What are Cthulhu’s abilities and how do they work in Smite?

Cthulhu is the first of the Old Ones to arrive in Smite, and he’s a Guardian. He’ll be there to support the team, trying to act as the person who rushes to the frontline to defend his teammates and set up the best opportunities for the more damage-based heroes to achieve a team wipe. What are his abilities, and how do they work in the game?

These are the initial numbers attached to Cthulhu’s abilities. These will likely change in future updates and revamps of Smite, but these are the starting numbers to give you an idea of how Cthulhu operates in the game. Each ability adds a stack of torment, potentially causing them to have Insanity.

• Passive: Prey on Fear
  • Cthulhu breaks down the mental fortitude of enemy gods, applying stacks of Torment with abilities and the final hit of his basic attack chain. On reaching 4 stacks of Torment, enemies are afflicted by Insanity. Additionally, Cthulhu gains Magical Power per nearby enemy god with Insanity.
  • Insanity Duration: 20s.
  • Magical Power: 25 per stack

Cthulhu’s passive ability adds a new effect to the game called Insanity. It does not cause any additional effects to the enemy, but it will with Cthulhu’s first ability, Sanity Break. If the enemy does not pay attention when they receive this effect, they could have more negative abilities than the initial intention. Insanity lasts for 20 seconds, which means those fighting against Cthulhu in a lane will likely have to become accustomed to it.

• Ability 1: Sanity Break
  • Cthulhu sends out a terrifying blast of energy, dealing damage to all enemies hit and reducing their Attack Speed. Enemies hit by this ability also do reduced damage to Cthulhu for 6s. This ability applies 1 stack of Torment, 2 if the enemy hit is facing Cthulhu or Fears them instead if they are afflicted with Insanity. Successfully consuming Insanity permanently increases the base mitigation of this ability.
  • Damage: 90/135/180/225/270 (+40 percent of your magical power)
  • Attack Speed Slow: 10/15/20/25/30 percent
  • Fear Duration: 1.5s
  • Damage Mitigation: 20 percent
  • Cooldown: 10
  • Cost: 60

Sanity Break will likely become Cthulhu’s bread and butter ability to use it in lane to push up against other enemies consistently. With it, Cthulhu can slow the attack speed of enemy Gods, making it harder for them to fight against hordes of minions or to fight back against an unsuspecting gank from the jungle. It’s an excellent way to open an encounter, and Cthulhu can consistently use during the laning phase to give his lane partner time to stack minions and level up. The ability fires in front of Cthulhu in a cone.

• Ability 2: The Mire
  • Cthulhu summons a portal creating a slowing field of eldritch mire at the target location. While Cthulhu channels, The Mire continues to grow as the portal fires out two masses of corruption that hit and damage all enemies in the field. The first shot also Slows enemies while the second Roots them, both hits applying 1 stack of Torment. Cancelling the ability early stops The Mire from growing or the portal from firing additional shots.
  • Damage per shot: 50/95/140/185/230 (+30 percent of your magical power)
  • Slow: 10 percent
  • Corruption Slow: 35 percent
  • Corruption Slow/Root Duration: 1s
  • Mire Duration: 3s after ability cancel/end
  • Cooldown: 18/17/16/15/14
  • Cost: 50/55/60/65/70

When a Cthulhu player wants to create the perfect trap for an incoming jungle partner, The Mire ability is ideal for creating a field to slow down enemies and prevent them from advancing. However, Cthulhu is slightly exposed and vulnerable because while using this ability, he has to wait in a single position and channel it. If The Mire is not fully formed, it will not fire all of its potential shots. The second shot in this ability fires out a root, giving a jungle partner or ganking ally a perfect opportunity to jump on them.

• Ability 3: Rushing Terror
  • Cthulhu creates two twisting projectiles at his sides as he unfurls his wings and charges forwards, damaging, stunning and knocking away enemies hit. The projectiles follow at a slightly slower pace but travel further, damaging enemies as well. Enemies hit by Cthulhu or the projectiles gain 1 stack of Torment.
  • Damage: 80/120/160/200/240 (+40 percent of your magical power)
  • Stun Duration: 0.4s
  • Projectile Damage: 50/80/110/140/170 (+20 percent of your magical power)
  • Cooldown: 16
  • Cost: 60/65/70/75/80

A Cthulhu player who has been building protections and has full use of their damage mitigation from the first ability, Sanity Break, can use Rushing Terror as a way to charge the enemy. A pair of projectiles form on the side of Cthulhu as he rushes forward, knocking back and stunning any Gods he hits. While the stun only lasts for 0.4 seconds, the ability damages twice, first with the hit from Cthulhu and then from the projectiles. Enemy Gods with no way to heal themselves may find they will have trouble recovering from this, especially from a team communicating with a Cthulhu player who can use this to essentially taunt everyone to their location, ignoring the damage-based Gods as they surge into a team fight.

• Ultimate: Descend Into Madness
  • Cthulhu reveals his true form as he plunges the battlefield into R’lyeh while any enemies caught nearby are damaged. In this form Cthulhu gains access to new abilities. Enemies near Cthulhu gain stacks of Torment, increasing in pace if they are facing him. Enemies also suffer the debuff effects of Sanity Break, causing them to deal less damage to Cthulhu.
  • Damage: 160/205/250/295/340 (+50% of your magical power)
  • Max Health: 30%
  • Duration: 12/13/14/15/16s
  • Debuff Radius: 50
  • Damage Mitigation during Intro: 80%
  • Cooldown: 100
  • Cost: 100

When this ability happens, Cthulhu becomes a massive form of itself, becoming similar to a skycrapper-sized God. The ultimate also changes all of his abilities, making his first ability a swiping attack, his second a thrown area-of-effect attack, and his third an ally heal, movement speed, and power buff. It will damage Cthulhu for a small amount, but it’s likely worth it to use it as a way to engage in a full-on team fight.

Cthulhu is a game-changer for veterans of Smite and arrives on June 16.