Overview
Want to learn how to play Ra? Want to learn how to pressure the enemy team, push and be a thorn in their side? Then this guide is for you. In this guide I will go through how to play the Egyptian Sun God Ra.
Introduction
Hello all! This guide is the first of what I plan to be a long list of guides to playing certain gods in SMITE. If you have read my Top 10 SMITE gods list then you will know Ra is my favourite god in the game so what better way to start than with the god I’ve probably played most in the game. In this guide I will go through a general idea of what you should be building and what his advantages and disadvantages are as well as how to make the most of each of Ra’s abilities. Anyway, I better start so you can be sniping gods and pushing towers in no time.
Pros and Cons
Role: Mage
Can deal lots of damage
Good escape
Much safer than other mages
Powerful heal
Pusher
Short cooldowns
Vulnerable on own
Squishy
At risk in the jungle
Build
*This is only a general idea of what you should build with Ra. Depending on the Gods you are against and how well you are doing in a game, adjustments to this build can be made.*
This is what a general build will look like but of course it can change. Ra is capable of dealing insane damage while also keeping his team healthy and alive with his solar blessing if you follow this build. It also provides a bit of defence for if he is in a tight spot. Ra is a pusher and so Book of Thoth means he can quickly build power as he kills minions and enemy gods. The penetration provided by obsidian shard will mean your still relatively effective against enemy gods with high protections. You may want to make a few changes depending on how the game goes however.
If you’re not expecting to get as much stacks or want quicker damage for cheaper then you may consider Doom Orb in place of Book of Thoth. The last defence item could also be changed depending on the enemy team composition. If they have more physical damage on their team then Hide of Nemean or a similar physical defence item would help more. If they have more magical damage then Genji’s Guard is a good substitute.
Positioning and Movement
Ra is a mage and despite being safer than a lot of other mages is still incredibly vulnerable on his own. You should try and keep your distance from any enemies as he will die quickly within melee range. Stay back behind tankier gods on your team and keep the pressure on from afar. When attacking towers, it may be best to leave your minions on their own with a Solar Blessing if you are alone yourself, especially on gamemodes like Conquest where ambushes from junglers and other enemy gods are likely.
As well as this, you should constantly be moving around to avoid attacks and minimise damage as much as possible. In the event of a team fight you should be close enough to attack enemies and aid your teammates but not too close to the action so you can make a quick escape if needs be.
Abilities
Ra’s passive allows him to increase his movement speed as he uses abilities. This means he can get in and out of battle quickly, can more easily stop escaping enemies and is a lot safer than most other mages when it comes to escaping. You should try to constantly maintain your passive and never slow down. It is a lot easier to control than Sol’s Heat passive so you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Try to clear out every minion wave or aim for enemies if there are no minions nearby with your 1 and be sure to aid your minions or team with 3. These 2 abilities will be your main method of maintaining your passive so if you are ambushed then you are able to quickly escape or if the opportunity arises chase after an enemy.
Celestial Beam is Ra’s main source of damage and you will be using it a lot. It’s primary use is like a lot of mages clearing minion waves. Hopefully you don’t need any further instruction to doing this, just aim and activate. You should also use it to take a sizeable chunk out of the health of enemy gods. When first playing Ra it made be somewhat harder to aim than other mages’ abilities however you will eventually get the hang of it. Be aware of any enemy gods that are just standing around as they will be very easy to hit. A good Ra always keeps his enemies on the move and fearful of his powerful attacks. You should also learn to predict the movement of enemy gods. Watch where they are heading for and aim accordingly so they walk straight into your beam. This is much easier to do in narrow, small areas such as the jungle. One of the best things about Ra’s beam is also its ability to go through walls. You can use prediction of movement to hit enemies through walls as they are running away or trying to plan an ambush to flush them out. Remember this so you can surprise your enemies and catch them off guard.
Divine Light is Ra’s second ability and works very well with his passive. Light emanates from Ra slowing enemies and eventually exploding dealing damage, blinding enemies and increasing the slow. This in combination with Ra’s passive makes him a very safe and very slippery god. You should only really activate it when fleeing from enemies as it will greatly increase your chances of escape, even more if you have been maintaining your passive as I mentioned. It may also prove useful in chasing enemies however be sure you won’t be in any immediate danger when you activate it as if you are ambushed with your main escape on cooldown you can be in serious danger due to Ra’s squishyness.
This is probably Ra’s most useful ability. It allows you to create an area that cannot be destroyed or blocked that heals allies and damages enemies. Solar Blessing is one of the best heals in the entire game and with Rod of Asclepius it can bring your team from almost dead to full health in a matter of seconds. Healing your teammates should always be first priority as it can save lives and provide a huge advantage to your team however it can be used as a pushing tool too. As well as healing allied gods it can heal minions. If your team is in good condition then you can use it to clear a minion wave while simultaneously healing your minion wave. This can place massive pressure on the enemy team and if you have pushed to a tower it can be used to completely sustain your wave while they are attacking the tower provided no enemy gods are there to damage them also. Finally, it also deals quite a bit of damage to enemy gods. You should try to place it so the enemy gods are in the centre to deal the most damage. This ability can be a turnaround in a team fight so be sure to use it well!
This ability is quite hard to land but once you learn how to land it you will be a force to be reckoned with. It should primarily be used to finish off fleeing enemies that are low on health though it can still hurt a healthier enemy greatly. The easiest way to finish off an enemy is if they make the mistake of recalling to base. Just line up the shot, fire and they won’t know what hit them as they will have little time to get out of the way. They may not even expect it at all if you attack from behind a wall so make use of your environment. This will not always be the case however and most enemies will learn from their mistakes so you will need to learn to predict enemy movement as with Celestial beam. I cannot really give any tips here in this regard. Practice makes perfect. Make use of walls and the environment whenever you can as well since your ultimate goes through walls.This may give you the edge and advantage you need to land the shot though it you should be conscious of the ultimate charge time and the sound Ra makes before firing it as it can act as a warning signal to enemy gods. Ra’s ultimate can also be used, in an emergency to quickly clear a minion wave if his 1 is down. Finally, it can be used to steal jungle monsters such as the Bull Demon King, Fire Giant and Gold Fury. You do not need to worry about using it too much as it has one of the shortest ultimate cooldowns in the game, even shorter with Chronos’ Pendant and other cooldown items.
Thank you for reading!
Hopefully my knowledge of Ra will help you become a better Ra player too. Knowledge can only take you so far however and it make take some practice before you can truly apply what you have learnt. If you have any constructive criticism, please comment below so I can improve any future guides I make. Thank you once again for reading.
Be sure to also check out this guide on my blog here: [link]