Overview
Ares is built around one overwhelming threat. His ultimate pulls every enemy god within range toward him, and the only counterplay is a cleanse or an escape ability. This makes him a draft-level threat as much as a fight-level one: the enemy must hold cooldowns for him, and holding cooldowns means not using them for anything else. His chains deal real damage for a support and cripple their targets, preventing dashes and leaps — making him one of the few supports who can shut down an escaping assassin outright.
Power spike
Level 5, and each subsequent aura item — his passive means his damage and his defensive build scale together rather than competing for slots.
Skill ceiling
Low mechanically, moderate in timing. Landing the ultimate is easy; knowing which twenty seconds of a game it is worth spending is not.
Strengths and weaknesses
Every god guide here lists the weaknesses as prominently as the strengths, because the weaknesses are what tell you which games this pick will not rescue — and that is usually the more actionable half.
What Ares is genuinely good at
- His ultimate is a game-deciding teamfight tool that can end a fight before it properly starts.
- His chains cripple, preventing dashes and leaps — a hard counter to mobile assassins.
- His passive scales his damage with his aura items, so building defensively also makes him more threatening.
- He forces the enemy to hold defensive cooldowns, which has value even in games where he never lands the ultimate.
Where Ares falls short
- His ultimate is fully answered by a single cleanse, so its value drops sharply against prepared opponents.
- Very slow with no mobility, so he is easily kited and easily avoided.
- His engage is all-in: if the ultimate is cleansed he is standing alone inside the enemy team.
- Weak into poke comps that never let him get into range at all.
Build and reasoning
Ares is the one guardian for whom stacking aura items is also a damage build, because his passive converts them into personal damage. A blink-style relic is close to mandatory: without a way to close distance instantly, his ultimate is telegraphed from across the map and every enemy simply walks away.
Core build path
These are item roles rather than fixed product names, because specific items are rebalanced every patch and the reasoning behind a slot is not. Match each role to whatever currently fills it best.
- 1 Support starter
- 2 Stacking health aura item
- 3 Physical protection aura
- 4 Health-reflect item
- 5 Magical protection aura
- 6 Crowd-control reduction
Situational purchases
- Anti-heal aura
- Standard on any support who will be inside the enemy team, which Ares always is.
- Health and protection
- You are being burst down before the ultimate resolves.
- Movement speed utility
- You are consistently unable to close the gap to use your ultimate.
For the reasoning behind these stats — why penetration outperforms power against a built target, why anti-heal has to be bought before it feels necessary — see the item and stat reference and build fundamentals.
Counters and synergies
What beats Ares
- Cleanse-carrying teams
- One cleanse answers his ultimate entirely, and experienced players carry one against him by default.
- Mobility-heavy comps
- Multiple escapes mean the pull only catches one or two targets.
- Poke comps
- He has no way to close distance against a team that refuses to be in range.
What Ares works with
- Area-damage mages
- A pulled, grouped team is exactly the target a large area ultimate wants.
- Follow-up crowd control
- A second lockdown after the pull removes the escape window his ultimate creates.
Practical tips
- Do not open with the ultimate against experienced opponents. Force their cleanse with chains first, then commit.
- Your chains cripple — use them on the assassin diving your carry to remove their escape, not just for damage.
- Every aura item you buy makes you hit harder. Building defensively is building offensively on Ares.
- A blink-style relic is close to mandatory. Without instant repositioning the ultimate is telegraphed from too far away to land.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ares good in SMITE 2?
The most aggressive guardian in the game — an ultimate that pulls an entire team and forces every escape on the board. We place Ares in B tier. His ultimate is a game-deciding teamfight tool that can end a fight before it properly starts. The trade-off: his ultimate is fully answered by a single cleanse, so its value drops sharply against prepared opponents.
What should I build on Ares?
Ares is the one guardian for whom stacking aura items is also a damage build, because his passive converts them into personal damage. A blink-style relic is close to mandatory: without a way to close distance instantly, his ultimate is telegraphed from across the map and every enemy simply walks away.
Who counters Ares?
Cleanse-carrying teams: One cleanse answers his ultimate entirely, and experienced players carry one against him by default. Mobility-heavy comps: Multiple escapes mean the pull only catches one or two targets. Poke comps: He has no way to close distance against a team that refuses to be in range.
Is Ares good for beginners?
Ares is rated low difficulty. Low mechanically, moderate in timing. Landing the ultimate is easy; knowing which twenty seconds of a game it is worth spending is not.
When does Ares power spike?
Level 5, and each subsequent aura item — his passive means his damage and his defensive build scale together rather than competing for slots.