Overview
Poseidon combines three things that rarely appear together: excellent wave clear, a passive that grants movement speed, and a teamfight ultimate large enough to punish any grouped team. The movement speed matters more than it looks — it means he can clear his wave and reach a fight elsewhere faster than most mid laners, converting wave clear into map pressure rather than mere safety. His weakness is that his damage outside the ultimate is modest, so he depends on landing a multi-target ultimate to justify his slot.
Power spike
Level 5, then his first penetration item. His ultimate defines his contribution, so his spikes track its availability and its damage rather than his overall stats.
Skill ceiling
Moderate. The combo is simple to execute; the depth is in judging when the enemy is grouped enough to be worth the ultimate.
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 Poseidon is genuinely good at
- Best-in-class wave clear from early levels, which gives him consistent lane safety.
- Natural movement speed from his passive turns wave clear into genuine rotational pressure.
- His ultimate is among the highest-impact teamfight tools in the game against a grouped team.
- His pull-into-ultimate combo is a reliable setup that does not depend on a teammate.
Where Poseidon falls short
- Modest damage outside the ultimate, so a missed ultimate makes him largely irrelevant to the fight.
- His escape is short and mostly a repositioning tool rather than a real disengage.
- Very punishable by dive, since his only defensive tool is a small displacement.
- His ultimate is heavily telegraphed and dodgeable by spread-out teams.
Build and reasoning
Poseidon benefits from cooldown reduction more than most burst mages because his ultimate is his contribution — having it for two fights instead of one is a larger swing than a marginal damage increase. Stacking mana and power early solves the resource cost of his wave clear, which is what lets him clear and rotate rather than clear and back.
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 Mage starter
- 2 Mana and power stacking item
- 3 Cooldown reduction item
- 4 Magical penetration item
- 5 Power item
- 6 Late-game power
Situational purchases
- Anti-heal
- The enemy has a healer, and your large area ultimate is the best delivery mechanism for it.
- Crowd-control reduction
- You are being locked down before you can land the ultimate.
- Displacement-boosting item
- You want the pull to guarantee the ultimate connects.
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 Poseidon
- Dive assassins
- His escape is not a real escape and he dies to a committed dive.
- Spread-out comps
- His ultimate scales in value with how grouped the enemy is, and a disciplined team simply spreads.
- Burst mages
- He loses a straight mid-lane damage race against a dedicated burst mage.
What Poseidon works with
- Lockdown guardians
- A stunned or grouped team cannot spread out of the ultimate, which is its only counterplay.
- Dive junglers
- His movement speed lets him arrive at ganks his lane opponent cannot answer.
Practical tips
- Place the pull first, then the ultimate on top. Grouping targets into the centre removes the ultimate's main counterplay.
- Use your passive movement speed deliberately — rotate to the jungle or duo lane after clearing rather than standing in mid.
- Save your displacement for self-peel against a dive rather than spending it as extra damage in a won fight.
- Do not force the ultimate into a spread team. Holding it for the next objective fight is nearly always better.
Frequently asked questions
Is Poseidon good in SMITE 2?
A wave-clear mage with natural rotational speed and one of the most punishing teamfight ultimates in the game. We place Poseidon in B tier. Best-in-class wave clear from early levels, which gives him consistent lane safety. The trade-off: modest damage outside the ultimate, so a missed ultimate makes him largely irrelevant to the fight.
What should I build on Poseidon?
Poseidon benefits from cooldown reduction more than most burst mages because his ultimate is his contribution — having it for two fights instead of one is a larger swing than a marginal damage increase. Stacking mana and power early solves the resource cost of his wave clear, which is what lets him clear and rotate rather than clear and back.
Who counters Poseidon?
Dive assassins: His escape is not a real escape and he dies to a committed dive. Spread-out comps: His ultimate scales in value with how grouped the enemy is, and a disciplined team simply spreads. Burst mages: He loses a straight mid-lane damage race against a dedicated burst mage.
Is Poseidon good for beginners?
Poseidon is rated low difficulty. Moderate. The combo is simple to execute; the depth is in judging when the enemy is grouped enough to be worth the ultimate.
When does Poseidon power spike?
Level 5, then his first penetration item. His ultimate defines his contribution, so his spikes track its availability and its damage rather than his overall stats.