Hi-Rez Studio has announced Smite Season Two today at the Smite World Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.
The biggest and most notable change for Season Two is the addition of a new Conquest map. The map is beginning player testing and will replace the existing Conquest map at the end of January.
The new map has several changes that will directly impact gameplay. First of all, some of the buff camps have moved around and there will be an addition of a new buff. Hi-Rez hasn’t officially stated what that buff will be, but it will be rolling out soon.
The second change with the new map, is the opening up of the Fire Giant camp to allow for better team fight maneuvering and to balance large area attacks. The Fire Giant also has a new set of abilities that encourage more player movement in the larger space.
Lastly, Hi-Rez is changing how leashing works in the jungle for all NPC camps. NPCs now can heal slowly over time after a player leashes the camp – forcing players to strategize on timing.
New Map to Refresh Smite Gameplay
With the new Conquest map, Hi-Rez set out to make a more immersive environment with key visual changes to refresh gameplay. Each temple has a visually distinct style, with Mount Olympus in the background of one and an erupting volcano behind the other. There’s a dark cloud of smoke and ash over the volcano, so that temple has a distinctly darker lighting scheme which also helps to visually differentiate between the two.
Aside from the temples, Hi-Rez also wanted to create a more visual differentiation of the short and long lanes to improve navigation. The short lane is now bordered by lava fields and the long lane features a vast beachside vista. The major NPC camps also received this update to help improve navigation.
The Fire Giant residing in a burned out temple, now features a column of smoke that can be seen all over the map. On the other side, the Gold Fury temple can also be seen from anywhere on the map by a golden statue on a tall column, highlighted by a golden beam from the sky. Both the lane and NPC camp changes should improve navigation and accessibility for new players.
New Cinematic Camp Spawns
Another major change in the new Conquest map is the addition of cinematic NPC spawns. The buff camps each have cinematic intros that reflect their powers. The Gold Fury spawns in one of the temples and flies around the map, finally landing in her camp.
Since the Fire Giant spawns late in the game, he’s now given a presence from the very beginning. He starts out in a chest, where players can hear him trying to break free and spawn. Once defeated, he turns to shattered rock. These new cinematics give each NPC a unique entrance to mark important turning points in the game.
Last but not least, most of the NPCs were graphically updated to match the immersion of the map. The Pheonixes were given a facelift and the buff camp NPCs were given a new look to better reflect each of their buffs.
At this time, Hi-Rez noted that they are working on updating other game types (mainly Arena) and updating older Gods, but haven’t announced any dates or specifics.
GameSkinny is at the Smite World Championship this weekend and will be bringing you the latest stories as they unfold.
Published: Jan 9, 2015 11:59 am