Patch 3.9 ‘Viking Invasion’, to be released on 24th May 2016, will see the long awaited and arguably well-deserved rework of Ratatoskr. But, will this be enough to bring our furry friend back into the viable meta? For all information on Ratatoskr's rework and Patch 3.9, click here.

Ratatoskr’s History

The Sly Messenger, Ratatoskr, first scurried into Smite on June 2nd 2015, and brought with him a mighty amount of damage and mobility. With the ability to dash into a fight, grab a few kills and then dash back out mostly unharmed, the Smite community were left crying out ‘OP!’ Therefore, his first nerf affected most of his kit! His passive, Acorn of Yggdrasil, Acorn Blast, Dart and his Ultimate, Through the Cosmos all saw nerfs in the form of damage, power, penetration or scaling. With less damage, his mobility was still an issue leading to nerfs in his dash and the range of his Ultimate. With his mobility and damage nerfed, Ratatoskr has sat mainly in the lower tiers, being very easily focused and destroyed. True, some players are still skilled enough to play Ratatoskr well, as seen with Team Eager’s Divios, in a SPL match on March 24th 2016, ending with a 4/0/7 KDA.

Source: Ratatoskr by Marsalinapocalypse on DeviantArt

Passive: Acorn of Yggdrasil

-Pre-Rework

Ratatoskr spawns with the Acorn of Yggdrasil in his inventory. This acorn can be upgraded into one of four Tier 3 Acorns which cannot be sold, and other Gods cannot purchase these acorns.

Name

Image

Statistics

Passive

Sapphire Acorn

+50 Physical Power

+10 Physical Penetration

Each acorn in Acorn Blast now sticks to Gods, exploding after 2s dealing damage in an area.

Emerald Acorn

+50 Physical Power

+10 Physical Penetration

Acorn Blast now heals Ratatoskr on hit.

Topaz Acorn

+50 Physical Power

+25% Cooldown Reduction

Dart now stuns targets that are hit twice within 10s.

Opal Acorn

+50 Physical Power

+25% Cooldown Reduction

Dart now shoots up to six lightning bolts to nearby targets while dashing, prioritizing Gods. Lightning bolts apply on-hit effects

- Rework

Ratatoskr's new passive still spawns him with his Magic Acorn, however this now replaces his item slot for boots. He can still upgrade the acorn, however there is only one acorn path. His Power and Movement speed are increased as the Acorn is upgraded, with the fully upgraded acorn adding self-healing (20 + 40% of your Physical Power) to his abilities. The new acorn costs 1600 gold and gives Ratatoskr a total of + 20% Movement Speed and + 50 Physical Power.

- Thoughts

The addition of healing to the new Acorn of Yggdrasil implements the popular Emerald Acorn's passive into Ratatoskr's new passive, however the heal is nowhere near as strong as the one provided by Emerald Acorn. Yet, the new heal is activated from any of Ratatoskr's abilities, giving Ratatoskr some sustain with the ability to stay in the fight for longer.

With regards to the new acorn itself, I personally think it is a little underwhelming. If we compare it to Warrior Tabi (which Ratatoskr cannot purchase now), the acorn costs 50 gold more, and provides + 2% Movement Speed and + 10 Physical Power compared to Warrior Tabi. Many members of the community argued that Ratatoskr's old acorn was not strong enough, as it not only reduced Ratatoskr's item slots from 6 to 5, but also was unsellable. Therefore, your opponents could alter their builds to counter you, where you are stuck with the same acorn throughout the game. Personally, I enjoyed the different types of acorn which Ratatoskr could purchase, as each was unique and each player had their own favourite. The different acorns also allowed Ratatoskr to build in different ways for different scenarios.

Source: SMITE - God Reveal - Ratatoskr is OUT!!! by TheYaminoTenshiFox on DeviantArt

1st Ability: Dart

- Pre-rework

Ratatoskr dashes, dealing damages to enemies he passes. If he strikes an enemy god he has not hit with Dart in the past 10s, the cooldown is reset, and he can use Dart again. However, it cannot be reset more than twice in 10s. Damage: 70/100/130/160/190 + 40% of your Physical Power.

This ability provides Ratatoskr with some mobility and damage, with potential additional damage if Opal Acorn is equipped, or a stun if Topaz Acorn is equipped.

- Rework

Ratatoskr dashes forward dealing damage and slowing enemies for 3s (20/25/30/35/40%). Damage: 100/140/180/220/260 + 80% of your Physical Power. Dart stops at the first enemy god hit, and pierces through minions. This ability's cooldown is reduced by 2s for each enemy god hit by Flurry or Acorn Blast.

- Thoughts

Although the large amount of potential mobility from Dart has been removed, Ratatoskr still possesses some mobility as the cooldown of the ability is decreased for each enemy hit with Flurry and Acorn Blast. Although he dashes less often when the ability is active, the cooldown can be reduced, allowing him to use Dart more frequently.

This ability can still be used as a potential form of wave-clear, as it penetrates minions and stops at the first enemy God hit, however other methods of waveclear may be more desirable. However, if using Dart as an escape you must now aim and angle the ability a little more, as if you hit an enemy God, you will be stopped (similar to Athena's Preemptive Strike). The addition of a Slow to this ability, gives Ratatoskr some Crowd Control, which his previous kit was generally lacking.

2nd Ability: Flurry

- Pre-rework

Ratatoskr spins in a circle, shooting 12 acorns in a circle that freeze in the air, before returning to Ratatoskr's current location, dealing damage on their way out and upon returning to Ratatoskr. This ability had good synergy with Ratatoskr's Dart, as he was able dash in with Dart, attack and use Flurry, before dashing out and dealing more damage as the acorns return to him. Damage: 10/14/18/22/26 + 15% of your Physical Power

- Rework

Ratatoskr spins in a flurry of attacks, damaging nearby enemies and reducing their Physical Protections up to 4 times (2/3/4/5/6%). Damage: 25/40/55/70/85 + 20% of your Physical Power.

- Thoughts

The first thing about this change that struck me was the visual change. Instead of throwing acorns, Ratatoskr now simply has an AOE damage attack with the animation of him spinning. The addition of the Physical Protection reduction makes this ability extremely useful in teamfights, allowing Ratatoskr to initiate and weaken enemies for himself and teammates to pick up kills on enemy Gods with more health or protections, such as Guardians or Warriors.

Source: Smite - Size isn't everything (Chibi) by Zennore on DeviantArt

3rd Ability: Acorn Blast

- Pre-rework

Ratatoskr shoots four acorns forward in a cone, each dealing damage. This ability can be used with Emerald or Sapphire acorn to heal Ratatoskr or provide extra damage in form of an explosion. Damage: 30/40/50/60/70 +25% of your Physical Power.

- Rework

Ratatoskr shoots a blast of three acorns forward in a cone, each dealing damage. Enemies hit by multiple acorns take additional damage, and enemies who are hit by all three acorns are stunned for 1 second. Damage: 50/65/80/95/110 + 30% of your Physical Power for each acorn.

- Thoughts

This ability is very similar to the pre-rework version of it, with bonuses in damage, Physical Power and Crowd Control. This ability will help Ratatoskr in pretty much every scenario. An enemy is getting away on low health? Use Dart and then Acorn Blast to damage and potentially stun them. You want to provide set-up for your teammates? Use Flurry to reduce their protections and then Acorn Blast to stun them, setting up for large AOE attacks such as Poseidon's Release the Kraken.

Ultimate: Through the Cosmos

- Pre-rework

Ratatoskr leaps from the ground to a branch above his head, with the ability to jump to up to two branches before landing. Damage: 200/260/320/380/440 + 70% of your Physical Power.

- Rework

Ratatoskr leaps from the ground to a branch above his head, with the ability to jump to up to two more branches before landing. Upon landing, he knocks up enemies. Damage: 200/260/320/380/40 + 70% of your Physical Power

- Thoughts

Ratatoskr's Ultimate has remained fairly similar to his old Ultimate, with the same ability and damage, with an addition of Knock-Up. The addition of this CC should give Ratatoskr a little more influence in team-fights, and in general. As with the old version of this Ultimate, Ratatoskr can remain on each branch for up to 3 seconds before landing, and can cancel the Ultimate early to land at the current selected location.

Source: Yangnatoskr on iFunny

Overall

I believe that Ratatoskr has received some well-deserved love with this rework, and will hopefully return to the meta. However, his kit now includes a bit of everything, which could make him a little too strong. He has healing (Acorn of Yggdrasil), a variety of different types of Crowd Control (Dart, Acorn Blast, Through the Cosmos), mobility (Dart, Through the Cosmos) and Armour Reduction (Flurry). Personally, I believe that when he makes his come-back in Smite, we are all going to feel it, as his kit is very strong. I believe that he could be placed in S tier for professional play. However, only time and experience will tell is Ratatoskr has got his claws back!

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