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Shiva Nightmare Tank

3 0 1,268
by jonny2shirts updated December 1, 2024

Smite God: Shiva

Build Guide Discussion 3 More Guides
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Build Summary

Starting

Build Item Warrior's Axe Warrior's Axe
Build Item Round Shield Round Shield
Build Item Healing Potion Healing Potion
3
Build Item Mana Potion Mana Potion
Build Item Cloak of Meditation Cloak of Meditation
Build Item Sturdy Shard Sturdy Shard

Extended Build

Mostly Magic Def

Build Item Sundering Axe Sundering Axe
Build Item Gladiator's Shield Gladiator's Shield
Build Item Prophetic Cloak Prophetic Cloak
Build Item Genji's Guard Genji's Guard
Build Item Runebreaking Hammer Runebreaking Hammer
Build Item Shogun's Kusari Shogun's Kusari
Build Item Cloak of Ascetic Cloak of Ascetic
Build Item Entangling Wings Entangling Wings

Mostly Physical Def

Build Item Sundering Axe Sundering Axe
Build Item Gladiator's Shield Gladiator's Shield
Build Item Amulet of the Stronghold Amulet of the Stronghold
Build Item Breastplate of Determination Breastplate of Determination
Build Item Runebreaking Hammer Runebreaking Hammer
Build Item Berserker's Shield Berserker's Shield
Build Item Cloak of Ascetic Cloak of Ascetic
Build Item Entangling Wings Entangling Wings

Additional Damage Options

Build Item Frostbound Hammer Frostbound Hammer
Build Item Titan's Bane Titan's Bane

Additional Def Options

Build Item Mystical Mail Mystical Mail
Build Item Mantle of Discord Mantle of Discord

Additional Relic Options

Build Item Emblem of Increasing Peril Emblem of Increasing Peril
Build Item Temporal Beads Temporal Beads

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2
Branmuffin17 (400) | November 20, 2024 4:34pm
Hey Jonny,

Some comments:
  • Don't know that I would generally recommend Cloak of Meditation, and don't think Wing Shard is an optimal shard for him. Not sure what mode(s) these builds are intended for, but if he's a main tank in a non-Conquest mode, I would probably go for Sturdy Shard. As a Solo in Conquest, I'd probably still consider Sturdy but also consider Horn Shard. And for relics, I would just consider a variety of others before Med. It's not an awful choice, so if that's what you think works best for you, ok.

    As additional relic options, as a tank...why are you opting for Beads? You can tank enough damage if needed, and your ult makes you CC immune. You should be focusing more on team-based relics. While you have Wings covered, should probably also have Shell listed.

  • If you're mostly dealing with magical defense in that one build, I'm not sure if Amulet of the Stronghold is a good choice. It's not an awful one, but since its glyph works off of how much physical protection you have, you're not getting much out of it with only a total of 70 from Gladiator's Shield and Axe. That's only an additional 10 prots. If you're stuck on wanting Heartward, you might honestly consider Amulet of Silence. Otherwise, as it seems you like basic attack speed, you might consider picking up Shogun's Kusari earlier, and grab Oni Hunter's Garb late, or another utility item in that 6th spot.

  • If you're mostly needing magical defense, just curious also why you're not leading with a magical defense item, or at least a dual protection item. In a non-Conquest situation, you could consider going with Prophetic Cloak, or maybe Archmage's Fury or something...or start with Shogun's or Genji's.

  • Is there a specific reason you seem to emphasize basic attacks? You're getting Shogun's in the magical D build, and Berserker's in the phys D build. In both cases, those are the only AS items you're getting...which IMO doesn't make Axe of Animosity worthwhile to pick up. Note also that Animosity's attacks are magical damage, so unless you have magical pen (as a physical god), you're getting very little function out of it. I would probably just pick up the standard Sundering Axe in this case. You could also consider going with the Sigil line.
1
jonny2shirts | November 28, 2024 2:02am
Thanks for the feedback! I changed a few items per your suggestion and through testing them in game. I kept a few based off of pure preference myself. on the topic of order, I find that I almost never build in the same order for tanks, I buy what is needed in the moment.

The one item i did largely prefer was the Axe of Animosity. I think if I built further in AS I could see sundering axe working better. Maybe I need to add more HP for Animosity? not sure what I would want to get rid of for it though. I will workshop it!

I also made this as a game mode agnostic build. I'm still open to suggestions though!
1
Branmuffin17 (400) | November 28, 2024 9:05am
Understood on this being a general tank build for whichever mode.

The only time Axe of Animosity is really good IMO is when you're building into enough AS for it to be functional...and perhaps for select gods. You keep in mind that it deals bonus magical damage, and that the damage is tied to how many basic attacks you can get in, so higher AS is helpful. It doesn't provide any AS itself.

Other gods make more sense in picking up Animosity, when you'd also fortify their inherent basic attack function...gods like Bellona or Vamana will often pick up both Shogun's and Berserker's, and if they want to build into more AS, even grab Qin's Sais. Other examples of typical tanks that would consider Animosity and AS include Bake Kujira, Amaterasu, Erlang Shen, Gilgamesh, and Osiris. These gods have more direct basic attack function in their kits, whether through direct buffs or quick attack chains.

While he does have one ability with situational AS boost ( Damaru's Tempo), Shiva's mainly an ability-based god, which is why you're naturally drawn to building CDR (and you have 30% in both of your example builds). In your builds, you only have 1 AS item...either Berserker's Shield or Shogun's Kusari. It's just not enough to make Animosity worthwhile. I would still stick with Sundering Axe myself, or consider the Sigils if I want to be more tanky.
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League of Legends Build Guide Author jonny2shirts
Shiva Nightmare Tank
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