Relic Choice as a Support in Smite

Relics are an important part of Smite. You only get two and once you make your choice, you are locked to it for the rest of the game. There are 12 Relics in Smite. Today we will examine when to pick up each one as a Support. The first six Relics on the list are commonly used while the last six are uncommon and either situational or just fun selections.

 

Shell

Shell is one of the most important Relics for Supports. You will almost always pick this Relic up in one of your slots. The extra protections and mitigation provided by Shell are very important in skirmish and team fight scenarios. You can pick up Shell first if you don’t need to start with a different Relic or pick it up second if you select a different first. There are situations where you don’t need to pick up Shell if you determine that two other Relics help you and your team more or if one of your teammates pick up Shell instead.

Sprint

Sprint is one of the most commonly picked up first Relic. This is because the movement speed boost from Sprint excels in both defensive and offensive situations. Sprint can also be picked up in the second Relic slot to make sure your team has one and to counter an enemy Curse pick up. Similarly to Shell, there should be at least one Sprint on your team, but the Support does not need to pick one up if you need to have others.

Curse

Curse is a Relic that has a few reasons to be selected. Curse is a great choice if you want to be aggressive in the early duo lane or to invade the enemy team at level 1. Curse can also be picked up in either slot if the enemy team has healers to shut them down. Curse is not a required pick up but is good on some team compositions and against some compositions.

Meditation

Meditation is a solid choice for Supports. There are a couple situations in which Meditation should be picked up. Meditation synergizes well with Guan Yu and is usually picked up by him. Meditation is also picked up to out or counter sustain the enemy team, so it should be picked up against Guan Yu or anyone you think is building Meditation and could be picked up second to match an enemy Med.

Blink

Blink is a good Relic choice for a variety of Supports. Blink is used to initiate fights or ganks by gods that generally do not have an easy way into the fight. Gods such as Geb and Ares have ultimates that work best when they are in the middle of the enemy team and Blink is a way for them to get into the correct position. Blink is often picked up first by these gods and not selected at all by other supports.

Purification

Purification is a pretty situational Relic for Supports. Purification is picked up by Supports against enemy compositions with very high crowd control. If you think you cannot perform your job and control the enemy or protect your teammates without the CC immunity proved by Purification, you can pick up the Relic. Purification is often picked up by Bacchus and Khepri in particular because they do not have any built in CC immunity and can be picked off by an Awilix or Ares.

The Relic window in the in-game store

Now we will start talking about Support Relic choices that are not selected very often, if at all, and are either very situational or just fun picks in casual games.

Frenzy

Frenzy is the only team fight active that is not considered Meta. Frenzy still provides an unexpected power spike that is useful to get an early kill in the early 2v2 and fighting scenarios. Frenzy is a good relic to start getting a snowball rolling and winning fight after fight.

Sunder

Sunder is another fun Relic to bring to the Support role. Sunder is used to pick off a single enemy player and help get an early kill, similar to Frenzy. Unlike Frenzy, Sunder is used to pick off a single target instead of blowing up a team fight, so keep this in mind when considering your Relics.

Scout

Scout is a Relic that isn’t picked up in high-level play but still has its uses. Scout allows newer Supports to learn about warding until they are comfortable with buying their own wards and utilizing one of the other actives listed above.

Teleport

Teleport is a fun Relic that is rarely used by Supports. The global pressure provided by Teleport is usually overshadowed by the team fight prowess brought by the other Relics. Teleport can be picked up in the second slot if you need to quickly defend a split push or on assassin supports like Thor or Fenrir.

Wrath

Wrath is a Relic that lost a lot of its muster after being nerfed when it was still called Hand of the Gods. Wrath has been picked up in competitive play, but not by supports. Wrath can still be used to get to lane quickly at level 1 and for the ability to execute a Gold Fury or Fire Giant. The tradeoff is that you do not have the team fight strength provided to you by the other Relics.

Sanctuary

Sanctuary is probably the last Relic a support will look to pick up. The damage immunity will mostly just delay your death and not prevent it. Supports will often sacrifice their life for an objective or team fight victory and all the other combat Relics help ensure your team lives on, or kills the enemy, better than Sanctuary can.

Blink Icon, courtesy of Smite.gamepedia 

As a Support in Smite, you have many options for which Relics you use. The choices will vary game by game, as all Relic pickups are situational. In most cases, you will take a Shell and either a Sprint, Curse, Blink, Meditation, or Beads. The other Relics do have their uses and can be played in casual game with nothing on the line. Choosing a Relic is important and hopefully this has made the decision easier.

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