SMITE 2 Welcomes Hel's Return, Debuts Major Ares Rework and Network Dash Overhaul

What changed#

• Hel Returns to the Battleground: The Norse Goddess of the Underworld returns with a refreshed model, new voiceover, new card art, and “plus ones!”. Her dual-stance gameplay remains intact:

  • Passive (Stance Attunement): Staying in Dark Stance increases Hel’s damage output, while staying in Light Stance lowers the Strength and Intelligence of nearby enemy gods.
  • Core Abilities: Her kit includes Decay/Restoration (A01), Hinder/Cleanse (A02), Repulse/Inspire (A03), and Switch Stances (A04).
  • Aspect of Divergence (Launching Sept. 25): By dealing damage or healing teammates, players can fully attune to one stance and lock Hel into that form for the rest of the game. This unlocks enhanced abilities and a brand-new ultimate. The Light form grants shielding, roots, and a death-prevention ultimate. The Dark form grants roots, knockbacks, and a continuous damage field that executes low-health targets.

• Ares Aspect Rework:

  • Blessed Armaments (Passive): No longer acts as an aura and now exclusively benefits Ares.
  • Call to Arms (A02): Now triggers a 20% movement speed increase for 3 seconds on activation.
  • Searing Flesh (A03): Cooldown is reduced by 30%. It also gains increased Intelligence scaling and higher maximum health damage scaling when fighting jungle monsters.
  • No Escape (A04): The ultimate no longer pulls enemies. Instead, when the chains snap, it inflicts damage and roots targets in place, alongside its standard landing damage.

• God Balance Updates:

  • Ah Puch: Received a buff to Fleeting Breath, raising its Base Additional Damage from Healing to 65/120/175/230/285 and boosting its Intelligence scaling for this healing-punish damage to 50%. Corpse Explosion’s Intelligence scaling per corpse also increased from 30% to 35%.
  • Horus: Nerfed with reductions to Protections (down from 2.5 to 2) and Healing (down from 4 to 3) per stack on his Resolute passive. Fracture’s protection reduction and cleave damage were lowered, and To The Skies! had its movement speed bonus reduced to 135%.
  • Aphrodite: Kiss no longer shares protections. Instead, she provides her soulmate with 0.5 Strength and 1 Intelligence for every 1 point of mana regeneration she receives from items.
  • Other Notable Changes: Agni’s Path of Flames range has been shortened to 9.6m. Hades’ Pillar of Agony cooldown has risen to 110 seconds, and its flat protection buff has been lowered. Chaac’s Storm Call cooldown dropped to 75 seconds.

• Core Systems & Quality of Life:

  • Dash System Part 1: Developers have updated the network technology powering dashes to reduce positional corrections. This network test will run at various points during the OB44 cycle.
  • Conquest Setup: The pre-match setup timer has been cut from 90 seconds to 80 seconds.
  • Smart Ping: Players can now middle-click or use the VGS menu to ping dropped jungle buffs, generating a “Take this jungle buff” callout.

Why it matters#

Hel’s new Aspect of Divergence introduces a high-stakes tactical choice mid-match. Locking into one stance forces players to commit to either a dedicated utility support or a high-damage mage, altering team dynamics on the fly.

Meanwhile, the Ares rework fundamentally changes how teams must position against him. By removing his signature pull in favor of a localized root and damage burst, opponents no longer have to worry about being dragged across the map, but Ares gains much faster jungle clear and better personal mobility. Lastly, the underlying network changes to dashes aim to resolve persistent desync and rubberbanding issues during fast-paced skirmishes.

What to do next#

• Join the Races: Compete in the Hel Race to Radiant event from September 22 to September 29, followed immediately by the Charon Race to Exalted starting September 29 through October 6.
• Watch for Twitch Drops: Keep an eye on official @SMITEgame social channels to grab the free Ne Zha Blue Lotus skin when the promotional drop window goes live.
• Explore the Dark Tapestry Event: Check the in-game store to unlock new cosmetics, including the Charon Soulshroud and Amaterasu Cyberblade skins.