Team Compositions by Game Mode

Build winning teams for Smite game modes. Learn effective strategies, item recommendations, and god archetypes for Conquest and other popular modes.

Understanding optimal team compositions is crucial for victory in Smite, as each game mode presents unique challenges and objectives. This guide breaks down effective strategies for the most popular modes, offering actionable steps, item recommendations, and god archetypes to help you dominate the battlefield.

Conquest (5v5)

Conquest is Smite's flagship mode, demanding a balanced team with strong early, mid, and late-game presence. A standard composition includes one Guardian, one Warrior, one Mage, one Hunter, and one Assassin. Flexibility is key, but adhering to these roles provides a solid foundation.

• Support (Guardian):
  • Role: Protect the ADC, initiate fights, provide crowd control.
  • Actionable Steps: Start with Guardian's Blessing and Chalice of Healing. Focus on peeling for your carries and setting up kills with abilities like Sobek's Tail Whip or Khepri's Scarab's Blessing. In the mid-game, rotate to mid-lane and jungle to secure objectives and gank enemy gods.
  • Key Items: Thebes Gauntlet (for aura protections), Sovereignty (physical protection aura), Heartward Amulet (magical protection aura), Spirit Robe (damage mitigation).
  • God Examples: Geb, Khepri, Sobek, Ymir.
• Jungle (Assassin/Warrior):
  • Role: Farm jungle camps, gank lanes, secure objectives (Gold Fury, Fire Giant).
  • Actionable Steps: Begin with Assassin's Blessing and Bumba's Mask. Prioritize clearing speed and early ganks on vulnerable lanes. Communicate gank intentions with your teammates. Secure red buff for your mid-laner and speed buff for yourself.
  • Key Items: Jotunn's Wrath (CDR, penetration), Hydra's Lament (ability damage burst), Brawler's Beat Stick (anti-heal), Heartseeker (power, movement speed).
  • God Examples: Pele, Da Ji, Fenrir, Ravana.
• Mid (Mage):
  • Role: Clear minion waves, deal high area-of-effect (AoE) damage, provide magical damage.
  • Actionable Steps: Start with Mage's Blessing and Soul Stone (if applicable). Focus on wave clear and poking the enemy mid-laner. Secure your blue buff and rotate to side lanes for ganks when safe.
  • Key Items: Book of Thoth (mana, power), Soul Reaver (percent health damage), Obsidian Shard (magical penetration), Chronos' Pendant (CDR, power).
  • God Examples: Scylla, Poseidon, Agni, Thoth.
• Carry (Hunter):
  • Role: Deal consistent basic attack damage, destroy objectives, provide physical damage.
  • Actionable Steps: Begin with Hunter's Blessing and Death's Toll or Gilded Arrow. Focus on farming minion waves and out-clearing your opponent. Position safely in team fights and focus on objectives.
  • Key Items: Devourer's Gauntlet (lifesteal, power), Qin's Sais (percent health damage), Rage (critical chance), Deathbringer (critical damage).
  • God Examples: Rama, Izanami, Hachiman, Cupid.
• Solo (Warrior/Guardian/Mage):
  • Role: Sustain in lane, frontline in team fights, split push.
  • Actionable Steps: Start with Warrior's Blessing or Guardian's Blessing (depending on god) and Chalice of Healing. Focus on out-sustaining your opponent and securing totem buffs. Teleport to team fights to provide frontline presence.
  • Key Items: Glad Shield (sustain, power), Blackthorn Hammer (mana, CDR), Stone of Gaia (health regen), Pestilence (anti-heal).
  • God Examples: Hercules, Achilles, Cu Chulainn, Hades.

Arena (5v5)

Arena is a fast-paced, teamfight-centric mode. While a balanced team is still good, compositions leaning into high AoE damage and strong initiation often excel. The goal is to eliminate enemy gods and minions to reduce their ticket count.

• Composition Focus: High AoE damage, strong crowd control, reliable initiation.
• Actionable Steps: Group up early and often. Focus fire on squishy targets. Use your ultimate abilities to initiate or counter-initiate team fights. Don't chase kills too deep into the enemy fountain.
• Key Archetypes:
  • Initiator/Tank (Guardian/Warrior): Gods like Ares, Cerberus, or Ymir who can pull enemies together or stun multiple targets. Build tanky with items like Mystical Mail and Void Stone.
  • AoE Mage: Gods such as Zeus, Poseidon, or Scylla who can unleash devastating damage in a small area. Build power and penetration with items like Doom Orb and Soul Reaver.
  • High Damage Hunter: Gods like Hou Yi, Cupid, or Medusa who can provide consistent damage and clear minions. Build basic attack focused with Asi and Qin's Sais.
  • Bruiser/Utility (Warrior/Assassin): Gods like Bellona, Hercules, or Thor who can frontline, deal damage, and provide some crowd control. Build hybrid items like Shifter's Shield and Ancile.
• Example Comp: Ares (Support), Zeus (Mage), Hou Yi (Hunter), Bellona (Warrior), Susano (Assassin).

Assault (5v5)

Assault is a single-lane, all-random god selection mode. This mode heavily emphasizes sustain, healing, and balanced damage types (physical and magical). You cannot return to base to purchase items, only upon death.

• Composition Focus: Sustain, healing, balanced damage, strong wave clear.
• Actionable Steps: Prioritize healing and mana regeneration. Conserve abilities for wave clear and team fights. Don't overextend, as deaths are costly. If you have a healer, protect them at all costs.
• Key Archetypes:
  • Healer: Gods like Chang'e, Hel, or Ra are invaluable. Build cooldown reduction and power with items like Lotus Crown and Rod of Asclepius to maximize healing output.
  • Tank/Frontline: Gods like Athena, Kuzenbo, or Guan Yu who can absorb damage and initiate. Build protections and health with Gauntlet of Thebes and Bulwark of Hope.
  • AoE Damage: Gods with strong wave clear and team fight potential, such as Kuku, Vulcan, or Anubis. Build power and penetration.
  • Physical Damage: Hunters or Assassins to balance damage types, like Neith, Chiron, or Loki (though Loki can be tricky in Assault due to his single-target focus). Build standard damage items.
• Strategy Tip: If your team lacks a healer, consider building items like Meditation Cloak or Chalice of Healing early on, and focus on gods with natural sustain in their kits.

Joust (3v3)

Joust is a smaller, more intimate map, focusing on strong 3-god synergies and objective control (Bull Demon King). A common and effective composition is one Guardian, one Mage, and one Hunter/Assassin.

• Composition Focus: Strong 3-god synergy, burst damage, good objective secure, reliable crowd control.
• Actionable Steps: Control the minion wave to deny gold and experience. Secure the Bull Demon King when the enemy team is low or dead. Coordinate ganks and focus fire on a single target.
• Key Archetypes:
  • Support/Initiator (Guardian): Gods like Xing Tian, Bacchus, or Cerberus who can initiate fights and peel for carries. Build tanky with items like Sovereignty and Heartward Amulet.
  • Burst Mage: Gods like He Bo, Scylla, or Janus who can quickly eliminate targets. Build high power and penetration with Polynomicon and Soul Reaver.
  • Physical Carry (Hunter/Assassin): Gods like Hou Yi, Ullr, or Ne Zha who provide consistent damage or burst. Build standard damage items like Transcendence and Qin's Sais.
• Alternative Comp: A "double mage" or "double warrior" comp can also work if the synergy is strong and the players are skilled, but it often sacrifices balanced damage types. For example, a Warrior, Guardian, and Mage can be very potent.

Clash (5v5)

Clash is a two-lane map with a central jungle, offering a blend of Conquest and Arena. It's often more brawly than Conquest but still requires some objective play. A balanced team with good wave clear and team fight potential is ideal.

• Composition Focus: Good wave clear, strong team fight, balanced damage, objective control.
• Actionable Steps: Push lanes to pressure towers. Secure the central buffs and the Apophis objective. Group up for team fights and coordinate ultimate abilities.
• Key Archetypes:
  • Frontline/Initiator (Guardian/Warrior): Gods like Ymir, Guan Yu, or Hercules who can initiate and absorb damage. Build tanky.
  • AoE Mage: Gods like Ra, Anubis, or Vulcan who can clear waves and deal significant damage in team fights. Build power and penetration.
  • Hunter: Gods like Xbalanque, Artemis, or Chiron who provide consistent physical damage and push potential. Build standard hunter items.
  • Flex Pick (Assassin/Warrior/Mage): The remaining two slots can be filled based on team needs. An Assassin for burst damage and ganks (e.g., Loki, Susano), another Warrior for more frontline (e.g., Chaac, Osiris), or another Mage for even more AoE (e.g., Discordia, Baron Samedi).
• Strategy Tip: Due to the smaller map and frequent engagements, anti-heal items like Brawler's Beat Stick and Divine Ruin are often very effective.