When it comes to MOBA’s the ADC is perhaps the most famous (or infamous) role depending, typically, on who you ask and how recently they’ve been pwned. ADC stands for Attack Damage Carry and represents a class or character that deals their damage primarily through their basic or auto attacks and has the capacity to become a hyper carry in a match. ADC’s are often incredibly fragile, trading safety and defenses in favor of overwhelming damage which requires them to be one of the more selfish players in a match. To bring their formidable power online they need highly efficient farming, protection, and to be fed kills whenever possible but if they reach their full build the payoff is immense.
In SMITE this role is most often filled by the Hunter class though in the past it has seen the likes of auto-attack focused Mages and Assassins. When it comes to a pure and powerful ADC several Hunters specifically rise above the rest since their kits are specifically designed to place emphasis and bonuses around their basic attacks. Due to SMITE’s unique 3rd person rear perspective (as compared to the standard top down of other MOBAs) the ability to accurately and consistently land your basic attacks is a skill that takes considerable honing, but when done right it can allow you to absolutely dominate your lane and eventually the match. SMITE’s high skill boxing has led to fame for impressive pros like Zapman . Playing the gods listed below will require a mastery of basic attack boxing but will also make you a formidable ADC player in the process.
Please note that this list places ranking emphasis primarily on Hunters that utilize their basic attacks the best as more directly aligns with the verbatim definition of “Attack Damage Carry.” For a list of the best ranking Hunters in general please refer to my previous article (you may note there is some overlap).
5. CHERNOBOG: THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
Chernobog Reveal Trailer
Chernobog, despite looking like the mascot of a cracked out heavy metal band, is one of the safer, solid choices for ADC in SMITE. He is one of the most well-rounded Hunters available and has the flexibility to be built in the three main styles of ADC’s in SMITE: ability based, crit based, lifesteal based. His global ultimate also solidifies his relevance at all stages of the game after level 5. He makes the pure ADC list rankings due to his heavy reliance on basic attacks and his passive that augments his basic attacks into dealing AoE allowing him to spread the formidable damage to more than a single target at a time.
Why Chernobog is OP:
- He has excellent AoE damage. The majority of hunters are classically designed as single-target specialists, able to burn down one enemy after another before anyone can stop them but Chernobog has several abilities that inherently spread this damage. His passive, Heart of Cold, applies stacks to any enemy he tags with an auto-attack and once it hits three stacks the crystals of his auto attacks explode dealing not only additional damage to the primary target but hitting any targets nearby. His 1, Crystallized Curses, is a large diameter AoE that explodes for heavy damage and will root any enemies in range. Lastly his 2, Vicious Barrage, is a piercing shot that allows him to hit multiple enemies in a line. When it comes to a teamfight Chernobog spreads damage better than most ADCs in the game even while only targeting a single god.
- He’s very safe. His 3, Into Darkness, is one of the more unique dashes in the game. He becomes shadow and can dash into a wall where he will remain untouchable until the ability terminates or until he dashes a second time. Aside from providing brief immunity this is a very unpredictable ability to track as it's not simply a straight line dash. He can also use the channeling of his ult to temporarily be damage immune as well.
- He has a global presence. His ult, Living Nightmare, allows him to take to the skies and choose any enemy on the field to fly to. This not only affords an escape from a sticky situation but allows him to chase kills and pull off cross-map ganks. It is also useful when split pushing towers or objectives.
4. IZANAMI: ZOMBIE BOOMERANGS FTW
Izanami Reveal Video
Izanami, aside from looking as though she stumbled right off the set of the Grudge, is one of the slipperiest gods in the game and a nightmare to try and avoid. Due to her double-hit auto-attack mechanic she will likely always be relevant in the meta as an ADC and the rest of her kit pushes her into a top spot for Hunters. If you want to dominate the duo lane she is one of the best possible selections to make.
Why Izanami is OP:
- Her auto-attack mechanic is difficult to evade. Unlike every other god in SMITE, Izanami's auto-attacks shoot out and return to her like deadly boomerangs. They pass through any targets in their way making body blocking impossible when facing her and allowing her to shred all the minions in a wave at the same time. This allows her to outpush most other Hunters and nullifies a tank’s ability to body block incoming damage to their weaker teammates or structures.
- She’s even slipperier than Rama. Her 3, Fade Away, is one of the better movement abilities in the game. Although it has a long activation time (relative to movement abilities) it allows her to jump to a target location and become stealthed. This allows her to have some of the safer escapes in the game and set up for some of the most devastating ganks as it pairs well with her burst damage.
- Her burst damage comes with strings. Her 2, Spectral Projection, is a wide, long, skill shot that deals significant damage and slows her target. This slow becomes heavier and heavier for each enemy she kills in the match while slowed. Her ult, Dark Portal, is a large diameter circle that deals heavy damage and silences an enemies hit, leaving them extremely vulnerable to further damage. Both of these abilities become even easier to hit when approaching enemies while stealthed. This allows her to have some of the most devastating and confirmable damage in the game.
3. APOLLO: THE GOLDEN BOY
Apollo Reveal Trailer
Apollo is the original golden boy ADC for SMITE. He featured as one their original beta characters and though he has gone up and down in the meta his kit has remained relatively consistent and his focus on auto attacks remains the same. He currently sits very comfortably near the top of the list due to his devastating auto attack escalation and the rest of his kit’s support for boxing matches with other ADC’s. The true skill threshold for Apollo is a bit higher than some of the other Hunters on this list since it requires timing and maximizing the use of his passive, but once you have it down it can be used for the very powerful tool it is.
Why Apollo is OP:
- His CC allows him to be very evasive and complements his auto attack-oriented playstyle very well. Apollo’s 2, Serenade, is an instant cast PBAoE mesmerize any nearby enemies and buff his physical protections. This is very useful for interrupting a channelled attack, escaping an enemy, or setting up a target for a handful of easy-hit auto attacks. His 3, the Moves, beyond being a dash for an escape allows him to slide into enemies, knock them back (another way to interrupt a channelled attack), and slow them while speeding himself up. This move is incredibly useful during a boxing match as a slower target is easier to hit and a faster Apollo is harder to hit.
- His passive is one of the best ADC passives in the game. His passive, Audacity, gains a stack every time he lands an auto attack or a damaging ability on an enemy god and when it reaches ten stacks his attack speed doubles for the next five attacks. This allows a skilled Apollo to deploy a devastating barrage of firepower in the midst of a pitched fight if managed properly. Due to this inherently built-in attack speed buff Apollo is freed up to buy more high-damage or utility items when other Hunters often need to focus on attack speed items. Since it stacks on auto-attacks against minions and structures it also allows a player to split-push like a fiend in the end game and absolutely destroy an enemy lane often before the team can react.
- He has a global ultimate. Across the Sky allows Apollo to call a horse-drawn Uber and zip to anywhere he likes across the map. On top of being a solid escape plan it also allows him to race to defend objectives, join team fights, push lanes, and just generally bring his formidable damage to bear wherever it is needed or most effective on the map.
2. ANHUR: THE REAL LION KING
Anhur Reveal Video
Anhur has one of the most fun and aggressive ADC kits in the game due to the design of his kit. He is also the only Hunter on this list without a built in attack speed stim in his kit, however he makes up for this with very useful CC and heavy damage per shot. Masterful use of his CC allows him to trump almost any other hunter if deployed properly and can give him a brief 1-2s window where he can punish his foes with his debilitating auto attacks.
Why Anhur is OP:
- Using map geometry he can trap you in a world of hurt. Anhur’s 2, Impale, is a long-range, high damage, skill shot that will knock back any god’s hit which can allow him to wipe minion waves and knock away attacking gods but its real utility comes from its stun. If Anhur hits an enemy into a wall or other map geometry they are stunned allowing him to easily tag them with several follow up auto attacks. His 1, Shifting Sands, summons a pillar and an AoE slow onto the map, while the slow helps during a pitched boxing match (especially since it increases the damage of his auto attacks) this ability can be used by expert players to trap fleeing enemies, absorb incoming auto attacks, and provide a pillar against which Anhur can impale his enemies.
- He has an aggressive jump. Anhur’s 3, Disperse, although somewhat slow is excellent for setting up attacks. On most Hunter’s their dash/jump is preserved solely for escaping danger but Anhur’s can be used as another setup in lane. When he lands it damages all nearby enemies and knocks them back directly away from him. Due to this a skilled Anhur can knock enemies away from an escape route or simply into the air and set himself up for an easy impale, auto attacks, or a full-scale ultimate barrage.
- His spears H U R T. Due to Anhur’s passive, Enfeeble, his auto attacks automatically reduce his targets’ protections. This coupled with the enhanced auto attack damage in his 1’s radius make each of his thrown spears absolutely lethal. And if by some miracle you survive the onslaught of his auto attacks he can fry you with his ultimate, Desert Fury. Anhur rapidly spews eight spears that can deal up to 1370 damage (+240% of your physical power) if they all strike.
1. RAMA: THE UNDISPUTED KING OF AUTO-ATTACKS
Rama Reveal Trailer
Rama is like unsalted, unbuttered mashed potatoes: plain, boring, but they’ll get the job done. He is perhaps the purest Hunter in regards to the core mechanic of dealing out punishing damage through auto-attacks. Although his kit is one of the simplest in terms of how it works he has a very high skill ceiling due to the fact that his potency is entirely dependent on how great your aim is. This makes him frustrating for those still nailing down the specifics of auto-attack aiming and timing and a powerhouse for those who are snipers with auto-attacks.
Why Rama is OP:
- He is an unparalleled boxer and could beat any hunter in the game in a pure auto-attack face off. Boxing refers to when two characters are trading auto-attacks back and forth as it relies on juking and strafing to avoid attacks while also requiring precision aim and prediction to land blows on your enemy. Rama’s 1, Astral Strike, imbues his auto-attacks with the ability to pierce, deal additional damage, and slow. This is ideal during boxing as it prevents an enemy from shielding behind lane minions, makes them slower targets to hit, and of course deals additional damage. Combined with his 2, Infinite Arrows, it is deadly. Rama’s 2 is a pure attack speed stim, when popped Rama’s attack speed increases by up to 50% for 5 full seconds. This also frees him to by additional more deadly items while his opponent may need to continue building attack speed.
- He is slippery. His dash was one of the more unique abilities in the game introduced. Sitting as his 3, Rolling Assault, this dash allows him to quickly bound in whatever direction Rama is moving which allows him to close a gap, dodge and attack, or exit a fight in a quick and decisive manner. His ult, Astral Barrage, allows him to jump into the sky for up to 5 full seconds allowing him to evade incoming damage and let his teammates regroup on top of the fact that it allows for three punishing skill shots (if you can land them).
As always we’d love to hear any feedback you have to provide on this list. Remember that due to SMITE’s large roster and their varied kits dedicated players can certainly make most any character work in casual and low ranked matches however the list above are gods that will consistently win in a pure ADC boxing match at high rank and competitive levels. The ADC role is likely the most technically skilled role in SMITE and a punishing one to learn but if done correctly it can snowball into a hyper carry and utterly win the match for their team if left unchecked. We hope you enjoyed this article and good shooting out there!
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