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Smite Season 8 Changes | New Map, Champions, and Items

SMITE‘s 8th season has come at long last! Players have been waiting for the new changes to the conquest map for a while now. However, whether you’re new to the game or returning after a while, the changes can be pretty severe. HiRez really wanted to shake up the meta! If you need some quick catch-ups on the Smite Season 8 changes, this guide is for you!

All Major Smite Season 8 Changes

smite season 8 changes

There were two major adjustments to Smite Season 8 — the conquest map changes and the new starter items that you begin the game with. Even if you don’t want to play Conquest, understanding the new starter items might be important. Consider them the next time you want to play Assault or even Arena!

Conquest Map Changes

The Conquest map got a major rework that makes it a little larger and a little more complex. It also makes lane priority in the solo and duo lanes a bit more important.

The first major change is the Scorpions. There are so many scorpions on the map. Duo lane has two scorpions, and Solo lane has one. These heal the killer when they are slain for a short amount of time, unless you want the gold right away!

There are also Greater Scorpions that you should look for! There is a Greater Scorpion on the four quadrants of the map after a little while. These scorpions improve your jungle buffs, and slaying them moves the scorpion closer to you! Try and get these when you have time. They also need to die before the Gold Fury and Fire Giant spawns, so they need to die before the game’s major objectives can spawn.

There are also doors in your spawn that open easier if you walk on them… But those rarely matter until the very, very endgame. Just remember that the doors are there if you’re in the enemy’s base.

Starting Item Changes

smite season 8 changes

The other major system change is the new starter items. These items are designed for the early game but have an upgrade at Level 20 (or Level 17 for Support players!).

Hunter Items:

  • Death’s Toll: This is the sustain item, which heals you a bit on each auto-attack. It upgrades to heal more or to buff your auto-attack damage more.
  • Gilded Arrow: This is the farming item, allowing you to get gold early, and deal a bit more damage. This item is great for hoarding gold later on.
  • Leather Cowl: This is utility, which gives you movement speed and attack speed. Later on, this is great for hunters that want their party to group up around you.

Solo Items:

  • Warrior’s Axe: Basic trading item, which steals a bit of health when you land an ability. Great for warriors that have one solid poking ability. It upgrades to be either more damage or tankier.
  • Bluestone Pendant: Applies small damage over time to your opponent. Great for prolonged trading, and upgrades to be even better at that.
  • Warding Sigil: Anti-mage starting item, and upgrades to be even better at stopping mages in their tracks.

Mid Items:

  • Vampiric Shroud: The lifesteal mid item, which upgrades to either heal more or let your abilities deal more damage at the cost of health.
  • Sands of Time: The cooldown item, made to generate mana for you. It can upgrade to be better at that job… Or, it can be a revive item!
  • Conduit Gem: Rewards you for hitting multiple abilities. Upgrades to be the perfect item for the aggressive mage.

Jungle Items:

  • Bumba’s Dagger: A reliable jungler item, focused on claiming objectives. Upgrades to be better at objectives or dueling with abilities and auto-attacks.
  • Eye of the Jungle: Great for attack speed, and provides you vision across the jungle. Upgrades to let you control vision better, or makes you stronger in the jungle.
  • Manikin Scepter: Attacking enemies burns them with damage, and slows their attacks! Upgrades to increase the burn damage or becomes a burst damage option.

Support Items:

  • Sentinel’s Gift: An easy support item that makes it easy to be in lane with your ADC. Upgrades to heal you more on assist, or protect others easily.
  • Benevolence: Gives you passive gold and experience, but you grant others the bonus. Upgrades to either be a great tank item, or allows you to deal more damage with auto-attacks.
  • War Flag: Provides an attack speed and movement speed buff whenever something nearby dies. Upgrades to be more effective or provide a static buff in a small area.

Kinda Random Items:

  • Tainted Steel: Enemies hit by you have reduced healing. Upgrades to be better for reducing healing or steals healing.

And that’s all… Phew! You’ll get used to when you should get what pretty quickly. There are some pretty clear favorites already, but all of them have their uses.

There were some item changes as well bundled in all of the Smite Season 8 changes, such as making Berserker’s Shield and Ancile better for assassins.

God Changes

The god Season 8 changes are super minor, just some balance tweaks for anti-heal and some god adjustments.

The most major god change is Janus, who should find it much easier to deal damage with his second ability.

Smite Season 8 Changes Wrap-Up

That’s about it for the Smite Season 8 changes, in a general overview! We hope this guide will let you settle back into the MOBA comfortably. The season is interesting so far and only promises to get better.

Check out some more Guide Fall guides below!

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Written by Andrew Smith