If you missed the magic in today's Titan Talk, we've got a wrap-up for you! Merlin, Yemoja Aspect, and a ton more below!
Merlin Arrives in OB6
Overview
- Long-Awaited Mage: Merlin is one of the most requested mages yet to appear in Smite 2, now joining the roster in OB6.
- Core Kit: Retains his triple-stance playstyle (Arcane, Fire, Ice) from Smite 1, with slight “plus-one” twists in Smite 2.
Notable Changes & “Plus Ones”
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Enhanced Flicker
- Arcane Flicker: Heals Merlin based on recent damage taken.
- Fire Flicker: Briefly applies a Radiate DoT (damage-over-time) to enemies.
- Ice Flicker: Reduces Merlin’s ability cooldowns by 5 seconds.
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Fire Stance Radiate- Radiate (1) now applies a burn DoT that also spreads via Merlin’s other fire abilities (the Dragonfire center, ultimate transitions, etc.).
Merlin’s Ascension Pass
- Colorful Progression: Unlock multiple recolors (Shadow, Onyx, Opal, Radiant) as you level up Merlin.
- New Emotes & Trackers: Includes a “Ponder the Elements” global emote, mastery emote, kill trackers, and more.
Merlin’s Aspect: Pandemonium]
- Randomized Stance Swap: Each time Merlin uses his ultimate (Elemental Mastery), it randomly selects a stance and two “primary” abilities (1 and 2).
- Shorter Ultimate Cooldown: Enables faster stance-cycling and more frequent casting—but at the cost of randomness.
- Intelligence Buff: Each stance swap grants temporary INT, boosting Merlin’s power.
- Release Timing: This Aspect will drop a short while after OB6 goes live (not on Day 1).
Yemoja’s New Aspect: Downpour
- Offensive Twist: Shifts Yemoja’s healing-based kit into a damage focus.
- Mending Waters (2): No longer heals allies. Instead, it bounces among enemy gods, dealing damage and building Yemoja’s INT (power) stacks.
- Moonstrike (B01): Gains higher scaling for more damage but loses its stun on enemy gods (it still stuns towers).
- Availability: Scheduled to appear about a week after OB6 launches.
Skin Highlights
Classic Skins Returning
- Bass Cannon Neith (EDM-style skin)
- Heavens Rave Zeus (another EDM/music theme)
- High Honor Mulan (inspired by the Immortal skin style)
- Dawn Spirit Yemoja (a popular, ethereal-looking Yemoja skin)
All-New Toon Tech: StumbleBlade Susano
- Cel-Shaded Look: Built using fresh Unreal Engine 5 tech for a true “toon” effect.
- Colorful, Bold Visuals: Stands apart from the rest of the map in a fun, animated style.
Introducing “Prisms”
- Extra Recolors: Special alternate color variants for selected skins (starting with StumbleBlade Susano).
- Custom-Tailored Effects: These recolors also change the skill VFX.
- Supporter Premiere: Prisms cost diamonds with no legacy-gem discounts. The base Susano skin still supports legacy gems at 50%.
New Items Arriving in OB6
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Vampiric Shroud
- Starter for Bruiser Mages: Provides health, intelligence, and sustain.
- Bloodsoaked Shroud Upgrade: Increases healing and adds %healing on damage.
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Runeforge Hammer
- Strength + Max Health: Ideal hybrid item for bruisers or guardians.
- Polynomicon-Style Passive: Hard-CC an enemy to mark them, then your next basic attack deals extra magical damage based on your protections.
- Reduced Cooldown via CC: More crowd-control = faster rune resets.
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Enchile
- Anti-Magic Bruiser Item: Grants magic protection, max health, and reduced damage from basic attacks.
- Silence Effect: Taking hits builds up a charge; activate to make your next ability silence enemies for 1.5s.
Conquest Map Art Updates
- Buff Camp Landmarks: Three buff areas receive major visual overhauls for clarity and theme:
- Blue Buff: Frog-like idols and watery details.
- Red Buff: Sharp spikes, skulls, and sinister structures.
- Purple Buff: Arcane trees and eerie purplish lighting.
- Better Navigation: Each buff camp is instantly recognizable by color and shape.
Ongoing Work & Future Plans
- Movement & Netcode Overhaul: Dev team is actively refining the underlying movement code to address jittery body-blocks, odd pulls (e.g., Khepri’s), and overall pacing.
- Combat Blink Discussion: Evaluating the impact and whether it encourages too much unpredictability or easy escapes.
- Early-Game Snowball: Looking into ways to reduce extreme early leads in Conquest without heavy-handed comeback mechanics.
- Godbuilder System: In development to let players share and browse community-made builds and item tips in-game.
Q&A Highlights
- “Had Fun?” Button: The thumbs-up/down at match end is used internally to gauge overall match enjoyment.
- Auto-Build vs. Advanced Builds: Auto-build remains a “no-thought” option, while the future Godbuilder aims to help intermediate players learn more advanced item choices.
- Legacy “Divine” Skins: Currently remain rewards for Smite 1 veterans, but the team may revisit how to offer them in the future.
Wrap-Up
OB6 is packed with exciting changes: Merlin’s grand debut, new Aspects for Merlin and Yemoja, vibrant skins (including toon-tech Susano), fresh items, and improved buff-camp visuals. Keep an eye out for the first OB6 Flash Test announcements to jump in early and try it all.