A Selection for Support: A SMITE Guide to Choosing a God for Support
Support is an important role, but like many others, the God choices are diverse!
In Smite, Support tends to be the least loved role. It is usually a last resort that a player is given when their preferred role has already been taken. I've seen a variety of responses to being given the Support role from 'I don't care' to 'I can't play Support'. Personally, I quite enjoy the role of Support, yet as many others, I prefer to play other roles over Support.
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Arguably one of the most important roles, although the Support does not normally throw out large amounts of damage, they will absorb a lot of damage, 'zone', use Crowd Control to help teammates secure kills and more. The Support is often relied on by teammates to set up kills and initiate fights, therefore it is vital to choose a God that can do this well, but that you are comfortable playing.
Support it not necessarily a boring role, there is actually a wide range of Gods that can be played in this role. Of course, you should ensure that your teammates agree with your God choice, as a happy team generally makes a good team. However, players often prefer to get kills themselves than help teammates secure kills.
Guardians
When someone says 'Support', most of us will think about the Guardian class. These Gods generally can take a lot of damage, and have abilities in their kit that help others, such as Crowd Control (Kumbhakarna's Mighty Yawn, Athena's Confound), or ally buffs (Fafnir's Coerce; Geb's Stone Shield). They normally have a low damage output, but can protect allies and set up favourable combinations or situations for them and their teammates alike. For example, Ares can use his Ultimate – No Escape, and then other teammates can use AoE abilities, like Cupid’s Fields of Love or Poseidon’s Release the Kraken, to damage a group of Gods at once.
Bacchus' Belly Flop is not only terrifying, but also provides good Crowd Control (knock-up)
Warriors
If your team is heavily Magical damage based, you may not wish to have a Guardian as your Support, as this adds another Magical God to your team. Warriors are a common choice for Support if your ADC is Magical (eg Chronos, Freya, Sol), as not only does it give you diversity in your lane, but it also will help to balance your team's overall Magical to Physical damage ratio. Similarly to Guardians, Warriors are also capable of taking a lot of damage and are naturally tanky (yet not as tanky as Guardians). However unlike Guardians, Warriors are able to throw out some damage alongside being tanky. When choosing your Warrior, you should think about the amount of Crowd Control in their kit as this will help you and your teammate in lane, and your entire team later in the game.
Healers
A less common choice, especially in higher ranked play, healers can also be played in the Support role. Gods such as Aphrodite, Ra, and Hel may be a good selection. Although you might lack Crowd Control or a general 'tankiniess', this can be compensated by strong healing. Also, you will want to build protections in order to stay alive and be able to heal your ADC – you’re no use if you’re dead! However, this does not mean that you must exclusively build protections and healing items. You should start with these items for durability in lane but can branch out into Cooldown Reduction or Damage later in your build if necessary. You will want some strong group healing, rather than minor healing, and a chance to provide at least some Crowd Control.
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Other
Other Gods can be placed into the Support role, but you must be careful as to how you play them. A good God to place in the Support role will have strong Crowd Control, in order to help your ADC to secure kills. You should build slightly tanky so that you can zone and absorb damage efficiently. This means your team will not be put at a disadvantage due to your uncommon God choice for the Support role. Depending on your skill level, you can make just about any God work in the Support role. From Nu Wa to Ne Zha, Fenrir to Nemesis – with the right knowledge of the God and the right build, you can make just about anything work. You should think about any Crowd Control in your chosen God’s kit, your skill level and confidence in playing the God, and potentially think about any synergy with your ADC.
As previously mentioned, before making a more ‘controversial’ choice of God, you should consult team members. It is unlikely that everyone will agree with your choice. However, if the majority of your team support you, and you are confident to try something more unusual, then take the chance!
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