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Free Bird: Cu Chulainn Guide (Mid-S8)

87 16 577,326
6.3
by Stuke99 updated October 23, 2021

Smite God: Cu Chulainn

Build Guide Discussion 19 More Guides
Tap Mouse over an item or ability icon for detailed info

Build Summary

Starting Items

Notes Swap Warding Sigil for Bluestone Pendant if you want a more aggressive start.

Notes

Swap Warding Sigil for Bluestone Pendant if you want a more aggressive start.

Build Item Warding Sigil Warding Sigil
Build Item Chalice of Healing Chalice of Healing
Build Item Multi Potion Multi Potion
3
Build Item Blink Rune Blink Rune

Full Build

Build Item Infused Sigil Infused Sigil
Build Item Mystical Mail Mystical Mail
Build Item The Sledge The Sledge
Build Item Bulwark of Hope Bulwark of Hope
Build Item Pridwen Pridwen
Build Item Void Shield Void Shield
Build Item Blink Rune Blink Rune
Build Item Sundering Spear Sundering Spear

Cu Chulainn's Skill Order

Barbed Spear / Ground Slam

1 X Y
Barbed Spear / Ground Slam
1 4 6 7 10

Vent Anger

2 A B
Vent Anger
3 15 16 18 19

Salmon's Leap / Furious Charge

3 B A
Salmon's Leap / Furious Charge
2 8 11 12 14

Spear of Mortal Pain / War Cry

4 Y X
Spear of Mortal Pain / War Cry
5 9 13 17 20
Barbed Spear / Ground Slam
1 4 6 7 10

Barbed Spear / Ground Slam

1 X
Cu Chulainn thrusts his spear forward, damaging all enemies in front of him and stunning less powerful minions. Successfully hitting an enemy minion with this ability restores 5 Rage, 8 for a god (to a max of 18). Barbs from his spear stick in opponents and reduce their healing received for 5s.

In his Berserk Form, Cu Chulainn instead slams his massive arms down, damaging and rooting all Enemies in front of him and this ability costs no Rage.

Ability Type: Line, Debuff, Damage
Damage: 85 / 145 / 205 / 265 / 325 (+55% of your Physical Power)
Healing Reduction: 40%
Stun Duration: 2s
Root Duration: 1s
Range: 45
Cost: 9 Rage
Cooldown: 15 / 14 / 13 / 12 / 11s
Vent Anger
3 15 16 18 19

Vent Anger

2 A
Cu Chulainn vents his anger as superheated steam, increasing his Movement Speed and draining his Rage. Every .5s while in this state, all enemies within range are damaged by the heat. Vent Anger does not return Rage.

In his Berserk form, Cu Chulainn Vents Anger automatically and does not drain Rage.

Ability Type: Circle, Buff, Damage
Damage Per Second: 10 / 17 / 24 / 31 / 38 (+5% of your Physical Power)
Movement Speed: 5%
Radius: 22.5
Cost: 16 Rage
Cooldown: 6s
Salmon's Leap / Furious Charge
2 8 11 12 14

Salmon's Leap / Furious Charge

3 B
Cu Chulainn vaults over his spear, leaping to a target location and slamming it down to damage enemies around and in front of him. Successfully hitting an enemy minion with this ability restores 5 Rage, 8 for a god (to a max of 18).

In his Berserk Form, Cu Chulainn instead charges forward damaging, stunning and driving all enemies back with him and this ability costs no Rage.

Ability Type: Area, Leap, Damage
Damage: 70 / 125 / 180 / 235 / 290 (+60% of your Physical Power)
Range: 35
Radius: 15
Cost: 9 Rage
Cooldown: 15s
Spear of Mortal Pain / War Cry
5 9 13 17 20

Spear of Mortal Pain / War Cry

4 Y
Cu Chulainn swings his spear Gae Bulg in a circle around him, Damaging and Knocking Up all Enemies. Successfully hitting an enemy minion with this ability restores 10 Rage, 26 for a god (to a max of 36).

In his Berserk Form, Cu Chulainn instead gives a terrifying yell, Damaging all Enemies and causing them to Tremble. This yell costs no Rage and has a 35s cooldown.

Ability Type: Circle, Knockup, Damage
Damage: 165 / 235 / 305 / 375 / 445 (+65% of your Physical Power)
Tremble Duration: 1s
Radius: 30
Cost: 14 Rage
Cooldown (Spear of Mortal Pain): 100 / 95 / 90 / 85 / 80s
Cooldown (War Cry): 35s

Extended Build

Core

Build Item Mystical Mail Mystical Mail
Build Item Bulwark of Hope Bulwark of Hope
Build Item Pridwen Pridwen

Offensive Items

Build Item Void Shield Void Shield
Build Item The Sledge The Sledge
Build Item Arondight Arondight
Build Item Shifter's Shield Shifter's Shield

Defensive Items

Build Item Hide of the Urchin Hide of the Urchin
Build Item Pestilence Pestilence
Build Item Breastplate of Valor Breastplate of Valor
Build Item Oni Hunter's Garb Oni Hunter's Garb

Relic

Build Item Blink Rune Blink Rune
Build Item Sundering Spear Sundering Spear
Build Item Teleport Fragment Teleport Fragment
Build Item Horrific Emblem Horrific Emblem

My Introduction

Top of the mornin' to ya, Stuke here with a new guide. With this guide we'll be taking a look at the first Celtic warrior to be released into Smite, in this guide I will teach you how to play a god with more rage than I have. Allow me to introduce Sétanta, or known as Cú Chulainn.
Note: you don't have to follow this guide to the smallest detail, these are suggestions on how to play Cu Chulainn. I encourage you to look at the comment section below and see other suggestions.

Who is Cu Chulainn?


Cu Chulainn is a Physical, Melee, Warrior that has seemingly unlimited usage with his abilities if you have Rage built up and ready to use. Some of you are probably asking, "But Stuke, what is Rage?", I'm glad you asked, you see Cu is different from the other gods in the game as he doesn't have mana (I'll get into it when we get to his abilities). By building up this god you will be able to take on most enemy gods in the game as long as you still have Rage to expend and replenish during an engagement.

Pros / Cons

Pros
  • Good Crowd Control
  • No Mana Problems
  • High Damage

Cons
  • Berserk Mode needs to charge and be channeled
  • No Viable Form of Sustain
  • Berserk Mode last a limited time

Cu Chulainn is quite a special warrior to play. Since he has no mana, being able to spam your abilities becomes easier than ever especially when you go Berserk. Once Berserk, Cu's offensiveness goes off the charts for the duration this stance lasts. The only problem of having an overpowered offense is that his defense is very low. Lacking sustain is a very glaring issue with Cu as you will have a hard time staying in the lane without any ability to heal yourself so you'll need to play carefully until you build up enough Rage.

Abilities


Berserk
Remember when I said Cu Chulainn has no mana, here’s why. Instead of having a mana pool, Cu builds up a new type of energy called Rage. His mana bar is at a constant 100 and every item that would give mana/mana regen is instead converted into health and health regen respectively. Cu can regenerate up to 25 Rage naturally but needs to land a hit, get hit, or have an ally get hit to build it up. Here's the kicker, once you hit 85 rage points, and with a short build-up, Cu goes Berserk which increases his damage, gives him a small health shield, and makes his second ability, Vent Anger, constantly active during the duration. While Rage works similarly to mana, it can also be regenerated in a greater number if any of your abilities besides Vent Anger hits an enemy.

Barbed Spear
A simple line projectile that will go through every target. What makes it different from most line projectiles is that this ability will stun the minions and give enemy gods a healing debuff.

Ground Slam
Being a line attack like Barbed Spear but instead of a minion stun or anti-heal, this ability damages and roots enemy gods. Mostly used to set up kills or for your third ability which will be talked about soon.

Vent Anger
One of the most mechanically challenging abilities in his kit. While it seems very simple, giving Cu Chulainn a built-in Mystical Mail while also giving him a boost in movement speed as well, here's where this ability is very important to use it. To prevent you from going berserk at the wrong time, this item takes a good chunk of rage out so when you're clearing a lane or jungle camp you don't waste the rage you built up for a fight. Also, this ability works very well with Mystical Mail as it provides even more AOE damage.

Salmon's Leap
A short leap that provides AOE damage and short line forward, simple enough. While this ability is a nice tool when engaging or getting that last hit in on a target, it can be a nice escape so keep it at the ready to escape if you feel like you're going to be ganked and or lose the fight.

Furious Charge
In Berserk mode this leap becomes a charge like Hercules Driving Strike. So, use this in conjunction with Ground Slam to root them to set them up for you to charge them under the tower, into a wall, or just out of position for you and your team to kill.

Spear of Mortal Pain
Your main disruption and CC tool while Calm. Cu Chulainn spins once in a huge AOE damaging and knocking up all enemies caught in the range of his Ult. Mostly used as a form of disruption or a nice way to secure a kill, this also helps build up Rage but unlike the other abilities, the Rage gained by this is larger than the other two.

War Cry
An AoE attack like his Calm Ult but instead of a knock-up, this ability gives a tremble. Use this ability when surrounded or when you need to zone out the enemy from an objective.

Itemization

Cu Chulainn is a bruiser through in through. He's built like a tank and hits like a cannon, building protections, CDR, and health to maximize his potential during fights. Here is a selection of items that can synergize with Cu Chulainn that could be a nice addition to your build.


Starters


Warding Sigil
A go-to for when you want to be tankier. Every time a damaging ability hits you, you gain additional protections for a short duration that occurs once per ability. Making this a good item for when you're going against someone who spams abilities.
At Lvl 20, we will upgrade this to Infused Sigil for when a certain number of abilities hit you a wave of AoE damage is emitted.

Warrior's Axe
If you're looking for a safer starter for Solo then this is the item for you. Every attack made against an enemy god will take that target's health and give it to you before going on a short cool down.
At Lvl 20, we will upgrade this to Sundering Axe to take those stats and effect even more potent.

Bluestone Pendant
A starter for the highly aggressive ability-focused gods. Every time an enemy is hit by a damaging ability, they take damage over time. Since all of Cu Chulainn's abilities deal damage, that means you not only can apply constant annoying damage but also that increased damage output will give you better pressure during the lane phase as well as team fights.
At Lvl 20, we will upgrade this to Bluestone Brooch to make those stats and effects more potent.

Core


Mystical Mail
A nice defensive item for when you or your enemy likes to get too close. Once bought, this item provides an aura that puts out magical damage over time every second. Also, a very good item against stealthed enemies so makes use of the damage over time to either make them visible or pop their stealth.
And when paired with Vent Anger, you can deal a lot of damage to your enemies just by standing near them.

Bulwark of Hope
Whenever your health falls below a certain threshold, you will gain a health shield based on a percentage of your maximum health. After activation, this item will go into cooldown before this effect can be used again.

Pridwen
After using your ultimate, you gain a health shield that explodes and deals damage to any enemies standing too close after a short duration or when depleted to zero.
Since you're mostly using your ultimate in the middle of a fight, the added protection is perfect for what Cu Chulainn needs.

Additional


Void Shield
A favorite item for many bruisers. Get close to an enemy and reduce their physical protections as long as they stay within the debuff radius.

The Sledge
A very nice item for any bruiser to have in their arsenal. You gain stacks of protections of physical and magical protections based on how many enemy gods are near you. Similar to Oni Hunter's Garb but with protections, this item makes it easier for you to jump into the middle of a fight without taking too much damage.

Arondight
Once your ultimate is activated, all enemy gods within a large radius are revealed, gain a movement speed increase when going towards an enemy, and the first enemy god revealed is attacked takes additional damage. Perfect for when you need to chase down a fleeing target. Since Cu doesn't have many options to chase, this makes a nice addition especially when you go Berserk and can't get the movement speed boost from Vent Anger.

Shifter's Shield
A classic item for physical bruisers. Based on how much health you have, you gain additional damage when above the threshold and you gain protections when below.

Hide of the Urchin
A perfect item from front-line bruisers. Every kill and assist provides you with a stack of protections. At max stacks it upgrades and gains a new effect: while out of combat you gain a health bubble that increases the longer you don't take damage.

Pestilence
Have trouble with enemy healing? When you get near an enemy god, their healing percentage is reduced until they get far enough away from you.

Breastplate of Valor
A classic physical protection item for Solo, especially for those who are ability-focused. Not to mention that the increase to mana and MpS gets transferred into health makes Cu better at surviving.

Oni Hunter's Garb
You gain stacks of damage mitigation the more enemies that get close to you. This item is good if you're having a hard time during team fights, getting ganked early, or getting swarmed by the enemy team.

Tips, Tricks, & Combos

  • Anger Managment
    It can be the reason why you can't go Berserk either because you don't have enough Rage, or you went Berserk at the wrong time. Use Vent Anger to make sure you don't go Berserk when you don't need to.
  • One-Man Riot
    Unlike most bruisers, Cu Chulainn wants to fight multiple enemies at once, it's the easiest way to build up a lot of Rage and since a number of his abilities are good at hitting multiple targets, this makes Cu a serious threat to the enemy team.
  • Battle Frenzy
    You need to build up that Rage any way you can, let a teammate get hit for even more Rage but not too much to where you let them die.

1
Calm
🠞
While Calm, this is your main engagement combo. Leap in with Salom's leap then follow up with Barbed Spear to stun minions and reduce healing to enemy gods is a great combo to use to start a fight. If they run away, or you're feeling extra cheeky, pop Vent Anger to pull a Mystical Mail and get increased movement speed.
Berserk
🠞
Ever wanted to do your best Hercules impression, here's your combo. Use Ground Slam to root your target, then while pinned follow up with Furious Charge to push them in the direction you're facing.
Ultimate Combo
Calm
🠞 🠞
This combo is great for getting in disrupting the fight and building up a good amount of Rage allowing you to go Berserk during the engagement. start with Salmon's Leap (or blibk rune if you have it), then while in the middle of the enemy team use spear of mortal pain to knock up as many enemies as you can to build up rage, and if that wasn't enough use [[barbed spear to reduce healing. If all abilities are used up then throw in some basics.
Berserk
🠞 🠞
Assuming you went Berserk from the Calm combo, this combo will help you apply even more damage as well as set up kills for you and your teammates. Once Berserk, use Ground Slam into Furious Charge to get one or more targets, after that use War Cry to disrupt the enemy team.

Stages of the Game

Early Game

Early Game is not good, you will be very limited in what you can do until you build up some items that give some decent protections and damage to become a threat to the enemy lane. Waiting until Level 5 is also a good idea and if you build up enough Rage to go Berserk then you could turn the lane around for a possible kill.

Middle Game

This is when Cu Chulainn starts to turn things around for himself as he will have built enough and if you went Berserk, you could kill multiple people in on transformation.

Late Game

While not as good as his Middle Game presence, he still hits hard and is tanky enough to deal with a lot of things thrown at him.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Cu Chulainn is a bully in the lane during the Early-Mid Game and an unstoppable force during team fights while he goes Berserk. Always remember to keep that Rage high but not too high so you don't go Berserk during a lane or camp clear, Use Calm Mode to build up Rage for Berserk Form, and show the enemy team why they shouldn't let you get angry.

Leave a Comment

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Collapse All Comments

1
Big Damage (37) | May 22, 2020 3:03am
Just a couple of nitpick mistakes I've noticed, in the abilities section at the end you describe Vent Anger as an item instead of an ability and that War Cry has no CC immunity, although it was added a while back.
1
Stuke99 (56) | May 22, 2020 6:23am
Fixed it.
1
UlisesFRN (1) | March 26, 2019 4:11pm
I have two questions,is this build still good?also is cuchulainn still a good pick?
2
Kriega1 (143) | March 26, 2019 5:04pm
Probably not the best pick right now, no.
1
UlisesFRN (1) | March 27, 2019 3:43am
Yeah that was what i though XD
Back when i was playing he was pretty op,and i had so much fun with it but now i think he needs some buff to be a viable pick
Load more comments (2 more replies) →
1
Stuke99 (56) | August 29, 2018 7:55pm
I will now be adding new more detailed illustrations to my guides.
1
Tlaloc1050 (17) | August 29, 2018 10:21pm
Yay. I like how you present the abilities section
1
Stuke99 (56) | August 30, 2018 3:02am
Thanks. Bran tought me how to code it.
1
Branmuffin17 (394) | March 8, 2018 2:59pm
If you do get Glad Shield, maybe get it before Tabi since it's so cheap and provides much more utility?
1
IceColdPappsi (13) | March 8, 2018 2:41pm
Ummmmmmmm Bluestone Pendant doesn't exist anymore...
1
midwayrhyme | March 8, 2018 4:30am
when guide being updated seems very outdated
1
cornoratu | July 16, 2017 7:23am
First off, congratulations on the guide. I know it takes a bit of work and effort to put these together and it's much appreciated.

Secondly, I am seeing some serious flaws (in my opinion) in the guide:

1. You are leveling the 2 before the 3. This in my opinion is quite a big mistake and you miss out on a lot. I think the 3 should be skilled up before the 2 regardless of your playstyle because:

a. The 2 is mainly used for avoiding berserking and the MS boost
b. The 3 has very good damage as you level it up, and it scales decently as well (in both forms)
c. Against any decent team, you will not be able to get more value out of the DoT from 2 over the actual dmg from the 3
d. Even if you opt to use the 3 defensively, on those few ocasions where you use it offensively it will still be more effective than leveling up the 2
e. There are quite a few solo laners who build Mark of the Vanguard either first or third item, which negates a decent portion of the dot from the 2
f. This ties to a few of the other mentions I made previously: instant damage is easier to confirm and a lot safer than the dot from the 2 (which would imply in a lot of cases you chasing the enemy towards their territory to confirm that DoT)

2. You have a few items in the build which lose efficiency on Cu Chulainn (some more than others), such as Bluestone Pendant, Breastplate of Valor and Shogun's Kusari.

While mana and MP5 do get converted to health and HP5, the conversion rate is of only 15%. This means that the 300 Mana from BoV is only 45 Health, the 10MP5 is only 1.5HP5. Hardly noticeable.

Also, when describing why Bluestone Pendant should be taken first, you did mention that it provides a small amount of health and HP5. I would call 7.5 health and 0.75HP5 insignifiant even at level 1 and not even worth mentioning, to be honest.

While Bluestone and Shogun's don't lose that much efficiency (Bluestone's passive is still great), BoV actually loses quite a lot, so I would avoid that item, even if the 20% CDR is quite tempting.

A few items that you might want to include in the build (after you test them out yourself, of course) are Runeforged Hammer (especially if you will also build Frostbound), Mail of Renewal and the El Classico Bulwark of Hope. If you are ahead (or if you can fit them in the build), you can also opt for Qin's Sais or The Executioner, since, as mentioned, his attack speed is decent. You would usually not be able to include these in the build, however, since it is expected of solo laners to be able to frontline quite a lot for their team.

You really should mention Death's Toll as a starter item, as it works decently with Cu Chulainn, since he has decent attack speed by default. If you pair it with the regen from healing chalice + healing pot, you will be able to outbox almost anyone in early game.

I also think you should discuss the potential of him getting a solo kill at level 2 or even level 1(though this will happen in extremely rare situations), with proper planning and rage management, considering he actually has 2 abilities at lvl 1 and 4 abilities at lvl 2.

Finally, regarding actives, depending on the enemy team comp, you could also go into blink, for the setup potential with the 3 in the berserk form or the ultimate in the calm form (this leaving you the 3 for escaping). This is especially beneficial when your support is one with bad initiation (or if you are the support and paired with an offensive/aggresive hunter which is decently effective earlier than the hard carries).

Last edit: It might have been a good idea to publish this guide after the next patch hits, as it will bring A LOT of changes to items, among other things.
1
Mastemine | July 9, 2019 9:19am
Bluestone isn't in the game anymore, might need to update comment.
1
Stuke99 (56) | July 9, 2019 9:27am
This comment was written when that was still in the game and since the user hasn't been seen beyond August of last year, I highly doubt this is going to be updated.
2
Branmuffin17 (394) | July 13, 2017 12:17pm
Stuke99 wrote:
"I really hate violence."

YOU LIE.
Stuke99 wrote:
"...I will teach you how to play a god with more rage than me."

Arguable, but...LOL so awesome.

Before I talk about anything else, I think a cleaner organization for abilities would be extremely helpful. Give you an example.

lots of coding though


Anyway, on to comments.
  • Good explanations on the abilities and general use overall. However, even if an ability is similar to another, describing how to use and where to position for something like Furious Charge is still nice to have. And regarding Salmon's Leap, you may also mention that it can be important to save as an escape. Also, you may consider mentioning that the abilities tied to the specific # share the CD...so if you use an ability, then switch to berzerk mode, the CD still applies.

  • Can he actually function viably as a Support? I'm asking, because I don't know, but it doesn't seem like he would...at least, he'd be weaker than standard picks. If he's not really a viable Support, I'd suggest just straight up deleting that 2nd build. Would like to hear your thoughts on this though.

  • Due to role differences, I'd suggest separating Solo and Jungle into separate builds, unless you'd build him exactly the same way in either role.

  • For Build #1, your build progression is for a physical enemy only, due to 2nd and 3rd items giving physical protections. As such, this is extremely limiting. How would you build early if against a magical Solo?

  • Your final build still contains Gladiator's Shield, which is a bridge item and should be replaced late-game. You should suggest something for that.

  • One pen item might help. You have an option for Titan's Bane, but I think Void Shield is another possibility.

  • Your combos all utilize ults. Perhaps describe how to play, if there aren't really any combos, when you want to save your ult.
Thoughts?
1
Stuke99 (56) | July 13, 2017 12:22pm
I'll see what I can do.
1
GameGeekFan (50) | July 13, 2017 12:54pm
Or break
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