Players of Smite know that each God's kit possesses four main abilities - three active ones, and a single passive skill. Theoretically, a God's Passive "determines" the overall "flow" of that character's kit. For instance, the Warrior Guan Yu receives buffs the more he takes or receives damage. Likewise, Hera lessens the CD to summon her minion Argus the more she uses her skills. On the right hands, a mere Passive can jumpstart a team's path to victory in Hi-Rez's hit MOBA.
However, some newcomers might find it overwhelming to pick the best God with the best Passive. After all, Smite does boast more than 120 Gods in its roster. Interestingly, fans might want to pay attention to certain Passives from certain Gods, especially due to their innate combat potential.
Why Do Passives Matter?
A lot of MOBA players often think that only the Ultimate and other active skills matter in any character's kit. After all, players can actively control these elements. Basic skills often work in sync in order to create powerful rotations and combos. Moreover, an Ultimate can easily turn the tide of battle with the right timing and the right build.
However, it's actually a character's Passive that can sometimes determine their winning potential in any given battle. To recall, Passive abilities generally have common traits:
May provide extra Resources. Instead of just being constantly activated, some Passives actually give players access to extra pools of Resources. Other abilities can consume these Resources for added effects. For instance, Zeus has the Overcharge (Passive) that gives his enemies stacks of Charge when hit. Some of Zeus's abilities get enhanced effects when hitting enemies with a Charge stack.
Represent the overall gimmick of a character. Especially in the case of Smite, Passive abilities generally represent a character's theme or gimmick. For instance, as a deity governing Light and clarity, Amaterasu's Illuminating Strike (Passive) gives minions a bright aura that "makes their weaknesses clear."
Blends the kit together. As the ability that constantly works throughout the match, it's the Passive that brings the kit together. For instance, Thoth's Dead Reckoning (Passive) gives him additional Magical Penetration whenever he kills enemies. Given his shooting-based abilities, his Passive sets up his deadly DPS potential.
What Makes A Great Passive?
With the above in mind, it's important to consider that while all Passives work the same way, they generally represent the dominant "theme" of a character's kit. In turn, the best Passives in a MOBA - in this case, Smite - often have these characteristics:
Offers versatility in play. As with some of the examples above, a great Passive offers players new layers of gameplay aside from simply playing with their usual builds. For instance, Assassins would regularly retreat when receiving enough damage in combat. However, Pele's Everlasting Flame (Passive) and its buffs at lower health might turn the tide for this sly Assassin.
Increases threat value of the God. Unlike other Passives, some Gods actually have Passives that greatly increase their threat level in play. For instance, Zeus's Overcharge (Passive) and the extra damage from his Charge stacks can make getting near him an inconvenience.
10 Persephone: Pomegranate Seeds
Despite her status as Queen of the Underworld, Persephone herself serves as the Greek Goddess of the Harvest and Vegetation. As a Mage, she specializes in high area damage, with much of her kit offering both basic healing to herself and crowd control to her enemies.
Her theme of sly innocence becomes reflected with her Pomegranate Seeds (Passive). Essentially, she gains stacks of Pomegranate Seeds whenever her Harvest (S2) plants die, and she can spend 25 of these Seeds to resist death.
In doing so, Persephone extends her lifespan for another eight seconds with full Mana, albeit this time only dealing 40-percent damage and moving 80-percent her usual speed. Moreover, Perspehone can cancel this miniature revival, and may even sell her leftover Seeds.
Why Is This Passive Great?
Despite not being Persephone's most defining characteristic, her Passive can potentially change the dynamics of team fights. Granted, revived Persephone alone won't be able to do much given her stat penalties. However, her presence alone could be enough to divide the enemy's attention and focus on her. Theoretically, this caveat should give Persephone's allies enough time to facilitate a counter-attack or retreat.
How Does It Work With The Kit?
An effective way to use this ability is to assess whether the revive mechanic would let Persephone do anything meaningful to combat. If the answer's yes, then it's highly recommended for players to revive her and resume her regular routine. Harvest (S2) is always a recommended cast to help her recuperate her lost Seeds. Meanwhile, Bone Rush (S1) and Flourish (S3) can help distract enemies while she's revived.
If Persephone can't help, then it's recommended she skip the revive. Instead, Persephone should sell her excess Seeds upon her respawn. This way, she can still have more than enough in reserve to facilitate another revive should the opportunity arise.
9 Pele: Everlasting Flame
Despite her small stature, Pele serves as the Polynesian Goddess of Volcanoes. She holds dominion over the aspects of Fire, Wind, Dance, and even Violence.
As a stealthy Assassin, Pele's kit majorly involves dealing damage to multiple enemies at once - often knocking them out, slowing them down, or buffing her depending on the number of enemies hit. This reflects with her Everlasting Flame (Passive), which increases her Ability Lifesteal, Lifesteal, and Physical Power as soon as she hits 50-percent HP.
Essentially, the Passive increases her Power by 5+1 every Level, as well as endowing her with 40-percent increased Lifesteal and 15-percent increased Ability Lifesteal. When procced, this Passive has a 30-second cooldown.
Why Is This Passive Great?
Pele's Everlasting Flame is a great gamechanger, especially in the early game when other Gods have yet to possess the antiheal that can counter this Passive's benefits. In turn, Pele can easily secure early ganks and kills as soon as enemies think they have the advantage. Additionally, even activating Everlasting Flame can greatly increase Pele's healing potential. And the 30-second cooldown is more than enough of a recharge time for Pele to secure a quick counter-attack to opponents.
How Does It Work With The Kit?
Her mastery over the world's most volatile element allows her to be both creator and destroyer. Thanks to her aggressive kit, Pele will almost always have a means of proccing Everlasting Flame.
Additionally, Pele can time the proccing of her Passive to gain its advantages. For instance, Pele in a Jungle Camp can wait for the Passive to proc to get her a heal instead of consuming a potion. Likewise, Pele can taunt an enemy while she's a bit below half-health so she can immediately proc the Passive and turn the tide quickly.
8 Ah Puch: Hollow Ground
Ah Puch, the Horrific Lord of Decay, reaps the dead from the land of the living and into eternal oblivion. As a Mage, he focuses on devastating the battlefield with corruption and decay. His kit focuses on dealing damage over time and ensuring enemies that almost anything they touch will try to bring them within the grasp of death.
His Hollow Ground (Passive) reflects on Ah Puch's thematic cues as a God of Death. Whenever he walks over a decaying corpse, he exhumes them and gains benefits. The Cooldowns of his Corpse Explosion (S2) and Undead Surge (S1) get reduced by 2-seconds, whereas the Passive also restores 3-percent of his maximum MP and 5-percent of his maximum HP.
As a caveat, enemy Gods can stop Ah Puch from reaping these benefits by destroying these corpses with two basic attacks.
Why Is This Passive Great?
It's Hollow Ground that enables Ah Puch to stay much longer in fights despite his glass cannon nature as a Mage. With corpses, Ah Puch can either absorb them to get a bit of heal or even use his kit to make them explode. Moreover, if enemies take the time to destroy corpses, it can give Ah Puch's allies the same span of time to secure a counter attack.
How Does It Work With The Kit?
Despite the rather useful nature of Ah Puch's Passive, he does need to be properly positioned to benefit from them properly. For instance, Fleeting Breath (S3) not only deals damage over time but also stuns opponents who are healing, perfect for team fight disruptions.
Aside from these, the usual combination of Undead Surge (S1), Fleeting Breath, and Corpse Explosion (S2) can keep Ah Puch's threat level high. Moreover, this strategy still leaves him with a steady supply of corpses to leech buffs with.
7 Athena: Reach
Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, fights wars to protect those who want to preserve honor and dignity. Unlike the brutal Ares, Athena strikes down foes with the justice of divine law. As a Guardian, Athena's kit involves controlling the flow of battle through defense and crowd control.
Her Reach (Passive) endows her attacks with the capacity to reach further targets. In turn, Athena's basic attack becomes a ranged attack whenever she uses any kind of ability. Instead of just hitting one opponent, the attack passes through and hits everything behind it - dealing a 15-percent bonus damage via her Magical Power.
In addition, Reach won't trigger Ability Item Effects, but they would trigger Basic Attack Item Effects. Additionally, Reach's longer-ranged attacks count as AOE and therefore benefits from 33-percent lifesteal. Lastly, Athena won't experience the basic attack movement penalty by using Reach, and "on-hit" effects will only apply to the first enemy hit.
Why Is This Passive Great?
Despite the straightforward nature of Reach, this Passive has a massive potential for getting hits against opponents who are a bit further away from melee. This works both as a poking ability or a means of finishing a skirmish, especially when enemies try to escape.
How Does It Work With The Kit?
Thanks to Reach, Athena can get better range out of most of her kit's abilities. For instance, Preemptive Strike (S1) not only gives Athena a decent dash but also slows down the opponent. This alone gives her Reach room to eliminate an escaping opponent.
Meanwhile, Confound (S2) and Shield Wall (S3) remain dynamic abilities that help Athena stay on both the offensive and defensive. Again, Reach adds that extra range to secure any essential attacks. Lastly, Defender of Olympus (Ult) gives Athena decent damage mitigation and protect enemies at the same time. Her Reach can definitely secure kills during this duration.
6 Artio: Decompose
The Bear Goddess Artio protects the Great Cycle - not time, but the balance of all things. Artio enforces nature's way of dividing light and darkness, life and death, winter and spring. As a Guardian, Artio's kit focuses on preserving the balance in the battlefield. In turn, her abilities damage opponents for healing, stuns them to protect her and her allies, or allows her to transform into nature's many protectors.
Her Decompose (Passive) reflects Artio's intimate control over the balance between life and death. Whenever Artio hits enemy gods with her Bear or Druid abilities and damages them, Artio can decrease all their protections.
Additionally, this effect not only stacks but also lasts for 6-seconds. With a maximum of eight stacks, Artio's Decompose can apply as much as 16-percent reduction in protections.
Why Is This Passive Great?
Unlike other Gods', Artio's Decompose is an extremely straightforward Passive. Whenever Artio hits an enemy with her Bear or Druid abilities, they get up to 16-percent reduction in protections depending on how often she lands a hit. This can become extremly dangerous, especially when stacked with items such as a Void Stone and Void Shield that can further reduce them.
How Does It Work With The Kit?
Interestingly, Artio has both efficient combos that work regardless if she's using her Bear or Druid form.
Essentially, Artio deals basic damage with Life Tap (S3) and try to cripple the enemy with Entangling Vines (S2). This should stun them long enough for a powerful Energy Surge (S1) before switching to Bear form.
In Bear form, Artio can stun them with Ferocious Roar (S2) and land powerful attacks with Maul Prey (S1). She can then chase opponents trying to escape with her Heavy Charge (S3).
5 Geb: Hard As Rock
The Egyptian God of Earth sits among the Gods who judge hearts to determine their passage in the afterlife. As the embodiment of the earth itself, Geb carries the regret and guilt of those before him and brings them to the underworld. In turn, souls freed from these burdens will finally reach for the skies. As a Guardian, Geb focuses on protecting his allies with sheer defense, foregoing much of his offense for an almost-unbreakable exterior.
His Hard as Rock (Passive) has quite the simple and straightforward description. Essentially, it reduces all bonus damage from Critical Strikes by as much as 75-percent.
Additionally, this Passive will decrease the base critical hit multiplier of opponents hitting Geb by as much as 25-percent.
Why Is This Passive Great?
Unlike the other Passives from Gods that involve kit-based mechanics, Geb solidifies his hold on the title of one of the best Guardians in the game because of this. Essentially, he takes 25-percent less damage from Critical Hits. That means an otherwise-lethal strike from a Hunter or an Assassin could very well be reduced to a mere enhanced basic attack.
How Does It Work With The Kit?
Again, given Geb's defensive Passive, there's not much it does to interact with other parts of his kit. However, this does motivate him to get straight to the frontlines and bring the fight to the enemy.
Essentially, Geb can head to a team fight and outright decimate foes with Cataclysm (Ult). On the off-chance that they're still alive, Shock Wave (S2) can easily return the disadvantage with a decent AOE, alongside a decent chase mechanic with Roll Out (S1). Additionally, his Stone Shield (S3) introduces a new defensive mechanic for Geb that enables him to just as efficiently defend allies.
4 Baron Samedi: Hysteria
The Voodoo God of Life and Death strives to guide souls past death and towards a new life. Baron Samedi focuses on the celebration of death itself - that the passage to the afterlife is a party, with sounds and sights there for the pleasure of those who had just passed. As a Mage, Baron Samedi's kit focuses on both dealing damage to enemies around him and forcing them to stay within his vicinity.
His Hysteria (Passive) allows Baron Samedi to provide his allies with the Baron's Brew, a special chalice that can serve as an alternative to a Health Potion. Additionally, the Passive will apply stacks of Hysteria to enemies that Baron hits - with higher Hysteria providing special effects, depending on his ability.
Basic attacks apply two Stacks to an enemy, whereas abilities have their special applications of Stacks. When enemies reach the maximum 70 Hysteria, they take 20-percent additional damage from Baron Samedi.
Why Is This Passive Great?
At its core, Hysteria and his Baron's Brew serve as a great utility. This gives Baron the ability to have a more tankier or defense-oriented build but at the same time secure just enough damage to pose as a threat to his enemies. However, where this Passive shines is how Hysteria as a mechanic affects other abilities.
How Does It Work With The Kit?
Essentially, the Hysteria Passive upgrades Baron's abilities depending on how many stacks enemies have. This is where Baron's dangerous damage components come in.
For instance, Vivid Gaze (S1) has a Hysteria buff that enables Baron to hit multiple people. In turn, an entire enemy party can get reduced attack speed and protections, leaving them defenseless. Moreover, a Hysteria-buffed Consign Spirits (S2) gives Baron a much-needed speed boost to move around quickly.
Moreover, Wrap It Up (S3) has a Hysteria buff that allows Baron to root and slow multiple targets. And the already-devastating pull of Life of the Party (Ult) can get a Hysteria-buffed stun that can open enemies for quick deaths.
3 Raijin: Charged Tempo
Raijin, the Master of Thunder, has learned to tame the terrifying element and control it with the pounding of his drums. His intimidating appearance reflects his ferocity as a Mage, where his high mobility and attack potential enables him to push lanes much more vigorously compared to his counterparts. His kit relies on brutal all-around strikes that force enemies to retreat.
His Charged Tempo (Passive) helps Raijin facilitate more vicious attacks as well. This straightforward Passive provides Raijin with a 2-second cooldown reduction to all abilities whenever he casts five abilities. Moreover, his basic attacks gain a wider radius whenever he triggers this Passive.
In turn, Raijin works best when having to deal damage to a lot of enemies in a huge area - it doesn't matter if he doesn't kill them, what matters is he's scared them to a corner.
Why Is This Passive Great?
Charged Tempo serves as a neat ability that gives Raijin a handy cooldown reduction - and handier as it comes right after he uses most of them. Unlike other Passives from other Gods, Charged Tempo really works and fits with any build players can imagine. The less CDR they have, the more powerful Raijin's combos can get as they can dish out more damage.
How Does It Work With The Kit?
Given the nature of the ability, Charged Tempo works well with all kinds of Raijin builds, but specifically those that emphasize a need to sustain combos that adjust to Charged Tempo.
In terms of combos, Raijin can take full advantage of Charged Tempo with a team fight-based combo. For instance, he can start with the inherent slow of Raiju (S2) and then follow up with a fierce Thunder Crash (S3). This is when Raijin should tap into his Taiko Drums (Ult) that gives him access to three devastating projectiles, and then Percussive Storm (S1) can clear the rubble and finish off opponents that are still standing.
2 Cerberus: Spirit Of Death
The Warden of the Underworld guards the entrance to Hades itself with its horrifying gaze, acidic spittle, and poisonous breath. As a Guardian, Cerberus punishes those who tries to infringe on his territory, making even movement into his space something everyone should reconsider.
His Spirit Of Death (Passive) allows Cerberus to toy with Gods who rely on healing. Whenever an enemy God receives a heal, not only do they get 20-percent reduction in healing but Cerberus also receives 50-percent of that healing as well. Moreover, Cerberus not only reduces but also steals from all types of healing except HP5.
In turn, his Passive works well with his kit, with abilities that involve not just damaging opponents but also slowing and stunning them.
Why Is This Passive Great?
Unlike other Passives, Spirit of Death (Passive) isn't as "active" in the match as other Gods'. However, just because it's not prominent in battle doesn't mean it's silent. Remember, this Passive essentially helps Cerberus steal healing from opponents - making him a great anti-heal or even a devastating foe for opponents who rely on their supports for team fights.
How Does It Work With The Kit?
Again, since Spirit of Death steals healing, at first glance it doesn't seem as though it can synergize with the rest of Cerberus's kit. However, that's because Cerberus's kit is geared towards removing as much protections as possible - forcing enemies to heal more.
For instance, Paralyzing Spit (S1) and Ghastly Breath (S2) work hand-in-hand to proc as much protection reduction and slows as much as possible. Its unbelievable slow duration immediately makes Cerberus a threat when unleashing these abilities. Moreover, Soul Expulsion (S3) is a handy escape and heal maneuver. Lastly, Stygian Torment (Ult) is a decent damage and knock-up ability.
1 Heimdallr: The Vigilant
The Vigilant Heimdallr remains the ever-present guardian of the Bifrost. As a Hunter, Heimdallr specializes in detecting enemies and dispatching them before they infringe on his territory. Moreover, his theme of foresight translates perfectly into his kit. In Smite, the Hunter Heimdallr has a kit that constantly reveals enemies or lets him travel to them.
His The Vigilant (Passive) allows Heimdallr to gain Physical Power for every enemy God in his vision. At full stack, Heimdallr can receive up to 10-percent additional Physical Power. Moreover, enemies stay within his vision for 4 seconds if they disappear from his sight.
As a tradeoff for this benefit. Heimdallr's Critical Strikes receive a 30-percent damage penalty.
Why Is This Passive Great?
As a Hunter, the Vigilant is easily one of the best Passives for Heimdallr. Despite the trade-off with his critical damage, being able to see the enemy for far longer can help players position themselves better. Essentially, this improvement in vision greatly changes the dynamic as to how players can approach their farming and even ganking.
How Does It Work With The Kit?
Given the vision-related enhancement of the Vigilant, Heimdallr can use this with any of his Hunter abilities. For instance, his Passive alone buffs him for Physical Power, adding damage to his attacks.
Meanwhile, his Piercing Sight (S1) not only reveals nearby enemies, but it can also strike in their direction. Secondly, Gjallarhorn (S2) serves as a handy slow and decent damage-over-time ability.
Moreover, The Bifrost (S3) allows Heimdallr to make speedy escapes or speedy comebacks to battle should he need to. Lastly, Through the Realms (Ult) either burns the enemy or slows them down as the Ult launches them to the sky for a fierce attack.