Smite Tactics enters Closed Alpha

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What an average game of Smite Tactics looks like.

On October 19th, during the stream for Smite’s patch notes, it was officially announced that Hi-Rez Studios was working on a strategy game spin off of Smite. This game is called Smite Tactics. They announced that the game would enter closed beta later this year (this was later changed to closed alpha due to the state of the game) and set up a website for people to sign up for access to it at https://www.smitetactics.com. The game officially entered its closed alpha phase on November 22nd.

Smite Tactics is a strategy game spinoff of Smite that has been described as a cross between Xcom and Hearthstone. This is because it requires positioning of units like Xcom, but employs a mana system, deck system and health system more akin to Hearthstone, which will inevitably be Smite Tactics’ primary competition as it’s the only major card/strategy game that has a large following.

The game is between two players. Each has to make a deck of cards (that they either start with or obtain through packs purchased in game) themed after one of the four pantheons currently available. Depending on which pantheon they pick, their primary unit will either be Ra, Odin, Zeus or Guan Yu. The primary objective is to slay the other player’s primary unit. This is done by using cards to place minions or gods and cast various spells. (The difference between gods and minions is that gods have a powerful ability that they can use every few turns.)

Being in closed alpha, the game is in a rather rough state. For starters, the queue times to be paired up with another player are much longer than average though this is likely due to a lack of players (which is inherent at this stage in development). The game’s also very poorly optimized, as it has a tendency to lag even when on low graphical settings. The card art isn’t finished either. A lot of it is taken straight from Smite or is very clearly drawn on MS Paint. But more than that, with Smite Tactics they’re only working with four pantheons of gods (Egyptian, Norse, Greek and Chinese) as opposed to Smite’s eight (soon to be nine). Also each pantheon has barely enough cards to make a deck giving very few options. In contrast, Hearthstone, has nine playable classes. Classes function fundamentally the same as pantheons in Smite Tactics, but every class has more cards and options than any pantheon in Smite Tactics. Though this will change as the game progresses, Hearthstone, simply because it has more content, in the early stages will likely hold interest better.

The game has generated excitement in the Smite community as of late. Smite player and AHS student Ben Fraser says “It seems like it has potential.” Though Smite player and AHS student Ryan Tate countered with “Well technically… Nah.”

Although Smite Tactics isn’t in a very workable state, there’s still a lot of potential for the game.