In Smite's history, Hunters have not been known for their build diversity. There has generally been a single build, the one giving the highest DPS that has been considered the only build worth building, until Krett's Unicorn build in season one.

However, there are currently three builds that are considered viable and widely built. This gives a question that we have not had to think about much until now: In which situation do I use each build?

In this article, we will run through the builds, without going too deep into the specifics of each item. Then we will go through when each build should be built, and on which Gods.

1. Devourer’s Gauntlets Build

Strong points:

• High early game sustain
• Highest possible average DPS in end game

Weak points

• Lower damage early to mid-game than other builds until the build is finalized

Start off this build with Death’s Toll and Spiked Gauntlet. This gives high lifesteal for the very beginning of the game, and gives room for a health/mana potion of your choice. The downfall of this start is the minimal mana sustain, making this build a little hard for some gods.

After Devourer’s Gauntlet is finished, pick up either Warrior Tabi or Ninja Tabi. This point is personal preference, as there is only a 3% dps difference between them, in favour of Ninja Tabi, although Warrior Tabi gives that extra scaling power sometimes needed to fully clear a wave with a single ability.

Here, we have a couple of choices. If you are behind, and need assistance in boxing, Ichaival is handy to remove their power and give you extra, while giving some needed attack speed and penetration.

If you are ahead, and have quite a bit of gold, you can bypass the Ichaival and go straight for The Executioner. This item has power, attack speed, and all the penetration you’ll ever need, and is a must have in every Hunter build due to the importance of penetration.

Then we get to the crit items, the real items that give hunters that late game power spike. Rage gives the highest DPS from a single crit item, so you want to buy that first. Then jump into Deathbringer to give that massive 140% crit damage increase. These two items combined with Executioner make up the 3 item core that is any Hunter build, and will be seen on each one along with Tabi. They give massive amounts of damage that currently is unparalleled by any build that does not include crit chance.

After those are all built, if you have bought Ichaival, your items slots are all filled. In this case, sell Ichaival when you have enough gold to build the item you want. You have a few choices here. If you need more damage, Malice is the optimal item, and will give the highest possible DPS. If you are finding yourself dying a lot, Soul Eater gives more lifesteal, and also gives extra health and physical protection. It will increase your survivability, but your damage will definitely suffer. Titan’s Bane is also an option when against multiple tanky enemies. In theory, if the enemies are grouped Odysseus Bow (O-bow) will give the highest dps of any item, but the enemies have to be grouped, otherwise it is easily outclassed by other items.

Team Dignitas’ iRens used this build with some modification at Super Regionals, buying Asi in the place of Ichaival. The extra lifesteal makes you very difficult to box, especially when Asi’s passive activates.

To summarise: Death’s Toll – Devourer’s Gauntlet – Warrior/Ninja Tabi – Ichaival – The Executioner – Rage – Deathbringer – (Selling Ichaival)Malice/Soul Eater/Titan’s Bane/(in very few situations) O-Bow

2. Transcendence

Strong points:

• Large mana pool
• Spammable abilities
• High early to mid-game damage.

Weak points

• No health sustain early game except potions
• Relatively low lifesteal during whole game.

This build begins simply with Tier Two of Transcendence. Back that up with a couple of health potions, and a couple of mana potions and you are ready to stay in lane for as long as needed. Transcendence at max stacks gives the highest amount of physical power of any item, while giving you as much mana as you could ever need, making it an incredibly strong item. The one thing you have to keep in mind early-game is to watch how much poke you are taking, due to your lack of health sustain.

Finishing that, we head into either Tabi or Soul Eater, depending on how you are feeling in lane. After the first is finished, complete the other. Comfortably ahead? Tabi can give that extra movement speed and edge in a box over an enemy that doesn’t have them or Soul Eater. Otherwise, Soul Eater gives some great early game protections and lifesteal to sustain your laning. With these options however, the order does come down to personal preference in the long run, and will not make that great an impact on the game.

After those items, we get to the main damage of the build, the same core of The Executioner, Rage, and Deathbringer.

Then we come to the super late-game option. If you have even gold, and want more damage, you can sell Transcendence for Malice, as late-game, your mana consumption should be easily kept in check without the Transcendence. Again, you could sell it for another lifesteal item, such as Asi, but it will drop your dps. Odysseus Bow is another option. In theory, if the enemies are grouped O-Bow will give the highest dps of any item, but the enemies have to be grouped otherwise it is easily outclassed by other items.

To summarise: Transcendence – Tabi/Soul Eater – Tabi/Soul Eater – The Executioner – Rage – Deathbringer – (sell Transcendence) Malice/Asi/(in a very few cases)O-Bow

3. Boots Rush Build

Strong points

• Fast early power spike
• No stacking required.

Weak points

• Lower mid-game damage due to no stack item power
• Low early game sustain.

This build started after the recent Bluestone Pendant buff, and has now started seeing a lot of use, even with Death’s Toll instead of Bluestone Pendant.

Start with either Bluestone Pendant or Death’s Toll, and tier one Tabi. Then pick up as many potions as you see fit, usually 2-3 of each. The decision on Death’s Toll and Bluestone Pendant depends on your god. The Hunters with multiple damaging abilities (i.e. Neith, Ullr) benefit greatly from bluestone, as they can clear the wave incredibly fast, and gain a lot of extra damage. The other hunters that only have 1 non-ultimate, non-escape ability that procs Bluestone (i.e. Xbalanque, Apollo) benefit greatly off of the mana and health sustain from Death’s Toll.

After Tabi are finished, build into Soul Eater, then Ichaival, then the core of The Executioner, Rage and Deathbringer.

We then come to selling Ichaival again. Here we have the option of Malice, for triple crit to give maximum damage, or more lifesteal – Asi. This depends on how the game is going, and what you feel you need.

To summarise: Bluestone Pendant/Death’s Toll – Ninja/Warrior Tabi – Soul Eater – Ichaival – The Executioner – Rage – Deathbringer – (sell Ichaival) Malice/Asi

Which God, Which Build?

Now we know the builds, we need to know which god uses each build optimally.

Devourer’s Gauntlet Build

The gods using this build will be the auto-attack heavy gods, due to their ability to exploit the early lifesteal, and their tendency to be more late-game focused gods works with the highest late-game damage build.

Apollo, Rama, Xbalanque*.

Transcendence Build

This build is great for the mana-heavy gods, and gods looking for strong early to mid-game pressure. It is also great for players who have trouble conserving their mana, and is great to use while learning.

Anhur, Artemis, Ah Muzen Cab, Cupid, Hou Yi, Medusa, Neith, Ullr**, Xbalanque*.

Boots Rush Build

Use of this build again has a lot to do with personal preference. The early power spike and the early game strength of starter items (Bluestone Pendant/Death’s Toll) can give it an edge over the other builds. This edge however, makes you give up the mana sustain of Transcendence. Also, if you feel like the enemy team composition is particularly threatening in the early game, you can forgo some potions to buy Beads right out of the gate.

Chiron, Hou Yi, Medusa, Neith, Ullr**.

Some Gods have been placed in multiple categories due to their ability to function well with both builds.

* Xbalanque has been placed in two builds, as the optimal build depends on the player’s use of Branching Bolas. If the player uses them from the beginning of the game, Transcendence is the build of choice, while if the player uses them sparingly, Devourer’s Gauntlet is the best build.

** Ullr has also been placed in two builds. Ullr can be very powerful with Bluestone Pendant, having 4 abilities that can proc it. Unfortunately, using so many abilities requires a lot of mana, so I would recommend transitioning into the Transcendence build before finishing Tabi with Ullr, if the Tabi rush build is chosen.

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