The arena is getting a revamp in Hi-Rez Studio's SMITE, as revealed during the Spring Finals. I had a chance to get some playtime in on the new map and let me see, it's a night to day difference (literally!). The arena mode, for those unaware of SMITE's various modes, plays much more like MMO arena combat and is a very popular mode (one that I play the most) for many reasons, one being that it doesn't require nearly the coordination of a map like conquest for pick-up-groups. 

The biggest noticeable element going on in the new map is that its daytime and visibility throughout the map has improved. It's easier to see the minion camps and everything has a much more distinctive feel. I was hesitant of the change, favoring the current night version of the map, but after playing through a game on it I can tell that it's an actual improvement. 

Before, the feeling I derived was a cool crisp spring night with the air moist and fresh, only the faint scent of blood wafting through the air, the sky dark as the crowd cheers continuously to the various gods duking it out. It was nice, kind of mellow, and very deathmatchy. In the new update you can feel a lot more vibrancy as fireworks and confetti come from the crowd and everything is much more graphically cohesive. 

More than just the lights have been turned on with the new map, various elements change depending on how the battle is going. I had the chance to speak with Thomas Holt, the Level Art Design Director for Hi-Rez Studios, who showed me how various elements change with the ebb and flow of battle. The portal is no longer a static element, two pillars and a dome rest around a chaotic portal that grows more chaotic as minions actually attack the pillars stabilizing it (before being sucked in). As tickets dwindle, the portal grows more and more chaotic and the pillars and dome begin collapsing, giving you a strong visual queue as to what's happening from just looking either at your portal or the enemy's. 

In the same area, the base towers are gone, being replaced with a mythical owl (I forget the name, but they're part of the mythology) that rests above the doors that minions now arrive out of (no longer just poofing into existence). They operate just as the towers do, but you no longer feel like you can 1v1 the immortal towers that exist in the arena (but can still tower dive and all of that). 

Speaking of minions, they've gotten an upgrade to. Gone is the weird and awkward tower and it's now a minion carrying a bomb. Should he reach the opposing portal then he'll throw it in and get sucked into the portal himself. It's the same as the towers that existed before, but it makes a lot more sense. 

The only mechanical difference in the map (the layout is the same throughout) is that the camps are no longer 3 ogres, but now one specific enemy (each one unique to each buff). These rise up out of the ground when they spawn in a neat little graphical effect, but they are equivalent to the three ogres - they just make more sense graphically and in a fast paced arena environment. It's also easier to tell which is which buff. 

I think that's the best way to describe the new map - it makes sense. Everything comes together to say that this is Rome and this is the Roman pantheon's map. There is nothing in the map that really says otherwise, you can see the shields and arrows resting on the ground from previous battles and the colors and everything match. It's got a theme now and it looks the part, even on top of the quality of life changes that you think didn't matter but as I played they do. 

Some may find it discombobulating at first and some may reserve their love still for the night theme, but as I found out in the interview, the night time theme is gone and this is the Arena standard. While I was hesitant at first, I honestly found it pleasurable, and I think that everyone will enjoy the new graphical updates. 

The map will be going live in a future patch, in the mean time play as much of the current arena map as you can, as it'll be retired when the new map goes live. 


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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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Get in the bush with David "Xerin" Piner as he leverages his spectacular insanity to ask the serious questions such as is Master Yi and Illidan the same person? What's for dinner? What are ways to elevate your gaming experience? David's column, Respawn, is updated near daily with some of the coolest things you'll read online, while David tackles ways to improve the game experience across the board with various hype guides to cool games.

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