Smite

Smite 2 alpha first impressions

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Smite 2 alpha first impressions

Smite 2’s first-weekend alpha has just finished, and it is in a very early state. It feels like an alpha piece of software, unfinished with barebones features. A fresh foundation to build on, with core mechanics being the most important thing to focus on during this alpha period. Once they are finalized, it’s unlikely they will change due to everything else being built on top of it.

Alpha patch notes can be found here.

Gods can now build any item, with Strength (STR) and Intelligence (INT) replacing physical and magical damage. These two different stats have different effects on scaling their abilities and basic attacks. The only negative aspect is that there are more terms that can confuse players—references to physical and magical damage feel odd with STR/INT floating around. I would prefer if Smite stuck to two terms when it comes to damage. Let me give you an example: magical and physical protections. Which items protect me against strength attacks? I can already envision new players and returning players who don’t follow the patch notes asking that very question for years to come. Having more knowledge to learn means a higher barrier to entry. I’m sure the designers are aware of the KISS principle (Keep it simple, stupid). On a positive note, I appreciate how each type of damage now has a symbol showing its type. Reducing the knowledge required with lifesteal and penetration, thumbs up here—this is a good change overall. Movement changes are also overdue. Displacement CC changes reduce the number of terms in the game, and that is a good thing.

Front End UI:

  • The current UI feels functional and temporary, as confirmed by the patch notes. However, on consoles, it appears rather clunky to navigate and use.
  • The shop experience on consoles is frustrating. Here’s a simple solution: add a virtual cursor that can be controlled by the joysticks. Warframe uses a similar system, and it’s cross-platform.

Gameplay Changes:

  1. Tower Bounties and Health Bars:
    • These small changes could be positive, but there’s concern that most players won’t notice them.
  2. Minions:
    • While a small change, most players will likely notice the adjustments to minotaurs.
  3. Infamy System:
    • The shake-up in how jungle camps work introduces some problems. First, there’s no progress bar. Second, it’s not obvious what’s happening. For average players who don’t read patch notes, there should be clear indicators of changes.
    • On a positive note, the buff descriptions before pickup are a huge improvement.
  4. Interactive Map Objectives:
    • Some objectives (like Warhorn) lack clear explanations. Players need to know what they’re doing and what the objectives do.
    • The change to jungle buff pickup is good.
  5. Stealth Areas:
    • I’m glad stealth areas made it into the game. They add an element of strategy, using the map as a tool.
  6. Gold Fury and Ancient:
    • It’s unclear if the UI shows the bonus given after killing the Gold Fury. Ancient provides another strategy for breaking into a base. Objective control becomes more important.
  7. No More Classes:
    • Removing classes is a positive change, but playstyle tags should be visible during god selection. A sorting system would prevent the overwhelming feeling from the large roster.
  8. God Ability Text:
    • Short and long versions of ability descriptions are perfect. However, accessing them on a controller feels a bit clunky.
  9. Full God Kits:
    • With limited playtime, I appreciate what you’re trying to achieve with full god kits. My concern is ability bloat—adding too much while reducing weaknesses and giving gods too much versatility.
    • Various changes have noticeable gameplay impacts.
  10. Item Changes:
    • The component-based system is a step in the right direction. However, there’s worry about how actives and passives work on controllers.
    • The crafting recipe system isn’t very clear in the current UI. It’s essential to ensure players understand it.
    • The flexibility to choose starters without being forced into a specific option is a positive change.
  11. Wards and purification Beads: Turning these two into free resources I hope will see increased use of wards and make beads easier to balance. My only worry about wards is not being able to replace them, being able to buy new one for gold that resets the cooldown would be good.

Item Slots:

  • Inventory management now allows you to change slots around, which is a welcome improvement.

Consumables, Actives, and Passive Items:

  • Consumables taking up slots makes sense—early game, they’re crucial, but they become less useful late game.
  • However, the controller scheme feels a bit clunky when using these new items. Improving it is challenging due to the limits on button combinations.

Core Combat:

  • At times, hitting basic attacks felt a little off. I’m unsure if this discrepancy was due to the model style in contrast to the conquest art.

Conquest Map Design:

  • I would prefer the jungle to feel more like a maze. Creating difficulty in ganking lanes and deciding to give up farm for a gank feel impactful.
  • Currently, more cartoony style, but I was hoping for something different. Don’t mind this new direction being colourful. While I love the overall look of the game, it doesn’t quite fit the art style of the gods.