Let the Eternal Darkness Embrace You *Guide and Build*

Welcome to my first guide! I've been playing smite for over a year, and I have constantly referenced SMITEfire during this time. I've finally decided it's time I make my own guide, and who better to make it for than Anubis. Anubis is one of my favourite gods, and currently my only Mastery 10. I typically play Joust, Siege, as well as Assault, and have tested my build(s) in all three of these game modes and have had a fair bit of success. I'm not saying I know everything, but hopefully after reading this guide you'll be able to play him (or at least understand him a bit better) too! This guide may not be the prettiest to look at, but I hope you find at least some of the information in it valuable.

Anubis can be challenging at first, but with some practice you'll be landing your combos in no time!

If you have any questions, or would simply like someone to play with, my username is Aquariatus in game as well!

Pros
+ Good Passive
+ High Damage Output
+ Combos allow for really high burst damage
+ Easily snowballs out of control. (A well fed Bubis is a happy Bubis!)
+ Great Lane and Camp Clear
+ A "little" bit broken


Cons
- Squishy
- Purification can mess up your combo
- Snare (your 2) can be hard to hit, especially on slower computers.
- No escape moves, making you susceptible to ganks.
- Rooted during 2 out of 4 abilities

Sorrow | Passive

Your passive is incredibly useful, and goes incredibly well with your build. All of your abilities steal physical and magical protection from the target, and you gain increased scaling to your item-based magical lifesteal. This means your abilities not only make your target weaker, you also gain increased lifesteal, which is a big bonus. On top of all this, you also get an additional 30% reduction to all crowd control duration.

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Plague of Locusts | 1

This makes you spit out a swarm of locusts in a cone, which deals damage every 0.5 seconds, for 3 seconds. You are rooted during this ability, which can make it unfit for team fights as it requires you to be up close for it. While you're focusing on one player, the rest of the team can easily kill you. However, this ability grants you knockup immunity, which with proper timing can save you from being thrown into a cluster of enemies.

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Mummify | Snare | 2

This is one of your most useful abilities, as it allows for easy setup for your ultimate. You throw out a "bandage projectile" which stuns, and snares your target. The stun duration increases by 0.2 seconds with each level. This can be used both up close, and from far away. However, the timing required to land it can be difficult, and takes a fair bit of practice.

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Grasping Hands | Main Ability | 3

In my opinion, your 3 should be your go-to ability. Grasping Hands allows for easy lane clear, and slows your enemies by 25%. This allows you to regain lost health quickly, and safely, as it is easy to land, can be used from a safe distance, and does not root you. This can also be placed beneath your enemy's feet to slow them down if they're attempting to get away. You're going to want to make this your priority when upgrading your skills.

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Death Gaze | Ultimate | 4

This skill deals out some SERIOUS damage, and is the skill Anubis is most known for. This is best used against squishy mages, and gods who do not have a dash/escape. When activated you send out lasers from your EYES and can swivel in place to follow your enemies as they try to escape. This practically erases your enemy's health bar. Death Gaze passes through walls, obstacles, and even enemies, which means not even body blocking can save them. The only flaw to this move is that you are rooted in place while using it, but are immune to crowd control. This move lasts for 3 seconds.

In this section, I will outline the main combos you should use while playing Anubis.

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Your Standard Poke

+

(3 + 2)

This allows you to get some ticks of damage and potentially set up for an ultimate. You want to make sure you have this combo down, or else it will be more difficult to use your more complex combos later.

An alternative to this is to reverse the order, but this should not be attempted until you are CERTAIN you are able to land your snares. The reverse allows you to GUARANTEE damage- assuming you land your snare. This order is also useful when the enemy has an escape, as it stops them from being able to run away at the first sign of trouble.

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Hardcore Poke

+ +

(3+2+1)

While using this combo you should NOT switch the order of your 3 and 2. This is because once enemies realize they are free from your snare, they will turn and start attacking you because you are rooted by your 1. This combo has some kill potential, but is risky as you are rooted for a duration of the combo.

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Killer Damage (Literally)

+ +

(3+2+4)

The perfect combo consists of a well placed 3, a perfectly hit 2, and then an Ult (4).

Your 3 slows your target, making it easier to land your 2, and after the preliminary damage, your ultimate shreds through any poor souls who are still left standing. The snare is very useful, as enemies are unable to escape while you are dishing out the high damage with your ult.

Now that I've gone through the basic skills, I'll now go through each item I've suggested for your build, and why. This build is very damage and cooldown oriented, as you'll be able to take out enemies quickly, and frequently.

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Core Items

I choose Shoes of Focus over Shoes of the Magi 9 times out of 10, because I find Anubis can be mana hungry at times. The cooldown reduction is an added bonus. I will choose Shoes of the Magi when the other team is building magical protection, and I know I will have a hard time taking them down with regular penetration- OR I know that I will be able to take the team out with a fair amount of ease.

Pythagorem's Piece offers 15% Magical lifesteal, as well as 15% magical lifesteal aura for your teammates. It also gives 60 magical power for you, and 30 magical power for your team. I will typically choose this over Bancroft's Talon to start because the additional lifesteal is helpful for taking out enemy minion waves and leveling quickly. Bancroft's Talon only becomes truly effective when you are low on health, and as a squishy mage with only a bit of health to start, it's not very good for early game when you DON'T want to be dying. It does become a reasonable choice later on- but I'll get to that.

warlock's sash

Warlock's Sash is an excellent item for Anubis. Not only does it give a MASSIVE health and mana boost, it also gives a decent amount of magical power to start, which only gets better as you build more stacks. Your 3 makes it really easy to clear waves, and at max stacks, it gives you an additional 60 Magical power (for a total of 110 magical power on this item), and a total of 600 health. This item CANNOT be used in assault, so just skip it, and substitute something else. You want to get this fairly early on so you can start building stacks, but I usually choose to get it after Pythagorem's Piece for multiple reasons. If you want the full details on why, I've placed them under the cut to save you some reading.

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Cooldown Items

You'll want to get Chronos' Pendant if defense/mana isn't an issue, and you want MORE power. It gives 20% cooldown reduction, as well as +75 Magical power and +25 MP5.

Get Breastplate of Valor if you're having some trouble with physical enemies, or you always seem to be out of mana. Like Chronos' Pendant, it gives 20% cooldown reduction, but it also gives +75 Physical protection and +300 mana.

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Power Items

I would almost say Rod of Tahuti is a must on damage based mages, as it gives a stellar +125 magical power, +15 mp5, AND it passively increases your magical power by 25%. This item really gives a needed boost to really start tearing through enemies. It is a pricier item, but is definitely worth it.

Bancroft's Talon becomes relevant again. By now, you should have a substantial amount of health, and may survive dropping down to the required health for Bancroft's Talon to be really beneficial. When at 25% health, you gain 100 additional magical power. This can occasionally get you out of a tight battle, but otherwise it's not super useful. In assault, this item is a GOOD choice, as you're more likely to be at low health for a longer period of time. In other gamemodes, really doesn't do a whole lot for you, unless you feel you need more lifesteal. The item itself gives a fair amount of magical power (+100) and +12% magical lifesteal. Some people love it, some people hate it. I personally don't find it super helpful.

Book of Thoth is a good item, but as you become more familiar with Anubis, I would suggest skipping this item as it can be substituted for something better. It gives +100 magical power, +125 mana, and +15 mp5. Additionally, you gain 10 mana per stack (max 75 stacks), and 3% of your mana is converted to magical power. The double stacking method can making laning a breeze, or really difficult if you're simply not getting the minion kills you need. This item is banned in assault.

Despite listing Bancroft's Talon and Book of Thoth, it is recommended that you SKIP these and purchase penetration instead.

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Additional Items

If you passed up on both Bancroft's Talon and Book of Thoth, may I suggest to you some penetration. I would suggest you pick either Spear of Desolation or Spear of the Magus to complete your build, but I've listed Obsidian Shard too.

Spear of Desolation, or as I like to call it, Spear of Triple Kill. This item kicks butt on Anubis. If you're looking to tear through some tankier gods, get even stronger, and kill MORE people, this is the item for you. It gives you 120 magical power, and +20 magical penetration. On top of this, when you kill an enemy god, ALL of your cooldowns are reduced by 8 seconds. It's expensive, but it's awesome.

Spear of the Magus is often preferred to Spear of Desolation, however, which you choose is completely up to you. It gives +40 magical power and +15 magical penetration. As well, enemies hit by your damaging abilities have their magical protection reduced by 10, for 5 seconds. The reason this item is so good on Anubis is because of the tick ability, and how nicely it goes with Anubis' skill set. I typically will choose this item.

Obsidian Shard is okay. It gives you +70 magical power, and +33% magical penetration. Personally, I don't think it's a great item, but it can be a helpful addition if the enemies have a lot of magical defense.

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Defensive Options

I don't typically recommend building defense on Anubis, as he is incredibly squishy, and it would take quite a few defensive items to change this. However, they can be occasionally helpful.

If the enemy team has a lot of crowd control, get Spirit Robe It gives you +40 physical, and +40 magical protection, as well as 10% cooldown reduction and 20% Crowd control reduction. Though the real kicker on this item is the passive. Basically, every 10 seconds when you are hit by a hard crowd control effect, your damage taken is reduced by 15% for 3 seconds.

Breastplate of Valor can be beneficial when you're having struggles with physical gods, or a lack of mana (by by now I can't imagine you would be). It gives +75 Physical protection, as well as 20% cooldown reduction and +300 mana. This is often a good substitution for Chronos' Pendant

I'm going to be honest, I rarely get Hide of the Urchin unless for some odd reason I still find myself constantly low on health and mana. It gives +35 physical and magical protection, +250 health and mana, and +3 magical and physical protection for each god kill or assist.

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Situational Items

Healers on the other team making it difficult to kill enemy gods? Get Divine Ruin. It gives you +65 magical power, +15% lifesteal, +150 mana, and any enemies hit by your abilities have their healing reduced by 40% for 8 seconds.

If you're having difficulty landing your snare, or just want to get in more ticks of damage, get Gem of Isolation. I would usually suggest this item for beginner players, until they get better at landing their 2, or for people who sometimes have ping issues and slowing the enemy team down makes it easier to land abilities. That being said, it offers quite a bit of magical power (+70), as well as +250 health and mana, making it a viable choice for any Anubis player.

I've put Shoes of the Magi here again just to reiterate what I stated earlier in the Shoes of Focus section. I'll get Shoes of the Magi if I know the enemy team is going to be building magical defense, and I know I wont be able to get through it with regular penetration.

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Relics

Finally, on to relics.

phantom

phantom was brought to my attention by Branmuffin17 (thank you!). It allows for Anubis to have his much needed escape. Phantom allows for the user to pass through players and player made objects for 5 seconds, and reduces the basic attack movement reduction by 100% while active. This could prove to be beneficial with Odin's ultimate, as gods like Neith can just backflip out of it, whereas you're just stuck. Now you have a way to combat these traps, and so you're able to escape from close quarters easily. However, this item is very situational, and should only be chosen when facing an Odin,cabraken, or any other god that creates a structure (like Ymir's Ice Wall).

Purification

Purification can easily get you out of hard crowd control situations (a Hades ultimate being an example of this), but is somewhat of a situational item. However, it is a relic you do usually want as most gods have some form of crowd control.

sanctuary

Sanctuary protects you from all damage for 2 seconds, but prevents you from taking any action, however you can still move. This is useful for dodging a short ult (like Neith's) or trying to run away from a battle scratch free.

sprint

I usually only purchase sprint during Assault. It can be useful for running away, or getting up and down the lane quickly. I would not recommend purchasing this item in other game modes, and it can often be substituted for something better during assault.

meditation

meditation is good as it allows you to be a team player, and can raise your health and mana in a pinch- which can be handy to avoid Thanatos' and Ao Kuang's ults. After some input from comments, meditation should mainly be purchased in assault. I would say that this should ALWAYS be your first relic in assault, but it can occasionally be substituted for purification first if there is a lot of crowd control on the enemy team (i.e. Hades) because you do not have an escape.

1. If using your 1 as a lane clear, check your surroundings first.
While rooted, it is VERY easy for gods to start beating the **** out of you. Check your surroundings before using this as a wave clear! If you want to be safe, just use your 3. That being said, don't be afraid to right click and cancel this ability.

2. ALWAYS use the entire duration of your Ultimate (assuming you're not being attacked).
A mistake I commonly see made by beginner players is cancelling their ultimate if an enemy gets away. Don't do this! Instead, find something else to hit. Whether it be another god, or a minion wave, don't let your ultimate go to waste!

3. Listen to other player's advice.
This is not the written-in-stone build you MUST follow, it is merely intended to guide you in the general direction. If another player suggests an item to you, it is probably for a reason.

4. Relax, and have fun.
Smite is a video GAME, intended for enjoyment. Chances are you're playing casual, so don't sweat it if you make a mistake! If you're really worried, before the match starts you can always say something along the lines of "I'm new to Anubis and still trying to figure him out. Sorry for any mistakes!" We've all been there. It's part of learning. That being said, DON'T be the guy that yells at other players if they make a mistake, or uses the VGS chat to spam "You Rock!".

The stuff in here may have been addressed already earlier in the guide, but this serves as a master list for anyone who wants to get a bit of an edge while playing Anubis (or didn't feel like reading through the entire thing).

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- Due to your lack of mobility, you may find yourself being ganked far more frequently than you may be accustomed to. Warding, and keeping an eye on the mini-map is a good way to help negate some of the damage the enemy jungler may cause.

- If you find yourself in a bad position while using Plague of Locusts or Death Gaze, you can right click to cancel these abilities. This may seem like a dumb trick to put in, but it took me way longer than it should have to realize I could do this.

- Putting Grasping Hands underneath you when you see an enemy assassin getting ready to strike, like Loki, Thor, or Serqet, can deter them and may just save you. If not, you'll gain some health from lifesteal, and can deal out some damage to said assasin.

- Grasping Hands can also be placed beneath your enemy's feet to slow them down if they're attempting to get away.

- You can sometimes adjust the order of combos to make them easier to land, or to make them deal more damage.

- Plague of Locusts grants you knockup immunity from an enemy like Hercules. With proper timing this can save you from being thrown into a cluster of enemies.

Anubis is a mage designed for high damage output. He is fairly squishy, and can be countered by enemy gods with escapes, and/or purification. However, he is still very strong. Anubis is able to hold his own due to his strong passive, but is very immobile, as he has no escapes. He is somewhat simple to get the hang of, but the timing for certain abilities requires some practice.

I hope you've enjoyed my guide and build for Anubis and found some of my insight useful. Constructive feedback is always appreciated.

Any adjustments, and/or fixes made to the guide will be listed here.

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08/09/2016

Guide Created

08/09/2016

Item changes made based on comments, thanks GamerGeekFan and Branmuffin17. Removed meditation from builds, and removed curse. Added phantom as a viable relic. Moved a build example from side tab onto main page. Tweaked skill order. Fixed a few grammatical/spelling errors. Changed Boot type on assault build (thank you Daelinn).

08/24/2016

Minor language edits.

08/27/2016

Small edits made in preparation for 3.16. More to come.

08/30/2016

More tweaks in preparations for 3.16. Language edits made. Situational relics section added. More explanation added to certain items. Stats highlighted for each item.