Smite: A Complete Guide To Khepri's Skills | Game Rant
Khepri, The Dawn Bringer, is a God of the Egyptian Pantheon that has been a staple of the metagame in SMITE for some time now. Many Gods go through phases of power, some dipping out of the top tiers to let others shine. Khepri, on the other hand, is a reliable beetle. According to community-made tierlists, he's never at the very top, but he's always close. This, in combination with a relatively simple kit, makes him a solid pickup for players looking to try out the Guardian role.
While it doesn't take long to get used to his abilities, there are a lot of finer details and edge cases to consider. Khepri has a lot of power, but a fair bit of it is hidden. Maximizing that power in teamfights is the difference between a good Khepri and an excellent one.
One of Khepri's strengths comes in his versatility. On the one hand, he has the tools to be a disruptive frontliner, soaking damage and keeping enemies in place. He's able to shake up fights directly through with his utility. On the other hand, he's able to play a more passive role, staying beside his carries and keeping them safe through aura buffs and strong peel. Since both are viable options, each skill needs to be considered for both styles. Players will need to try for themselves to figure out what style suits their personal preference. With this in mind, his skill build is quite flexible and should be altered on a game-by-game basis.
Fortitude is a simple, yet effective passive for both the lane phase and team fight preparation. Every five seconds out of combat, Khepri bestows a shield onto himself and all allies in 40 unit radius. The shield is worth 2% of their max HP. This timer doubles to ten seconds if Khepri enters combat. The shield, however, lasts for fifteen seconds, meaning Khepri can stack the shield multiple times at a cap of 10% max HP. Players can monitor the timer using the scarab icon above Khepri's portrait.
Due to the percent max health scaling on the shield, it gets stronger over the course of the game. In the early game, Khepri players should look to use the shield timing to trade aggressively, as an even trade will usually leave Khepri on top. Later in the game, Khepri players should stick near allies to get maximum value out of the shield. It isn't a game-changing value, but since it applies multiple times over a long fight, it gets stronger and stronger.
Abduct is Khepri's primary form of engage as an aggressive Guardian. The skill is a dash, lunging Khepri forward through minions and monsters. If Khepri collides with an enemy God, he'll drag them back for a duration that scales with level. The enemy can still attack, but are silenced. This ability can be cleansed. Khepri gains increased Protections while pulling an enemy.
- Damage: 80/130/180/230/280 (+40% of your Magical Power)
- Pull Duration: 1.5/1.6/1.7/1.8/1.9
- Protections: 10/15/20/25/30
- Cost: 60 Mana
- Cooldown: 14 seconds
Abduct is a powerful ability, but one that comes with risks. An aggressive Abduct that misses will leave Khepri in a vulnerable position with no easy way out. A defensive Abduct removes a lot of Khepri's threat during fights. This ability is best used after following a successful Solar Flare in an aggressive lane. It can also be used to peel enemies off of vulnerable allies during skirmishes and ganks.
It's up to preference when to level this ability, but it is typically maxed out second or third. A common strategy is to take this ability level 2 and, in conjunction with stacked passive shields, fish for an early engage.
Rising Dawn is Khepri's primary tool for trading and poking in lane. This ability is a wide, line skillshot that rolls forward at a rather slow pace. Enemies touched by the attack take damage-over-time and have reduced Protections for three seconds. Allies touched by the ability take reduced damage for the same duration.
- Damage: 10/14/18/22/26 (+5% Magical Power every 0.3s)
- Protections Debuff: 5/10/15/20/25%
- Damage Mitigation: 10/15/20/25/30%
- Duration: 3s
- Cost: 50/70/70/80/90 mana
- Cooldown: 12 seconds
A supportive Khepri will likely get more mileage out of this ability than an aggressive Khepri. The damage mitigation is a lot of hidden power that's hard to really notice, especially since 3 seconds is not that long for a defensive buff. Using this ability to poke in lane is a good option. Consider also following up a successful Rising Dawn with a Solar Flare/Abduct combo, making the most of the protections debuff. In fights, this ability should be used off-cooldown if mana costs allow.
This ability is taken at level 1 and typically maxed out first. However, builds that have a limited mana pool may consider distributing points evenly between this and Solar Flare.
Solar Flare is the ability Khepri will need to make the most of in skirmishes. This ability calls down an attack in a 15 unit radius, dealing damage and rooting enemies in place. Both scale with levels in the ability. It's a simple, but powerful ability.
- Damage: 60/115/170/225/280 (+30% Magical Power)
- Root Duration: 1.5/1.6/1.7/1.8/1.9s
- Cost: 60/65/70/75/80 mana
- Cooldown: 14 seconds
In lane, this ability is almost exclusively used to setup engages. Either follow up a Solar Flare with an Abduct, or use it to give the jungler a free gank and kill opportunity. In team fights, the ability can used at the start of fights to setup for other allies abilities. However, there may be angles where it's advantageous to hold onto Solar Flare to disrupt a teamfight by locking down enemies during the scuffle. This ability is harder to land than Khepri's others, so it may take some practice to utilize effectively.
This ability is taken at level 3, and maxed first or second depending on the situation. During lanes that favor an aggressive Khepri, the increased root duration is invaluable. Consider your lane partner before choosing whether to prioritize this or Rising Dawn.
Khepri's ultimate, Scarab's Blessing, is absolutely the ability that requires the most timing and practice. This ability can only target allied Gods, blessing them with various buffs. The target is cleansed, given Movement Speed and an immunity to slow effects. Most importantly, if an ally is killed during the ability duration, they are revived at Khepri's location. This is denied through Execution abilities, like Thanatos's ultimate.
- Revived Health: 25/30/35/40/45%
- Movement Speed: 20/25/30/35/40%
- Duration: 5s
- Cost: 80/90/100/110/120 mana
- Cooldown: 110 seconds
This ability can be teamfight altering, but it absolutely favors the more reactive and supportive Khepri. After all, reviving a target into the middle of the enemy team may be a thrill, but is also just a form of strategic griefing. Despite the cleanse and Movespeed buffs, this ability should be saved to clutch a revive on an ally. It has too long of a cooldown to burn, and enemies can easily counterplay it by simply waiting the duration out.
This ability should be leveled whenever the player is given a chance. However, Khepri's do have the option of leaving it at one point, focusing more on enabling the rest of their kit and letting the revive be a one-point wonder.
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