Smite’s first PvE mode has arrived along with this year’s Odyssey, bringing new skins, chances to earn in-game rewards and a fresh balance patch.
Read more: best free games on Steam
The new mode, Xing Tian’s Mountain, lets five players team up to take on one of a randomly selected group of bosses as well as waves of minions.
Each player can build and buy items, starting at level 13 to avoid the boredom of early farming with no lanes to contest, before taking on an MMO-style boss encounter. Defeating one within the time limit moves the team to the next boss encounter, with harder minions and a harsher time limit.
On top of the new mode, this year’s road to the Smite World Championships, the Odyssey, has also arrived in the game. Every two weeks, new skins and other cosmetics will be made available and purchasing them with gems or favor will earn Odyssey points, which then unlock even rarer swag for your deities.
The first of these are a sort of Sailor Schoolgirl Kitsune skin for Amaterasu and Steel Samurai for Susano – the Japanese pantheon gets a little extra love being the newest in the game and, therefore, lacking in the wardrobe department. Nu Wa also has a snazzy new (or old) retro-looking skin, which will go nicely with some of her balance changes in the 3.17 patch.
The next round of balancing will see Nu Wa’s minions given a high school equivalency diploma and now able to tell when Nu Wa herself is being attacked and change aggro. Smart! Other Gods aren’t getting so lucky with Ravana taking a swift nerf dart to the forehead, increasing the cooldown on Prana Onslaught and also reducing the heal on 10-Hand Shadow Fist.
For a full list of who’s buffed and who’s nerfed, see the3.17 patch noteshere.