Here you are scrolling through the God selection screen trying to determine which God you'll play and in what role. Roles are being called and the role that you usually play and your back-up have both been taken. You aren't used to playing the open roles and despite your best efforts in explaining this to your lobby, you're stuck with what is left. You play a few Gods in each class, but currently the ones you play aren't going to work well with the enemies' line-up, nor are they relevant in the current meta. Let's touch base with what Gods can be interchanged for others' roles that will help you in your quest to be the very best. (Pun intended)

Generally, most people will fault you and ask why you're playing ranked if you can't play all roles, and in some sense, they may have an argument. However, you can play different classes in other roles. Let's go through a few scenarios where this may work for you.

The Support Role

For now, we can start in the duo lane. You are locked in with the support role and no one is willing to switch. You mostly play mid (usually a Mage) and sometimes play jungle (generally an Assassin). You're pretty good with one or two Guardians but you're countered pretty heavily or the ones that you main are banned out. So instead of picking a Guardian, let's see what can be a viable option to possibly help the current situation. The enemy has the standard Hunter/Guardian combo. Looking at the rest of your team composition, there is a little bit of leeway on who you can choose. Let's look at 3!

One of the more obvious choices would be Baron Samedi. He is a very viable option currently because his kit is super helpful in pushing lane, teamfights, and protecting your carry. His root and slow in his Wrap It Up (Ability 3) is crucial to his setup. If you're being ganked, you will want to be spamming your abilities so you can build up Hysteria on the enemy Gods. All of Baron's abilities have bonus consequences when the enemy God is over 30 Hysteria. Being ambushed and having your 3rd ability handy will not only slow them down, but enemies who are too close to your target will also be rooted and dealt the damage immediately. This can make or break your carry escaping.

Using Consign Spirits (Ability 2) with your third ability will also heal your teammate with a flat heal and a percentage of health that is missing. In some cases, a little health is all that is needed to completely turn a fight in your favor. If the enemy God is above 30 Hysteria when struck with the 2, then your allies will be cleansed of any slows and their movement speed will be increased by 25%! (That's 5% more than Heavenly Wings.) As far as Baron's Ultimate Life of the Party (Ability 4), he can use that to initiate a fight or drag the enemies away from his teammates. If the Hysteria is above 30, then the pull strength on this ability is increased. Baron has great peel, does a bit of healing, and is one of those mages who can definitely get away with building tanky. He still hits pretty hard and with a little cooldown reduction, he can spam his abilities quite often.

Counters for Baron include and aren't limited to:

Sobek: When Baron ults, Sobek can in return ult with Lurking in the Waters, and he can swim into Baron's casket to stop the ult prematurely and will CC immune the stun.

Ravana: For Baron's Wrap It Up ability as well as his ultimate, Ravana can use his second ability (Overhead Kick) to increase his movement speed and become CC immune for a duration, avoiding the root and the stun/ultimate.

Thoth: Thoth has safe damage and can drop Baron's HP quickly if Baron isn't careful since he doesn't have an escape and relies on the movement speed that Consign Spirits (Ability 2) grants him if the enemy God is above 30 Hysteria. Thoth isn't CC immune but his abilities allow him to be at a safe distance to shut Baron down.

Cabrakan: Baron relies on his Wrap It Up (Ability 3) to be able to root and slow his enemy to combo, while Cabrakan's Seismic Crush (Ability 1) is active he is immune to Roots and Slows for a short duration.

Baron works well with:

Chernobog: Chernobog has a pretty great combo for rooting enemies by using Crystallized Curses (Ability 1) and detonating it with Vicious Barrage (Ability 2) but if he misses he will have the back up from Baron's Wrap It Up (Ability 3) root to help speed things along. Since Baron isn't the most generic support and does lack a getaway, Chernobog has two options to escape. Into Darkness (Ability 3) which is a special dash where he can hide in a player made/map wall, and he can also utilize Living Nightmare (Ability 4) to fly over to a more ally-rich part of the map to safety.

Ullr: Ullr's rapid succession of ability pairs well with Baron in the duo lane. Although mana hungry early, he can make quick use of Baron's root with his combo. He can sustain as well with Baron's healing and he also has an escape that will allow him to flee if need be.

However if Baron is banned out, there are other Mage options that would work.

Hera is great as well since she Polymorphs (Ability 2) enemy Gods into a Monster on the map 2 seconds ((at max rank.) 1.2/1.4/1.6/1.8/2s) while applying a 20% slow. They also aren't allowed to use basic attacks or abilities. This ability could definitely save a carry and/or the team during a teamfight. It will stop the opposing Hunter/Assassin from hitting you and your carry with damaging abilities and basic attacks while aiding you by giving you time to escape or cause damage upon them. She is very good at turning a fight because she can buy you some time, which is an amazing advantage to have during a teamfight. If you do build her Hybrid versus Tanky, she still has Divine Shroud (Ability 3) to help her. She gains a buff and a shield for a short duration (5 Seconds of shield life). She gains a 15% speed buff as well, which is super helpful since she does not have an escape ability. Royal Assault (Ability 1) is a super strong ability that hits twice if Argus connects with the enemy.

Her ultimate (Ability 4) Argus, The Defender is a great tool to do damage at a distance. She can target an enemy with Argus and recall him as she wishes. His attack chain is as follows. His first is a normal basic, second attack goes into a ground circle AoE which slows enemies for 20% for 1 second, and his third is a line attack. If Hera activates her 3rd Ability (Divine Shroud), Argus deals an Aura Damage and his movement speed is increased by 50%. This is amazing in a teamfight as a support because it gives the enemy a distraction to deal with while your teammates either decide to engage or retreat. Also Commanding Presence (Passive) enables Hera to deal damage to Gods with abilities or Basics which then cause Argus' CD to reduce by 1s and her Divine Shroud (Ability 3) to be reduced by .33s. If Argus is active however, he is healed instead (20+5 per level).

Counters for Hera include and aren't limited to:

Agni: Agni can Rain Fire (Ability 4) as great distances. Although Hera's movement speed can be increased by her Divine Shroud (Ability 3), if it is down, Agni has a low CD ultimate that can easily bring her health low in a teamfight. He also can avoid her abilities since he can stay a safe distance away. He can stun her frequently with a combination of his abilities which will allow the enemies to pile on her.

Fenrir: Ragnarok (Ability 4) in particular can carry Hera to wherever he wants, either to other teammates to slay her or away from his allies to protect them. Either way, she will be out of the teamfight where her abilities are needed. Since she does not have an escape, Fenrir's Brutalize (Ability 3) which allows him to stay on a target can help in shred her (a potential counter to this ability is to hit Polymorph (Ability 2) to be able to change him into a monster and interrupt the casting). Unchained (Ability 1) can also stun Hera, leaving her open to attack.

Athena: Athena is a strong support that can turn fights with her Confound (Ability 2, referred to as Taunt). At max rank, she can hold Hera still for 2 full seconds. That is 2 seconds she isn't able to control herself or Argus. Depending on how often this ability is up, Hera may be forced to stay as far back as possible. Defender of Olympus (Ability 4) allows Athena to globally travel to an ally, while mitigating 20% of damage taken during her descent. If Hera sends Argus on an enemy far away, Athena can ult to her Ally and help mitigate the damage, which may force Hera to recall Argus early.

Hera works well with:

Achilles: Fatal Strike (Ability 4) works well with Argus in particular. It allows him to execute Gods within threshold. Argus deals a lot of damage in a large AoE, and if he is not handled, he can easily take down the enemy team's squishies. Achilles can capitalize on this. His abilities hit very hard, and he can execute up to five times in succession.

Xbalanque: Although Hera plays back because of the length of her abilities, Xbal can go in, do damage, and safely leave with Rising Jaguar (Ability 3). He is CC immune during this ability, so even though he puts himself in harm's way, he has his escape and Hera's Polymorph in case he gets stuck. Xbal can also use Darkest of Nights (Ability 4) to combo with all of Hera's kit. Enemies are shrouded in darkness for 3 seconds and if Argus is on the field and on an enemy, he can get off quite a bit of damage freely. It also helps his allies get away, because enemy Gods are forced to stop at the last tick of his Ultimate or be stunned for 1.5 seconds.

Nox can also be utilized as a support and you can rush a bit of cooldown reduction if you're going tanky, so even with her cons (if you miss your abilities you're sort of a sitting duck), you'll still be able to spam her Silence (Ability 2, Siphon Darkness) and her Root (Ability 1, Shadow Lock). Her silence lasts 2 full seconds and her Root does as well. If used separately that will give you between two and four seconds to help your teammate or yourself out of a sticky situation. With the full or high CDR, Flame of the Night (Passive) will be helpful. For every ability she uses, a candle on her candelabra is lit. Each lit candle gives Nox +3% Magical Power. However, when Nox takes damage from an enemy God, one of her candles will be blown out.

Luckily, she has an escape which can also act as a double damage dealing ability. In the support role, you'll want to stay tanky since your base stats are lower due to you still being a Mage, but depending on how the game is going you may be able to toss in some power and/or pen in your build. Shadow Step (Ability 3) allows Nox to dash into enemies. On contact she does damage. If she connects with an allied God, she leaps into their shadow and can stay in them for a short duration. When Nox exits the shadow of her ally, she deals damage again in an AoE in a radius around her. She can stay in her ally for the whole duration or can cancel it early. Night Terror (Ability 4) is very helpful in a teamfight. She can use it to reduce the amount of damage output on carries upon contact. Their damage is reduced by 40% for 5 seconds, which can save a teammate from an enemy ADC who has been weakened. This ability deals significant damage on hit, as well as damage over time.

Counters for Nox include and aren't limited to:

Cabrakan: Like previously mentioned before with Baron, Cabrakan is Root immune while his first ability is active. This allows him to run right into Nox, leaving her stunned.

Chiron: Training Exercise allows him to cleanse allies with .3 seconds of CC immunity, which will give them time to escape Nox's combo.

Geb: Stone Shield grants CC immunity when places on an ally who has been CC'd. This can help with Nox's combo. It can also help save his other allies from her damaging abilities. A few more ticks of Night Terror? No problem! Geb shield will eat the damage.

Hel: Hel's Cleanse (Ability 2) will allow her to cleanse allies from Nox's abilities. She can also use her Restoration (Ability 1) and her Inspire (Ability 2) as heals for her allies who are afflicted with Nox's Night Terror.

Nox works well with:

Athena: Athena's Confound (Ability 2) taunts enemies into her for a duration, which allows Nox to silence the area. Unless they use Purification Beads, they are stuck to take the damage of Nox and her allies.

Medusa: Medusa's Viper Shot (Ability 1) hits hard, and while Nox is holding an enemy God still, Medusa can unload each shot and her other abilities on the target. While Nox has her Siphon Darkness on enemies, they won't be able to dash/leap/teleport/etc. away from Medusa. Medusa's Petrify (Ability 4) will land on all targets in the area, dealing damage and slowing for three seconds. If they're facing her, they are instead stunned for 2 seconds. Nox can use her root on enemies who are stunned, letting Medusa to finish them off.

Neith: Again, Nox can hold them still and Neith's ability damage isn't something to be ignored. Nox's combo into a Neith Spirit Arrow (Ability 1) will either leave your enemy dead or close. Neith can finish them off with World Weaver (Ability 4) and Nox can help with her long-range ultimate as well.

Final Thoughts

There are many options within Smite that work for role viability and there are some that don't. We started in the duo lane with the support role. Stay tuned for the other roles and other ways you can make Gods work in your benefit in upcoming posts.

Like our content? Support us by getting our merchandise in our shop