Smite Medusa Build Guide: The Gorgon Guide: Joust

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Smite God: Medusa

Choose a Build: Crit

Crit Qin's Anti-Tank

Tap Mouse over an item or ability icon for detailed info

Medusa Build

My Build

Ninja Tabi

Devourer's Gauntlet

The Executioner

Rage

Deathbringer

Demon Blade

Purification Beads

Aegis Amulet

Gulfwulf's Crit

Notes is an alternative to Wind Demon, I just prefer Wind Demon

Wind Demon/Poisoned Star and are interchangeable

Warrior Tabi

Devourer's Gauntlet

The Executioner

Demon Blade

Deathbringer

Ichaival

Purification Beads

Aegis Amulet

Crit Item Alternatives #1

Poisoned Star

Demon Blade

Deathbringer

Crit Item Alternatives #2

Demon Blade

Deathbringer

Poisoned Star

Crit Item Alternatives #3

Rage

Deathbringer

Poisoned Star

Core Items

Notes is another great Hunter item and only requires 70 stacks which is easy for Medusa and her
is a standard Hunter item, it has good AS and reduces protections

Devourer's Gauntlet

The Executioner

Medusa's Skill Order

Viper Shot

1 X

1 4 6 7 10

Acid Spray

2 A

2 15 16 18 19

Lacerate

3 B

3 8 11 12 14

Petrify

4 Y

5 9 13 17 20

Medusa Build

Example Build

Notes Inspired by Branmuffin17

Devourer's Gauntlet

Ninja Tabi

Ichaival

The Executioner

Qin's Sais

Odysseus' Bow

Purification Beads

Aegis Amulet

Situational Items

Notes is a great Physical Defense item for ADCs because while it gives protection and health, it also gives some power and a protection debuff aura
is perfect for countering tankier comps
provides a lot of Magic and Physical protections, as well as a little CDR, it's passive is great if enemy gods are always on top of you
if you need to double down on lifesteal (Ex: Enemy build )
Lightning poke and AS
for anti-heal
for when you overcap AS with

Void Shield

Titan's Bane

Mantle of Discord

Asi

Odysseus' Bow

Brawler's Beat Stick

Silverbranch Bow

Core Items

Notes is another great Hunter item and only requires 70 stacks which is easy for Medusa and her
is a standard Hunter item, it has good AS and reduces protections

Devourer's Gauntlet

The Executioner

Build Info and Other Options

Branmuffin was very helpful and provided a whole slew of different crit combinations and their uses in the discussion, as well as another perspective on ability leveling-please check it out. I added my favorites to the Build itself but there are more.

Playstyle

Early Game: With Medusa's 2nd ability, clearing minion waves is a cinch so do that to build Devos Gauntlet. Also try to secure damage camp the start of the game.

Mid Game: Get damage camp. Watch jungle/damage camp flanks-if it's one person you can shut them down fast. Work with your team to isolate enemies and combo them.

Late Game: Option to leave damage camp to mages/assassins. Work with tanks to bait squishies away from enemy tanks. One of my favorite strats is to let your friendly tank initiate, let assassin/mage deal some damage and retreat, then use Petrify to freeze enemy Gods chasing the mage/assassin and proceed to combo the **** out them. The other strat is to hide in the backdoor and wait until the enemy retreats and Petrify them then.

Note: I'm not super versed in how each God is supposed to play at each stage, but as Medusa in Joust, I find if you hit your combos and you aren't under-leveled you can generally secure kills

Tips:
-Medusa's Lacerate can be used as an escape, but since it stops on the first God hit, all it takes is someone to walk in front of you to stop it
-You can activate Medusa's 1 Viper Shot while inside the fountain, then wait for the mana to recharge and have it for free for your next AA, as it lasts until 3/4 Basic Attacks depending on the abilities level
-For a late game, huge burst of damage at a fleeing target, Petrify can be used almost as an execute, as it does a base of 700 damage +100% physical power (Damage is reduced by 75% when enemies are faced away and it doesn't Petrify)(Even if that doesn't kill them it has a 40% slow for 3 seconds at rank 5 that will let you chase them down and kill them quickly)
-FUN FACT: Don't ever do this, but when this build is maxed you can solo Bull Demon King or even Fire Giant by yourself (Pretty easily actually, but again: DO NOT)

Combos

If Petrify is up: 1, 4, 3, AA, 2

If Petrify is down: 1, 3, AA, 2

Medusa's 2nd ability Acid Spray can be used to detonate statues created my Petrify, but since I follow Petrify up with Lacerate and AAs I've never had a use for it

Acid Spray can be used as a burst finisher after the target's health is lowered by AAs, or you can save it for minions, it's your choice.

Skill Sequence & Abilites

Sidewinder is a good passive you never have to worry about as it's always active, and it helps increase your mobility. A tip is to jink left and right when facing other Hunters; You won't be slowed at all like they would if they tried, and it can help you evade all that sweet, sweet penetration

Viper Shot is maxed out first because of it's sheer usefulness. It increased your firing speed each level (40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%) allowing you to force fast damage into your target's face. It also applies poison that can help kill fleeing enemies, especially if they were to use Heavenly Wings to escape

I build Lacerate over Acid Spray because it's a key follow up/initiator, whereas Acid Spray is mostly a wave clear (I get how people say "It's not a good wave clear until you level it up", but since other abilities take priority for the first ability max, your items should give you the attack speed and damage needed to kill them) or a burst

Build Petrify as it becomes available because it's an amazing Ultimate and a great stage setter for your best combo

Pros & Cons

Pros:
-Good wave clear
-Strong and easy combos
-Strong Mid and Late game
-Badass Snake Gorgon

Cons:
-Bad escape
-Gets crits late
-Weaker Early game
-Literally so ugly you'll turn people to stone

Author's Note

I nearly always play Joust with my Mage Main Friend (MMF), and I'll only play Medusa if the 3rd person goes a Warrior or Guardian. As an ADC, Medusa has no protections and my MMF is either playing Hel or Ah Puch depending on their mood, which leaves pretty much no protection or blob of health to cower behind. It's great to pick a God in the hopes of fragging out, but you need someone to protect you in order to maximize your pick. Just something to keep in mind I guess.

Also, I can't remember if I modded this build from someone on SMITEFire or if it's a carbon copy, but I'm posting it just in case it's original. If you're reading this and you created this build, hey, it works. And sorry for rewriting what you did.

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Collapse All Comments

(394) |

As an FYI, don't forget to fix your skill leveling...can't max the 1 at 8...has to be 9 earliest.

(7) |

Would have forgotten, thanks. Side note: When will the guide winners be announced? I want to read some other top hunter guides.

(394) |

I'm personally working off of a limited number of guides that i feel qualify for scoring. Take a look at xMysterionz's Rama and Cupid guides. Check out Pappsi's Skadi guide. UPLAR's AMC. Z0rr0ark's Hou Yi. Depending on exactly HOW complex and detailed you want the guide to be, if you don't mind it being simpler, I could recommend some others...FallenRocket's Chernobog. jmac_336's Jing.

Or you can just ask in a forum, and we could break down a specific god of your choice if there's no real current guide available.

Load more comments (1 more replies) →

(7) |

Thanks

(81) |

I need to update my Cern guide...

(7) |

I didn't even see you had a Cern guide listed...

(81) |

I archived all of my guides until I have the energy to update them.

(7) |

Very thoughtful of you, "SmiteFire is a site where we want to educate and discuss theory crafting to help players optimize their builds/gameplay in various situations against good competition" after all :)

(81) |

Pretty much. Plus it's hypocritical of me to pass judgment on other guides when mine need some serious work.

(7) |

I mean you usually have a point when doing so, but I get it

(81) |

I appreciate it, but mine are all out-of-date, plus I've learned a few things since I first wrote them. :)

(81) |

, , /wind demon, , , . Don't build with crits.

(7) |

Bran, I tried doing a more in-depth guide this time. My first attempt at a full write-up.

(394) |

Hey DTE,

Alright, gonna start with the build. Here are typically the things I suggest in any ADC build:

In this case, I think Qin's Sais is built a bit too early. It DOES do a good chunk of damage, even mid-game like this, but it's a bit expensive, and much better when you've built up more attack speed first (and when enemies have built higher health). In this case, since you don't have any pen yet, I'd suggest it 4th, after The Executioner.
Now the next thing is, it's best if you choose the build direction - one or the other - between the Qin's / attack speed path, and the crit path. Why? Qin's bonus damage doesn't apply to crits. There's no real synergy there. And where Qin's wants high base AS, and can easily fit in low/no power items like Odysseus' Bow, crits want more power. Not that this isn't a high power build...it pretty much is...but again, no synergy between crits and Qin's passive. ALSO...Qin's is expensive, and going with crit builds (also expensive) means you've usually got a slow power curve, meaning your DPS doesn't fully come online until late-game.

So, it's important to know...which do you prefer more? Qin's or crits? This is one reason I keep my options open. I have a base Qin's build that I like against tankier comps. I might go crit against squishier comps.
Then, Deathbringer is almost never a better first crit item. It's not bad at this point...it has higher crit chance than Poisoned Star or Wind Demon, but the higher cost again delays your power curve. Now, if you're steamrolling the enemy team and raking in the gold, it doesn't hurt to get DB first...but usually you'll get it second of the crit items.
Always provide alternative items. There is not one build for any one god, even for the simpler classes like hunters. If you're facing a team with 2 basic attackers, Ichaival really should be considered...it should be considered anyway, as the stats are crazy. There are perhaps a couple of other items that can be considered, depending on your build path.

Now, for , you have one other consideration; she has a mini steroid. It's only 4 shots (you can make it 6 by attack canceling...basic attack first then activate ), but those load up your AS with an 80% boost at max rank. You can actually make it the equivalent of 9 (if the enemy is close and they let you, haha) by adding in . Here, I made you a video =P

When you go the Qin's path, and you look to get your base AS as high as possible (keep in mind cap is 2.5), you will likely overcap when you use Viper. That's okay, as the enemy might build some AS slows (e.g. , , , ) or have some AS slows in their kit (e.g. 's ), but you can also itemize to take what advantage you can when overcapping, by considering . It has solid stats all around too.

When you DO go crits for Medusa or any hunter, if you go the Wind Demon path, I personally would suggest 3x crit by getting as the 3rd crit item. Between WD and DB, that's only 45% crit chance. That's okay, but I prefer a bit higher, and PS will get you to 60%. The other route you could consider is , as between just that and DB you get 65%, and that frees up another slot for whatever else you might want (like ).

Now let's see...the rest of your writeup.

Your skill order isn't exactly possible here. The earliest you can get Viper to rank 5 is at level 9.
Unless your team has better wave-clear, you really want to consider prioritizing Acid Spray first. 1 point in Acid just isn't enough to do much damage to the minion wave, and early game, it's your best source of poke. I get it if you like the early Viper, and I can see that being okay IF your two teammates can easily help clear the wave quickly. For me, at the beginning of the game in a Joust setup, I'll typically put 2 points in Acid Spray and one in Lacerate (just in case, for emergencies) just to get a bigger head start on clearing.
You mention getting the damage camp in the mid-game. Right at the beginning of the game is typically when people try to secure the damage. But it can go one of 3 normal ways. 1) try to secure the damage buff, possibly be beaten if they get a last hit and they're challenging. 2) try to pressure the enemy with the main wave first and some early aggression, and if you can get them to retreat, then you secure the buff. 3) don't bother contesting, go straight to lane, clear the first wave, then secure your blue.
Note that when you don't actually petrify enemies (if they're turned away), you only deal 75% of the full damage.
Now in your writeup I see your explanations for your skill leveling. Got it. I will maintain I still find Acid Spray the significantly more important skill to prioritize. Further reasons...if the rest of your team dies and you need to hold off the minions and possibly pressuring enemies, you won't be able to clear them effectively with it only being leveled late. It's your main source of early poke. And for Lacerate, if you need to use it as an escape instead of aggression/secure, you get absolutely nothing out of the added levels.

Thoughts?

(7) |

Extremely informative. I'm flattered you made a whole video just for me, that stuff seems kinda wild. Originally on the build, I had in place of , but I remembered someone said you should have 3 crits unless its , Wind Demon and -so I changed it into another Hunter item i like to use (I'll put it back to Rage for now). What you're saying definitely makes sense and is extremely logical. I added Gulf's build, and made a Qin's build that works better.

As for , I was never a fan of it in general to be honest. For me, having the ability to stop a God in their tracks and set up combos was more important than minion clear. BUT I will say this: I made a note in the bottom of my build that I play with a mage main whenever I do Joust. They always build stacks, and I find that I just get minions at low or mid health, it makes their job easier. And once they are finished with stacks is when I'll focus more on Acid Spray for a quick clear instead of letting my teammate get stacks. So what you're saying is true and it makes sense, but it just never applied to me when I played.

Load more comments (5 more replies) →

(394) |

So with crit builds, you have some options in build order and number of crit items:

Poisoned Star, Wind Demon, Deathbringer - Early boxing potential from PS, with a preferred boost in AS from WD before getting the higher power spike of DB. Also goes in order from lowest cost to highest.
Poisoned Star, Deathbringer, Wind Demon - DB 2nd is usually my preference no matter what crit build. Same early boxing, fortified by the stronger spike of DB. DB 2nd provides higher average DPS than WD.
Wind Demon, Deathbringer, Poisoned Star - WD has higher AS potential compared to PS, and getting WD then DB provides better DPS than PS to DB.
Rage, Deathbringer, Poisoned Star - Now Rage as a standalone is around the same DPS as WD with the passive off...and Rage at full stacks has lower DPS than WD with its passive on. BUT...Rage is a bit cheaper, and due to the higher crit chance (20% vs 40% at full stacks), you have a chance of higher actual burst if your RNG is good and/or you only get a few quick shots to try to burst (e.g. Viper). PS last gives you its passive boxing potential, and with high crit chance, you're much more likely to have the passive immediately function for you.
Rage, Deathbringer, Wind Demon - Of all the 3x crit options, this has the highest DPS. Rage built first to help with the stacks.
Rage, Deathbringer - Forego 3x crit to have more item options. 65% crit chance is solid as-is. If going Devo's / Ninja / Rage / Exe / DB, you now have an option for Ichaival in the 6th spot, which at full stacks has slightly higher DPS than even RAGE+DB+WD.

Regarding Gulf's build, besides having more crit build options than what he listed, you don't necessarily have to get / Wind Demon before . The reasons for getting Exe earlier include 1) having another physical teammate that can benefit from the physical protection reduction, and 2) facing a tankier enemy comp. At full stacks, Exe will probably provide a bit higher DPS compared to Wind Demon including passive against a god that has built at least 1 physical protection item.

(7) |

Also, I changed Qin's in my very first build back to Rage, moved Exe, and I would like your opinion on that as well

And because I have 2 of the crit builds already in the full build examples I'm just going to go ahead and leave them there (Rage, DB, WD in mine and PS/WD and DB in Gulf's build). I'll refer them to this particular post so they can see the full extent of the combinations and their purposes.

(394) |

Those look fine, and you can always put notes in that Exe and the first crit item are interchangeable in order as the user prefers.

In your Qin's build...you uh...forgot Qin's. I'm guessing you want it where currently shows (after Exe). O-Bow last is fine, and I would consider that last slot the flex spot.

O-Bow for the AS and lightning poke
Asi if you want to double-up on lifesteal (also counters anti-heal and damage reflection from things like Hide of the Nemean Lion)
Brawler's Beat Stick if you're facing more than 1 healer and want the anti-heal effect (and your mage didn't get Divine Ruin, which since he's your friend pressure him into doing so, so you don't have to get BBS)
Silverbranch Bow for extra power when you overcap AS with Viper Shot
Titan's Bane as you have listed if you're facing 2 heavy tanks or 1 heavy tank that is carrying his team
Or in dire straits, a protection item as you've listed Mantle and Void

(7) |

Yeeaaaahh I fixed Qin's and added the items you suggested. And my friend is way better than me so they make sure to get if they have healers.

(7) |

In my Crit builds I nearly always try to get Wind Demon, as it's probably my favorite crit item. I understand the need for variance in items so I'll go ahead and add them in now. My personal preference is to get Wind Demon and DB as my standard crit (Once you get a crit, Wind Demon's passive boost your AS which helps me get them faster and more consistently than before, and pretty soon they're dead). If I am getting another crit item I get just to up the percentage to 85% instead of 45%.

I see what you're saying about Gulf's build, and I'm thinking I agree, especially since it gets instead of , you just aren't getting the same AS value. I swapped it in my build so thanks.