The Smite 2 Beta is now officially out for everyone. When the news for Smite 2 first came out, I was confused. I’ve been playing Smite since 2015, and I think the game and the graphics hold up quite well. However, Smite runs on Unreal Engine 3, which is extremely outdated. It’s so outdated that it no longer receives any support. Moving to Unreal Engine 5 for Smite 2 not only gives Hi-Rez support for the engine but also allows them to hire more devs to work on the game.

Smite is a third-person MOBA where players can play over a hundred different deities across multiple pantheons in five team-based game modes. Smite 2 has the same game modes but it does not have the over one hundred deities in its roster. However, Smite 2 has three deities that will not be available in Smite. 

The Updates

Smite 2 builds upon Smite’s game modes to make them feel fresh but the same. 

Smite’s Esports game mode Conquest has had the most updates. While it is still the same general MOBA 3-lane split map, the map itself has changed. There are fewer walls to make it easier to navigate the jungle. New XP camps and mini-bosses enhance game progression. The Fire Giant, a staple in Conquest, now drops a new item that can be used by whoever picks it up for 15% increased damage and attack speed for 6s at the cost of 500 health. If the user dies upon taking that 500 health hit, the effects of the buff are doubled. New jungle camp bosses include a Cyclops that drops a ward and a Scorpion boss that pings the enemy team’s location on the map.

Other updates have been made to Assault and Arena, but they aren’t too game-changing. Both game modes added grass patches that allow players to hide from enemies at the center of each map. I’m not sure why this was introduced, as it adds nothing to gameplay, but it’s there now. However, in Assault, the devs added a teleporter at the base camp that allows players to teleport closer to the team. This allows recently respawned players to quickly get back into action. 

The game now informs players when enemies cannot be CC’d by highlighting them in yellow with bold text. While it’s nice to know when you can and cannot stun enemies, I think it takes a bit of the fun away. The rush from killing an enemy comes from successfully gambling on my prey not having beads ready to block my CC abilities. 

New Gameplay Feature

Smite 2 added a new feature called God Aspects. These God Aspects can be selected upon character selection and slightly alter a character’s gameplay. As of now, only half of the characters in Smite 2 have God Aspects. When playing with a character with one of these toggled on, interesting changes happen to a god’s kit. For example, Athena’s aspect allows her to use her ultimate ability to travel to an enemy instead of an ally. Normally, I’d use Athena’s ult to teleport to my team during a team push. When I use her aspect, I have to think twice before rushing in.

Updated Look?

As of now, the UI is pretty barebones. However, I hope that the team will build from Smite’s UI instead of making it look modern for the sake of making it modern.

I’m on the fence with the graphic upgrades. While the skins look better in-game, some character models don’t. Neith, one of the oldest gods, is the god who has changed the most from her original model to the new one. I like her face more in the original Smite, but I do like the upgrades made to her clothing and armor. Her default armor in Smite 2 is much more sculpted and has luster compared to her outfit in Smite. The other gods don’t look too different from their Smite counterparts, except for Cupid, who received a complete model rework. Goodbye, big-head baby. 

Unfortunate Reality

While a revamp was needed to breathe some fresh air into the player base, I can’t help but be bummed out that I will lose access to some of my favorite skins from Smite. The team mentioned that it would take about 250 years of work to port all 1,600 skins to Smite 2. Understandably, many of the older skins won’t be available. While I’m sure Hi-Rez will release more cool skins inspired by the old ones and through collaborations in the future, I will miss Invader Zim Cupid. 

Smite 2 Beta is available on Steam, XBOX, PSN, and Epic Games.

By Natalie

I've been gaming since my dad brought home a PS1. Nowadays, I spend my time glam farming in FFXIV, playing gachas, and waiting for the next game from ATLUS.