Smite receives large update including Twitch integration and a new God Ne Zha!

Only a week after adding a whole new gamemode to SMITE, the folks over at HiRez are continuing to add to their DotA-style title. The latest addition is a Chinese God by the name of Ne Zha, The Third Lotus Prince; an Assassin/Carry. Unfortunately this post is text format only so you will not get to hear me butchering the pronunciation with my Irish accent, sorry. 

You can read the full patch notes on the official post, but Ne Zha's abilities are: 

Child of the Lotus (Passive)

When Ne Zha dies, his indomitable spirit is reborn from a Lotus at his location, healing nearby allies every second while increasing their protections. Ne Zha’s basic attacks also utilize a four swing chain, with the final attack in the chain dealing damage to all enemies in front of him. Heal per Tick: 10% of Ne Zha’s Maximum Health. Protections: 30. Duration: 6s.

Universe Ring Toss

Ne Zha throws the Universe Ring where it bounces to nearby enemies. Each hit deals damage, applies a stacking physical protection debuff for 3s and slows the enemy for 1s. Each successful hit also applies a stacking movement speed buff to Ne Zha for 2s. Damage: 50/70/90/110/130 (+15% of your physical power).. Bounces: 5/6/7/8/9. Protections Debuff: 10 per stack. Slow: 25%. Movement Speed: 4% per stack. Cost: 50/55/60/65/70. Cooldown: 12s.

Flaming Spear

Ne Zha empowers himself with fighting spirit, igniting his spear for increased Attack Speed and Critical Strike Chance for a short duration. Attack Speed: 15/25/35/45/55%. Critical Strike Chance: 15%. Duration: 6s. Cost: 55/90/65/70/75. Cooldown: 18s.

Armillary Sash

Ne Zha throws out his Armillary Sash hitting the first enemy god in its path. The target is stunned as Ne Zha yanks himself toward the target, dealing a powerful blow to all enemies in the area when he arrives. Damage: 70/100/130/160/190 (+150% of your physical power). Stun: 1s. Cost: 75. Cooldown: 18/17/16/15/14s.

Wind Fire Wheels

Ne Zha dashes forward. If he hits an enemy god, he knocks it skyward for 4s, unleashing a combo (successful clicks during the combo allows some hits to be critical strikes), then smashing back to Earth, dealing additional damage to enemies in the radius as he flips back to his starting location. Damage per Hit: 30/50/70/90/110 (+30% of your physical power). Damage (Landing): 60/100/140/180/220. Cost: 80/90/100/110/120. Cooldown: 90.

This new god comes with a slew of other changes to the game, including Twitch.TV Integration (stream straight from within the game), changes to spectator mode, Gods and items. They have also added the new Active Item Blink, which as you may have guessed allows the player to teleport short distances instantly, much like the Blink Dagger or Flash from similar games. 

The Ultimate ability is particularly interesting. I was curious as to how it worked so jumped into a quick bot game to test it, it's actually quite fun. When used Ne Zha charges at an opponent and lunches into the air with them, you drag your mouse and click in the direction the indicator appears to deal critical hits, after 4 seconds both players reappear on the map. 

SMITE is a free-to-play MOBA/DotA style game, its W, A, S and D movement controls and third person view separate it from the others. If you wish to give it a try, you can sign up here now.

Chris Rainey, Columnist