Hi-Rez Studios released the patch notes for Smite's Patch 9.2 Update with a new God to the third-person multiplayer online battle arena's roster - Shiva, the Destroyer.
Aside from the addition of Shiva, the patch update also some balance changes to the abilities of several Gods.
Enter Shiva, the Destroyer
Shiva, according to Gamepur, enters Smite as a Warrior that can swap between two modes, Bliss and Destruction, courtesy of its Samsara Passive ability. The swap triggers when he deals damage with enemy Gods with his basic attacks and abilities.
Each state provides either a buff to allies' Health and Mana or a debuff to his opponents' Health and Mana.
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Upon switching between Bliss and Destruction states, the cooldowns for his non-ultimate abilities are reduced by 2 seconds.
His first ability is Emblazoned Sweep. According to Upcomer, Shiva spins around his trident that deals damage to enemies while pulling them inside a firewall.
When casting the ability while in Bliss state, his teammates get a movement speed bonus when passing the firewall. If he casts it while in his Destruction mode, his enemies' protection to damage is debuffed when they pass the firewall.
His second ability is Damaru's Tempo. It damages and knocks down enemies in the area into the air after Shiva hits the end of his trident to the ground, while his allies gain an attack speed bonus during his Bliss state or an attack speed debuff to his enemies while in his Destruction state.
His third ability is Pillar of Dawn. This ability allows Shiva to dash into a pillar of fire to meditate for a short period. However, his damage will be reduced, and he is immune to crowd control abilities. He can also dash out of the pillar to damage his enemies.
While in Bliss mode, the allies within the pillar will receive a block stack while gaining up to three stacks after leaving. Meanwhile, in Destruction mode, the enemies within the pillar will be punished with constant damage.
His Ultimate ability is Shiva Tandava. Once he casts the ability, he will perform a Tandava dance that makes immune to crowd control abilities and mitigates a percentage of damage.
For every 1.5 seconds, he does a step that can be preselected. The first step restores the allies' Health and Mana, while the second step grants him significant damage and Healing. His third step reduces the damage and shields of his enemies.
Balance Changes
The Patch 9.2 Update also brought in changes to Smite. These include several balance changes to several of the game's Gods.
According to the patch notes posted on Smite's website, the cooldowns for Jing Wei's Persistent Gust and Explosive Bolts abilities are decreased from 14 seconds to 12 seconds.
The base damage of Hera's Polymorph ability and the protection coming from her Argus increases the Defender ability.
Bakasura's Eat Minion ability can now decrease 1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2 seconds from the cooldowns for his Take Down and Butcher Blades abilities when he successfully eats a minion.
The Critical Strike chance from Ratatoskr's Bristlebush Acorn is increased from 20% to 25%, and its passive physical lifesteal and basic attack damage self-buff after hitting with Dart are also increased from 15% to 20%.
The movement and attack speed slow debuff coming from Kumbhakarna's Mighty Yawn ability is increased, while the cooldown for Terra's Monolith is decreased.
Finally, the patch update increased the physical power scaling from Hercules' Earthbreaker ability is increased from 60% to 70%.
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