I think the reason people get hyperbolic about Smite is that it’s been overtuned for ages, breezing through several balance passes without even taking a dent, slowing the game and teaching bad habits the whole time. I can objectively describe it as hard CC against any number of targets for 10+ seconds at a time, with its only cost being an infinitely regenerating resource and the only counters being literal boss monsters and some buffed enemies on certain auric modifiers. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that people are getting increasingly sick of the impact that it can have on the game.
I don’t want Smite gone, but it really could use a rework into something that is more limited and actually encourages more active participation by the Smiter. My personal idea is less Palpatine, more Zeus: you get some warp lightning bolts that you can throw at a target to stun it and other enemies in a few meter radius around it. Then the psyker can do the killing work with his actual weapons instead of pumping an endless cycle of blitz zaps and shriek flames into every horde.
I’m even a returning player and it took less than a couple of days before I instantly got tired of seeing smite players.
The straw that broke the camel’s back being a match with two smite psykers who did basically nothing else an entire auric run. Sure, we cleared it, but lord was it boring.
Pretty sure the only thing keeping it from being a huge pain point overall is that it’s not super common. (Probably because it’s also boring to use for the majority of people.)
So you’re saying it’s not the reasoning you take issue with but the fact that I’m laying it out plainly and in detail?
…Fair enough…?
We all want to feel like the game’s a challenge. 
We all want to have our own answers in our own fantasies on how to answer said challenge.
If Smite really has made things boring for you, I can see why you’re frustrated.
However…
Debating if its power needs adjusting is hardly rewriting anyone’s experience.
The point is that Smite’s impact isn’t universally game-breaking, as it’s largely dependent on the team dynamic and approach.
It is impossible to CC “everything.” Thus, hyperbole!
And as for the contentious nature - that’s what balance discussions are for. It’s precisely why we have threads like these, to sift through feedback and come up with ideas that work better for all playstyles for everyone involved. Those who enjoy what is, and those who don’t like what is.
Edit: Is it easier to digest what I write when I break ideas into smaller one-sentence paragraphs? Or, was there an easier way that I could’ve said all this that conveys the same messages?
Thank you, Captain Obvious. In more recent news, people tend to use normal vernacular in conversation.
I shouldn’t think I need to say that “Obviously they didn’t CC quite literally every enemy on the map” but here we are with you managing to turn that into a multi-paragraph post.
No. You’re continuing to completely misunderstand the point isn’t about its balance, the entire design of the ability is flawed. Regardless of how good or bad the ability is, it’s an anti-fun ability for many, many people.
This has been said repeatedly. I cannot spell it out any more bluntly. This is exactly why you come across as pretentious, your entire post is attempting to talk down to me while you completely miss the points people have been making repeatedly. For example.
Smite is “overtuned”, because it’s a crowd control ability that barely deals any damage (basically, deals “good” damage only if you use damage stim alongside it).
If Smite was nerfed to the state where it has limited uses or has a really short duration, people would probably just not use it at all, because at this point any other DPS-focused blitz would be better. They are ALREADY better than Smite in a skilled player’s hands. If Smite was nerfed, it would be replaced by a classic soulblaze build through the warp charges that’s actually much stronger than Smite built with middle tree keystone.
For support abilities and cc abilities to be useful, they need to be on the stronger end of the balancing, otherwise they’re unusuble in many teams you meet in quickplay. Hence why Voice of Command and Smite are “overpowered”, as people say. Most players play only selfish builds and would never use a weak teamwork-based abilities.
Again, point taken - if the issue is the design itself rather than just its balance, I get why my response came off as dismissive.
Perhaps I come off as dismissive because, instead of directly addressing players’ core complaints about the design, I keep framing the issue in terms of balance, suggesting tweaks like adjusting power or duration rather than acknowledging the underlying frustration with how Smite fundamentally changes gameplay dynamics currently. I’m focused on rationalizing its merits or suggesting “fixes,” which, to some players who find the design itself anti-fun, feels like sidestepping their primary concern. It gives the impression that I’m not really listening to the feedback, which comes across as talking down to others rather than engaging directly with their experience. Essentially, we’re having two different conversations.
If Smite feels anti-fun for some, that’s worth addressing directly. The question then (What I’m trying to get at) is whether adjustments to its functionality would make it more engaging for everyone, without scrapping it entirely. Personally, I’d rather see tweaks that let it serve the support role without feeling overly invasive, I’ve even given suggestions myself, to which, no one even bothered to discuss.
My intent here isn’t to undermine anyone’s experience, just to consider if it can be adapted to better fit what people enjoy about Darktide in the first place.
My secondary concern is the reason of “This isn’t fun for me.” sets a bad precedent for calling for a change to how something works or performs. There’ve been instances in the past where I’ve said something isn’t fun, because I wasn’t able to utilize my talents because someone else was overperforming. And since then, that very thing I spoke about was buffed.
So, for me, “anti-fun” is not a good reason to remove something when it can easily fall apart as it stands currently.
When you have a room full of zealots and veterans who all use cloak, smite is your only friend in dealing with the hordes that come after you. (Sometimes, I run smite because this composition happens more often than not) I’d be happy to hear what you’d like to offer smite to counter this gameplay style which is available to two current classes (cloaking and dropping aggro)
You literally quoted a post where I was specifically discussing how it’s incredibly unfun to play with, if you read beyond the small bit you quoted.
…Yes. The “I’m smarter than you” tone of your posts doesn’t help in conjunction with completely missing the point.
The anti-fun aspect of it is a combination of objective and subjective.
It’s an objective fact that it’s an ability that can be used repeatedly for a huge portion of the match that actively reduces what other players get to do.
Subjective is whether or not people are bothered by it. Many people are going to be, when the entire game is about its combat. Moments like this give me joy. Lining up the proper solution to kill each special as they come. If a smite psyker had shown up? All of that is gone. There’s no more fun or nuance to be had. I just shoot/smack the enemies down.
Melee weapons. Dodging. Basic kiting. Teammates who don’t play like idiots. Trauma staff. Purgatus staff. Any AoE melee weapon in the first place. Etc. You’re acting like smite is the only way psykers can fight hordes.
That’s not a good comparison. Stealth might make things more risky for you if used poorly, but it does not take away your ability to actively engage with the game’s mechanics consistently throughout the entire run.
*With good positioning. One stray melee hit and you can’t cast it. You have to deal with the horde that’s now ontop of you. It doesn’t deal with sniper waves, pox gas, bosses, Hordes of chargers (unless you have good range to see them from.
Many classes do this against other classes, this is not good precedent as I’ve said before.
Now who’s being dismissive?
That sounds like smyker talk. Permit me to demonstrate:
Stealth “Smite might make things more risky for you if used poorly, but it does not take away your ability to actively engage with the game’s mechanics consistently throughout the entire run.”
In case this confuses you, you can still utilize a lot of your other talents you have selected, and still make use of them.
If your entire build is centered around the ability to dodge, this sounds like a personal issue and not a game mechanic issue.
When I create builds, I try to think about what I might run into. If your build is centered around dodging, there’s your problem.
To be honest, I have a DS Mk IV that I’ve been using for over a year. (I forget which one it is now because I have many that are identical in stats.) I honestly don’t care when psykers smite when I’m pulling headshots with that sword. (Which you should have access to) My sword is built around dodging as well. I still prefer the smite over an active crusher. Is it easier? Sure. My focus is on the objective to survive. A stunned ogryn is an ogryn that can’t crush me. As gun psyker, I love smite when it stuns bulwarks. I may get a lot of benefits from dodge, but I still prefer the smite. Then, I can focus on the things that aren’t being stunned and then once I’m finished with those, kill everything else as quickly as I can so we can move forward.
You really are convinced you’re the smartest in the room, despite saying nonsensical statements, aren’t you?
Stealth “Smite might make things more risky for you if used poorly, but it does not take away your ability to actively engage with the game’s mechanics consistently throughout the entire run.”
Nope, nobody has said smite makes things riskier if used poorly. If you’re gonna try to mimic me from earlier, at least mimic it well. Stealth also isn’t spammable while preventing enemies from fighting back.
Lol. You continue to miss the point. It’s not about talents. Smacking enemies that can’t fight back isn’t interesting. Occasional CC isn’t a problem and mixes things up. Smite constantly stunning things is not interesting and actively detracts from people’s enjoyment.
If your entire build is centered around the ability to dodge, this sounds like a personal issue and not a game mechanic issue.
Not what I said.
You ramble about dodging, despite me not once saying a word about it. Kay.
Now who’s being dismissive?
Me, when someone says stupid stuff.
youre arguing with a person who was defending locks
there is no point
Your perspective on my motivations is irrelevant to me. Whatever your opinions on smite are genuine or trolling is irrelevant to me.
However I’m glad you keep pumping this topic full of poorly thought out posts, whatever your motivations. Smite needs a change, so its not possible to hold a game hostage by pressing a button. Longer this threads goes for, higher the chance the Fatshark game designers notice the obvious and go back to the drawing board with Smite.
I haven’t really had an issue with many smite psykers - in my experience the psykers using smite are the ones that can’t properly survive melee yet. 8/10 times I end up with a smite psyker they go down the second an enemy makes it past their giant lightning net.
I don’t like generalising, but yes this has been so far a “saving grace”. The playstyle certainly attracts some players who aren’t sure about how to play psyker yet.
Controversial statement coming: you can do some funny and useful stuff with smite, but its uptime and extremely low peril cost makes it a noob trap. Instead of a tool you can afford to use in specific situations, and gain a massive amount of peril as a result, it encourages too many bad players to just “hold it”.
I tried to weave it / synergise with the rest of the psyker toolkit, but Assail just feels superior for that. Easy to weave with melee/ranged combat, build up peril and damage bonuses.
Aye yeah, from my experience most Smite psykers just aren’t able to keep the game frozen and stunned forever, those that try always seem to get bonked from behind by a bruiser, the best ones use it situationally in crunch spots, but I’ve just never seen a game trivially held hostage by a Smite pysker, and rarely see them in general.
I had, and its not a good feeling.
You really don’t have to convince me that a good psyker will contribute a lot more if they’re not using Smite as often as they can.
VoC is an Ability and is a different discussion. Smite is a Blitz and should be compared to other blitzes. The closest analogue is the zealot’s stun grenade, which has very similar properties but much fewer complaints about it, because its limited nature means it will be more likely used just for clutch moments. It and Smite are both hard CC against a large area, strong enough to completely turn the tide of an encounter, but Smite can (but not necessarily should) be used every encounter. Something has to give here.
I never said that, please stop projecting.
Now who’s being dismissive?
“Rules for thee, except for me," I suppose.
I aim to avoid dismissing arguments, however critical, and if I do come across that way - as I did earlier - I’m open to hearing it and making adjustments. That’s why I initially asked whether changes to Smite’s functionality, like balancing its impact without scrapping it entirely, might make it more enjoyable for everyone. To which, you still haven’t sought to comment on any such discussion. Your latest comment, comes off as more of an attack than constructive feedback. Quite telling.
For the sake of better discussions, I hope you find ways to engage with people without the back-and-forth sniping. As for this, consider yourself muted, and I wish you well in future conversations.
Do you believe it to be remotely possible that Smite in this function can be used as a gateway to certain difficulties to get the Psyker exposed to that difficulty, or even the class itself?
Glad to see we both want a more engaging game, @JanZamoysky , but let’s drop the assumptions, yeah? I’m here to discuss, not troll by defending Smite. While accurate perceptions of my intention are important, they aren’t required. If this thread brings more attention to the topic, then that’s a win for everyone invested in the discussion. Especially since those who read it will be able to discern for themselves my intentions for posting here.
I agree that if Smite’s design needs refining to avoid the issues you’re pointing out, the devs should hear it and consider all sides - those using excessive hyperbole and everyone else - so let’s make sure our arguments are as well-rounded as possible. I would hope that we can agree on that.
On the off chance you read it:
I mean your next replies immediately went right back to being dismissive as hell so you very clearly didn’t actually learn anything or adjust your thought processes, nor actually admit fault as you went right back to ignoring what was actually being said in favor of rambling about nothing.
It’s really sad how so many people just resort to blocking/muting people more and more rather than actually learn how to deal with anything negative online.
Even in your next comment you went right to sniping at me as well so you’re just being an absurd hypocrite, just trying to dress it up in flowery language.
I know exactly how that discussion will go with you. You’ll then laser in on whatever suggestion or idea is made while ignoring overarching points. In the end it’s on the devs to make appropriate changes, it’s quite literally their job.
I’ve seen that conversation a dozen times, I’ve learned it’s usually a waste of effort.
Not to mention saying “balancing its impact” makes it clear you’re still not getting it, whether willfully or not.
@supra898 I see what you mean more and more, I’m just stubborn 
(And a strong dislike for people who act like he is, being both hypocritical and trying to get people to play their game, only to rely on blocking/muting anybody who doesn’t play their game on their terms)