This year, Blizzard is going to enter the arena with MOBA Heroes of The Storm and its cast dug into the different worlds of the American giant. As the war already raging between League of Legends and Dota 2 other MOBA less publicized yet exist side: Heroes of Newerth, Super Monday Night Combat, Awesomnaut. Among them is Smite Hi-Rez developer of multiplayer FPS Tribes Ascend. If the studio
seems now focus all its ambitions in this game is that the sector MOBA is doing particularly well and is a very lucrative bonanza for the future. But to convince a public requirements sharpened by years of experience and ganking solo lane, better innovate. On this point, Smite has two advantages: a pantheon of divine characters straight shot of the most famous myths accompanied by a camera in the third person breaking the codes of the genre. Beta for over a year, Smite is set to release in March 2014 following the usual model free-to-play of his illustrious colleagues. En route to a preview.
I discovered Smite somewhat by chance the day of his arrival in closed beta in late April 2012. To access the time two choices: register online and fingers crossed to receive an email invitation, or show impatient and go pay a few euros to buy gems or "God Ultimate Pack" including the entire character. Knowing my legendary bad luck to receive any beta invitation, so I put my hand in the pocket to buy the famous pack. Still, I was not really the target of this kind of games since my few experiments MOBA could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Point League of Legends or Dota 2 under my belt, just a few idle on Monday Night Combat sessions. How then can we explain this sudden urge to get into a game genre so little explored by me? Honestly, I think first of all have been intrigued by the camera in the third person and conventional controls (WASD) that implies. I must say that the usual heavenly view of MOBA, although very interesting from a purely strategic point of view, has never convinced me. Of course, these considerations are personal and the huge success of LoL or Dota gives me quite wrong on this point. But what do you want, tastes and colors ... All that to say that I think Smite is a good opportunity to discover the genre.
A classic model free-to-play for MOBA 

In short, so I play Smite since its inception and despite some breaks from time to time, I witnessed its evolution. Throughout regular updates Hi-Rez strives to refine the project to make careful when leaving a copy in March. The work carried out since the early hours of the closed beta is also rather important. Besides the regular graphical changes combat arenas, visual overhaul skins gods and the constant addition of new game modes, it is the general balancing of the characters that makes today Smite enjoyable to play in preventing any risk frustration. Connecting the player for the first time able to choose between five gods making a regular rotation. As in most MOBA free-to-play, it will earn points (called here Favor Points) to acquire other characters or buy gems to unlock directly. The model is exactly the same as that of a League of Legends, no pay-to-win so as each player has potential access to all the gods of the catalog by investing time.
War of Gods! 

There will be something for everyone characters as various pantheons are honored in Smite. Egyptian, Greek, Hindu, Mayan, Chinese, Nordic, Roman, there is a list of gods and goddesses more or less known that the effort made on the background will delight lovers of mythology. Did you know for example that Fenrir the giant wolf son of Loki liked to wear a little sweater for Christmas motifs lovely? Unless this is one of many humor Hi-Rez keys that seems to take pleasure in stuffing his playing jokes and references to somewhat downplay the fact of using "real" gods As fighters. Anyway, all the characters will endorse a particular role on the battlefield, we find the classic mages, tanks, dps body-to-body distance and accompanied by some hybrids used most often support. However, even if a character preset function focuses its role in a team, we can choose to change the situation in the buildant special way through the items to buy for all parties.

A character as Vamana, the baby most pests of the Hindu pantheon, can for example move tanking or damage according to his choice of build. Smite is indeed based on the classical principles of MOBA namely two teams of X players (five for the Conquest game mode) competing in a closed arena with three lanes (of lanes) on which turrets attack the opponent. The jungle in the middle of some farmer map allows very useful in combat buffs and plan some surprise attacks. The goal for a team will advance in the field to destroy the enemy keeper (formerly Minotaurs replaced recently by titans more aggressive look) themselves protected by three phoenix. Players progress on 20 levels and unlock abilities to use shortcuts with keyboard 1-4. The last skill called "Ulti" is the most powerful character capacity, it has a high cooldown (cooldown) and animation in general quite worked.
Designed well or die! 

This short course MOBA for Dummies only scratched game content because the Conquest was joined by a few others over the months. The arena example is to my taste one of the most fun additions since it allows to face five other players in a Colosseum spectators unleashed. No turrets here, it is essentially about to stand on the corner of the face in joy and "relative" good clean humor to MOBA (the cat is not always an example of peace and love). This mode is for me representative of what makes the strength of SMITE. The dynamism of his fights induced by the camera in the third person gives a feeling of almost Clashes PVP MMORPG. The basic attack and the spammable ulti devastating, any action in Smite is associated with a skillshot. Understand that it will always aim manually hope to touch the opponent. Hi-Rez is also coupled to rework pins ground attack in order to clarify their scope and area of ​​effect. We found several types according to the characters: attacks in a straight line touching the first enemy encountered, attacks cone in front of you (like the swarm of insects Anubis or the icy breath of Ymir) zones move freely on the ground or effects around. The learning curve is huge player on the game since the precision in Smite is both skill case, knowledge of the characters and anticipate the movements of the opponent. All this can be unsettling for a player accustomed to years of MOBA celestial camera. Fortunately, the developers have thought of everything since army playable tutorial and instructional videos are responsible for presenting the game mechanics to the newcomer.

Continue the inventory of game modes available with the Assault mixing and conquer the arena by offering two teams to compete on a single lane with a few turrets and a phoenix. Small feature to spice up something, your character will be chosen randomly from the list of your gods unlocked. The Joust mode on him to fight a duel friend or put face to face two teams of three players. Finally, the game features small portions theme in which the gods are predefined and in agreement with the subject (as gods feathers, as archers etc.). Daily. In short, there is already enough to make not to mention ranked games for teams to compete in games in much higher than the usual level meetings.
Gank Right Lane! 

Smite the camera in particular that it directs the gameplay to gank. It has an excellent record of what is happening right in front of us, but what about back and sides? Provided turn or strafe, you can easily get stuck with one or more opponents tumbling from behind or from the jungle to you paste a divine beating in less than two. The life expectancy of a person in adverse assaults is also not very high unless tanky or benefit of stray capacitances. It is therefore crucial to always keep a close eye on the minimap and prevent colleagues any suspicious disappearances of opponents. In this sense, the team fights to Smite are of paramount importance because they can help eradicate an entire team in seconds if the capabilities are well coordinated. Obstacles, delays, grabs back and whatnot are legion and often synonymous with large sores on your character. Fortunately, there are a slew of objects manually activated to buy in-game with a few precious seconds of immunity. As mentioned a little earlier, balancing characters is pretty good at the moment even if the new gods introduced every big patch have the tendency to be a tad too powerful. Ground-fault qu'Hi correct in principle quickly by some nerves in the following updates. The latest example, Geb the god of earth Egyptian and protective shield absorbing too much damage comes to the cost of an update diminishing its power.
Constant evolution since the closed beta 

Over the months, Hi-Rez fumbled and searched its brands to the graphical aspect of the game, leaving the cel-shaded side of the first time to move to more refined models with softer shadows. The most profound changes concern the architecture combat zones and the skin of certain gods present from the start. While they began each party in a closed guarded by our Minotaur acropolis, it is now starts in a open area guarded by a huge titan. This opening is accompanied by a larger depth of field to observe rather convincing environments, rich in detail but still very lisibles.La last week, a night mode arena was added and if changes not the way to deal with these games, it still helps to diversify the gaming experience Among the expectations for output, hopefully a French version will point the tip of his nose by March. The side of the Gods, Hi-Rez provides regular modern day models and capacities of characters in order to maintain artistic unity over updates. In short, nothing seems set in stone at the moment and today's changes may well be swept with a wave of the hand tomorrow for the sake of overall quality of the game