u/pharrside32

Smite 2 needs better anti-grief systems, not just better balance.

I can deal with losing. I can deal with bad teammates. What I don't understand is why Smite 2 is so focused on punishing queue dodges while still forcing players to sit through obviously compromised matches.

Just had a game with a player who spent most of the match intentionally feeding after getting upset with teammates. Reported him after the match, but our only real option was still a surrender vote that required 4 yes votes...and we only got 3.

He ended up with 28 deaths.

Smite 2 is a new game. Why are surrender votes the only solution?

If the game can detect AFK behavior, leavers, and cheating, why can't it detect extreme griefing patterns? A player dying 20+ times while repeatedly running into the enemy team isn't subtle.

I'd love to see Hi-Rez experiment with systems that specifically target griefing:

• Faster surrender options when a player is repeatedly reported by teammates during a match
• Better automated detection of intentional feeding
• More visible penalties for repeat offenders
• Match protection systems when a player is clearly sabotaging their own team

Curious what other people think. What's the best way for Smite 2 to handle intentional feeding and griefing without creating false positives?

I’m frustrated with what feels like a recurring balance and rollout problem in Smite 2, particularly as an Arena-focused player. I waited to play until my main, Ishtar, was added, dealt with early optimization issues (aspect OP, disabled, etc.), and now feel the game itself is being undermined by poorly tested Aspect releases.

My main criticism is the way Hi-Rez Studios is handling Aspects: releasing them in an overtuned state, then relying on the player base to identify what’s broken after launch. The new Atlas Aspect is the clearest example to me. In my view, it’s massively overtuned — capable of constant long-range zoning, huge damage numbers, and near fight-to-fight uptime without requiring extreme cooldown investment. Even with a relatively standard mage build, Atlas can dominate Arena from across the map in a way that feels oppressive and untested.

What makes it worse is that the Aspect creates two different problems depending on player skill:

• In the hands of a good player, Atlas becomes overwhelmingly oppressive.
• In the hands of a weaker or more casual player, the god turns into a liability that ruins match quality for teammates.

It reminds me of early Bake Kujira in Smite 1, where the design itself encouraged chaotic, low-quality matches because inexperienced players would unintentionally troll games. As a solo-queue Arena player who doesn’t run in a five-stack, these repeated balance swings make the game feel frustrating and borderline unplayable.

Overall, I think Hi-Rez needs to break this pattern of releasing experimental content in obviously overtuned or unhealthy states and expecting live players to serve as the real testing environment afterward.