Hello and welcome to the Season 9 Guide Contest! Check out the details below to learn how to join and compete for the $2000 prize pool!
Season 9 Guide Contest (7 Full Guide Winners & 19 Build Winners
The guide contest features a total of (7) categories. There are (5) categories for each SMITE class and (2) categories dedicated to Off-Meta guides and Gods that need fresh quality guides the most. Every category will have (1) winner for the best Full Guide, and also (3) winners for the best builds. The only exception is the Off-Meta category that we're trying out for fun, and which will have (1) winner for the best Full Guide and (1) winner for the best build.
How to participate?
Simply create or update a Season 9 full guide or build before the end of the contest (March 8th) and you're entered!
Full guides are more in-depth than builds and cover everything you need to know in order to properly play a specific God. To qualify as a full guide considered for the contest, it must fulfill the following requirements:
at least 2,000 characters (characters, not words, including BBCode)
a properly filled out build - skill order and items in the item purchase order (starting items and full build are a must)
must follow the guidelines provided in the judging section below
Builds are easy to follow and they teach you which items are the best and when to build them. They cover the essentials of quickly learning how to effectively build a God. To qualify as a build considered for the contest, it must fulfill the following requirements:
identify role (e.g. "Jungle") and mode (e.g. "Conquest")
a starting items list
at least one full build example including skill leveling order
alternative item options in the build section, where applicable
brief explanation of when and how to slot in alternative items
Note: Full guides are able to participate and win as builds, depending on the number and quality of entries.
If you want feedback for your entry, don't forget to make use of the forums and our Discord server! The SMITEFire community will be happy to help by giving your guide feedback. Sounds good so far? Break the ice and be the first to join the guide contest! 😊
Here are the categories of this guide contest. You may create multiple builds or guides for each of these categories, but you will only be able to win one of them. Creating more guides means more chances though! Also, don't forget about the bonus mobile-friendly award!
Assassin
Assassins are often melee gods who can commonly be found in the jungle area of the map. With their mobility and ability to deal huge amounts of damage in a short period of time, their main purpose is to reach key targets in the back line of the enemy team before assassinating them. Authors who write a guide in this category should make sure they do their best to explain how to do this without being stopped by the enemy Guardian or dying to damage dealt by the enemy team.
One full guide winner will receive $150 prize and a Season 9 gold Assassin badge. Three build winners will receive $50 prize each.
Guardian
Guardians are usually gods who provide a large amount of crowd control and can soak some damage for their team. Their main job is protect their carries from dying to sneaky enemy Assassins and to disrupt the enemy team as much as possible. Authors who write a guide in this category should focus on explaining how to quickly locate and eliminate the main source(s) of danger on the enemy team while keeping their own carries safe.
One full guide winner will receive $150 prize and a Season 9 gold Guardian badge. Three build winners will receive $50 prize each.
Hunter
Hunters are gods who primarily use their basic attacks to deal damage from a distance. Due to their heavy dependence on items, one of their main priorities throughout the game is to secure kills and make sure they are farming a lot of minions & monsters. Authors who write a guide in this category should focus on explaining how to itemize once they've acquired a lot of gold by doing so and talk about how best to position in teamfights.
One full guide winner will receive $150 prize and a Season 9 gold Hunter badge. Three build winners will receive $50 prize each.
Mage
Mages are commonly found in the middle lane and can deal a large amount of magical damage from afar by chaining their abilities. In teamfights, they're usually looking to unleash their deadly combo on prime enemy targets. Authors who write a guide in this category should focus on explaining how their abilities should be chained to get the most damage out of them and talk about how to best position themselves in order to do this without being at risk of getting caught.
One full guide winner will receive $150 prize and a Season 9 gold Mage badge. Three build winners will receive $50 prize each.
Warrior
Warriors are melee fighters who can take a bit of a beating but dish out damage as well. In teamfights, Warriors should generally be found on the front lines and focus on disrupting and damaging the enemy team's damage dealers. Authors who write a guide in this category should focus on explaining how to best itemize to achieve this goal and on how to determine which enemy god should be their main priority.
One full guide winner will receive $150 prize and a Season 9 gold Warrior badge. Three build winners will receive $50 prize each.
Revival
The Revival category is returning for this contest! All guides for the 10 Gods shown on the left are eligible to win this category. Each of these Gods is in need of some fresh new guides, so this category is designed to reward those authors who help fill that need by creating new guide content for the Gods listed.
The full list of Gods that count towards this category:
One full guide winner will receive $150 prize and a Season 9 gold Revival badge. Three build winners will receive $50 prize each.
Off-Meta
While most guides and builds are designed to give players a competitive edge, sometimes it’s fun to share and read strategies that are a little outside the box. This category is for entries that break the mould with unique builds and strategies. Whether that be an entry for a god in an unusual role or just with an unusual build, it will teach readers how to have a blast playing SMITE!
Note: Make sure your Off-Meta design synergizes with an aspect of the god's kit (e.g. a Support needs Crowd Control).
One full guide winner will receive $150 prize and a Season 9 gold Off-Meta badge. One build winner will receive $50 prize.
What would a God do without a good build? If you don't buy any items you probably aren't going to do very well! So first things first, tell us what to buy (under the Items tab) of your guide!
Guide purchase orders exist to tell your readers what to buy as well as the order in which they should buy their items, so make sure to make good use of them.
Depth of Information- teach us how to play!
What order do you level your skills in? Do you wait for a certain moment to use a skill? How do you play against this god or that god? All these little details should not only teach beginners the basics, but teach experienced players little tips and tricks they may not have known before. We've jotted down a list of common topics to touch on in a guide below.
Skill order
How to use your skills effectively
First purchase
Build order and how to counterbuild
Tips and tricks
Matchups and synergy
Other game concepts such as team fighting, jungling, pushing, map objectives, etc.
Formatting and Readability- add some polish
If your guide or build has typos everywhere and all the text is in bright blue it might be a little hard to read. We're not saying that a single typo will disqualify your guide, but take some time to proofread and add some formatting to your guide to help readers quickly find important information. Below are a few resources to help set you on your way; if you want any more help, feel free to ask for it on the forums or in our Discord server!
After contest is closed there will be a 2 weeks judging period.
Winners may choose to receive their prize by PayPal, Bank Transfer or Amazon Gift Cards.
You must create or update your guides or builds by the end of March 8th PST.
Your guides and builds must meet the requirements listed in the rules.
You're allowed to make changes to your guides and builds at any time.
Guides and builds must be crafted to reflect the current state of the game.
Guides and builds for any of SMITE's game modes are eligible to win.
Participants cannot win more than one contest category or prize.
Exceptions may be made based on the number of quality guides at the discretion of the judges
Plagiarism is strictly prohibited and will automatically disqualify your guide.
NOTE: God builds and BBCode do not belong to any one writer and do not fall under plagiarism rules
Contest Judges
We have a hand-picked team of judges this year, including some prolific guide authors. Since judges can't win any category of the contest, it's your best chance to secure a spot in the standings while these guide giants are out of the running!
SMITEFire is the place to find the perfect build guide to take your game to the next level. Learn how to play a new god, or fine tune your favorite SMITE gods’s build and strategy.
<Community Manager>
Awards Showcase
Distinguished (54)
Posts: 353
xmysterionz
<Sharpshooter>
Awards Showcase
Distinguished (71)
Posts: 2383
View My Blog
<Community Manager>
Awards Showcase
Distinguished (54)
Posts: 353
xmysterionz
<Sharpshooter>
Awards Showcase
Distinguished (71)
Posts: 2383
View My Blog
Stuke99
<Veteran>
Awards Showcase
Distinguished (56)
Posts: 1169
View My Blog