The third-person perspective of Smite can be deceiving; it’s tempting, even for experienced players, to treat the average game of Conquest like yet another kill-oriented action game. Even when the game is treated with the proper strategic depth, however, there is an aspect of this strategy that many players miss: the innate economy of the game.

The idea of a within-round economy springs from the MOBA genre’s roots, in real-time strategy modification kits like Defense of the Ancients for Warcraft III and Aeon of Strife in Starcraft. While Smite bears little obvious relation to an isometric RTS, the idea of resource management as a gameplay aspect remains significant in both. In a game like Warcraft, this takes the form of commodities like lumber, while in Smite the primary currencies are gold and experience (XP).

These details, of course, are known to even bronze-level Smite players; the idea of gold and XP as valuable supplies is introduced in the very first tutorial. The problem is found in the common notion that gold and XP are generally passive; in other words, many players play as though gold and XP will trickle to them at a steady and sufficient rate, no matter what they do, and it’s better to focus on offense and defense than on efficient farming. The truth is that efficient farming and careful attention to the in-game economy can create huge advantages, and separate good players from great players. Higher XP translates to better stats, upgraded abilities, and faster 2nd relic access, while higher gold income lets a player acquire items faster, as well as providing quick access to time-sensitive stacking passives and game-changing pickups like Soul Reaver or Rod of Tahuti.

So, if maximizing gold and XP income is so important, how do you do it? Well, the truth is easier said than done: the key to getting the most out of the Smite economy is to always be taking in some kind of farm. Like I said, it’s easier said than done, but this is a truth that many new players fail to grasp. Low-level players, especially junglers, have a deadly tendency to wander around with no clear goal in mind. Take the opportunity to watch a pro player in a tournament or stream; no motion is wasted in the early game. They never leave lane without a defined purpose, and if they realize the situation has changed they immediately move back to their assigned position to keep farming. As soon as they clear a minion wave, they’ll dash back to clear buff camps, or team up with their jungler to clear mid harpies. No time or effort is wasted; every second goes towards picking up more gold and XP. To understand how to farm efficiently, however, we’ll have to dive a little farther into the numbers and mechanics.

First, a few basics: if you’re laning, the minions in your lane will be your primary source of income. If you’re jungling, buff camps will be your gold and XP opportunities. Always try to be as efficient with these income sources as possible: don’t back with full health and mana in the middle of a creep wave, and don’t try and force an inopportune gank if there’s camps to be taken. Now, with that out of the way…

According to the Word of Thoth, the community-maintained Smite mechanics bible, the average minion wave of three melee minions and three ranged minions is worth somewhere between 80 and 120 gold, depending on last hits. Back harpy camps reward slightly less than a full wave, while mid camps and buff camps reward approximately the same. A kill, meanwhile, according to the Smite wiki, will reward somewhere around 200 gold in the early-to-mid game, assuming no killstreaks or bounties are active.

Well, that was an avalanche of numbers, and we haven’t even talked about experience yet, but what does it all mean? Well, let’s look at things in practical terms. Let’s suppose you’re playing a mid-lane mage like Janus, and you decide to rotate to duo lane, which is under significant pressure. Let’s also assume that whatever the result of your rotation, a total of two enemy minion waves die under tower while you’re busy heading to duo and rotating back. This means that you’ve lost about 200 gold already. In addition, if we suppose that your opposing mid laner stayed in lane and kept farming your waves while you were gone, they’ve gained an additional 200 gold from farming your minion waves. This puts you a total of 400 gold in “debt” just for making the rotation to duo.

Does this mean you shouldn’t rotate? Not at all! Let’s say your rotation is successful and you pick up a kill. You’ve already made back about 200 gold, and your ADC and Support just picked up half the kill gold in assist rewards. In addition, you’re denying the dead enemy player farm while he’s dead. This means that, resource-wise, you should at least break even with your rotation, and the intangible relief of pressure and greater lane control in the duo lane puts your team well into the positive.

So what’s the point of our little case study? Well, if anything, it should impress upon you the idea of Smite as a system of resources. You can think of staying in lane and clearing minions as a baseline, or a typical income. If you’re going to leave lane and deviate from that typical scenario, you should have one of two reasons for doing so: either minion waves are cleared and you have another source of gold to tap, like buff camps or the gold fury; or there’s something to do that’s worth more than its weight in gold, like helping a pursued ally or returning to base to avoid instant death.

This may all seem a little strange, and maybe not even particularly helpful. In fact, there’s even more details to this system that I haven’t covered, like leeching minion waves after rotation and proper buff camp order and splitting techniques! Instead of worrying about specific situations, however, think about the example above and how it relates to your typical game: any time you make a laning-phase decision, think to yourself, “What am I getting out of this?” If the answer isn’t gold and XP for the team, you might want to reconsider.

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