Pen nerfs + Defense buffs: You need to make a choice

[Firellius]

Either revert the nerfs to pen and buffs to defensive items, or scale down base damages while increasing power scaling to compensate to ensure that good damage can ONLY be done if it's built for. Currently, guardians and warriors are doing too well on offense and defense combined to be in a fair spot compared to characters that only go offense or only go defense. There is no reason to pick a squishy character if their damage output is not comparatively more effective than some overly bulky frontliner waltzing up to someone and smacking them once or twice for 80% of their HP.

[RockerBaby]

You know one hybrid item on your damage dealer really makes it hard for that warrior to do much without titans.

Also has your backline support built sover? Sover was ALWAYS key vs some Gods, xbal, loki, thanna, herc etc etc. Without sover your team will crumble unless all team builds some def. So if your support don't have sover, well you probably need to look to get some prots for the mid game.

Only defense, was almost never good in smite but it still has its few select moments.

Also if you are squish why are you letting a tank come to melee range?

[Firellius]

You know one hybrid item on your damage dealer really makes it hard for that warrior to do much without titans.


Also if you are squish why are you letting a tank come to melee range?

You need way more than one full defense item to be able to fend off a bruiser.

As for your question: Blink rune exists. Biggest mistake SMITE ever made.

[RockerBaby]

You need way more than one full defense item to be able to fend off a bruiser.

Unless they are ahead in levels no way dude. In general a sover or hw is enough vs a bruiser but you have to be in range of your support to receive it which is a key thing a lot of people overlook (me included in the heat of battle). A dpser will still shoot through you like paper which is why going one def item is risky tactic as you likely loose out on trades cause you lack dmg yourself vs their dps. For a bruiser to keep dealing damage to you he needs exec/titans something not easily fit into a bruiser build alternatively his adc has put % stacks on you with exec/demonic.

To handle a bruiser you need % pene (often overlooked if the bruiser is smth like a nezha, thanna or other orthodox thing, ok bruiser ne zha is super meta now, then imagine ne zha was better, MUCH better at this 2-3 years ago before kit got nerfed to shreds.)
Hp dmg
and in some cases sustain

For example if you face a Chulain and have sover he relies a lot on his knockup and transform to set up for his team for kills. Without sover though he will tear your whole backline apart (unless they all get some prots).

Depending on mode you can get a def item for the mid game and later sell it for something else. Yeah you scarifice your late game build by like 1500g and a bit less dmg/efficiency though the game to survive their frontline during mid game, for some modes its worth. Bruisers are at their best in mid game. Early game dmg is supreme. Late game a bruiser dies instantly to anything but a 1v1 he/she specifically build to win. Why? hp and prots together is strong, to strong for a 3-4 slotted hunter. But once hunter has full build, the power, as and pene he needs a bruiser should never win late game even a 1v1.
For mid game if you have exec on the hunter and nice power on the assass you can team up to kill them.

Show me this bruiser build that 80% a squish with 2 abilities and has enough health and prots to do their job. Unless its herc with driving strike and ult I have a hard time seeing it.

Why you think hunters are top in full gold and levels cdr modes? Why do guardians build for one shot in these modes and not bruiser? Why do warriors go full def or very high dmg? Why do people cry when they get 5 warrior/guardians vs a bunch of hunters? Cause without the midgame to snowball from bruiser build it aint any good except on a few Gods that can leverage getting kit of with some dmg and still stay alive (like say serqet). Simply do not even pick a fight if they go bruiser, wait for your teams late game and they will have nothing to put up against you. If you pick fights vs a bruiser team in mid game when you haven't got the items to handle it, well that is a mistake.

[KAKLAW]

Only defense, was almost never good in smite but it still has its few select moments.

I remember when Defense stood a chance against offense. Now on support and solo I still build it but I focus on utility like protection auras, AS/MS auras or something that increases mitigation/cc resistance like the cloak family of items.

[RockerBaby]

I remember when Defense stood a chance against offense. Now on support and solo I still build it but I focus on utility like protection auras, AS/MS auras or something that increases mitigation/cc resistance like the cloak family of items.

Defense still poops all over full offense 1v1. I don't even play duel but I know the meta is almost always some prot items. The whole point of going full damage is to contribute more in the team fight which is valuable and even necessary. But for 1v1 hybrid builds are just better, especially if you put in some frostbound, witchblade action to leverage an attackspeed advantage while at the same time providing teamfight utility. The exception to this is if the damage dealer built 1 defense item that counters you, % pene just doesn't fit in a hybrid build unless its your only "dmg item" to deal with their front but then you can't challenge their backs. So I think balance regarding items is pretty good now, its a flexible deep meta and there is no "best build". For guardians its another story, for 1v1 you want close to full dmg, otherwise support with auras and other effects is normally best.

[Wildstreak]

ROFL except more people since 2018 moved away from playing Support and even defense Solo including in Conquest.

[KAKLAW]

Sover was ALWAYS key vs some Gods, xbal, loki, thanna, herc etc etc. Without sover your team will crumble unless all team builds some def. So if your support don't have sover, well you probably need to look to get some prots for the mid game.

Only defense, was almost never good in smite but it still has its few select moments.
?

Most time to kill with and without Sov is neligable past the mid game its still amazing but It a good roaming item for supports that cheap to build.

[KAKLAW]

Most time to kill with and without Sov is neligable past the mid game its still amazing but It a good roaming item for supports that cheap to build.

Defense still poops all over full offense 1v1. I don't even play duel but I know the meta is almost always some prot items. The whole point of going full damage is to contribute more in the team fight which is valuable and even necessary. But for 1v1 hybrid builds are just better, especially if you put in some frostbound, witchblade action to leverage an attackspeed advantage while at the same time providing teamfight utility. The exception to this is if the damage dealer built 1 defense item that counters you, % pene just doesn't fit in a hybrid build unless its your only "dmg item" to deal with their front but then you can't challenge their backs. So I think balance regarding items is pretty good now, its a flexible deep meta and there is no "best build". For guardians its another story, for 1v1 you want close to full dmg, otherwise support with auras and other effects is normally best.

Conquest is the point of balance though. in other modes either damage comes online way too early or there's less then 5 foes so prot item passives have more power (And warriors/guadians just walk in).

[RockerBaby]

Conquest is the point of balance though. in other modes either damage comes online way too early or there's less then 5 foes so prot item passives have more power (And warriors/guadians just walk in).

Yeah but when everyone has like 2-4 items and a chu chu comes from solo to mid and there is a big fight. The game will snowball out of control for chu chu if he is ahead and there is no sover. In other modes levels are usually the same. In conq the solo is often among highest level. This makes this situation even scarier then in other modes. With sover he might die and all your team runs away with some 10% hp left a big win. Compared to him getting 3-4 kills ganking the mid lane. Yeah come end game sover + HW do not offer that much but you can't just look at it in a vacuum like that, you gotta factor in all the trades made up until that point and every time a xbal, loki, chu chu failed to get enough dmg to crumble your team and they don't win at 20min you can thank sover for that. Not to mention how much easier it is to take objectives with sover, you can juggle that tower/gold fury aggro and let sover do its work.

Sover ain't core on anyone really, I'd say its core vs some Gods. Chu chu being one of the top contenders as his aoe dmg is quite nasty.