Smite Adding a New Game Mode That You Can Test Right Now

Smite's newest game mode has been unveiled, and it's now available for testing.

The mode, called Clash, is a mixture of the game's traditional MOBA mode, Conquest, and its team deathmatch-style mode, Arena. The goal is the standard objective of defeating the enemy team's Titan. Along the way to it, you'll find the usual assortment of towers and phoenixes to destroy.

On its website, developer Hi-Rez Studios describes Clash as being "focused around group team fights and lane pushing mechanics." It's conducive to group fights both because of how close the lanes are to one another (you can see the layout in the image below), and because of a wide-open area in the middle. Team fights are likely to take place there due to the placement of an attack power buff camp that both sides will want to claim for themselves.

"With our two premiere game modes (Conquest and Arena), we often find players either like the free-for-all constant fighting of Arena or the strategic nature of Conquest," Hi-Rez says. "While veterans of both modes will also enjoy the fast-paced action this new game mode provides, we wanted a mode that could bridge the gap between modes and allow for players who may favor one mode to experience some of what the other mode has to offer."

Clash will also provide players with a good opportunity to learn new mechanics as they try to move into Conquest. This includes tower diving, which Hi-Rez expects will be easier to approach here because towers don't cover the lane's full width, as is the case in other modes.

The video above talks a little about Clash and offers a look at its map. Lead designer Scott Zier also mentions that the new Joust map we've previously heard about will be talked about more as the Smite World Championships in early January draw near.

There's not yet a date for when Clash will be available in the live game on PC or Xbox One, but those on PC can try it out for themselves now on Smite's public test servers.