As with all MOBAs, knowledge of certain mechanics are what sets the novice players, experienced players, and professional players apart. These mechanics may seem like small, unnecessary changes to your playstyle, but will overall impact the games of novices and experienced players alike. In this article, I will be comparing different magical penetration item choices, and evaluating which one is best for a certain god.

What is Penetration?

If you’re an experienced Smite player, you should already know what penetration is, but here’s a quick recap. Penetration essentially counters protections, which reduces the damage a god takes from each attack or skill. For this guide, we will be talking the penetration associated with magical damage and protections.

Protection is calculated with the following formula:
([Damage done] x 100) / (100 + [Target’s armour])
Let’s do an example with 800 base damage, and 50 protections
(800 x 100) / (100 + 50)
= 80000 / 150
= 533.333333333

With just 50 protections, so only a Heartward Amulet, the opponent has just mitigated 267 damage from you. This is why penetration is so important. With this formula, we see that protections experience diminishing, meaning that the more protections you build, the less effective it is. It is important to note the order that penetration is calculated.

% Protection Reduction
Flat Protection Reduction
% Protection Penetration
Flat Protection Penetration

In this case, a Void Stone’s 15 protection reduction applies first, then Obsidian Shard’s 33% penetration, and then a Shoes of the Magi’s 15 penetration.

What Item Choices Are There?

Currently, there are 6 penetration item choices in Smite.

Shoes of the Magi

1700 Gold
45 Magical Power
10 Penetration
18% Movement Speed

Spear of the Magus

2150 Gold
40 Magical Power
15 Penetration
PASSIVE - Enemies hit by your damaging abilities have their magical protection reduced by 10 and an additional 10% for 5 seconds (Maximum 2 stacks)

Obsidian Shard

2050 Gold
70 Magical Power
PASSIVE - You gain +33% Magical Penetration.

Demonic Grip

2280 Gold
60 Magical Power
25% Attack Speed
PASSIVE - Your Basic Attacks reduce your target's Magical Protection by 7% and an additional 5 points for 3 seconds (max. 3 Stacks).

Dynasty Plate Helm

1750 Gold
30 Magical Power
30 Magical Protection
15 Penetration

Void Stone

2350 Gold
40 Magical Power
50 Magical Protection
AURA - Reduces the Magical Protection of enemies within 55 units by 15.

The Spear versus Shard Argument

Mostly, it comes down to gods who can utilize each item well, but Spear of Magus and Obsidian Shard has caused a huge controversy as they are mainly used on the same type of god, high damage burst mages. First, we will look at the numbers for Spear of the Magus and Obsidian Shard. The difference between the two items aside from penetration is only 100 gold, which is easily negligible, and a mere 30 Magical Power, which is also negligible once you consider items such as Rod of Tahuti which give 125 Magical Power in addition to a percentage increase overall. Therefore, we will be looking at only penetration in this guide.

Spear of Magus
Spear of Magus is the more popular choice due to the abundance of gods that can use it to its full potential at 2 stacks. At two stacks, it provides a flat 35 magical penetration (although 20 of it is actually reduction), and an additional 20%. It is also important to note that Spear of Magus affects the enemy and lowers their protections, meaning that magical teammates also deal more damage to them.

Obsidian Shard
Obsidian Shard is the choice for gods who cannot utilize the full benefit of Spear of Magus stacks, or if the enemy team build insane protections to warrant percentage penetration (33%) higher than the flat penetration of Spear, as its penetration is based off the enemy’s protections. It is important to note that Obsidian Shard affects the god it is built on, meaning that other teammates receive no benefit.

In the end, which is better? Take a look at this chart by /u/Akasora, which provides a visual as to when each item shines.

We see that a Spear of Magus with no stacks is surpassed by Obsidian Shard at about 50 protections. A Spear with one stack is surpassed at 110 protections. Finally a fully stacked spear is surpassed only at a whopping 270 protections.

The conclusion? The choice of item is dependant upon the protection the enemies have, and if the god can quickly output damaging abilities to apply the stacks of Spear. In terms of protections, Spear is mostly built on gods who can utilize it fully, so Shard on a god who can utilize Spear is rarely seen. As mentioned above, protection experiences diminishing, so 270 protections is never seen, because health would be better at that point.

In the end, it comes down to gods who can utilize it well.

Shoes of the Magi
This item really comes down to one thing. Does your god need cooldown reduction or early mana? If not, Shoes of the Magi is the way to go. Typically, unless you're playing a god such as Janus or Geb, who benefits more from cooldowns than 10 penetration, you'll want to go for these. Even on some bruiser-type guardians such as Ymir, Magi is the way to go.

Spear of Magus
As stated before, it comes down to gods who can activate both stacks of this item. Gods with damage over time abilities like Posiedon's Whirlpool (3) or Ah Puch's Fleeting Breath (3) can easily activate both stacks. Alternatively, gods who can spam skills within a short amount of time such as Chang'e with cooldown can also take advantage of Spear.

Obsidian Shard
Obsidian Shard is mainly for gods who cannot activate both of Spear's stacks. Scylla is a perfect example of this. Her combo consists of her Sic' Em (1), then Crush (2). Crush will hit with only 1 stack of Spear, applying the second stack, but then she has no follow up aside from her Ultimate. With these types of gods, Shard is primarily the better choice. Alternatively, you can get it if someone on your team already has Spear and you want to sacrifice consistancy for more damage.

Demonic Grip
Are you playing an auto-attack oriented god, such as Freya or Chronos? You'll probably want Demonic Grip. The passive is a weaker version of Spear's passive and lacks the flat penetration, but offers more power and attack speed to make up for it. You should build this item if attack speed is more valuable than power, for a god like Freya, her damage is based on how many attacks she is able to get off during her Pulse (2), so attack speed indirectly increases her damage. However, both items are also a viable build, if preferred.

Void Stone / Dynasty Plate Helm
With these two items, you are looking for a god who wants to be a bit tanky, and to benefit from the Magical Protection they provide. In the case of Void Stone, you also need to get up close for the aura effect. Void Stone is the more preferred item between the two, as it provides better stats for a bit more gold, and it is more late-game oriented. Gods like Ymir or Xing Tian are great canidates.

Overall, penetration is always useful and building the right item for your god can make all the difference.

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