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Smiting Champions

LuckyReden·12/1/2014, 7:57:16 PM·3 votes·1,749 views

Am I the only one that thinks smiting champions sucks? Particularly the Stalkers Blade, (Skirmishers is pretty good on some champs). Here is why i think this.

When my smite is up, I can choose to gank and use my smite on an enemy for a lousy amount of damage and a slow, or I can go get the wraiths buff, clear the wards in an enemys lane, then gank for most likely a more effective gank than it would have been by using smite on them. ANY buff I get through smite is gonna help me gank/defend more than chilling smite is. I know its mostly for champions that dont have much CC like Shyvana or Zed jungle, but what about Vi? Or even Lee Sin? What option works for them? Vi doesnt need the small slow or true damage, she needs smite, she can't counter jungle, the challenging smite is not very good on Vi, and Blasting smite really isn't needed either. Every time I use smite in a gank, I realize its gonna hurt a lot to go and take a camp, plus the smite did next to nothing in the gank anyways. Its a lose-lose. Lee Sin doesn't have enough sustain to do hardly any counter jungling anymore, pretty much same argument as Vi. What about Hecarim? Why would he need any of them? What about Amumu? The options on smite are cool but limited, and I thought these changes were to open up the jungle to many different options. Am I the only one disappointed with the smite changes?

5 Comments

poopoo peepee12/1/2014, 8:08:41 PM2 votes

Then fucking get trailblazer. They didn't force u into any of the other ones. They're giving diversity to better suit some champs over others, and it sounds like you're upset about it. It's a good thing, some champs will have their strengths smplified with one smite, and others won't with the same.

FiendOfOne12/1/2014, 8:16:43 PM1 votes

I've found myself getting different smites for different games. My first back (usually around level 5)

All my lanes tucked under their towers? Chilling smite for ganks.

All my lanes pushed up and my team seems to be controlling laning phase? Trailblazer for farming.

Shaco on the enemy team? Challenging smite, because I know we're going to be fighiting at some point.

Actually, anyone who picks up the counterjungling one, I'm probably picking up challenging smite.

I've found that the upgrades work the same as any other itemization: Buy based on the game you're in.

asdbnmrty12/1/2014, 11:01:24 PM1 votes

I think you might be under-estimating the strength of a successful gank. While it might not be super great for the jungler (unless they are the one that is credited the kill), the effects of a successful gank is absolutely great on the laner. It essentially puts a lasting advantage onto the laner through more exp and gold. Advantage to you is not so significant as the gold/exp advantage from the gank is crubed by your longer camp clear (no smite) and no jungle buff.

The catch to this? You need to pull of a clean gank to make it worthwhile. This of course isn't as easy as it sounds, even with the enhanced ganking potential of the champ smite. If this is worth the gamble is up to debate, but there is another factor that should be considered along with it.

How much does that champ smite actually help in a gank? At this point lets take Skirmisher with a grain of salt, as it is very much over tuned at the moment and an unfair comparison. When we think about it, most champions have tools built into their kit to do what they need to do in a gank. Do we really need that extra slow or push of true damage to pull a gank successfully? Or does it seem like overkill? Personally, I would argue no. From my experience if you set up and execute a gank properly, you will have done the proper amount of CC or damage you needed to do. Having an extra slow or extra true damage would be excessive at that point, but at the cost of reliable jungle clear speed (which I don't think justifies).

In their current state, I'm with you in not finding them worthwhile. Yet I can see the potential in champ smites.