How to Play Smite – All the basics in one place

Smite is the third person MOBA developed by Hi-Rez Studios, creators of Tribes Ascend amongst other games. Unlike many of the competition in the MOBA field, it places the player right in the action, just over the shoulder of their chosen Smite character. 

If you haven’t played Smite before or you’re just looking for some more information before you take the plunge, here’s what you need to know in one handy Smite Guide.

What is Smite?

Smite is a free to play multiplayer battle arena game, similar in mechanics to Dota 2 or League of Legends. The main difference is that Smite is an over-the-shoulder third person action game, meaning that instead of clicking from the top down to activate abilities, you actually need to aim and take into account line of sight. If you want to know how many people play Smite, it’s continued to grow in popularity, meaning there’ll always be a game ready for you.

Is Smite free?

Absolutely, Smite is a free to play game meaning there’s no cost required when you start to play.

In Smite there are microtransactions, most of which are cosmetic and many can be unlocked via play. The characters in Smite, called Gods, can also be earned through play or unlocked with ‘Favor’, an in-game currency.

However, for those with the ability to pay upfront, the Ultimate God Pack for Smite is a one-time purchase that unlocks all past, present, and future Gods for play.

The two in-game currencies are called Favor and Gems. Favor is earned through play and can be spent to unlock or rent Gods. If you want to know how to get Gems in Smite, you can purchase them, use promotional codes, complete offers, or achieve the daily reward. Gems are used primarily for purchasing cosmetics for your unlocked Gods.

Who are the Smite characters?

The entirety of Smite is based on mythology. This means that all characters are tied to real-world pantheons of Gods, or legendary heroes. All Smite players will take on the roles of these mythical beings.

For example, in Smite you can play as the Arthurian Merlin, Chinese Jing Wei, Egyptian Horus, Hindu Kali, amongst many more.

As a shorthand, characters in Smite are referred to as ‘Gods’.

Smite Beginner Guide – How to play Smite

Now you know a bit more about Smite and you’re tempted to give it a try, here are some tips and our guide to getting started.

The first step is to install the game. We would recommend making sure your computer can run it or choosing another system such as Xbox One or PlayStation 4 to start your Smite journey. Here are the PC system requirements:

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 7 64-bit or newer
• Processor: Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 2.7 GHz
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
• Storage: 30 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX compatible sound card

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 8/10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
• Processor: Intel Core i5 or AMD Phenom II X3, 2.8 GHz
• Memory: 6 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or ATI Radeon HD 7950
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 30 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX compatible sound card

After you’ve installed the game, it’s time to dive in. Thankfully Smite comes complete with a Tutorial and Training Arenas to familiarise yourself with the aspects and key gameplay features of Smite.

When you have completed the Tutorial you’ll be ready for your first match online. Don’t worry if you lose your first few matches, that’s entirely normal as you get acclimated to the game. Remember that it’s a team game and that you need to work with your team to win, if possible bring some friends who may know the game more than you to guide you the rest of the way. That’ll help you develop and learn your Smite strategy and get your Smite basics learned.

Now you should be ready to start your Smite career, playing matches, winning games, and finding out which roles suit you and which Gods are your favourites. If you need additional information on Smite Gods, characters, abilities, or simply some more tips and tricks you can check them out here.