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Thanatos - And Now His Watch Is Ended

8 0 31,941
by NightOfTheWatch updated April 13, 2014

Smite God: Thanatos

Build Guide Discussion 10 More Guides
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Thanatos Build

Starting Items

Build Item Death's Toll Death's Toll
Build Item Hand Of The Gods (Old) Hand Of The Gods (Old)
Build Item Potion of Power Potion of Power

The Main Build

Build Item Warrior Tabi Warrior Tabi
Build Item Jotunn's Wrath Jotunn's Wrath
Build Item Hide of the Urchin Hide of the Urchin
Build Item Titan's Bane Titan's Bane
Build Item Rage Rage
Build Item Deathbringer Deathbringer

Thanatos's Skill Order

Death Scythe

1 X Y
Death Scythe
2 3 6 7 10

Scent of Death

2 A B
Scent of Death
4 15 16 18 19

Soul Reap

3 B A
Soul Reap
1 8 11 12 14

Hovering Death

4 Y X
Hovering Death
5 9 13 17 20
Death Scythe
2 3 6 7 10

Death Scythe

1 X
Thanatos flings his scythe at an enemy, dealing damage and an additional 10% of the target's maximum health against enemy gods. Enemies hit are slowed for 3s and heal Thanatos based on damage dealt. Consumes 4% of Thanatos' current HP when used.

Ability Type: Projectile
Damage: 100 / 170 / 240 / 310 / 380 (+60% of your Physical Power)
Bonus Damage (Gods): 10% of Max HP
Healing: 50% of damage dealt
Slow: 20%
Cost: 25 / 35 / 45 / 55 / 65
Cooldown: 12s
Scent of Death
4 15 16 18 19

Scent of Death

2 A
Thanatos senses death, gaining immunity to Slow effects and additional move speed and Physical Penetration for 6s. His speed bonus increases up to double when moving toward an enemy god within the instant kill health threshold of his Ultimate. Consumes 4% of Thanatos' current HP when used.

Ability Type: Buff
Penetration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30
Move Speed: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30%
Bonus Speed (Low Health): 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30%
Cost: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40
Cooldown: 13s
Soul Reap
1 8 11 12 14

Soul Reap

3 B
Thanatos swings his scythe, dealing Physical damage and Silencing enemies he hits. Thanatos moves at a reduced rate while swinging. Consumes 4% of Thanatos' current HP when used.

Ability Type: Cone, Silence, Damage
Damage: 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 (+70% of your Physical Power)
Silence Duration: 1s
Cost: 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 / 45
Cooldown: 14s
Hovering Death
5 9 13 17 20

Hovering Death

4 Y
Thanatos flaps his wings and ascends for 5s, unable to be hit. While airborne, he moves unimpeded at an increased speed before diving to his target location, dealing damage. Enemies below a Health threshold are instantly killed. All others are Stunned. Consumes 8% of Thanatos' current HP when used.

Ability Type: Circle, Stun, Damage
Damage: 110 / 145 / 180 / 215 / 250 (+80% of your Physical Power)
Kill Health Threshold: 24 / 28 / 32 / 36 / 40%
Stun Duration: 1.5s
Bonus Move Speed: 150%
Radius: 15
Cost: 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80
Cooldown: 90s

Introduction

Introduction

- Hi everyone, I'm NightOfTheWatch, and this is my Thanatos Guide. I worked hard to make this guide the best I could, and I would appreciate any and all feedback that you guys may provide. Thanatos is a very strong jungler in the current meta, with very high early game damage and good clean-up potential late game.

- Thanatos has one of the best ganks in the entire game, despite his relative lack of proper cc. This is due to his immense early damage on his 1 and his ability to lock down targets with his 3. And I believe the Instakill on his ultimate speaks for itself :P.

Pros / Cons

Pros / Cons

Pros

+ Fantastic Early-Game
+ Innate Sustain
+ Low Mana Costs
+ Great Duelist
+ Long AOE Silence
+ Instakill Ultimate
Thanatos is a fantastic choice in Solo Que. His ganks are very strong thanks to his Soul Reap shutting down any mobility skill an enemy god may attempt to use, combined with his Death Scythe dealing massive damage to secure the kill. Thanks to his innate sustain from Harvester of Souls and his low mana costs he can start with Death's Toll which is a much better item statwise compared to Bumba's Mask and can stay in the jungle indefinately. Soul Reap also makes him a great duelist as it shuts down enemy abilities for up to 1.5 seconds. And you know Hovering Death.

Cons

+ Abilities Fall Off Late-Game
+ Lack of Hard-CC
+ No Leap / Dash
+ Very Squishy Early-Game
+ Hard to Enter a Teamfight
+ Easily Focusable
As per all champions, Thanatos has his strengths, and his weaknesses. Thanatos' late game can be considered subpar due his abilities besides Hovering Death falls off and he is left to deal damage with his AAs or clean up with his ult. This proves problematic as Thanatos can not simply waltz in a teamfight to AA without getting focused to death, making his reliant on proper initation from his teammates. Furthermore, Thanatos lacks immobilising CC and and escape mechanisms excluding his ultimate making positioning absolutely key.

Active Items

Active Items



Fist of the Gods: Hand of the Gods is an absolute must for every single jungler in the entire game, if not for the faster clear speed it's mandatory to contest the mid camps. Upgrade it to Fist of the Gods for a free stun which synergieses with the rest of Thanatos' kit.

Combat Blink: This helps immensely with Thanatos' lack of mobility. It is practicaly a free Get Out of Jail card in any unfavorable situations you might find yourself in. It can also be used to avoid retaliation from the enemy team after Hovering Deathing on someone.
sprint

sprint: A great active as it provides combination of offense and defense. It can help you get out of bad situations by removing slows and boosting your speed, albeit not to the extent of Combat Blink. Furthermore, it helps stick to your targets with your AAs which are your main damage source late-game.

Ability Explanation

Ability Explanation






Harvester Of Souls: This passive is absolutely fantastic as it basically gives Thanatos a built-in Bumba's passive. This allows us to do 2 things; to jungle for as long as you want without the limitations of health and mana, and to get Death's Toll as a starter item to boost Thanatos' stats and make him a larger threat early game. It also synergies very well with his Hovering Death, as it allows for you to dive tower to get the kill and get out safely with the health regeneration from Harvester of Souls.





Death Scythe: Death Scythe is what makes Thanatos such a high early game threat. This skill can take down a mage down to nearly 50% HP by only rank 2. It also slows the enemy which allows you to follow up with your other skills and lets your allies land their skills, which almost always ends in a kill, if you can land it. However, this may prove difficult as it is a relatively slow moving skill, which makes it hard to hit from long range. On a side note, Death Scythe will heal for 10% HP of the enemy hit, further boosting Thanatos' sustain.
Tips and Tricks
  • Get into point blank range before firing this abiliy to ensure it will hit.
  • If you are being chased you may swiftly turn back and fire Death Scythe
    to slow the enemy and heal yourself.
  • If you use it to heal yourself in the jungle use it on the big monster.




Scent Of Death: A pretty simple but effective steroid. Scent of Death is both a movement and penetration boost which makes it perfect for initiating ganks, granting both additional power and sticking to the target. However, the movement speed increase on Scent of Death is pretty much all the mobility Thanatos gets meaning that it should not always be used offensively since it is also your only "escape mechanism" besides Hovering Death. Also, while chasing targets below the instakill threshold the movespeed increases which may help you get into range for your ult.

Tips and Tricks
  • Use Scent of Death before your abilities while ganking so that they can
    benefit from the penetration.
  • Activate this skill before Hovering Death to multiply the movespeed increase.
  • Save Scent of Death for riskier engagements as you may need the movespeed
    to disengage.




Soul Reap: Death Scythe may be your main damaging skill and Hovering Death may be what people are afraid of but this skill right here is what makes Thanatos so damn powerful. The silence is invaluable as a jungler since it basically cripples the enemy, shutting down their escape mechanisms as you are your laner wail on them. And since it is an AOE skill the silence will affect anyone caught in its range, meaning you can silence up to 5 members on the enemy team in teamfight. Soul Reap also does quite a respectable amount of damage which makes it the most valuable skill in Thanatos' arsenal.

Tips and Tricks
  • Always cast Soul Reap first while ganking to cripple your victims escapability.
  • While clearing the jungle there is a delay after your 1.5x hit chain, use
    Soul Reap immediatly after the large hit to remove the delay and improve
    your clear times.
  • In teamfights try to use your silence on mages as it cripples them most.




Hovering Death: Hovering Death is the most appropriately titled ability in the entire game. This ulitmate pretty much speaks for itself, a 24-40% instakill is mindblowing. If there is anyone who stays in lane with low health in close proximity, Hovering Death pretty much guarantees their deaths. Your ult is a huge part late-game presense as it allows for very easy clean-ups and secures. If Hovering Death hits enemies over the instakill threshold it will stun and do decent damge to the enemy which may be more valuable as a gank initiator early game. Keep in mind that is you absolutely have to Hovering Death serves as a great escape.

Tips and Tricks
  • Remember that Hovering Death can be avoided with leaps or dashes so make sure
    your victim either doesn't see you or has wasted his mobility.
  • Keep your passive in mind while going for the instakill as it will heal you by
    a considerable amount, allowing you to survive tower shots, enemy skills etc.
  • When Hovering Death is rank 1, it may be smarter to go for the stun and
    following up with Death Scytheand Soul Reap, as it does more damage.

Ability Sequence Order

Ability Sequence Order


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
3
1
1
2
U
1
1
3
U
1
3
3
U
3
2
2
U
2
2
U
> > >
You want to max out Death Scythe because it is your main damage dealer. Then Soul Reap to further increase your AOE damage and lengthen the silence. Scent of Death is useful to level for bonus penetration and movespeed, however the leveling the other skills just offer so much more. Put points into Hovering Deathwhenever you can to substantially increase the instakill threshold.

Items

Items





Warrior Tabi: This is the best boot choice for Thanatos. The base stats are very good for any assassin any Thanatos is no exception. The penetration boost from it's passive is also very valuable since your abilities scale very well with physical penetration.

Jotunn's Wrath: This item gives you everything you need. Physical Power, Penetration and precious CDR. Since Thanatos relies on his abilities for damage early-mid game, every single stat given by this item synergieses with his playstyle, making Jotunn's Wrath a must-buy.

Hide of the Urchin: The best item to increase your survivability thanks to the high amount of protections it provides. Thanatos needs to be up and close to land his abilities or use your AAs, and without protections you will get focused down very hard as such Hide of the Urchin proves invaluable.

Titan's Bane: Now that you have high base physical penetration thanks to Warrior Tabi and Jotunn's Wrath, you need percentage based penetration. Titan's Bane works very well with your other items and boosts your damage immensely, both in terms of abilities and AAs.

Rage: By the time you get Rage you have transitioned from a physical caster into an auto-attacker. This item will increase your AA damage and overall increase your DPS late game by providing aditional attack speed and critical strike chance.

Deathbringer: We mainly get this item as final boost to our late game damage. As I have said many times Thanatos relies on AAs late-game, and getting this item in conjunction with Rage will skyrocket your damage, as the passives of these 2 items synergiese perfectly.

Jungling

Jungling


Always start at the side with the solo lane. Solo your own buff using Hand of the Gods while your allies do the mid camps. Then help the solo laner get blue buff and stay in the solo lane until about level 3-4. Move on to the side camps and rotate to the mid camps as soon as they spawn. After Hand of the Godsing the mid harpies.

Thanatos has a hit chain of 1/1/1.5 with the last strike hitting in a small AOE. This helps your jungle clear, however there is a noticable delay after the AOE strike. To have the maximum jungling speed do your hit chain, and right as the last hit connects use your Soul Reap to get rid of the delay time.

Summary

Summary



Overall, Thanatos is a very strong jungler. Despite his many problems, his strenghts vastly outweight his weaknesses. With his high early game ability damage, good late game auto attack and clean-up potential, and his versitile AOE silence Thanatos is easily one of the most powerful gods at the moment. Hopefully, my guide has given you some insight in playing or building him. Thanks for reading <3

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Collapse All Comments

1
Sentaku | July 4, 2014 10:51am
Good guide, but could do with some more build choices and in general indept builds. They are pretty brief
1
FlabbyTheFat | June 23, 2014 7:26am
Great guide! Easy 20+ game with this.
1
festive1 (14) | April 29, 2014 3:05am
Sias is the most important item especially for Thanatos; all of his abilities are focused on %hp damage, and that is exactly what Sias is. As Jordenito said above, Ninja Tabi is a good choice, and I think that if you are looking for protections, Hide of the Nemean Lion is great, because of the passive, and it further increases his 1v1 capability.

A bit more gameplay would be good, but overall you explain everything well enough, so an up vote from me.
1
Ztev0 | April 21, 2014 9:09am
What about some lifesteal ?!?! like ASI maybe i used it sometime and it does pretty good.
1
Greenevers (105) | April 15, 2014 8:25pm
Nicely done guide! I love how neat/organized this with BB Coding. I don't play Thanatos too often, but I can tell I can win if I play based on this guide!

+1
1
NightOfTheWatch (2) | April 13, 2014 12:17pm
Thanks to everyone for their nice words! I will add Situational Items in the upcoming days. Btw Jordentine Ninja Tabi actually makes a lot of sense, I will experiment with it, so thanks!
1
Macawmagician (1) | April 13, 2014 11:46am
I use to play Thanatos when he was release. Those tips & tricks are quite nice. I never thought about some of those like using the ult as a stun early game. +1 form me :D
1
OneStepToWin | April 13, 2014 10:50am
I like this Guide and Build, BBcoding its awesome, Great Work buddie :D

+1 for u
1
Pentargonite (62) | April 13, 2014 10:35am
Great guide, the only thing I'm missing are some situational items :)

+1
1
Jordenito (66) | April 13, 2014 9:47am
Could use a little bit more info about gameplay, and Ninja Tabi is better than Warrior Tabi because the penetration from Jotunn's Wrath and Scent of Death at max level reaches 46. So with Warrior Tabi it's an overkill, as you only get 4 extra penetration. The cooldown will serve you better.

Other than that, there is nothing I can really say. I'm no Thanatos expert, but it seems like everything is spot-on. The BBCoding is absolutely perfect, the skills seem fine. All I have to say is that your build could be a little bit more flexible. Some situationals such as magi's blessig, witch blade etc.

But this guide is just fantastic. Keep up the good work. +1
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