky-arena-assassin-s4-patch-4-13-9305

I don't play LoL, so I don't know of any gods that would have similar styles to who you listed. It sounds like you definitely like Jungle and Solo though, so you might look into any of the following:

• Jungle: Fenrir, Nemesis, Thor, Cabrakan, Ravana.
• Solo: Cu Chulainn, Bellona, Osiris, Sun Wukong, Hercules, Tyr, Sobek

That list isn't exhaustive by any means, but those should all be solid picks.

Let us know if you have any other specific questions, and welcome to Smite!

I think that to fit in and really get a sense for the gods in Smite, you should compare them to the champions in league. Say you played a lot of Aurelion Sol. Visually, Kukulkan is the closest. The closest to Ekko is Chronos in terms of ability similarities. Its all about building bridges when coming from one Moba to the other.
GLHF, and may the gods be ever in your favor.

Wow, what an amazingly well-made response!(@branmuffin17) Thank you very much for the advice. As you mentioned I think part of my problem is playing Loki too dedicatedly, and the same as for your advice with Ullr, it is rather tricky to get used too without dedicated practice.

I think practicing other gods is really what I need to do, perhaps setting auto-build and running them in bots to get a feel for what I enjoy, then setting up a specific build for normal play.

As for the 2v1 I agree, I think it is partly due to the fact that I am up against novice players that do not necessarily research where you are supposed to be when as I do. I am by no means an expert but I do prefer at least knowing a build and reading a guide for the god I am gonna play before I play it. Thank you again for the fine advice!

@ icecoldpappi- Indeed, I have found a few sources saying that perhaps guan or tyr are a suitable comparison to Hecarim and intend to test them out!

The Morrigan and Ao Kuang are similar to Loki, while being far better (Morrigan is in the meta, Ao not so much)

When it comes to jungling in Smite compared to LOL the biggest difference is that in Smite you share a lot more especially in the early game.

Loki jungle tips:
Start with decoy and buy Bluestone Pendant, Bumba's Mask and healing and multi potions. Relic should be beads or aegis but doesn't really matter.

1. decoy the mid wave, make sure to hit the entire wave (try and poke the enemy midlaner as well).
2. go to one of the midcamps or enemy speed buff if you won the push. (With mid)
3. do the elements (with mid)
4. mid wave again
5. do the other midcamp (if it is up) or do your speed (with mid)
6. do blue buff (With solo)
7. solo wave
8. back camps
9. elements

Etc. etc.

I recommend you watch some good jungle streams to learn the routes.

I would say Adapting is the most efficient jungler and he streams a lot (he is in France atm though). The routes in Smite are pretty much the same for all gods.

@Marki, what would be an alternate situation...say if you DIDN'T win the push, and so can't do elementals or whatever?

There is a few things you can do.
Invade enemy speed (if they invade your speed). Or you can go fight them at your speed.
Or if they just go for a midcamp you can take the other one.

It's hard to explain I just do stuff lol

And there you have it. Everything is situational and there is really no set path. No wonder OP is feeling lost.

Yeah it is not like in lol when you can say that at x minutes you are going to be at this and that camp.
But there are some key points of interest.

Speed buff
Mid wave
Solo wave
Elements
Mid camps
Blue buff
Back camps

When sharing waves try to time it with for example doing bluebuff. First do a wave, then do blue then another wave then leave and go to mid and share a wave.
And every time you go to share a wave you can try to poke or kill the enemy ofc.