Smite Year 11 in-depth panel highlights

The announcement of Smite 2 has certainly been the biggest news of the SWC X weekend, but that doesn’t mean that Smite has been forgotten. In fact, there are so many exciting things to look forward to that we felt like it deserved it’s own separate news post. Smite 1 isn’t going anywhere, and with Smite 2 officially out in the open, we can see that a lot of the things happening in Smite 1 will be a bridge to Smite 2. The introduction of the Divine Legacy mechanic will reward players for their time, money and achievements in Smite 1, all of which will transfer to Smite 2. Your hours played, skins you have earned, mastery on Gods, and much more will all translate into Smite 2. It’s looking like you will get points for each year in Smite 1, and I am excited to see how this shakes out in Smite 2.

Smite players will also start seeing the all new Cross-Gen skins with Year 11. Cross-Gen skins will release in both Smite and Smite 2, and every Cross-Gen skin you earn or purchase in Smite will be waiting for you in Smite 2 once that God releases. The free Divine Legacy event will bring us 11 Cross-Gen skins, with the Untamed Bellona and Baddie Bat Jing Wei skin available in-game now. The cool thing about seeing these skins drop in Smite 1 means we are getting a sneak peak at some of the first Gods that will be launching with Smite 2. There will be another event called Immortal Honor that will run the full season, releasing 24 Cross-Gen skins which we will see 2 new ones each patch. Like previous year long events, you will have the option to “buy all” up front, or just purchase the skins you like the most as they release.

Speaking of Cross-Gen skins, the way Battle Passes work are changing. In the past Battle Passes would last a lot longer, but now Battle Passes will be called Cross-Gen Pass. These will be much shorter, with 1 dropping per patch, giving us a total of 11 new Cross-Gen skins. We got a glimpse of a sweet new Anubis skin, and a gorgeous Yemoja skin.

If you’re a hardcore Smite player like we are, you’re having a good weekend with all these announcements, as it feels like the devs and team have really listened to what players loved, and hated. Mages in solo lane dominated the last half of Year X, leaving most warrior mains feeling frustrated. Players have been asking to bring back hybrid items all year, and we’re seeing new versions of them come back for Year 11 with a reworked Void Shield and Blackthorn Hammer. Hopefully these changes will help warriors feel more impactful, and we’ll see the solo mage domination days come to an end. Lifesteal will also have a little rework, with out of combat regen being nerfed, and in-combat healing being buffed. Stacking items are changing for the better, instead of having to last hit minions, stacking items will all have certain requirements, such as hitting enemies or being hit by enemies, which will encourage players to start diving into fights both earlier and more often, instead of hanging back until you have your stacks built. For people who love Assault as much as I do, you’ll be happy to hear all stacking items will now be in Assault as well!

Before we dive into the Conquest changes, there are a few things that will feel a bit different this year. Recipes are gone, and in their place will be passive “shards” that you can buy that will give similar results. Too many people (myself included) just forgot to buy recipes, and while the benefits were great for early game, it doesn’t help if you don’t remember to buy it. Glyphs are seeing some impactful changes, and you are no longer restricted to a single glyph. If you have six glyph items in your build you can build a glyph on each one if so desired. Relics will now be upgradable for FREE by completing little quests, such as kill X amount of minions, but will still be purchasable via gold as well. There are two new wards, a raven that will scout a designated area revealing enemies seen on the way, and a placeable trap-like ward that will reveal a much smaller area than current wards, but when triggered will explode in an AoE that slows and reveal anyone in the area.

The Year 11 Conquest map didn’t change too much as far as setup, but there are quite a few new visual changes, and two brand new mechanics. First up are the comets, which the crowd absolutely loved and cheered for every single time one was shown in the reveal. Comets will start dropping 90 seconds into a Conquest match, as you attack them they drop gold and exp in little chunks that break off and any players in the area can pick them up. Once the comet is destroyed it will release the beloved Indra’s Scepter from S9. Teleporters will also spawn in 8 minutes into the game that will move anyone standing on them after a short delay. New chest monsters will pop in the jungle that drop a purple circle on the ground, allowing you to purchase any item from the item shop while standing in the circle. These circles will not let you heal or do anything other than shop. New Fire Giant mechanics will make it feel more like a raid boss, with beams that will lock on and follow players, and effigies that will spawn throughout the fight that can do damage to both the Fire Giant and the players near the effigy.

There was so much content revealed for Year 11 in Smite, and it’s clear to see that Smite 1 isn’t going anywhere, it won’t be abandoned, and we’re also able to start seeing how the Smite 2 transition will work with Smite 1. It’s a cool feeling to know everything you’re earning in Smite 1 will be waiting for you in Smite 2. We will also have Nut, the new hunter Goddess, to look forward to in Smite very soon. It’s looking like it will be another fun year with quite a few exciting changes. With something crazy like 7,000 hours and counting spent in Smite, this weekend has been an absolute dream for players like my husband and I.

We’ll be here all weekend, so stay tuned for our interviews and more coverage, including the Smite 2 dev deep-dive tomorrow!

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