This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page
This build has been archived by the author. They are no longer supporting nor updating this build and it may have become outdated. As such, voting and commenting have been disabled and it no longer appears in regular search results. We recommend you check out our other Vulcan Builds
Vote received! Would you like to let the author know their guide helped you and leave them a message?
Boots of the Magi
Healing Potion
Mana Potion
Boots of the Magi
Warlock's Staff
Obsidian Shard
Rod of Tahuti
Chronos' Pendant
Void Stone
Stone of Gaia
Hide of Leviathan
Mystical Mail
Wall of Absolution
Potion of Magical Might
Elixir of Power
Elixir of Defense
Purification Beads (Old)
Aegis Amulet (Old)
Heavenly Wings
Doom Orb
Y
B
A
X
Hello guys. This is my first SMITE guide, so don't expect anything too fancy. I have yet to see any Vulcan guides that provide quality information, or even a build like my own, so I decided to go ahead and make one. While this guide is mainly just to show the build, I will explain a few tips that help me to dominate every single game I play with Vulcan using this build.
NOTE - This build works EXTREMELY well in Arena. Although, when playing Arena, I would recommend not picking up warlock's sash just because you probably wont reach max stacks. Grab another defensive/offensive item instead.
PROS
Abilities do INSANE damage
You wont die, just let your turrets do all the work
volcanic overdrive provides both massive burst, and amazing escape paired with sprint
Outstanding farmer due to turrets and Backfire
Does not run out of mana once you have a couple items
Finally, an engineer in a MOBA game WITHOUT a German accent
CONS
Turrets die fast if not positioned correctly in teamfights
If turrets are dead and on cooldown, you're outta luck
Being a MP melee, autoattacks are weak
I start with Boots of the Magi because I like having mobility early game, in order to have better positioning for placing turrets. Although, if you feel confidant in your abilities, pick up a Doom Orb instead, so you can max it ASAP and start farming stacks. Then grab boots after.
warlock's sashIf you are not picking up a Doom Orb and want to play it safe, grab a Warlock's Sash ASAP after getting boots so you can build up stacks. This item works well with Vulcan because of the health and MP it gives, however, Vulcan is not a mana hungry god, so this item may be swapped for something like a Void Stone if you find yourself having TOO much mana. Also note that neither of these items are REQUIRED, so if you are playing Arena, or just don't feel like farming stacks, skip to Obsidian Shard and just grab two of the situational items.
Obsidian Shard is probably the best item for Vulcan in my eyes and is a NECESSITY. It gives a nice amount of MP, but most importantly, gives a TON of penetration, which applies to your turrets. In other words, this item paired with a Rod makes you drop Gods like its hot.
Rod of Tahuti is your next buy. It makes you do sexy damages.
Chronos' Pendant comes after Rod. The CDR is very nice if people start focusing your turrets down, and you need to keep throwin em out.
Void Stone is a great item because it provides more power and focus, while also boosting your magical defenses.
Stone of Gaia is a great alternative to Void Stone if you still need Magic resist, but also want some more survivability instead of power.
Hide of Leviathan is a great all around defensive item, which gives health and resistances that will allow your turrets to live longer. The CC reduction is also nice against a CC heavy team. Inferno Cannon right outside of the Thumper, so that the cone covers all of the Thumper XVI's radius. Then, lure the enemy into the thumper and kite them around, using Backfire as much as possible to keep distance. Your passive and turrets will be eating away at the enemy while they desperately try to catch you. This strategy will be more difficult to pull off against ranged Gods, so buy this item accordingly.
Aegis Amulet is amazing for Vulcan, and has many unique uses. Refer to the Strategies section for ways to utilize this ability.
While this item is good on most mages, Vulcan does not need the excess mana. This is a good item to build if you have a few mana items, but warlock's sash is the only mana item Vulcan really needs.
This is definitely an item to avoid grabbing on Vulcan, in both power and tank build. While the health is nice and does apply to your turrets, you do not need the extra mana, and the passive slow is only activated by your Backfire, making this item pale in comparison to other items.
Magical lifesteal items are also useless on Vulcan. Turrets do not apply on-hit effects at the moment, meaning that the only ability that would give you lifesteal would be Backfire. 
Bancroft's Talon is really the only viable option here, but you should not be taking much damage if behind your turrets, so its passive is somewhat wasted. Avoid the other two always.
Meditation becomes worthless.
If you want a speed buff, get sprint.
You are not a jungler.
forgeFORGE - This is Vulcan's passive. It transfers a percent of your resistances and health to your turrets, and also makes them regen health while you are near them.
Backfire - While most people see this as a means of escape or positioning, I see it as a finisher/nuke (also great for clearing minion waves). The damage of this ability is HIGHLY underrated. This ability does MASSIVE damage when maxed, and also provides great utility. While most guides say to only grab a rank of Backfire early and max it last, I believe you should level Backfire and thumper xvi evenly, with a priority in Backfire Maxing Backfire first will ensure easy kills that are getting away, and the great thing about this ability is that it goes through EVERYTHING. Amazing teamfight damage potential if you can position yourself correctly.
Inferno Cannon - This ability is probably the best non-ult damage dealing ability in the game if used correctly. Max this first. Always. No exceptions. Strategies on using this cannon will be listed in the Strategies section.
thumper xviTHUMPER XVI - This turret provides an excellent area slow, and also is great for clearing minion waves. Another big plus is that you can throw this turret a small distance out in front of you, unlike the Inferno Cannon. Strategies for this ability listed below in the Strategies section.
volcanic overdriveVOLCANIC OVERDRIVE - This skill is a massive steroid to your turrets, while also giving you a nifty speed boost and protection increase. While this skill may seem like the most straight-forward and easy to use, it is actually the hardest to master. When I started playing Vulcan, I misused this ability many times, either popping it too early to where the enemy team just backed off, or using it just to see my turrets die a second after. Strategies for not failing like my noob self are listed below in the strategies section.
Please be sure to check out the strategy I gave about using the Mystical Mark up in the items section if you haven't already. Even if you don't buy Mystical Mark, the strat still works extremely well against Melee gods.
TURRET PLACEMENT
Inferno Cannon to where it hits as many enemies as possible. If your volcanic overdrive is up, remember that it makes your Inferno shoot in a 360 degree radius, so position it accordingly. Putting your Inferno on top of your thumper and activating VO can provide great area damage, but also makes them more prone to being focused down with AoE abilities. Use this positioning with caution. Inferno Cannon. Then, activate volcanic overdrive and watch your turrets go to work. Use the speed boost from your Overdrive to get infront of the enemy if possible, and use Backfire. If you can't get infront of them, just use Backfire, and the damage should be enough to kill them. Inferno Cannon a 360 degree shoot radius, and that it focuses on enemy gods. So, when positioning your Inferno Cannon for an ult, imagine that you are putting down a thumper xvi, instead of looking at the cone. Also, your ult gives massive health regen to your turrets, but keep in mind this does NOT make them invincible. Keep an eye on the icons on the top of your skill bar to manage the health of your turrets at all times. Aegis Amulet Aegis Amulet is a fantastic ability to pick up on Vulcan. Not only can it save you from other gods ultamites like Ares' 
No Escape, it also can be used extremely well in a 1v1 or 1v2 situation that would normally not go your way. When going up to a 1v1 or 1v2, drop a thumper xvi on the enemy and immediately activate volcanic overdrive. Smack down a Inferno Cannon right after and then, if the enemy is still attacking you, use Aegis Amulet. This will result in a very unhappy opponent trying uselessly to attack you while your turrets eat away at them.
Coming soon!
2/1/2013 - Guide Created.
2/4/2013 - Added Coding, added new strategies, altered skill sequence.
2/5/2013 - Added Items to AVOID section.
2/10/2013 - Added Wall of Absolution to recommended final items.
2/12/2013 - Added my personal Arena build.
Thank you for reading my guide. I will try to keep it updated as often as possible. Please vote and leave comments with any advice on how to improve!!!
SMITEFire is the place to find the perfect build guide to take your game to the next level. Learn how to play a new god, or fine tune your favorite SMITE gods’s build and strategy.
Copyright © 2019 SMITEFire | All Rights Reserved
I don't think so. I've had a lot of comments on my build that say it doesn't slow.
This is correct. The Gem does not make the cannon slow. The slow is an on-hit effect, and on-hit effects do not apply to your turrets.
Gem makes cannon slow as well
I don't think so. I've had a lot of comments on my build that say it doesn't slow.
great build but you should add the void gem cause it gives health and power
Do you mean
true i usually play him as a tank so the protection dosent matter as much
That's true. Although this guide focuses on making him deal tons of damage while still being quite surprisingly tanky. I encourage you to try it!
would it not be better to put one piont in his ult at 5 and then leave it till the end