The Duo Lane Post Golden Bow

The duo lane in Smite has received a couple shake ups so far in Season 3. Both of the major changes revolved around Throwing Dagger and Golden Bow. These items assist in lane clear by giving basic attacks splash damage. In patch 3.5, the splash damage on Throwing Dagger and Golden Bow was buffed in an effort to help the late game Hunters have an easier early game. What ended up happening is that every hunter started with Throwing Dagger because it was the best clear in the game. Even after several rounds of nerfs and adjustments, Throwing Dagger and Golden Bow were extremely dominant. These items were removed in the mid-season patch 3.12. This article will be about the duo lane after the removal of Throwing Dagger and Golden Bow.

Lane Pressure

In Smite, lane pressure is important in every position, but is very important in the duo lane. Lane pressure is when you push the wave and kill minions before the opponent or when you are able to zone off the enemy team from the minions and freeze the wave. Having the lane pressure is important because it can win you the laning phase and make it easier to snowball a game. A winning lane can also be achieved by having a better 2v2 fight than the enemy team.

Having lane pressure can come down to getting to lane first. The first duo that clears camps and gets to lane can kill the creeps first and push the enemy under tower. This gives your team the positional advantage for the upcoming wave and you can cost your opponent several creeps’ worth of gold or they can suffer poke damage. However, constantly pushing up is not good because it gives an opportunity for the enemy jungler to sneak up behind you for a gank.

Neither the buff nor the removal of Throwing Dagger and Golden Bow changed this paradigm. The items evened up the clear differentials between hunters so it was harder to establish lane pressure but when one team took control of the lane, it was maintained.

 

Hunters

Hunters are very important to the goings on in the duo lane. They are the more permanent members after their supports leave to roam. There are different roles the hunter plays in team compositions. The changes affecting Throwing Dagger and Golden Bow have influenced the diversity of the Hunter role. The patches have also shifted Hunter builds.

There are different types of Hunters and ranged carries that excel in different areas of the game. The two major categorizations are early and late game. There are also Hunters who are good in every state of the game. Even though every Hunter is strong in the late game, some are weaker than others late but perform better than their brethren early. These early game hunters are ability based, with spells that have high base damage such as Neith and Chiron. These gods can apply more lane pressure but do not have as high carry potential. Late game Hunters typically struggle through the laning phase but have steroids and focus on auto attacks. Examples include Artemis and Xbalanque. Some Hunters have great ability clear and strong steroids such as Anhur and Hou Yi. These characters are able to compete with early Hunters in the laning phase and box the late game hunters.

When Golden Bow buff was buffed in 3.5, it was praised because every hunter could be played. This turned out to not be true. A Throwing Dagger start enabled almost every Hunter to have incredible clear which meant that only the strong duelists were played. HouYi was the top pick and other late game gods were prioritized.

Hunter diversity was actually increased after the removal of Golden Bow. The highest level Smite league happening right now is the SCL and Challenger Cup, whose metas often resemble that of the SPL. In these formats, we can see that after GB was removed, the only meta Hunter that disappeared from the pool was Artemis. On the other hand, early game hunters are being played again and mages such as Freya and Sol are viable in the role now too.

In the absence of Throwing Dagger starts, Hunter starting builds are opening up. Right now, there are two popular starts. The more common start is Charged Morningstar rushed into Transcendence. This is the more passive start that can be used on ability-based or scaling gods. The other option is Death’s Toll and boots. This is the more aggressive start and is good on auto attack focused Hunters. Which build you use varies on your god selection and playstyle.

Supports

The support choice can determine if you win lane or how your entire team composition plays out. There are several different roles that a support can play in team comps. Golden Bow played a part in the diversity of the support role as well. The support role has a variety of builds they utilize.

A team’s support can play several different roles within a team composition. Support gods can also play multiple roles at the same time, depending on the kit and playstyle. Some supports are lane dominant because they have great lane clear like Sylvanus or because they have kill pressure in the early 2v2 like Sobek. Other supports offer weaker lane pressure but are great in late game team fights, such as Geb. Some supports are great at initiating teamfights like a Bacchus, while others are backline characters who peel, such as Khepri.  Sometimes the choice of a support character will depend on combos with teammates. Examples include picking Sobek or Bacchus with an Awilix or Kumbhakarna with a Scylla.

When Golden Bow was in the game, Hunters were self-reliant and the only supports played were aggressive initiators in the form of Bacchus, Sobek, and Guan Yu. After the removal of Golden Bow, the support pool widened a bit. Bacchus and Guan Yu are still top picks because of their initiation and team fight powers but other gods are being selected more often.

There are several builds that supports can run. You almost always start with Watcher’s Gift into boots. Every form of finished boots are viable. Which one you complete depend on you, your god, and the game state. Afterwards, every item is situational based on both team’s composition and your individual decision making, however most items should be defensive items. Supports tend to pick up teamfight-oriented Relics such as Sprint, Shell, and Meditation. Overall, a support's build revolves around counter building and situational pickups. 

Conclusion

The duo lane in Smite has gone through several upheavals in Season 3. The first was the introduction of Throwing Dagger and Golden Bow into the hunter build meta. Afterwards, these items were removed and both the Hunter and support pools were diversified. These positions are able to play a variety of roles within a team comp and overall, the duo lane is a very dynamic part of Smite.

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