Fair and Just: A Nemesis Jungle Conquest Guide (S8.3)

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In SMITE, Nemesis is an Auto-Attacking (AA) assassin. Her goal is to come in through the back or side, shred key opponents down, and leave without a moment to spare. With quick basic attacks, easy to apply damage, and tools to help you escape, there's no reason to see why she has become especially favored in this new season.

General Health: 470 (+76) Mana: 210 (+38) Speed: 375 (+0) Range: 12 (+0) Attack/Sec: 1 (+2.16%)

Regen HP5: 8 (+0.7) MP5: 4.3 (+0.4) Protection Physical: 11 (+3) Magical: 30 (+0.9)

. . Basic Attack Damage: 39 (+ 2.25) + 100% of Physical Power Progression: 1/1/.75/1.25x damage and swing time . .

Pros: High mobility Powerful slows High damage Unique Shield mechanic Great boxing potential

Cons: . Needs to get fairly close to opponents to be effective Squishy Relatively weak early game

Passive: Scales of Fate
When you auto attack an enemy, including minion, jungle monsters, and gods, it increases your physical power by 7%, up to 3 times for a max of 21% increase in power, while also decreasing the physical or magical power of the enemy hit by 7%, for a max of 21% reduction in power. This buff to you/debuff to them lasts 5 seconds, and continuous hits reset the timer.
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This is a simple passive that brings the whole kit together and solidifies Nemesis as a top tier god to play at any skill level, and makes her strong throughout the entirety of the game. The best use of this passive is to fully stack it, then use Slice and Dice for maximum damage on it.


Dash: Swift Vengeance
This is a quick double dash that damages enemies slightly. Once you activate the first dash, you have 2 seconds to cast the second dash before the ability goes on cooldown. You are able to fire auto attacks and activate abilities in between dashes.
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This dash is best used as a quick engage and disengage, allowing you to get in, do damage, and get out. It can also be utilized as misdirection, opening up space for your teammates to follow up, or to dodge enemy attacks and escape.
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I suggest you put this ability on Instant Cast, so that as soon as you press the button for this ability, it comes out.
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Finsih leveling last.


Damage: Slice and Dice
This is a wide cone with a middle section. Any enemies hit in the center of the cone receive double damage and are slowed by 30% of their movement speed for 2 seconds.
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This is Nemesis' main damage tool and CC. The slow is quite potent, so that you can be able to get in and dish out a couple basic attacks if you're close/fast enough.
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I suggest you put this ability on Instant Cast, so that as soon as you press the button for this ability, it comes out.
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Finish leveling first.


Shield: Retribution
Upon firing this ability, a shield appears around Nemesis that lasts 2 seconds. If this shield is to get damaged during the duration, you heal for all of the damage taken, while also reflecting back half of the damage that you took/healed for. Any Hard Crowd Controls (Stuns, knockups, banishes, etc) will immediately destroy your shield.
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This is her survivability, as she can pop this to save her life in dire situations. You can also use this aggressively by auto attacking an enemy, popping Retribution to reset the auto attack progression chain, and auto attacking again. This will result in a good amount of damage in no time, and item procs will apply.
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Finishing leveling second.


Ultimate: Divine Judgement
Nemesis chooses a single enemy to judge, dealing damage equal to a part of their current health, stealing 30% of their physical and magical protections that Nemesis can use for 5 seconds, and stealing their movement speed, that is also applied to Nemesis upon cast.
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In the later stages of the game, specifically in team fights, this will be Nemesis' initiation. It's best to prioritize tanks with this ultimate, as they will almost always be the ones with the most protections at any given point in the game.
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You can also utilize this in a chase scenario, as you will be moving much faster than them, forcing them to use all means to live and escape, and allowing you to close the gap and Slice and Dice them for the kill.
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I suggest keeping this ability on Quick Cast, as the split second it takes to use this ult on one person or another is valuable, but not so much so to remove the aiming reticle like on Instant Cast.
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Level up whenever.

Initially, Nemesis was designed to be a warrior. Even though she is now an Auto Attacking monster, her kit still shows sign of her bruiser days. With this in mind, she can be utilized with glass cannon and tanky backlines builds alike.
And as always, these are just suggestions, what you build is at your discretion.

Now obviously, I understand that there are a plethora of new starter items added to the game, and you can experiment with all of them and their glorious starters. However, I will only be going over the designated Jungle starters and the optimal upgrade for Nemesis to utilize.


-> Bumba's Dagger -> Bumba's Hammer
The most standard of the three, Bumba's Dagger provides a straight +50 health and +50 mana upon purchase. Also, your basics deal +20 true damage, and your abilities deal an extra 30% damage, both effects being only applicable to jungle monsters. Once you have defeated a jungle monster, you are healed equal to 10% of that monster's health, as well as regenerate 25 mana.
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You would buy this item for the most efficient jungle clear and sustain, letting you clear faster and safer, but doesn't provide anything outside of farming. Faster farming means faster xp and gold gain, which leads to leveling faster, buying items faster, becoming impactful faster. That being said, this item's impact is only in the jungle, and it does its job perfectly.
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At level 20, you can upgrade to Bumba's Hammer, which provides +300 health, +200 mana, +10% penetration (all your damage ignores 10% of the opponent's protections), and +20% cooldown reduction on your abilities. Also, when you activate an ability, your next basic attack deals an extra 80 true damage, and once you do hit an enemy with said empowered attack, all of your current ability cooldowns are decreased by 1 second and you are healed for 5% of your maximum health.
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Where the starter lacked an outside-of-the-jungle presence, this upgrade makes up for it tremendously. Not only does the cooldown reduction on this item pair very well with the 1-second reduction, but the passive has no limit to it. Therefore, you can cast an ability, get the basic attack damage out, which gives you the heal and cooldown reduction, then repeat it instantly with another ability. It also doesn't specify the enemy, so you can proc this on jungle camps, minions, enemy gods, and even Fire Giant and Gold Fury. It works especially well with Nemesis' Retribution, as the passive for Bumba's Hammer won't take effect until the shield disappears. In a real game, you will most likely pop the shield to either save your life or reset your auto-attack chain, meaning that the extra damage can apply once the shield is destroyed from damage, or 2 seconds after you use it. The only thing stopping you from using it to its fullest is your ability to stay alive and actually hit basic attacks.
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If going this starter, a burst build with power and pen would suit you best.

-> Manikin Scepter -> Manikin Hidden Blade
Listed as the aggressive starter item, Manikin Scepter provides +10 basic attack damage and +10 physical protection upon purchase. On top of that, this item gives your basic attacks a burn effect. Enemies hit take 12 physical damage over 2 seconds (3 physical damage every .5 seconds), and have their attack speed reduced by 3.5%. This can stack up to 4 times, meaning a maximum of 48 physical damage over 2 seconds (12 physical damage every .5 seconds) and 14% attack speed reduction. Jungle monsters take 4x the damage, meaning a base of 48 physical damage over 2 seconds (12 physical damage every .5 seconds) that can stack to become 192 physical damage over 2 seconds (48 physical damage every .5 seconds). All damage listed is subject to protections and mitigations. Lastly, when you kill an enemy who had the burn effect on them, you will restore 15 health and mana.
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This is the premier boxing item of Season 8, as the burn damage is so potent early game that it has made Apollo a top pick in the jungle role. While the initial stats are lackluster, they work to give you a slight advantage in one-on-one fights. Pairing this with attack speed is vital to maximizing the passive.
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At level 20, you can upgrade to Manikin Hidden Blade, which provides +75 basic attack damage, +30 physical protections, and +5 damage reduction. Also, if you have been out of combat for 5 seconds, and then enter combat with a basic attack that connects, you will instantly deal 15% of the target's current health as physical damage and slow the enemy hit for 20% for 5 seconds. This can be applied to enemy gods, jungle camps, and even Fire Giant and Gold Fury.
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The best-case scenario for this passive is when you are rotating into a fight and catch the enemy off guard. Nemesis has two slows that are relatively safe to apply in Slice and Dice and Divine Judgement, as well as a percentage health damage in her ultimate. Essentially, this item is an extension of Nemesis' kit, and a 5 second slow is very potent, more than enough for you to unload your kit or for your team to follow with a CC train of death.
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If going this starter, an auto-attack build focused on attack speed and buffing your basic attacks would suit you best.

-> Eye of the Jungle -> Protector of the Jungle
Labeled as the attack speed starter item for junglers, Eye Of The Jungle is an underrated pick with tons of utility behind it outside of your build. Upon purchase, you gain +10 physical power, +10 HP5 (Health regained every 5 seconds), and 10% attack speed. You also deal 30% more damage to all jungle monsters, and upon killing a big jungle monster, such as: buff holders, large harpies, Oracles by the Gold Fury, and Pyromancer, you will drop a ward on the exact spot they got killed that lasts 30 seconds. Lastly, while in the jungle, you will gain an extra +15 HP5 (total +25 HP5 from this item) and +10 MP5.
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This item's passive gets better as the game goes on, as not only will you be clearing camps faster with the damage buff, but the ward placement, while niche/situational, is still impactful in giving information on the enemy team at key moments in the game. Higher level play will have you invading enemy jungle camps, so this will also portray the enemy jungler's movements and possible ganks before they commence.
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At level 20, you can upgrade to Protector Of The Jungle, which provides +55 physical power, +35 physical protections, and +25% attack speed. Also, in lieu of placing wards upon clearing camps, this item will increase your physical power and protections of both kinds by 12% while you are in the jungle.
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As you are the jungler, you will be in the jungle a lot throughout the game, either picking off an enemy out of position, getting ready to gank the enemy, or grouping for a major objective push like Fire Giant. The added power aids in the offensive aspects of juggling, while the added protections make sure that if you are on the receiving end of an attack, you are beefier and can save your life. While free wards is awesome, its a necessary tradeoff, and as you are level 20, 50-100 gold is negligible, and should be used buying wards anyways.
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If going this starter, a bruiser build with both power and protections/utility would suit you best.


// Warrior Tabi or Ninja Tabi?
While the choice seems simple, the nuances in each option must be considered. Warrior Tabi offers +40 physical power, while Ninja Tabi offers +20 physical power and +20% attack speed. Both give the same amount of movement speed and mana, so the real decision is between more power for your auto attacks versus more/faster auto attacks. Preferably, you want to pair the boots with the rest of your build. Warrior Tabi is for a burst build and Ninja Tabi is for a shred build. For more info, try this DPS (damage per second) calculator.

-> Mace -> The Crusher
One of the items you can pair with your starter of choice, Mace provides +15 physical power. It's great for an early power spike, giving more damage to your abilities early on.
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Once you are able to, you will purchase The Crusher, which provides +30 physical power, +20% attack speed, and +15 flat physical penetration, meaning that all of your attacks will ignore 15 of any enemy's physical protections, even structures. Additionally, all enemies hit will take 20+15% of your physical power as extra damage over 2 seconds. The passive is potent in the mid-to-late game, and even a good kill secure. Paired with the stats, a solid pickup overall that Slice and Dice makes great use of.
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Quick note, any extra damage on any item passive that is listed as "physical damage" can be affected by mitigations, so build another pen item if you want to increase its effectiveness.

-> Katana -> Golden Blade
Another one of the items you can pair with your starter of choice, Katana provides +10 physical power and 3% movement speed. The extra movement speed is great, as it will make your rotation to camps and ganks much faster in the early game, where speed is everything.
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Once you are able to, you will purchase Golden Blade, which provides +30 physical power, +15% attack speed, and +10% movement speed. Additionally, every basic attack will now have an invisible AoE that deals 50% of your basic attack damage to all enemies in a respectable area around the target you hit. This was the best item at some point for its clearing potential. You will notice that upon purchasing this, you will be able to clear camps in the early game with just basic attacks, saving you mana for ganks and escaping.

-> Light Blade -> The Executioner
Another one of the items you can pair with your starter of choice, Light Blade provides +5 physical power nd 10% attack speed. The added attack speed will help you apply your passive faster, turning to faster camp clear and better early fight potential.
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Once you are able to, you will purchase The Executioner, which provides +35 physical power and +25% attack speed. Addtionally, each basic attack applies a debuff to all enemies hit that decrease physical protections by 7% for 3 seconds, with a maximum 4 stacks. This item only gets better as the game goes on, and opens up space in your build for more power or utility. It can be used well with Divine Judgement to rid an opponent of almost all of their protections and maximize your damage.

-> Morningstar -> Dominance
Another one of the items you can pair with your starter of choice, Morningstar provides +10 physical power and +5 Mp5. The added Mp5 is good for your sustain early game.
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Once you are able to, you will purchase Dominance, which provides +55 physical power, +200 mana, +20 Mp5, and 10% physical penetration, meaning that all your damage will ignore 10% of any opponent's physical protection. Additionally, your basic attacks will ignore an extra 10%, for a total of 20% physical penetration for your basic attacks. This goes great with attack speed items, and the added power will really have you hitting like a truck early on.

• Jotunn's Wrath will always be a staple burst build item. With +50 physical power, +150 mana, +10 physical penetration, and +20% cooldown reduction, no passive is needed for any god to make use of it.
• A newer item in SMITE, Arondight proves to be a heavyhitter in recent jungle metas. Upon purchase, you are granted +75 physical power and +10% CDR. Additionally:
  1. When you cast your ultimate, all enemy gods, even if stealthed, in a 120 unit (very big) radius are revealed for 8s.
  2. Moving towards a revealed god makes you move 30% faster.
  3. The first basic attack that hits an enemy god after ultimate cast will deal 40+30% of your physical power.
  As your ultimate not only shreds protections, but makes you move faster, that first auto attack will be as easy as ever to hit.

• Heartseeker is a slept-on contender in high power builds, providing +65 physical power, +10% physical penetration, +200 mana, and +20 Mp5. Additionally:
  1. Your abilities deal bonus damage equal to a portion of the target enemy's health as physical damage.
  2. The bonus damage scales with your power, from 2% of the enemy's health at 200 physical power to 5% of the enemy's health at 400 physical power.
  3. Any ability that hits the same enemy within 3 seconds of the first will deal 75% of the supposed bonus damage.
  The ease of this item comes with the fact that by the time you buy it, you will already have 200 or more physical power, so it will only increase in usage and damage as the game lingers on.

• Since the beginning of SMITE, Bloodforge has been recognized as a late game monster, providing +75 physical power and +15% lifesteal. Additionally, upon killing an enemy god, you gain a shield equal to 200+10 per your level (400 at level 20), that lasts 20 seconds or until destroyed, as well as +10% movement for the same duration.
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  Obviously, once the shield is active, it will incentivize you to go for more kills. That potent of a shield on a squishy, as well as Retribution, is ample protection to dive in and secure the team fight win. The movement is also much appreciated as an aide to the chasing you will do in the later stages of the game. Alternatively, it can save your life, as you may be on the verge of death when you kill your captors, and use the shield and movement to escape to safety.

• What's Nemesis without her sword? Stone Cutting Sword provides +50 physical power and +7% movement speed. Additionally, basic attacking enemies will steal 10 of their physical protections and apply them to you for 3 seconds, for a maximum of 3 stacks, or 30 physical protections. This works great with Scales of Fate, so much so that one basic attack will apply both passives. Therefore, after 3 basic attacks, they will have 21% less power and 30 less physical protections, and you will gain said stolen stats. A no-brainer purchase if focusing on your basic attacks.
• My personal favorite AA canceling item, Hydra's Lament provides +40 physical power, +10% CDR, and +10 MP5. Additionally,
  1. When using an ability, your next basic attack within 8 seconds will deal 40% more damage. This does work with Retribution, meaning you can basic attack, click 3 for the shield and auto-attack chain reset, then basic attack again to apply the extra damage.
  2. For every 10% of your mana expended, you will gain +2.5 MP5. With an empty mana bar, you will gain +25 MP5, meaning this item gives 35MP5. With the cooldown this item provides, you will be able to pump out abilities at a faster rate, making use of this second passive.

• The "tank-shredder," Qin's Sais provides +40 physical power and +20% attack speed. Additionally, every basic attack that hits an enemy god deals extra damage based on their maximum health, scaling from 3% until 2000 HP to 5% after 2750 HP. This damage is physical, so it is subject to mitigations, meaning that a penetration item like The Executioner is beneficial to making the best use of this item.
• The ultimate boxing gloves, Ichaival provides +30 physical power and +30% attack speed. Additionally, each basic attack increases your physical power by 15 and reduces the enemy's attack by 10% for 5 seconds, for a maximum of 3 stacks (+45 power and -30% attack speed). This also pairs well with Scales of Fate, giving you a flat power buff and attack speed advantage.

• On the opposite end of the boxing spectrum is Sun Wukong's passive Berserker's Shield, which provides +40 physical power, +20 physical protections, +10% physical penetration, and +20% attack speed. Additionally, if you drop below 40% of your maximum health, you will gain +30 physical power and +15% attack speed for 5 seconds. This is good for when you are in a pinch/nail-biting 1v1 fight.
• What used to be Masamune is now The Sledge, which provides +40 physical power, +250 health, +150 mana, and 20% CC reduction (Crowd Control is only 80% effective on you). Additionally, for each enemy within 55 units (ranged auto attack distance), you gain 8 of each protection, for a maximum of 3 stacks, or 24 of each protection. This is for the diving Nemesis, that will effectively backline but also expects return fire from the enemy's teammates, because rarely is an ambush ever perfect.
• The premier bruiser jungler item, Void Shield provides +150 health, +20 physical power, and +60 physical protection. Additionally, you have a 55 unit aura around you that reduces any enemy's protections by 15%. Simple, yet super, and even frees an item space for you to build more power, or penetration, to forego as many defense that the enemy has and deal as much damage as possible.
• Lastly, an anti-heal item, just in case you are facing a pesky Chang'e or Aphrodite in the middle lane, Toxic Blade provides +100 health, +15 physical penetration, +30% attack speed, and +7% movement speed. Additionally, your basic attacks reduce enemy healing by 20% per stack for 6 seconds, for a maximum 2 stacks, or 40%. With the new anti-heal changes to Season 8, it is still beneficial to decrease enemy sustain. By using the Retribution AA cancel trick, you can apply the full anti-heal stacks in less than a second.

In the early game, your main focus is to farm, farm, and farm. Season 8 is still fairly new, and brought upon a lot of map changes, but the most effective start is to clear the speed buff, the big harpy camp in front, the small harpy camp on the side, and lastly the blue buff for the solo laner. At that point, you will have reached level 2, and can either:

1. Put pressure on the enemy solo laner so that you solo laner teammate can get ahead and make it easier in the mid to late game
2. Get the totem and clear the mid-lane harpy camps
3. Immediately go to mid lane and put pressure on them, clear the opposite side harpy camps and invade the enemy red buff (risky)
4. Immediately go to red buff for your mid lane, then apply pressure

After that, it's all about clearing your camps and ganking only when absolutely safe. A common practice is to hit level 5 and gank the mid lane before the enemy jungler does, or gank the duo lane before (dependent on if the enemy has support rotated or not).
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Keep an eye on the enemy jungler's level compared to yours. While ganks are tempting, its all about getting yourself in a suitable position before aggressing.

This is when most of the ganks will happen. You will notice that some of your teammates are doing better than others, so you want to help those who aren't doing so well. Invades are also a lot more popular at this stage in the game, so try to ward when you can.
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When ganking, don't forget to ping to your teammates beforehand so that they know to act accordingly. Usually, you want your teammate to back off a little bit, enticing to enemy to move forward, leaving more space for you to come from behind. Opposite, if your teammate is being pressured, have them come forward a little bit so that the enemy thinks they will engage, then aid your teammate in securing the kill.
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You will know a gank is successful by the use of resources: usually relics, an ultimate. A kill is always an indicator of a successful gank, and after a gank, look for objective opportunities so that you're efforts aren't wasted. If you ganked duo lane, look for a Gold Fury, and if it was middle lane, go for mid tower.

This is where Nemesis shines. She is able to outbox most enemies one on one, and her use of mobility and high damage will have the enemies wondering where she is at all times. Ideally, you want to backline during teamfights. Focus the squishier characters like the ADC or Mid-laner by waiting for them to use a crucial ability, like an escape or ultimate, or to overcommit to a teamfight by foregoing their positioning. Once this has occurred, you will flank from their blindside and send them back to base, dead or alive.
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Furthermore, Fire Giant and Phoenixes should be on your radar. If at least two god from the enemy team is dead, and your team still has the advantage, you should signal for a Fire Giant secure or lane siege.
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If by chance you are behind, stay with your team's tank and engage only when favorable. Help clear waves coming into your base, and look to pick off one enemy at a time instead of a teamfight where you will be overpowered.
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Lastly, please do still ward, it cannot be stressed enough.

Thank you all for reading my guide to Nemesis. It's been great coming back to the SmiteFire community, and I hope you can use this knowledge to the best of your ability. All feedback is appreciated.
As always, I'm IceColdPappsi, and man is this Hennessy fighting back hard.