Just when it was safe to go outside again, SMITE Season 3 keeps the bad weather coming as Susano, God of Summer Storms touches down in the Battleground of the Gods with more force than a Category 4. While sloppy play can leave you on a tilt-a-whirl of losses, follow us and you’ll have a tenspan victory streak in no time.
Storming the Battleground with Susano
Susano, SMITE‘s newest addition to the still-growing Japanese pantheon, is a true assassin in the most classic sense – he has a ton of damage and is as fast as the wind when it comes to getting to a target then getting out. With massive damage output, incredible mobility, and fantastic CC, Susano is a whirlwind of death, and an excellent choice for proficient Assassin players.
While other Assassins have recently been straddling the line between their class and Warriors (looking at you, tanky Thor), Susano’s reliance on evasion and mobility rather than durability makes him a fantastic fit for the “everything is made of paper and explodes instantly” metastorm currently raging in Season 3 SMITE. While he’s not the safest Assassin in the game, the upside is huge with this high risk, high reward Jungle pick as his kit will easily allow him to dominate any game he gets out of control in.
While a warrior is only as good as his weapon, a god is only as good as his or her player. While Susano is certainly one of the sharpest swords in the arsenal, it’s going to take a lot of practice with the abilities we cover below to keep you out of a rainy Season 3.
Abilities
Swift as the Summer Storm
For each trained Ability that is on Cooldown, Susano gains (4%) bonus Movement Speed.
While it isn’t exactly something new (thanks, Ra), Susano’s movement bonus from Swift as the Summer Storm is a welcome addition to any Assassin’s arsenal. Mobility and positioning are two of the most important things in a SMITE game, and Susano’s whopping 16% maximum speed bonus certainly helps him keep a step ahead of any would-be pursuers — and right behind his intended victims.
Storm Kata
Susano moves thrice in quick succession; after each attack he has up to 3s to fire the next one.
First Attack: Attacks all enemies in a cone.
Second Attack: Attacks all enemies in a circle.
Third Attack: Dashes forward.
Damage: 70/105/140/175/210 (+90% of physical power)
Cost: 60/65/70/75/80
Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12 seconds
More than just a pretty dance, Susano’s Storm Kata is the core of his ability to down a target and get out as quick as the wind. Storm Kata does fine base damage, scales incredibly well (effectively double dipping on its 90% power bonus since you hit twice), and most importantly, “cheats” the “four ability” rule – this is really your primary damage burst and your primary escape rolled up into one button, giving Susano a pretty swift lead on his more standard competition.
The difference between an “okay” Susano player and a “great” one is — somewhat — going to come from their ability to weave and properly execute the Storm Kata. You have up to 3 seconds between attacks, giving you 1-2 basics before you have to activate the next stage.
While it isn’t always going to be possible or profitable to weave basics into the Kata, properly identifying openings to do so can up your overall damage in a brief span by several hundred — more than enough to be the difference between a kill and a close call.
Wind Siphon
Susano commands the winds to blow, dealing damage in a cone in front of him. Enemies in the center of the attack are pulled towards him.
Damage: 60/75/90/105/120 (+25% of physical power)
Cost: 80/75/70/65/60
Cooldown: 18 seconds
Susano’s second ability is his “utility slot”, but no less aggressively…well, aggressive. Susano has a temper, and the enemies are going to stick around while he takes it out on them — whether they want to or not.
On top of being an incredible tool for Susano to secure kills for himself, Wind Siphon is also a great tool for a team player. It allows him to drag the closest of fleeing enemies back into his chasing team, or peel off rival assassins or carries from their marks before adding another notch to his sword.
Just be sure to practice the timing, as there is a very brief delay before Wind Siphon will pull enemies towards you.
Jet Stream
Susano throws forward a gust of air which creates a whirlwind, dealing damage every .75s for 3s. He may activate this ability again to teleport to the whirlwind. If the initial gust hits an enemy, the whirlwind surrounds and travels with them. Teleporting to the enemy reduces this cooldown to 6s.
Damage per Tick: 20/35/50/65/80 (30% of Physical Power)
Cost: 45/50/55/60/65
Cooldown: 17/16/15/14/13 seconds
In the same vein as Storm Kata, Jet Stream is also not-so-secretly two abilities rolled up into one. The first half, a relatively modest Area of Effect Damage Over Time ability, isn’t the most fearsome thing in the world but can certainly secure some of those low HP fleeing targets just fine.
The second ability, however (and the combination of the two), is the second half of Susano’s ability to get in, slay, and leave. While Storm Kata is a fantastic damage output and escape tool, it isn’t particularly effective at actually getting in on an enemy — by the time you get to dash, all of its damage is used up.
Jet Stream gives you a much needed engagement tool, allowing you to apply some modest damage, but more importantly allowing you to get close to the high priority targets you need to murder in order to fulfill your role as an Assassin. Of course, if a fight breaks out, Jet Stream can be just as functional as an escape mechanism – simply fire a cloud one way, run another, and leave the enemies with an impossible decision.
Just be wary – unlike the relatively similar move Chaac can perform, Susano’s Jet Stream keeps pretty close to the ground, and will not go through walls.
Typhoon
Susano summons a hurricane at his location that pulls Enemies towards the center while growing to up to twice its size. Susano may activate this ability again to launch the storm in the direction he is facing, knocking up opponents in its path.
Damage: 175/225/275/325/375 (+140% of Physical Power)
Cost: 80/85/90/95/100
Cooldown: 100 seconds
Tempestuous child or righteous defender. Soothing breeze or destructive whirlwind. Lone superstar or Team MVP. As some of his early two-part abilities reflect, Susano is a god all about choices. Sometimes you’re about to catch what’s coming around, and you need to be careful and back off – but sometimes you are what’s coming around, and it’s full speed ahead and sword swinging. Go in or get out, hold back or let loose – it’s all choices.
Typhoon is no different.
A super powerful asset to any team, Typhoon is a wide, fast tool to engage or disengage in a teamfight. Disrupting multiple enemies and dealing damage is a great way to start a teamfight in your favor, or help you and your allies escape from a fight that’s blown south.
Then again, it’s also great at keeping enemies nearby and dying after you close the distance with Jet Stream, or securing fleeing enemies and their precious, precious bounties.
Whichever way the wind takes you, though, Typhoon is certain to be a powerful asset.
Items and Gameplay
Susano is a storm of killing sprees and damage output. While every Assassin generally has a similar function, some are geared tankier, or towards heavier targets — but not Susano. He is a very focused god with a very focused mission — you want to find a high priority squishy thing, kill it, then get out before you explode.
Seems simple, right?
Unfortunately, Susano’s greatest strengths are also going to be the biggest hurdles for newer Summer Storm or Assassin players. He has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to mobility, damage, and crowd control, leaving him with an above average power level, and an above average amount of decisions to make — which also gives us an above average amount of things that can go wrong.
In each game, try to identify what you’re most capable of doing without dying – peeling an enemy assassin off of your allied Janus with Wind Siphon before securing a kill or two for your Bellona with Typhoon isn’t the most glorious addition to your kill count, but it will win games. Staying alive is always important in SMITE, but even more so with a high variance god like Susano. If you fall too far behind, it’s easy to get “locked out” of the game, and stuck watching your death count rise as your kill count stays still.
If you score an early kill or two, however, don’t be afraid to press the advantage a little. When Susano does start spiraling out of control, it becomes very hard to stop his team from taking objectives by storm soon after.
Thanks to his “double dipping” on power scaling with Storm Kata, Susano values raw power and penetration even more than most assassins. Start with Bumba’s Mask (if in Conquest) to help keep you up in your early Jungle stages, then move into Warrior’s Tabi and Transcendence to get your power stacking started, and keep your mana (and abilities) stocked.
Following these up with a Jotunn’s Wrath will give you all the mana you’ll ever need along with a nice bit of flat armor pen, and a Qin’s Sais will make the basic attacks you’re weaving into the Storm Kata count. Bloodforge, newly buffed in Patch 3.8, is a great pick up for a little sustain and damage — but more importantly for the massive damage shield and movement speed bonus killing an enemy god awards with its new passive.
The last slot is mostly reserved for Titan’s Bane or Asi, though Frostbound Hammer, Stone-cutting Sword, and more scenario-specific items like Brawler’s Beatstick are all also fine pick-ups. Try to keep an eye on what may be preventing you from downing those enemy backliners, whether it’s movement impairing effects (Winged Blade) or hard crowd control (Magi’s Blessing), and don’t be afraid to build accordingly.
Here’s the TL;DR:
Transcendence > Warrior’s Tabi > Jotunn’s Wrath > Qin’s Sais > Bloodforge > Titan’s Bane/Asi (flex slot)
Despite all this power, just remember to keep your cool when playing this hotheaded Storm God. While jamming abilities into the enemy team may occasionally result in as much damage as one of Susano’s violent outbursts, it will also just as often lead to regret and a long, long walk of shame. Learn from the God of Summer Storm’s mistakes and keep a level head, though, and your enemies might as well be trying to catch the wind.
Now that you know how to strike with all the force of a great typhoon, go forth and conquer! But be sure to come back and tell us how you breezed through SMITE’s Season 3 with Susano, the God of Summer Storms.
Published: May 15, 2016 07:24 pm