It's the Norse pantheon's turn to have a new god added to their roster in SMITE's latest patch. Fanir, Lord of Glittering Gold, joins the battleground of the gods with the role of guardian. This update also contains new skins and many balance changes.
Let's give a look at Fafnir's skills in detail:
While being able to transform into a freaking dragon is always an interesting concept in a video game, the novelty of the dwarf god is his passive. Giving a character in a MOBA the ability to gain extra currency is always a risky action. If used correctly, skilled players could really turn the game's economy to their own advantage. Of course, the extra protections are good, but at the same time you will probably prefer to spend the money right away so it's unlikely that it will make a huge difference.Passive: Endless Greed
Fafnir gains 4 bonus gold from all minions, structures, kills and assists. Fafnir also gains bonus Protections based on the amount of gold he is currently holding.
Curse Strength
Fafnir hurls his hammer forward, dealing damage (100/140/180/220/260 +50% of your Magical Power) to enemies in its path. If Fafnir hits a god the hammer stops short and Stuns them for 1s. The Stunned god also radiates out a cursed pulse, Slowing (20/25/30/35/40%) them and nearby enemies for 3s. Cost: 60/65/70/75/80. Cooldown: 15s.
In dragon form, this ability deals increased damage (50/70/90/110/130 +25% of your Magical Power) that ticks every second for 3s. Also, the cursed pulse shreds Protections (20/25/30/35/40%) in addition to Slowing.
Coerce
Fafnir coerces his allies into fighting harder, boosting Attack Speed (10/20/30/40/50%) for 5s and healing himself (50/80/110/140/170 +40% of your Magical Power). While Coerce is active Fafnir does additional bonus Magic Damage (5/10/15/20/25% of the target’s power.) whenever the affected ally damages an enemy. Cost: 50s. Cooldown: 13s.
In dragon form, This ability has a larger area of effect and can buff multiple allies.
Underhanded Tactics
Fafnir leaps to a target location and executes a despicable strike, dealing damage (80/120/160/200/240 + 60% of your Magical Power) and disarming enemies in front of him for 2s. Cost: 70s. Cooldown: 18s.
In dragon form, Fafnir can leap much further. Also, this ability deals increased damage (40/60/80/100/120 + 30% of your Magical Power) that ticks every second for 3s and Fafnir Stuns the enemy closest to him for 2s in addition to Disarming.
Dragonic Corruption
Fafnir transforms into a terrifying dragon and is untargetable during the process. When he emerges in dragon form, nearby enemies are poisoned, taking damage (80/100/120/140/160 + 40% of your Magical Power) every second for 3s. He remains in this form for a duration or until the ability is activated again. As a dragon, his abilities have additional effects and his basic attack changes to a Dragon Breath that deals damage (10/15/20/25/30 + 10% of your Magical Power) 3 times per second. Dragon Breath can not proc item hit effects. Cost: 100. Cooldown: 90s.
The patch contains the usual amount of new skins and achievements, including Jing Wei's mastery skins and Fafnir's first alternate aspect. Aphrodite, Ratatoskr and Nox gain two achievements each instead.
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The balance changes are relatively mild this patch. Gauntlets of Thebes, Mail of Renewal and Stone of Gaia receive a 50 health buff each in an attempt from HiRez to make them more desirable to SMITE players. Only a couple of gods changes seem to be noteworthy. Among these, Ratatoskr is probably the one who got the biggest hit, with both Dart and Flurry receiving a nerf.
Patch aside, there's a new weekend event coming to SMITE and it seems to be a nice one. In preparation of Dreamhack, HiRez announced that starting Friday June 10th until Monday June 12th, players will earn double favor, experience, and worshippers in the battleground. In the same time period, all gods will be unlocked and playable. The event will be available on all the platforms.
