TL;DR: We’re addressing the community’s concerns about the 9.5 update by rolling back many changes to restore the pre-9.5 gameplay experience. This might lead to some imbalances, but we’re committed to making SMITE fun and engaging again. Thank you for your feedback and support!
A MESSAGE TO OUR SMITE COMMUNITY
Dear SMITE Players,
We recognize that some of our most dedicated players have been expressing their dissatisfaction since the 9.5 update. Many of you feel that the changes to the time-to-kill (TTK) have made the game less rewarding and, frankly, less exciting.
WHY WE MADE THE 9.5 CHANGES
When we decided to implement the changes in 9.5, we had compelling reasons – and overwhelming community sentiment to make some change to address perceived burstiness. Our data showed that SMITE was in an unhealthy state, with a troubling number of early surrenders. One of the key elements of any MOBA is the belief that a comeback is always possible, regardless of how far behind you might be. The adjustments we made were intended to enhance this aspect of the game.
THE RESULTS OF 9.5
The 9.5 update achieved many of its intended goals. Early surrender rates dropped significantly, and various game health metrics improved. However, despite these positive changes, we understand that the overall enjoyment of the game has diminished for many of you. And as time went on, the metrics trended downwards, showing that this short-term improvement likely had negative long-term impacts.
REACTIONS TO THE 11.6 UPDATE
The recently announced 11.6 mid-season update, which we had been working on for some time, aimed to provide meaningful updates to the Jungling strategy with changes to the Shaman Camp and Spirit Totems system. We also introduced a comprehensive overhaul of Tier 2 items, resulting in interesting new item builds in our internal and ambassador testing.
However, we recognize that these changes did not address the core gameplay issues that many players have been concerned about since 9.5. This has led to a breaking point for some of you.
OUR COMMITMENT TO ADDRESSING YOUR CONCERNS
In response to your feedback, we immediately began discussing how to better align the mid-season patch with player expectations. It is clear that the community desires a return to the pre-9.5 gameplay style more than anything else. Therefore, we are planning to undo many of the changes to move the game back toward that balance state.
Important Points to Note:
We can’t go back exactly to 9.4: Since many new Gods (Lancelot, Ishtar, Maui, Surtr, Martichoras, Ix Chel, Charon, Maman Brigitte, Bake Kujira, and Nut) have been introduced since 9.4, there will be some inherent differences. We also do not plan to revert to an earlier iteration of the Conquest map, or to revert all items to their 9.4 states.
Change #1 – God Tankiness: We are intending to address the core, major God-level changes in 9.5 that led an increase in TTK by doing the following:
- Decreasing Base HP
- Decreasing HP per Level
- Decreasing Base Physical and Magical Protection
- Decreasing Physical and Magical Protection per level
Change #2 – NPC Health and Damage:
- Minions, Jungle Camps, Jungle Bosses, and Towers/Phoenixes will also receive adjustments to reverse any changes that were made in 9.5
- The intention of these changes is for players to proceed through the game at a reasonable rate considering god stat adjustments
We will have full details on the exact number changes to share with you soon.
Timing: We are currently evaluating how long it will take to implement these changes. Our goal is to deliver this update as soon as possible, and are targeting the planned 11.6 release date. We will update you if this date changes.
Expect potential imbalances: Some aspects of the game might become overpowered or underpowered. The game may not be in an optimal state for all players initially, and we will need to continue balancing from this point. But our goal is to return to this basic state of balance and make necessary adjustments from there.
How This Impacts SMITE 2: SMITE 2 is a different game, but we are working to incorporate this community sentiment into how SMITE 2 feels as well. Not all of this feedback may be seen in the next Alpha Test, but we are working towards improving the pacing of TTK, match length, and addressing a whole lot more of your feedback. Stay tuned to SMITE 2 for a deep dive on our plans for SMITE 2 development, coming soon.
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
We love SMITE, and we are dedicated to making it the best game possible for our community. We have been listening closely to your feedback over the past few weeks, and we are committed to taking action based on your input. Thank you for your continued support and for being an essential part of our journey. We hope to make SMITE the game you love and choose to spend your time playing.
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