New Babylonian God joins Smite in King of Uruk Update
Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, dropkicks his way onto the battleground of the gods in Smite’s newest update – available now!
As the hero of an incredible Sumerian epic, Gilgamesh is a questing, adventurous king. In Smite, he faces off against a tyrannical Tiamat. His gods had whispered of Tiamat’s return and his destiny to defeat her. With sword in hand, Gilgamesh eagerly leaps into battle in hopes to fulfill his final quest.
When designing Gilgamesh’s visual design, the team wanted to make sure he felt like a king. Looking at ancient art, specifically how ancient civilizations depicted their kings, we were able to incorporate the features and culture of the Babylonian people. During the artistic process, we had clear goals: a strong, fit, male figure that would be culturally accurate. To balance his identity of a king and adventurer, Gilgamesh is adorned with gems and a crown while also ready for battle, carrying a sword and wearing armor. If you look closely, his armor includes a lion and a bull which are both references from his epic. It was said that Gilgamesh acquired powerful artifacts on his journeys and quests, which we wanted to portray as a general theme.
Gilgamesh is a warrior who takes a hands-on approach to combat. He brings a lot of brute-force strength and is quite the tactician. His passive ability is a unique quest that requires him to venture to a map location. Successfully reaching the location will grant Gilgamesh a random Tier 1 item. I alluded to this earlier, but Gilgamesh does indeed have a drop kick ability, launching back his opponents. This ability pairs well with his ultimate: Winds of Shamash. Gilgamesh calls upon the god Shamash to create a ring of wind, slowing and damaging enemies. The drop kick will throw enemies right in the middle of the winds. Be sure to try out this combo and let me know how it feels!
This update also introduces the first Living Conquest Map update: The Rising Storm. Offended by King Gilgamesh’s challenge, Tiamat summons an intense lightning storm that covers the map. You’ll notice the darker skybox and lighting changes as your play. She also commands her hanging gardens to overgrow with dangerous plant life. Introducing a new gameplay mechanic, Vine Walls will spawn in specific places around the jungle. Players must destroy the walls with basic attacks and they cannot walk through these obstacles. To read all of the map changes for the King of Uruk update, check out our patch notes.
And finally, I want to remind everyone that the Talons of Tyranny event is still ongoing! New to the event is Headless Horror Chiron, Lady of the Sea Discordia, and Tormented Soul Medusa, the newest reward. Don’t forget that you can get all these skins and all future Talons of Tyranny skins with the Buy All function. This will instantly unlock the Tier 5 Forgotten Gods Chaac Skin.
I hope that everyone enjoys playing as Gilgamesh and I can’t wait to see you all on the battleground.
SMITE
Hi-Rez Studios