Hi-Rez’s Titan Forge Games revealed its newest Smite god, Maui, the proclaimed “Hero of Hawai’i” and legendary figure in Polynesian mythology. Once added to the game, Maui will be able to use his magical fish hook to capture enemies and will also assist his allies through magical blessings. Some players are already hopeful that Maui will rise in the ranks to become one of the best Smite gods.
Though technically a demigod, folklore claims Maui was born a human but was adopted by gods when his mother sent him out to sea during a famine. He returned with powers graced to him by the god of the waters.
Mythology holds that Maui formed the Hawaiian islands while fishing. He tricked his brothers into believing he caught a large fish, but instead, had hooked his hook to the ocean floor. With his brothers’ help, they paddled as hard as possible, causing the ocean floor to rise and creating the Hawaiian Islands. Smite’s cinematic trailer shows Maui pulling up islands with his fish hook, an homage to the folklore surrounding the mythical god.
Hawaiians also credit Maui with slowing the sun’s rotation around Earth to make the days longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. Taken together, Maui represents resilience and strength, making him a welcome addition to Smite.
In the past, the team at Hi-Rez has said it has several goals with each Smite god, which range from filling gameplay balance holes, pantheons, or personality gaps within the game.
Reddit discussions dating back to 2016 have shown players pushing for Maui to appear in the game, suggesting he’s an excellent fit for its ethos. Maui is the second Polynesian god in the game. The other is Pele, the goddess of Fire, Dance and Wind, and Volcanoes and Violence.
Many may know him from the popular Disney movie Moana, but Maui is a longstanding force in Hawaiian and Polynesian mythology. Though Smite is no stranger to crossovers, having hosted themed events with Nickelodeon, Transformers, and Ninja Turtles, the character is independent of any affiliation with the popular children’s movie.
However, Maui is also an unlockable Disney Dreamlight Valley character, so players who can’t wait for him to appear in Smite can work on finding him there in the interim.
Smite makes our list of the best MOBAs on PC, coming in as an internationally-recognized game with a thriving esports scene and massive prize pools. With a player count of more than 35 million, the third-person multiplayer online battle arena continues to thrive more than eight years after it first appeared on PC in 2014. The game presently boasts 122 playable characters, most modelled after gods from cultural folklore worldwide, but all of which fall within the realm of mythology and legendary characters.
Maui’s full character reveal will take place on Oct. 12 at 8am PST / 3pm EST/ 8pm BST / 9pm CEST, during the Smite Update Show, and the character will be available to play in the game on Oct. 18.