SMITE Defeating Agni Guide

SMITE Defeating Agni Guide by Rejection

I. Introduction

A lot of new players find Agni to be quite a tough god to play against, for good reason. When they ask what to do against him they’re met with elitist phrases like “L2P Issue”. In truth, he isn’t any better or any worse than most of his peers. It just takes a little know-how to properly deal with him.

So, to begin, here’s what’s so frustrating to new players about Agni as opposed to other common mid-lane gods: you have to go out of your way to make sure he doesn’t win lane and proceed to steamroll the rest of the game. Agni is, plain and simple, a snowball style god (if he does very well earlygame, he will go on to do very well late-game). This coin also has another side, though. If he doesn’t manage to do exceptionally well early-game, he doesn’t transition very well into the late-game. This means that the best way to beat an Agni is just to deny him what he needs: early-game kills. Things get scary when he gets fed, so you’ll also need to know how to deal with an Agni that’s killed that awful instalock Ra on your team ten too many times.

II. When laning against Agni:

1. No matter what god you’re playing, learn to play it safe.
If you know you’re laning against an Agni, consider using Reinforced Boots rather than Boots of the Magi. However, champions like Ra and Zeus (with high damaging spells) can choose Boots of the Magi instead.

Don’t be afraid to stand on your tower while Agni attacks creeps. They (and their tasty gold) will eventually get to you. Try not to let the tower do too much damage to them, however, as the tower steals gold from you when it deals damage to creeps.

In addition to playing it safe, consider buying 2-3 health potions each time you go back to base. They will help you stay in lane through Agni’s pressure. Agni will also want kills shortly after he hits level 5. Keep an eye on the red halo above his head. If there are 3 orbs, this means he has 3 meteors ready to drop on you. If you’re low on health, this may be a good time to go back to base.

2. Learn to punish him.
Agni wants kills, so most Agni players will be quite hungry for them. This means that he will want to wipe out creep waves quickly by using his Path of Flames. Stand a decent ways behind your ranged minions and off to the side so that you may step into the flames as soon as he dashes through them, causing the creeps to attack Agni, but you won’t be in a spot where he can easily hit you with a stun. Then unleash whatever strong spells you have on him, as he’ll be turned around running. If you’re Zeus, hit him with a couple autoattacks followed by a fat Detonate. If you’re Anubis, Mummify him and hit him with a Plague or Death Gaze.

3. Don’t get hungry for kills or gold.
This is perhaps the most important thing to remember against a proficient Agni player. He will likely best you in a fight or easily get away using Noxious Fumes/Path of Flames. Try your best to get gold using skills/autoattacks, but it’s not a huge deal if you go even with Agni. Every other mage scales into late-game better than Agni (provided we’re talking about a non-fed Agni). It’s fine if both of you are 0/0/0 and you have slightly less gold than he does.

If he happens to get your tower with his incessant pushing and pestering, it’s honestly not that big of a deal. There’s another tower right behind it. However, when he gets a tower down, he will most certainly be looking for opportunities to gank. Keep your eyes open.

4. Keep an eye on him.
Agni players, hungry as they generally are, will probably try to go for a gank once in a while if they aren’t making any progress in killing you. At the very least, tell your teammates he is gone. Ideally (if he chooses a poor time to gank), you’ll want to wait a few seconds to let him get a head start, then follow him where he’s going and proceed to kill him once he initates on your teammates.

III. When in late-game against a fed agni.

1. Buy purification beads. No, really. Buy them.
For 500 gold, you get a get-out-of-jail-free card against Agni every two minutes. Crazy, right!? If he stuns you, use purification beads and proceed to beat him down. Encourage your team to buy them as well. They go a long way against a fed Agni.

If you’re a squishy target, Aegis Amulet can certainly be a better choice, as it will help you in other situations as well.

2. Keep tabs on him.
Don’t rush in to kill someone if you suspect Agni may be nearby to stun you and then instantly kill you. You may very well be getting baited.

If he is terrorizing right lane and you’re meandering around the left-lane jungle, you should push left lane as hard as you can until some of their team show up.

3. Focus him.
Encourage your team to kill Agni as soon as he enters the fight. His damage output is slower than most mages. A He Bo can throw out a huge amount of burst damage in a very small period of time. Agni has to wait on three slow meteors to come down, and he’s usually in the middle of the fight (having just used Path of Flames to stun you) while he’s casting them. Use your purification beads, turn towards him, and beat him to a pulp.

IV. TLDR

1. Use your tower and play it safe. Don’t die to him.
2. Punish his Path of Flames with whatever spells you have.
3. Tell your teammates when he is gone and follow him to other lanes if possible.
4. BUY PURIFICATION BEADS!
5. Focus-fire him.