Smite is an indie game that's happened to succeed as one of the longest-running multiplayer online battle arena games not titled League of Legends. The game lets players take on the role of gods from various mythological pantheons stemming from cultures across the globe.
Smite has various game modes players can hop into, with the most casual and newcomer-friendly being a 5v5 mode where two teams take on one another in a circular gladiator pit. Some gods work better in certain modes, and the last thing players want to do is give themselves an unnecessary disadvantage when they can avoid it rather easily.
Updated on November 24, 2022, by Jerrad Wyche: Smite has continued to see success in the multiplayer online battle arena space thanks to its focus on constantly adding new gods and experiences to the game. From the skins to gameplay changes, there's always a reason to hop back in. The Hero of Hawai'i update for Smite which was released in October of 2022 brought in a new guardian hailing from Polynesian mythology, Maui. With this in mind, here are the best gods for Smite's arena, ranked.
13 Khepri
Guardians and the support role in Smite might not be the thing everyone is excited to do, but it's a necessary part of having a competitive and complete team composition. There are a handful of guardians worth taking into Arena, but Khepri's specialty of reviving fallen teammates, healing others, and grabbing unsuspecting foes makes the giant insect a worthy selection.
The thing players also need to understand is that Khepri's passive is great in modes where teams are close together. Every couple of seconds Khepri pulses and any friendly gods within range receive defensive protections that stack to a certain amount. This means while teams are jockeying for position and figuring out who will initiate, Khepri is casually preparing his team and giving them a neat advantage, as slight as it may seem.
12 Sun Wukong
If Smite gods were to be defined by a single word, Sun Wokong's might simply be 'versatility'. The warrior class god has a set of abilities allowing him to be useful in a variety of situations. His bird form is great for escaping and/or chasing down opponents who are nearly dead. His bull form knocks up anyone he runs into and allows him to escape a crowded scenario.
As a tiger, Sun Wukong inflicts heavy damage and stuns whoever he hits. Lastly, his ultimate ability spawns a clone of him on the ground, while he sits in a cloud, healing himself over time and allowing him to either reengage in the fight or escape in a much safer health state.
11 Chaac
Chaac may be known as the Mayan God of Rain, but he should also be referred to as the Crowd Control King. His entire kit of abilities has to do with slowing opponents and trapping them in a barrage of constant pressure. He also happens to have a move that doubles as both a chase-down tactic as well as an escape.
As a Warrior class god he's able to stay in conflict and absorb damage, but at the same time can hit basic attacks which charge his passive ability, allowing him to cast a single ability for no mana cost. Chaac under the right control can serve as the initiator of a fight, but can also land a giant team silence that can help his allies get out of harm's way when things get out of hand.
10 Artemis
Among Hunters in Smite, several gods fit certain play styles, and depending on the player they may be seen as either unimpressive or extremely useful. Artemis is a Hunter who thrives in team versus team fights with an ultimate that stops opponents dead in their tracks.
When players cast Calydonian Boar Artemis summons a giant boar that attacks and stuns the nearest enemy and will chain into multiple other targets, provided they're in range. A game mode like Arena where the entire thing is team fights means she'll always be in a position to kickstart or counter-initiate a fight and put the opposing team on their heels in a reactionary state.
9 Geb
With Arena being spread out, support/Guardian characters have a harder time helping their attack-focused allies as threats can appear from all directions. Geb has a kit that makes do with this predicament in several ways. His shield provides protection and can be the difference between a teammate making it back to base, or dying thanks to a thirsty opponent trying to secure a kill.
Throw in his damaging wave ability that knocks up enemies, and an ultimate that locks gods in place for a moment, and it's clear Geb can be a true difference-maker in Arena.
8 Eset
Eset, formerly known as Isis, is a Mage that specializes in healing and ranged combat. Her Spirit Ball ability unleashes a glowing ball of light that increases the amount of damage it does depending on how far it's traveled before it's hit its target. Foes usually don't know how to react to it, and players who are good at anticipating movement can use the Spirit Ball to engage and start team fights, provided the team chemistry is in a good place.
Add in that her ultimate called Circle of Protection can heal her entire team and she has an additional ability that silences gods for a moment. Eset may not be the most jaw-dropping pick, but she'll often mean the difference between a win or a loss.
7 Thanatos
Thanatos is tricky because Assassins tend to be the types of gods that operate best in the shadows when they can strike enemy gods seemingly out of nowhere. Someone who picks Thanatos and isn't skilled can easily feed and provide a clear disadvantage in a matter of minutes in Arena.
On the flip side, a competent Thanatos will be able to secure kills on enemies trying to flee back to base as his ultimate allows him to soar all around the Arena mode map. He'd be higher on the list if he wasn't the glass cannon of glass cannons among all of the gods in Smite.
6 Ares
One complaint often levied at the Arena game mode in Smite is that it's super open and getting into a worthwhile fight isn't easy. If that's how a team truly feels then they should consider adding Ares to the team composition. This formidable God of War thrives on the idea of bringing gods closer together, quite literally.
No Escape is the name of Ares' ultimate, a move that pulls in any gods inside his area of effect as they get chained to his shield. After pulling in people, if they manage to still be alive following an onslaught by Ares' perceptive teammates, his Shackles ability chains hit enemies and prevent them from using dashes or other traversal-based moves. Ares pulls people in and doesn't let them go, eliminating the frustration of teams using the openness of the Arena game mode to their advantage.
5 Vulcan
There's an argument to be made that Vulcan is a liability in large open spaces thanks to his limited speed and movement capabilities. That being said, players who main him understand that positioning is important. Using his turret to zone out enemies can provide some cushion while he lobs Magma Bombs that the community affectionately refers to as meatballs.
His ultimate called Earthshaker is a ranked rocket attack that deals more damage the farther out it's shot. Timing it with other god abilities and catching enemies by surprise is easier in Arena thanks to its open design and the tendency for people to get distracted in their fights to notice a blacksmith firing a long-ranged attack from far away.
4 Scylla
Scylla may present herself as a harmless little girl, but she's one of the most terrifyingly powerful gods in Smite. Her ultimate I'm A Monster transforms her into a beast that unleashes a single powerful attack. If she manages to kill her target with it the attack resets and she can immediately attack once more.
Stringing these together can be hard in other modes as they're more spread out, but in Arena where it's mostly team fights, she thrives and can quickly dismantle a team in the blink of an eye.
3 Thor
It should come as no surprise that the God of Thunder himself manages to do quite well in an arena-based fight. His ultimate sends him in the air where he can choose a landing spot to crash down upon and hopefully inflict damage on the unsuspecting. Thor's wall can also do some great things both offensively and defensively on a map that's quite open.
Thor's wall can come in handy when a teammate is being chased down on their way back to base and can create a barrier in-between the two. It also stuns on impact, so if an enemy god is fleeing and the team is having a hard time catching up to secure the kill, Thor can stun the target, make it so they can only move in one direction, and give his team just enough time to finish the job.
2 Neith
Among all of the Hunter class gods, Neith is considered the most newcomer-friendly as her set of moves is easy to understand. Her design is meant to be welcoming to those playing Smite for the first time. Her ultimate can lock onto any enemy god that's visible to her or her allies.
Arena doesn't offer much coverage for people to hide behind, making it so all ten gods are usually visible at all times. That's where Neith comes in as her ultimate can be used to its fullest extent and observant players will be able to lock down kills on gods who manage to barely escape from team fights or other engagements.
1 Mercury
Mercury is an Assassin class god who works best when he has long distances he can traverse with his ultimate ability. Game modes like Clash or Conquest offer him long lanes where he can catch enemies by surprise and unleash tons of damage in a matter of moments, but Arena provides a wide open area, unlike any other mode.
In many ways, like most gods in the Assassin class, Mercury is a glass cannon that must not make a wrong move as they'll most certainly be killed if they happen to miss their ultimate and land behind enemy lines.
Smite is available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.