Every Smite game starts out the same. You spawn in, grab your items, clear the buff camps and head to lane. The laning phase in Smite can be pretty uneventful, but is extremely important in the grand scheme of things. A good laning phase can often be the decisive factor in a game, regardless of its runtime. There are plenty of common mistakes that can lead to a poor early game, but there are also some more advanced things to keep in mind when laning that minimise the risk of ganks. In this article I'll highlight some of the tactics related to the laning phase and how you can gain the advantage over your opponent, no matter what lane you find yourself in.

Warding:

As a general rule, wards should always be on the map. Later on in the game, where are they is not quite as important. But early on, they are extremely useful for knowing where the enemy team is. The map below shows some of the key places to ward early on in the game.

The red circles on this map show common ward places.

These wards are essential for playing aggressively. If you find yourself straying to the enemies' side of the map without wards, chances are you're going to be picked off. Even when in lane, a gank is far easier when you're far away from your tower. The ward in the middle of the map is especially useful for knowing the movement patterns of the enemy jungler. If you see the jungler leaving the middle lane, you should retreat and be cautious until they show up in mid again. Also remember, before you do anything risky, like engaging on your opponent, make sure you know exactly where everyone is.

Regardless of the role you're playing, you should always be putting wards around the map. Remember each team member can only place 2 wards, so the whole process is a team effort. Often supports have to ward objectives, so it's up to the rest of the team to ward their lanes. Overall warding is key to having a safe early game.

Positioning:

Where you place yourself in the lane is a small detail, but an incredibly important one. You can give junglers a hard time if you position yourself properly when in the lane. It's much harder for characters with leaps to catch you if you stay on the outside edge of a lane. A good example of this is Serqet. Her leap has a range of 65ft, which isn't enough distance to reach the edge of the lane from behind a wall. This means she can't jump into lane and use Last Breath on you straight away. On top of this, it also gives you more time to react. If you see the enemy jungler coming, you'll be prepared to deal with most things.

When moving up the lane, continue to stay on the outside edge. If you need to move to the middle to clear the wave, make sure to return to the edge once it's been cleared. If you have very little ward coverage, you should retreat back to your tower until the next wave spawns. You can also look to clear camps to keep up with farm during this dead time.

Finally, certain Gods in each lane have the ability to displace you. The best example for this is Sobek. Charge Prey can put you extremely out of position. Most of these skills are easy to avoid, but be careful when playing against characters with pulls and pushes and stay a good distance from their towers.

Characters you need to be wary of.

Poking:

Poking is a term to describe occasional damage thrown out in lane directed at the enemy players, rather than the minion wave. Some characters are better at this than others, which is why one side of the lane tends to take control at the start of the game. If you're the one being pressured under tower, allow it to happen and focus on the wave close to your tower. If you move up, you'll just get poked out again and you'll slowly lose health until you're within kill range.

Characters that excel at poking can often clear the lane with a single ability. If you're playing one of these characters, you can play aggressively once the wave is clear. By doing this, you put your opponent in an awkward position since they have to clear the wave but are likely to take damage if they do so. If you're in a match up where you are ranged against a melee character, push them under tower, and keep them there. Just be wary that at this point a gank is probably being called for and being so far up makes you vulnerable.

Any damage you can throw out in lane is vital as it puts pressure onto your opponent. This means they are less likely to make rotations and leads to them being less impactful later on. It's also possible that keeping your opponent under tower will allow you to strip their jungle and extend your lead.

Characters that can poke almost freely.

Rotating:

It's easy to rotate throughout the game, but doing it at the right time is more difficult. If you're ahead due to various reasons, rotating can help support a struggling ally and possibly net some kills. Helping your team get ahead is one of the ways top teams excel. Any character can rotate, including the ADC and solo laners.

It's best to rotate once a wave has been cleared. There's some dead time between waves that a lot of players spend doing nothing. You might rotate and have nothing happen, but even then you've pressured another lane back and you've been more productive than you would have normally been. It's possible you'll even gain some extra experience in the process.

However, when rotating, it's important to remember to return to lane as quick as possible. You don't want to lose any minion waves and the experience that goes with them. It's free farm for your opponent and they can use it to catch up on the lead you created. If you think you're going to stay out of lane for a long time, get someone to cover it for you. Generally, the only lane that misses out on experience from rotating is solo and if this is the case for you, it's possible to pick up the teleport relic.

Conclusion:

The early game can be a scary time, with the fate of the game being decided in these early moments. Play wisely and as a team to secure your lead. As an individual, look to bully your opponents out of the lane and rotate to help others. These minor changes can lead to a much more successful early game and hopefully a more successful game overall.

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