Jormungandr is Smite’s newest god. He hails from the Norse pantheon, is classified as a Guardian, and is the biggest god Smite has ever seen. While Guardians are typically considered for the support role, Jormungandr (or Jorm as I’ll call him throughout this guide) flourishes in the Solo Lane. This is due to a variety of reasons which we’ll go over.
Passive and Auto Attacks
His passive, called Immovable, is very strong and one of the main reasons why you would pick him in solo. He cannot be affected by hard displacement. This means he is not affected by any abilities that would push, pull, or knock him up in any way. So, Ne Zha cannot ult him, Kuzenbo cannot Sumo Slam him, and Geb cannot knock him back. Instead of being displaced, a debuff is placed on him, which slows him and makes him take 10% increased damage for two seconds. Immovable makes him a good choice against teams with a lot of displacement, especially as a lane opponent.
His auto attacks are unique. He has a meter, which is shown above, that is essentially a fuel tank that depletes when auto attacking. He spits a fire-like projectile in a cone front of him, and as the meter is drained, his attack slows. The meter regains fuel as you stop auto attacking. Jorm’s autos kill wards and Ah Puch corpses almost instantaneously. If you are thinking about building attack speed on him for whatever reason, he doesn’t get any increase in attack speed through items, rather it increases his fuel regeneration speed.
These autos are important for clearing the wave early on in solo. Using your auto attack fuel, then using abilities to give time for the tank to refill, and then autoing again is an optimal strategy to maximize damage as Jorm.
Abilities
His first ability is called Venomous Haze. Jorm spits out a circular pool that damages and slows enemies inside of it. It does damage on hit and then subsequently does tick damage to any enemies standing in it for the duration of the pool.
This is the central ability to his kit because every ability outside his ultimate interacts with it in some way. It has long range, so it’s his main means of poking. You can hit the Totem of Ku with it while clearing wave, and you can throw it over the wall to get Blue Buff XP while your jungler does the camp. Choose this ability first if you are against a high-pressure god in solo because it is his safest clear.
Initial Damage: 80/120/160/200/240 (+40% of your Magical Power)
Damage per tick: 5/15/25/35/45(+5% of your Magical Power)
Slow: 15%
Slow Duration: 1s
Cloud Duration: 20s
His second ability is called Consuming Bellow. Jorm “roars” doing damage in a circle around him, causing enemies hit to be slowed and tremble. This ability is empowered by his pools, gaining extra range and damage for each pool that is around him, up to a maximum of three pools. Empowering Consuming Bellow causes Jorm’s basic attacks to fire at its fastest rate. While channeling this ability, you gain 10% damage mitigation, which can offset the extra 10% damage you take from his passive.
This ability is my preferred level 1 pickup because it can hit the whole wave, but you do have to walk in the middle of the wave to achieve this, so be aware of that. It is also going to be your most damaging ability mid-to-late game and is essential to his combo which we’ll go over after his next ability.
Damage: 120/180/240/300/360 (+50% of your Magical Power)
Bonus Damage: 20/30/40/50/60 (+10% of your Magical Power)
Damage Mitigation While Channeling: 10%
Empowered Buff: 1s
Jorm’s third ability is called Submerge. Jorm goes into the ground with his head peeking out and enters stealth. While submerged, he gains increased movement speed. Activating the ability again will knock up anyone around him and deal damage. The stealth is broken by damage, but it won’t cancel the ability. If you pop up while under one of the pools you will create two more pools, but they will only last for five seconds. This ability can be used to dive the backline during teamfights or to get out of sticky situations. It can also be used as a zoning ability. For example, if two teams are doing the Fire Giant dance, going into Submerge may cause the enemy team to retreat or at least be very cautious until they see where you pop up.
Damage: 70/125/180/235/290 (+50% of your Magical Power)
Movement Speed: 25%
Duration: 5s
With all three abilities in mind, lets go over his combo. First, throw down a pool, preferably on top of your enemy to slow them. Then, Submerge and pop up underneath the pool which creates two more pools. Use Consuming Bellow in the middle of the three pools for a fully empowered ability and do massive damage.
Jorm’s ultimate ability is called The World Serpent, and it is his defining ability. After a small delay, Jorm enters an invulnerable state and can traverse a sizable area. He flies in the air and crashes down at a specified area. This happens three times, and at each location a pool is left. Enemies hit by this ability are knocked up.
His ultimate is easily dodged, and therefore you should look to use it for its utility most of the time rather than outright damage. Using it for space control to stop an enemy from traversing a part of the jungle is great. Rotating to fights that your solo lane opponent cannot will be extremely impactful. It is also great for getting out after you dive the enemy backline. Just make sure to remember that there is a short wind-up time where you can be targeted, so use it like you would a Sun Wukong ultimate.
Submerge Damage: 150/200/250/300/350 (+40% of your Magical Power)
Emerge/Crash Damage: 75/100/125/150/175 (+20% of your Magical Power)
Build
Jorm needs to build damage. He feels very useless without a mix of damage and defense items. Let’s go over an example of a build that will work in most situations and outline some substitutions you should make for certain matchups.
The Start
For your starter item, Warrior’s Blessing is a great item on Jorm because it’ll give him protections and some sustain in lane. You’ll want to buy a Chalice of Healing and some Health Potions as well. Then, you’ll want to buy your boots, Shoes of the Magi or Shoes of Focus are the preferred choices on Jorm because he really needs that extra damage that they both give him. Depending on your lane matchup, you'll then want go into Void Stone if you are against a magical god or Breastplate of Valor if you are against a physical god. After you buy Void Stone or Breastplate, buy the other item that you didn’t purchase yet.
Mid Game/Late Game
Gem of Isolation is great pickup on Jorm because the slow from Gem gives Jorm an immense amount of space control with his pools. The slow can also help teammates land their own abilities and auto attacks. Mantle of Discord is a fantastic item for Jorm. He is a giant target and will take a beating from the enemy team, so the protections that Mantle provides are essential for teamfights. The stun from Mantle's passive also gives Jorm the time to use his ultimate to get out of dangerous situations. The item that you replace Warrior’s Blessing for is completely situational. If you are taking too much damage from the ADC then grab a Midgardian Mail or Hide of the Nemean Lion, if you are taking too much damage from mages, grab an Oni Hunter’s Garb or Genji’s Guard, and if you want more damage, then grab an Ethereal Staff.
Substitutions
If you feel as though you will be heavily pressured in lane, you can opt for a Guardian’s Blessing instead of Warrior’s Blessing. This will allow you to sit under tower and farm more effectively. If you are against an extremely heavy pressure god, such as against King Arthur, you can buy Reinforced Shoes to have extra survivability in lane. If there are any healers are on the enemy team, picking up a Pestilence is going to be essential.
Final Thoughts
Jormungandr can be a force to be reckoned with if picked in the correct situations. The ability to rotate frequently and easily with your ultimate to impact other lanes and being a disruptive force in team fights are where he shines. With his pools littering the map, he can empower his Consuming Bellow and cause havoc. Diving the backline and getting out scot-free with his ultimate will leave teams frustrated and hopefully with a death timer.
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