Ao Kuang, the Chinese Dragon-God of the Eastern Sea, has been announced as the next god to be introduced to Smite. We won't get full patch notes until this evening when developer Hi-Rez takes to Twitch, but we do have a developer insight page to get us familiar with the Dragon-God's kit while we wait.
Ao Kuang Announced To Return As The Next New God In Smite
Ao Kuang is a melee mage that specializes in single-target burst damage. Because of this, Ao Kuang is well suited for jungling, as he is more than capable of taking out camps before surprising unsuspecting enemies with a quick assassination. His kit, however, is designed to punish him for drawing out confrontations without securing the kill.
Ao Kuang's passive ability lets him store energy charges in his sword. These charges activate when Ao Kuang casts an ability, increasing its damage. If Ao Kuang is out of mana, he can still cast abilities by spending charges in his sword. These charges then regenerate when Ao Kuang is not in battle.
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The Dragon-God's first active ability allows Ao Kuang to turn invisible, leaving a watery replica of himself behind. This invisibility then wears off if Ao Kuang attacks or is attacked. The player can cast the ability again to blow up the watery replica, damaging nearby enemies. This stealth capability is one of the reasons Ao Kuang is so useful in surprise assassinations.
Ao Kuang's second ability summons a team of dragons to his side. These dragons peel off one-by-one to attack and deal extra damage to enemies that Ao Kuang hits with a basic attack. Players can also activate the ability again while some dragons aren't expended. The remaining dragons will then shoot out as a ranged attack, damaging and slowing the first enemy hit.
Ao Kuang's third ability just looks like a simple ranged attack that affects a cone in front of the player. The attack is considered a basic attack for the purposes of item activation.
Finally, Ao Kuang's ultimate ability is where the god truly earns his assassination potential. Ao Kuang throws a target in close range up in the air after damaging them. If the enemy is below a certain health threshold, Ao Kuang will transform into his dragon form and execute the enemy in the air. Afterwards, the player remains in the air as a dragon and can choose a location back on the ground to make his landing, damaging enemies in a radius and fully recharging his sword.
For more information about Ao Kuang's glorious return to Smite, keep your eyes peeled for today's livestreamed patch notes.
Smite is free to play for PC.
