As season three for SMITE and the SMITE Pro League started, we saw a big change regarding what items Support players were building. All of the best season two items appeared to be nerfed into the ground and Support mains just didn’t know where to turn. Until the Holy Trinity came in to save the day (Hide of the Urchin, Breastplate of Valor, and Bulwark of Hope), people were unsure of the builds that they were coming up with and people genuinely felt lost. So when someone offered up the Holy Trinity as an answer to the repeating r/smite question, “What am I building on my Supports?”, people absolutely ate it up. Which is fine, but SMITE has a unique plethora of defensive items that I feel really aren’t getting picked up and the answer isn’t always item buffs. But before I get ahead of myself, let's just take a look at the Holy Trinity and see just why people like it so much.

So without saying much, if you’ve played Support this season, you’ve probably built some part of the Holy Trinity in your build, maybe without even realizing it. What I’ve realized while talking to other Support players about the Holy Trinity build is that at least half of the Supports I talk to run it just because that’s what they’ve seen around the SPL, on streams and in the matches they play in, which isn't surprising because these items are good, but the real question is “Why?”

To understand the Holy Trinity, one must first understand the items behind this ever so holy combination:

1. Hide of the Urchin

I could have made this article just about Hide of the Urchin. Seriously, this item is really good right now. There really isn’t a reason not to find a way to incorporate this item into your build. This item makes you so unkillable early-game and mid-game if you can make the most out of that passive. It really has gotten to the point that the Support that is usually winning the lane is the one whose Urchin stacks are higher. This item to me almost feels like all the Supports just showed up fashionably late to the “STACKING ITEMS ARE GOOD” party (Book of Thoth, Doom Orb, Devourer's Gauntlet, Transcendence, and Warlock’s Sash were all, at least at one point or another, a core item in most Mage and Hunter builds). The reason why you want to dominate the duo lane early game and get the most out of your Watcher’s Gift and even your Traveler’s Shoes/Talaria Boots is to get Hide of the Urchin online and get those stacks up before the other Support does. It has been a mainstay in Support builds since after SWC 2016. And for anyone who doesn’t plan on doing the math for this item’s full potential, here it is: +65 Physical Protection, +65 Magical Protection, +250 Health, +250 Mana, all for the sweet, sweet price of 2400 gold.

2. Breastplate of Valor (BoV)

Usually referred to as BoV, Breastplate of Valor is not only an item that gives you high Physical Protection, but it also is one of the three items that supports usually build in order to achieve full CDR with support items (Shoes of Focus, Breastplate of Valor, Spirit Robe). No fancy passive here, just some really solid Protections and Cooldown Reduction, along with more than enough Mana. It's still a very good item on Guardians right now.

3. Bulwark of Hope

Bulwark of Hope is the Magical addition to this trio that essentially just completes the set. This item provides a good chunk of Magical Protection, Health, and it also introduces Crowd Control Reduction into your build. Along with all of that, the passive is amazing for team fights. Not many feelings are more satisfying to have occur in a team fight than some Mage or Jungler throwing their whole kit at you only to proc a shield with a good amount of health. It can completely turn a fight for you if you play it correctly, and the enemy team times your Bulwark passive incorrectly.

Now, the Holy Trinity build is not the only build you need to run on Supports if you want to be successful. I see all around the SMITE community that Supports are usually curious about what build is the most viable, and there are many answers to this question, all depending on how you play the role. There are so many items that can really make your Support builds stand out and work well for you. It's a very satisfying feeling to understand items enough to incorporate them into your builds and make them work well. If there are items that you can make use of, then don't be afraid to put them in your build. You'll never know what items work well for you and which items don't unless you play around with them (not only which items to buy, but when to buy these items). Keeping that idea in mind, let's take a look at some other items we can be using in our Support builds.

Below are some items that you can be worked into your builds as you see fit. I know most casual Supports don’t know which situations are viable to replace meta items with counter-building items and I just wanted to shine light on opportunities for players to replace items in the Holy Trinity build (Hide of the Urchin, Breastplate of Valor, Bulwark of Hope). The list below is in no particular order:

Celestial Legion Helm
+60 Magical Power
+70 Physical Protection
Passive: Prevents the next hit of Critical Strike Damage from a basic attack that hits you, and you gain +40 Magical Power for 3s. Cannot occur more than once every 6s, COST: 2300g

This item has a good chunk of power; you can swap this out for where a Void Stone would traditionally go in order to slow the other team's Critical Strike Chance. It is a super good counter to most Hunter builds containing Throwing Dagger. You can build it in two situations: either right after boots if you get ahead and want to counter an ADC that has gone Throwing Dagger as their first item, or you can also build CLH in a 5th or 6th spot for a small power spike and some survivability against late-game crit.

Hide of the Nemean Lion
+200 Mana
+90 Physical Protection
Passive: Reflects 20% of all Basic Attack damage back at the damage dealer as Magical Damage, COST: 2200g

This item synergizes pretty well with Midgardian Mail against teams that are more AA reliant. You can build it in place of Breastplate of Valor if you are facing a team comp with 2+ Hunters (ADC/mid, ADC/solo, solo/mid). Also works well if built after a Holy Trinity core against say an ADC and a second AA based god like another Hunter or Assassins like Kali.

Magi’s Blessing
+15 Physical Protection
+15 Magical Protection
+350 Health
Passive: Absorbs a single hard Crowd Control Effect or Root once every 70s. When this occurs, owner gets 1s of Crown Control Immunity, COST: 2350g

This item, while lacking on the defensive stats side, is still a good pickup against teams with a lot of CC. At what point is a lot of CC enough to build Magi’s? While there is no perfect answer for that question, having Magi’s will make you more resilient.

Midgardian Mail
+350 Health
+30 Physical Protection
Passive: When hit by a basic attack, there is a 30% chance to slow your enemy’s movement speed and attack speed for 2 seconds, COST: 2250g

This item works well with Hide of the Nemean Lion (see above). However, since this item does not give a ton of protections you should build it after a Holy Trinity core of some kind. Look to buy Midgardian 5th or 6th slot.

Oni Hunter’s Garb
+60 Magical Protection
+15% Crowd Control Reduction
+20 MP5
Passive: Every 10s you gain +15 Magical Protection (max. 3 stacks). Upon taking Magical Damage 1 stack is removed, COST: 1900g

One of the very few defensive items in the game that costs less than 2000g to complete, and you get 60 Magical Protection! Very underrated item, most players are still trying to decide how to best utilize that unique passive. This item would work well against a duo lane that has two physical gods (Warrior-Support/Hunter), in which case you would be building it in the place of Bulwark of Hope in a Holy Trinity style build.

Spectral Armor
+80 Physical Protection
+300 Mana
+25% Crowd Control Reduction
Passive: When you activate a relic you gain Ghost Walking for 4s and can move enemy Players and Deployables, COST: 2100g

Good counter to gods like Odin and Ymir. It gives a good amount of Protections and the CCR is nice. This item is now very interesting with its new passive “Ghost Walking”. It can really help Supports without leaps/escapes get out of teamfights, in which case you would build it instead of Breastplate of Valor in a Holy Trinity build.

Genji’s Guard
+80 Magical Protection
+10% Cooldown Reduction
+20 MP5
Passive: When you take Magical Damage from abilities your cooldowns are reduced by 2s. This can only happen once every 30s, COST: 2200g

Synergizes well with Oni Hunter’s Garb, gives good chunk of magical defense and adds to your Cooldown Reduction. Works well built in the spot of Bulwark of Hope in a Holy Trinity build and can also be effective after you finish Holy Trinity if you need more Magical Protection.

Pestilence
+80 Magical Protection
+200 Health
Passive: The healing and regeneration of enemies within 55 units is reduced by 25%, COST: 2150g

Such a good item to counter gods with a healing effect, and it is built in the spot of Bulwark of Hope traditionally. However, it can be built after your Holy Trinity if you need more magical protection and want to slow self-healing gods, such as Hades and Neith.

Runic Shield
+25 Physical Power
+50 Magical Protection
Passive: All enemies within 55 units have Magical Power reduced by 50 and attack speed by 20%, COST: 2250g

Good item to build on Warrior-Supports when the other team has a Mage ADC (Chronos, Freya, Sol). You can build it after a Holy Trinity or you can build it before Bulwark of Hope if you get ahead early and want to abuse the aggro.

Sovereignty
+200 Health
+30 Physical Protection
Passive: All Allies within 70 units gain +30 Physical Protections and +25 HP5, COST: 2100g

The passive says it all. This item was huge in Season 2, you had to get it. After recent nerfs this item is no longer as essential, but it is still a very nice early game pick up and is finding its way back into the meta. Right now it is a good item to fit in your core. If you follow this build: Watcher’s Gift>Traveler’s Shoes>Spirit Robe>Sovereignty>Holy Trinity>sell Travelers for Shoes of Focus (same as the build under Sovereignty) you can have a really solid defense curve. This build came from a question I asked Merlle (not-Krett) during one of his TheoryCrafting AMA’s on r/Smite on how to incorporate Sovereignty into a viable build.

Winged Blade
+300 Health
+20% Crowd Control Reduction
+10% Attack Speed
+10% Movement Speed
Passive: When you are hit by a slow, you become immune to slows and your movement speed is increased by 20% for 4s. Only occurs once every 30s, COST: 1850g

This cost-efficient item is a great counter for slows and makes team fights a lot easier for supports who lack escapes/dashes, like Sylvanus or Ares. There are many places Winged Blade has been fit into Support builds. You can start with Tier 1 Boots and build a full Winged Blade and then finish Boots last item as Shoes of Focus. You can also fit this item in after Hide of the Urchin or after Bulwark of Hope in a Holy Trinity build. Winged Blade even works well as a last item. It all depends on when you feel too affected by the other team's slows.

Mantle of Discord
+60 Physical Protection
+60 Magical Protection
+10% Cooldown Reduction
Passive: If you take damage below 30% Health you unleash a shockwave that stuns all enemies within a range of 20 units for 1s and gain CC immunity for 1s. This effect cannot occur more than once every 90s, COST: 3100g

Probably the only defensive luxury item in the game, Mantle of Discord provides good stats and an amazing late-game passive. Definitely look to build this item 6th slot if you plan on building it due to the high cost.

Spirit Robe
+40 Physical Protection
+40 Magical Protection
+10% Cooldown Reduction
+20% Crowd Control Reduction
Passive: You gain an additional 15% Damage Mitigation for 3s whenever you are hit with a hard CC effect. This can only occur once every 10s, COST: 2460g)

This item is a very popular late-game item due to the fact that if built along with Shoes of Focus (popular support boots) and Breastplate of Valor from the Holy Trinity build you get full CDR. The other place you can build it is in place of Hide of the Urchin if you follow this build pattern: Watcher’s Gift>Traveler’s Shoes>Spirit Robe>Sovereignty>Holy Trinity>sell Travelers for Shoes of Focus (same as the build under Sovereignty).

There are so many good items that you can use to tilt the scales in your direction. If used correctly, you'll truly become a force to be reckoned with. Try to use the items you see here in your next Conquest queue and you'll see the impact you can make when playing Support and you can really bring your Support game to the next level.

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