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Deity Athena Support

Support Conquest
5 0 275
8.3
by lestimics updated December 1, 2025

Smite God: Athena

Build Guide Discussion 0 More Guides
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Athena Build

Started build

Notes Selflessness gives you sustain in lane with minions assist and extra gold, plus when an ally receives a hard crowd control effect he get a small shield.

Health Chalice Hp sustain for the lane.

Sundering Arc You deal damage in a cone to enemy gods and jungle monsters, allowing you to buff faster and secure them easily.

Bifrost Shard gives you a free ward that lasts 90 seconds. It is useful for early ganks from the enemy jungler.

Notes

Selflessness gives you sustain in lane with minions assist and extra gold, plus when an ally receives a hard crowd control effect he get a small shield.

Health Chalice Hp sustain for the lane.

Sundering Arc You deal damage in a cone to enemy gods and jungle monsters, allowing you to buff faster and secure them easily.

Bifrost Shard gives you a free ward that lasts 90 seconds. It is useful for early ganks from the enemy jungler.

Build Item Selflessness Selflessness
Build Item Medallion Medallion
Build Item Health Chalice Health Chalice
Build Item Health Potion Health Potion
2
Build Item Bifrost Shard Bifrost Shard
Build Item Sundering Arc Sundering Arc

Full Build

Notes Heroism this upgrade offers good defenses, plus 1 more gold per second, and when an ally receives a hard crowd control effect, he gets a big shield.

Lifebinder It gives you a lot of life and intelligence and its active sends out a wave of living energy dealing damage and marking, your first ability will give you a shield and heal if it is marked.

Circe's Hexstone the most important thing is its active, which turns you into a pig that dash forward. It's very useful for engaging, chasing and escaping.

Breastplate of Valor gives you physical defenses and a long cooldown, very important for rotating with the ultimate Defender Of Olympus.

Spectral Armor very good against characters with high attack speed and critical chances because reduces enemy attack speed and critical damage.

Spirit Robe provides you mixed defenses in addition to its passive that protects you when you are hit by a CC, giving you a lot of defenses.

Hide of the Nemean Lion right now the carries are very strong and this item gives you a passive that when you activate it you reflect damage, that's why it's very good vs carries.

Sundering Arc You deal damage in a cone to enemy gods and jungle monsters, allowing you to buff faster and secure them easily.

Bifrost Shard gives you a free ward that lasts 90 seconds. It is useful for early ganks from the enemy jungler.

Notes

Heroism this upgrade offers good defenses, plus 1 more gold per second, and when an ally receives a hard crowd control effect, he gets a big shield.

Lifebinder It gives you a lot of life and intelligence and its active sends out a wave of living energy dealing damage and marking, your first ability will give you a shield and heal if it is marked.

Circe's Hexstone the most important thing is its active, which turns you into a pig that dash forward. It's very useful for engaging, chasing and escaping.

Breastplate of Valor gives you physical defenses and a long cooldown, very important for rotating with the ultimate Defender Of Olympus.

Spectral Armor very good against characters with high attack speed and critical chances because reduces enemy attack speed and critical damage.

Spirit Robe provides you mixed defenses in addition to its passive that protects you when you are hit by a CC, giving you a lot of defenses.

Hide of the Nemean Lion right now the carries are very strong and this item gives you a passive that when you activate it you reflect damage, that's why it's very good vs carries.

Sundering Arc You deal damage in a cone to enemy gods and jungle monsters, allowing you to buff faster and secure them easily.

Bifrost Shard gives you a free ward that lasts 90 seconds. It is useful for early ganks from the enemy jungler.

Build Item Heroism Heroism
Build Item Lifebinder Lifebinder
Build Item Circe's Hexstone Circe's Hexstone
Build Item Breastplate of Valor Breastplate of Valor
Build Item Spectral Armor Spectral Armor
Build Item Spirit Robe Spirit Robe
Build Item Hide of the Nemean Lion Hide of the Nemean Lion
Build Item Bifrost Shard Bifrost Shard
Build Item Sundering Arc Sundering Arc

Situational Items

Notes Yogi's Necklace provide you a lot of health and regeneration.

Talisman Of Purification You always need this item if you and your team need Purification Beads in the area against teams that have a lot of CC. You have to change it to Circe's Hexstone.

Notes

Yogi's Necklace provide you a lot of health and regeneration.

Talisman Of Purification You always need this item if you and your team need Purification Beads in the area against teams that have a lot of CC. You have to change it to Circe's Hexstone.

Build Item Yogi's Necklace Yogi's Necklace
Build Item Talisman Of Purification Talisman Of Purification

Situational Relic

Notes Phantom Shell Provides you with a shield and you can also pass through the walls of allies and enemy gods. If the enemy team has a Odin or something like that its a good option.

Notes

Phantom Shell Provides you with a shield and you can also pass through the walls of allies and enemy gods. If the enemy team has a Odin or something like that its a good option.

Build Item Phantom Shell Phantom Shell

God Aspect De-Activated

Aspect of War

Defender of Olympus now targets visible enemy gods instead of allies, dealing no landing damage but causing the enemy to take increased damage while Athena is channeling

Athena's Skill Order

Preemptive Strike

1 X Y
Preemptive Strike
3 15 16 18 19

Confound

2 A B
Confound
2 4 6 7 9

Shield Wall

3 B A
Shield Wall
1 10 11 14

Defender Of Olympus

4 Y X
Defender Of Olympus
5 8 13 17 20
Preemptive Strike
3 15 16 18 19

Preemptive Strike

1 X
Charge up, then Dash forward.
  • Deals Magical Damage and Slows enemies.
  • Gain Physical Protection and Magical Protection when you hit an enemy god.
Damage: 80 / 130 / 180 / 230 / 280
Damage Scaling: 55% Strength
Slow: 20 / 22.5 / 25 / 27.5 / 30%
Slow Duration: 2s
Physical Protection: 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 + 10% Physical Protections
Magical Protection: 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 + 10% Magical Protections
Buff Duration: 4s
Cooldown: 14s
Cost: 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80

Additional Notes:
  • Buildup takes 0.66 seconds.
Confound
2 4 6 7 9

Confound

2 A
Taunt enemies in front of you.
  • Deals Magical Damage
Damage: 40 / 65 / 90 / 115 / 140
Damage Scaling: 20% Intelligence
Taunt Duration: 0.8 / 0.9 / 1.1 / 1.2 / 1.4s
Taunt Duration Scaling: 0.2s per 115 Item Protections, stacking up to 2 times.
Radius: 5.6m
Cone Angle: 90 degrees
Cooldown: 16 / 15.5 / 15 / 14.5 / 14s
Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80

Additional Notes:
  • Taunted enemies are Slowed by 25%.
Shield Wall
1 10 11 14

Shield Wall

3 B
Create a Phalanx of Soldiers that strike twice in an area.
  • Deals Magical Damage initially.
  • After a brief delay, deals additional Magical Damage.
  • Applies a 20% Slow on each hit.
Initial Damage: 60 / 100 / 140 / 180 / 220
Initial Damage Scaling: 45% Intelligence
Final Damage: 80 / 140 / 200 / 260 / 320
Final Damage Scaling: 55% Intelligence
Slow Duration: 2s
Radius: 3.2m
Cooldown: 12s
Cost: 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90

Additional Notes:
  • The delay between the first and second attack is 2 seconds.
Defender Of Olympus
5 8 13 17 20

Defender Of Olympus

4 Y
Teleport to the aid of target ally god, anywhere on the map.
  • Apply a Health Shield and Movement Speed to your ally.
  • Deal Magical Damage to nearby enemies upon landing
  • You are CC Immune while using this ability
Damage: 340 / 415 / 490 / 565 / 640
Damage Scaling: 90% Intelligence
Shield Health: 200 / 225 / 250 / 275 / 300
Shield Health Scaling: 15% Max Health
Movement Speed: 10 / 12.5 / 15 / 17.5 / 20%
Range: Global
Cooldown: 120 / 115 / 110 / 105 / 100s
Cost: 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120

Additional Notes:
  • Channel lasts for 3.34 seconds.
  • If your ally dies before your channel completes you will still go to their location.

Athena Threats

Tap each threat level to view Athena’s threats

Max
0
Major
1
Even
1
Minor
1
Tiny
0

Athena Synergies

Tap each synergy level to view Athena’s synergies

Ideal
0
Strong
0
OK
2
Low
0
None
0

Introduction

Hi, this guide is brought to you by lestimics. I started playing Smite 1 on PC in 2014. I've been playing competitively since 2020 and have been a professional Smite player from 2021 to 2023. I've played on different teams like JustF6, Gilded Gladiators or Tartarus Titans.

You can check out the SmiteVOD YouTube channel where my recorded professional games are. I've peaked at 3500 MMR GrandMaster/Masters in Ranked Conquest on the PC platform every season since 2018. I've also done Smite Masters (LAN) 4 times in 2022, so I really think I have the knowledge to guide on the Support role in SMITE 2.

I hope you find this guide as a useful learning resource for playing Athena as Support.

Here are my socials:

Abilities

Athena's Abilities


Passive - Reach

After using an ability, your next basic attack becomes a ranged projectile that deals magical damage.

Deals 1.25x damage to the first target hit, passes through and damages all enemies, and passes through walls.

It's useful for doing more damage, and when enemies escape to 1 health, having the possibility of hit a basic attack with range and killing them.


Ability 1 - Preemptive Strike

Athena charge up Preemptive Strike, then dash forward doing magical damage and slowing enemies.

Gain physical protection and magical protection when you hit an enemy god and you can pass through minions but not gods.


Ability 2 - Confound

Athena taunt enemies of the front doing damage and slowing them.

It's Athena's most important ability because it's very good crowd control and easy to apply, allowing your teammates to deal damage easily.


Ability 3 - Shield Wall

Athena create a phalanx of soldiers that strike twice in an area. It's your ability with the highest damage.

Applies a 20% Slow on each hit and the delay between the first and second attack is 2 seconds.


Ultimate - Defender of Olympus

Teleport to the aid of target ally god, anywhere on the map applying a health shield and movement speed to your ally.

Deal magical damage to nearby enemies upon landing and you are CC immune while using this ability.

This ultimate is incredibly good for helping your teammates and rotating quickly and the charging time for Defender of Olympus is 3.34 seconds.


Example Combos:

If you are far away Preemptive Strike to get closer > Confound > Shield Wall.

To gank or help your team Defender of Olympus > Confound > Shield Wall.

A very important tip is to always use Confound before Shield Wall so that the enemy has less time to escape.

How to play Athena

Gameplay Start / Early Game
  • Start at the Gold Fury side. You have to start on the purple buff leveling up your Shield Wall, with the adc helping you do it quickly, if you have Sundering Arc use it to do the purple fast, and then go to the lane to push the minions. You and your adc will reach level 2 in the second wave of minions, so be careful because whoever reaches level 2 first has a huge advantage. You can charge on the enemy gods, and whoever is level 2 will always win if the others are level 1. Pay attention to who pushes the minions first because it's your opportunity to attack or retreat.

  • A neutral buff appears after the third minion wave, so try to push as quickly as possible to get it fast, otherwise you'll have to fight 2v2 to see who gets the buff. Keep in mind that this is a good time for the enemy jungler to gank you, so pay attention to what your own jungler does or what they might say.

  • It's important to use the combo Confound > Shield Wall at the beginning so that your adc can poke enemies very easily and get a kill or a lot of pressure.

  • The next moves are to push the lane and kill the harpies on the sides to gain extra gold and experience. Also, if you reach level 5 before the enemy duo lane, you can try a play to kill them.

  • Keep in mind that when you reach level 5, it's also a good time for the enemy jungler to gank you, so be alert and use the free ward Bifrost Shard.

  • At this point you need to get the gold you need to buy the first item completely, once you achieve this, it's your time to rotate to other lanes.

  • Remember to buy wards to give vision to your team.

Mid Game:
  • At this point of the game, which is roughly between 8:00 and 20:00 minutes, You are usually in the mid lane helping your teammates get kills and preventing the enemy team from getting them, for this you need to ward in the best way possible.

  • Your support role also involves acting as a second jungler. You can gank the duo or solo lane to get a kill or force an ultimate and Purification Beads so that your or the jungler's next gank has a better chance of securing a kill. Furthermore, if you manage to do this, you can do Gold Fury or Pyromancer, although it's important to know the enemy team's position beacause they can't steal it (the support usually tanks the objetives).

  • You have to constantly keep an eye on your entire team so you can help them with your ultimate Defender of Olympus, whether to attack or escape.

  • I recommend that you use the bushes on the map to become invisible and be able to use Confound when your team is nearby to deal damage.

  • It's important to have the map warded, and to constantly communicate with the team what you want to do, and be careful because you can be easily killed if you go alone.

Late Game:
  • At this point in the game your job is to be the frontline with the solo as teamfights start around the fire giant at around minute 25:00.

  • Your job in teamfights is create space and apply maximum apply crowd control so your teammates can deal maximum damage without taking a big risk. Be alert if someone from the enemy team engages your team so you can help as quickly as possible.

  • For this, you need to ward the Fire Giant's area and constantly call your team when you want to engage or apply crowd control to an enemy teammate. You can also tank the Fire Giant to bait the enemy team into closing the gap if they're playing far back in their jungle.

  • Remember to always use Confound first to taunt enemies and call in your teammates so they can follow you and apply damage.

  • It's also important to note that when you charge your first ability Preemptive Strike to dash, you make a lot of noise, so you can charge it from a distance so you're not heard, then go into a bush to make yourself invisible and when you see someone Preemptive Strike to get closer > Confound.

  • The moment you have the fire giant buff, the sieges on the Phoenix begin. Here you have to continue taking advantage of your crowd control to get a kill or enough pressure to destroy the Phoenix with the help of your carry and mid (You have to tank the phoenix little by little). It's also important to do Gold Fury because they can deactivate the Phoenixes, making them much easier to destroy and get the Pyromancer's bomb to destroy the phoenixes faster, or you can also throw the bombs at the doors that open at their base to destroy them.

  • If the enemy has the fire giant and it is your turn to defend the Phoenix, you have to be in a group with your team and defend under the Phoenix, being careful with the picks.

  • Constantly call for all information, when you engage try to be followed by your team, always be sure of your decision making.

  • Remember to wards all the zone on fire giant and when you are sieging you need wards too.

How to ward as Support

White circles: Vision Ward
Green circles: Sentry Ward

Early/Mid Game

Here you can see the best spots to ward as a Support.

These wards will help you to know where the enemy adc is moving, as well as if the jungler is trying to gank the duo lane.


High Pressure Game

These wards are when you have a lot of pressure in the game and you want offensive wards to have better vision and be able to take objectives more easily, as well as being able to invade buffs.


Late Game

These wards are for fire giant teamfights. Remember that you can only have 2 wards active at the same time, so you will need help from your team to ward the entire area from the fire giant.


Siege/Defense Phoenix

These wards are very important when it comes to sieges and defending phoenixes. In this case, the wards are the same whether you defend or attack.
This wards are important because mages often cast abilities through walls, you will be able to react better to their abilities.

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